10 Day Egypt Itinerary – Pyramids, Abu Simbel, and the Nile

Egypt is a land of wonder.  From the epic pyramids, the mystic Nile, and endless layers of stories, this is the kind of trip that will literally blow your mind at every turn.  The scale of everything you see will blow you away.  The fact that this all happened thousands of years ago will blow you away.  The waves of heat will also blow you away.  This is simply put the best way to put together a 10 day itinerary for Egypt of your dreams.

Follow along below to find out what the journey looked like from start to end including what to see, do, eat, and where to stay.  This classic 10 day Egypt itinerary will contain detailed information that you need to know before you go and is also highlighted by the Nile cruise for those that are trying to figure out which experience to book.  Let’s jump right in!

10 Day Itinerary for Egypt Highlights

These 10 days in Egypt are what many consider to be the “Classic Egypt” trip but it’s anything but boring.  It is such a unique experience all around but it’s a select few things that really made this itinerary special.

Here are my top 5 highlights of Egypt that will make your trip unforgettable!

1. The Great Pyramids of Giza
2. Dahabiya Nile Cruise
3. Valley of the Kings
4. Sofra Restaurant
5. Abu Simbel

Curious where we stayed to get those epic views of the Pyramids?  There are a number of boutique hotels in Giza that have rooftop views like this one called Comfort Pyramids Inn which is relatively new.

Table of Contents

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Classic Must-Do’s in a 10 Day Itinerary for Egypt

Egypt is on many bucket lists but is often one destination that’s harder to plan because of so many different factors that can include safety, price, complexity, and timing.  I’m here to at least make at least one of those excuses go away with this 10 day itinerary that includes an Egypt cruise along the Nile, and seeing certifiably the most impressive ancient monuments you’ll see anywhere in the world.

As I do with all of my other itineraries, this is information packed with how you should plan your vacation to Egypt if you have a limited number of days.  This closely follows how we did our trip with Djed Egypt Travel including places to visit in Egypt, where to stay, what to do, and insider tips that you can only learn by being on the ground.

Trip Planning Map

If you’ve seen my 7 Days in Austria Itinerary, 14 Day Greek Islands Itinerary, or Best Ramen in Tokyo, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of trip planning maps especially for when I’m on the road.  I always have one prepared before I travel so that I can quickly pull them up for reference.  With this map, you’ll be able to take this to go and have it ready for you on your phone or use it as part of your itinerary planning.

Tip: View the Egypt 10 Day trip planning map in full screen and create a copy (this step is key) for yourself.  Make tweaks for your own trip and in Google Maps, you’ll be able to view it by going into the menu, selecting “My Places” and the “Maps” tab.

Day 1 – Cairo – The Arrival

Getting to Cairo may be easy for some but a long journey for others so for your first day of this 10 day itinerary for Egypt, you shouldn’t have too much planned because you’ll want to settle in and try to get over the jet lag quickly.

The introduction to the capital starts immediately upon descent as if you’re lucky enough to have a window seat and the approach is the same as ours was, you’ll have the most incredible aerial view of the pyramids.  It’s almost like the landing path is specifically designed to give you this perfect view of Giza.

Djed Egypt Travel is the tour operator we chose for this trip and one thing you’ll find with them is that 1) all their trips are private and 2) it’s end-to-end service. 

This is immediately apparent when you land in Cairo.  Their guides have special access to wait for passengers before you even get to customs.  It may sound strange but surprisingly helpful because it’s not obvious how to purchase Egypt’s visa-on-arrival.  All you have to do is hand the $25 USD per person over to the guide and they find the shortest line and get you sorted.  Another benefit is that one your way out of the airport, the sea of people asking if you want a ride, magically part ways as you make your way out to the van.  You’ll understand why this matters later.

If you are on your own and need private transfer service to your hotel, you can check this out.

Most likely, your hotel will be in Giza.  This is recommended because this neighbourhood is actually a long drive from the city because of insane traffic and for your Day 2, you’re going to want an early start.

For the rest of your day, feel free to walk along the main street in Giza, explore your resort, or just hang out on your rooftop while watching the sunset.  Like I said, Day 1 is a nice chill day before the pace picks up dramatically.

Before your guide leaves, make sure you ask your guide where a recommended place to eat is because they’ll know the spots that are cleaner and safer to eat.  If you’re staying at the Comfort Pyramids Inn like we did, have dinner at the Egyptian restaurant, Abu Shakra.

Plan to withdraw Egyptian Pounds (EGP) on your first day as well since you’ll need some to get you started if you don’t have any.  In Giza, there’s an exchange shop along the main drag called Roxy Exchange.  There are also ATM’s that can exchange USD but we found that these machines were quite finicky in recognizing notes and the rate was a little worse.  Tips on how much to exchange and money matters at in the quick Egypt travel guide below.

Another activity you can consider is the Sound and Light Show at the Pyramids especially if you don’t have rooftop views in Giza.  I’ll be straight up with you that from our rooftop the light show seemed to be quite slow.  I was expecting more laser projections or more changing of colours but it was mostly big flood lights shining up at the pyramids while listening to someone like David Attenborough going through a full episode of Planet Earth.  Mind you, we could barely hear the audio and we couldn’t see what was projected at the base of the Sphinx but that’s what we saw and heard.

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Day 2 – Cairo – All the Pyramids

Your second day in Egypt is going to be packed!  It’s going to be exciting, education but also exhausting, and extended so get ready.  This portion is identical to the 3 day Cairo itinerary if you’re looking to just do the capital.

TIP: Start as early as possible even if your guide doesn’t offer this up initially.  The pyramids open at 8AM so ideally you’re one of the first ones there before or as the giant tour busses roll in.  With that, pick up at 7AM or 7:30AM (depending on where your hotel is) is what I’d recommend.  Even though you might be looking at the Sphinx and the south entrance to the pyramids, there’s actually a bit of a drive around Giza to get to the entrance for The Great Pyramid so that time needs to be accounted for.

To see the the pyramids and the whole of the Giza Necropolis for the first time from your rooftop is jaw-dropping but then to be right at its base and see all the huge blocks of granite is something else.

When you get dropped off at the entrance that is closest to The Great Pyramid itself, you’ll first need to wait for your guide to purchase and pick up the tickets and then also pass through the standard x-ray machines.  There are some tidbits about pricing, cameras, tripods, and microphones that are critical need to knows so make sure you read the box below.

Once you’re in, you’ll freeze up from the awe of what you’re looking at.  I for one was thinking about how I’ve been reading about the pyramids since elementary school and now I was standing on the same sand and stone and looking at all the imperfections of each step that rises to an unbelievable height.  You almost won’t know what to do – do you get closer, do you snap photos, do you take a selfie, or actually listen to what your guide is saying?

You snap back to reality and if you have a great guide like ours, Mohamed, he’ll draw you in by telling you the story of Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops), the building of the pyramids, the choosing of the plateau, its relationship with the Nile, and much more.

While you’ll find that you’ll want to spend a lot of time here, the experience will feel a little rushed.  As the crowds start mounting from the tour busses, you’ll make your way to the literal steps up the pyramid that lead to the now not-so-secret entrance.

Some might tell you that it’s not worth it to go inside but honestly when else are you going to be able to climb into the largest pyramid and get another wave of bewilderment of how the heck they built these structures.

The walk in starts off easy as if walking into a cave but that soon changes as you have to walk down and then back up a narrow shaft that’s not wide enough for the two-way traffic and not tall enough either so you’re side stepping and crouching as you walk.  You finally get to the Grand Gallery where it opens up and what’s truly impressive are size, angle, and layering of the stone.  There’s a bit more air here before you have to duck down into a smaller chamber (connected to an air shaft) and then another that finally puts you in the King’s Chamber.

I’m not going to lie, it’s a tough one because of the intense heat, awkward walking position, two-way squeezes, and being behind people that really shouldn’t be in there.  That said, if you stop and take in the marvel of the engineering and think about what you’re actually in, you can’t help but just say “Wow!”

The King’s Chamber doesn’t have much.  Blackened stone surround all sides, there’s a sarcophagus with nothing inside, and a ceiling that consists of the some of the largest slabs of granite that weigh easily up to 80 tonnes.  You also might find people meditating inside the chamber.

Emerging from the pyramid, your guide will take you around the corner to see a few of the Queens’ Pyramids (including Queen Hetepheres) where you can also go inside.

Continue around and you’ll learn about the Khufu Sun Boat (also Solar Boat) which was discovered in a sealed pit at the foot of The Great Pyramid.  Right at the site of the discovery is a large enveloping museum that has a fully reconstructed ship that was used in the time of the Old Kingdom.

Next up is the camel experience.  It’s not something for everyone and having done it, I hesitate to recommend it but here’s what to expect.

Getting picked up by the Djed Egypt Travel van near the road that cuts between Khufu and Khafre’s pyramid, you’ll get a ride up and around to a point called Panorama.  This spot is 1) great for panoramic views of the pyramids and 2) where all the camels were it seemed like.

Our guide made a phone call and there was already a few men waiting for us to get on.  I can’t say that they were really custom-hired but simply we were slotted in the rotation of people herded like sheep through panorama.  The benefit of going through Mohamed was that the prices were all pre-negotiated and since he was there with us, there was no chance of any bait-and-switch.

The ride was lacklustre but it did give us a little bit of riding time along a very specific path in the desert.  For the photos, we just abruptly stopped somewhere and all of our shots had a bunch of other tourists in the background doing the same thing in the area.

The last part of your tour of the this incredible UNESCO world heritage site is The Great Sphinx at its base.  You’ll be driven down and dropped off at the southern entrance.  One thing I should mention is that at this point you’ll be feeling the heat exhaustion so make sure to take advantage of the time in the van by re-organizing any gear in your bag, dropping unnecessary weight in the van, and chugging water.  Again, the huge benefit of having your own private tour is that there’s more or less an unlimited supply of water and the security of leaving things in the van that’s exclusive to you.

You won’t have too much time here but enough to take a few clean shots at the front, learn from your guide about its purpose and the temples that stand in front of the iconic guardian, and finally you can get up close to the one side of the Sphinx to see the details of the paws, tail, and do your cringe-worthy kiss photo. I won’t judge if you do because Chantelle did it ;)

Okay at this point it should be about noon but it’ll feel like you just spent a full day here.  This should dispel the myth that it only takes 1 to 1.5 hours to see all of the pyramids here.  With what’s been laid out here, you can see that we’ve barely scratched the surface and it was incredibly rushed.

It’s time to bust out of Giza and head on down to the town of Dahshur (also referred to as Dashur).  It’s about an hour to get down there and along the way you’ll encounter a few security checkpoints which we learned is pretty normal in Egypt.  There’s also a military base right adjacent to the ancient site so you might also see a giant line up of trucks bringing supplies in.

The two main pyramids to visit here are the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid.  You’re in for a treat here because this archeological site is magnificent and has only 5% of the kind of crowds that Giza gets.  I’m serious.  While we were here, we only saw 10 people?

Timing is everything and another bonus you’ll get coming here is that as of 2019, they’ve opened the Bent Pyramid to the public for the first time since 1965.  Before you could only see the pyramid from the outside but now you can actually get inside to the King’s Chamber.  What’s unique about this pyramid is that it almost seems impossible how they found a way to the chamber.  To get there, you’ll need to crouch/walk down and up a narrow tunnel from a raised entrance, climb a number of flight of stairs, and then walk through more rock carved tunnels to eventually a multi-level chamber where bats have made it their home.  While you’re here, you’ll be lucky to encounter anyone inside.

You have the option of doing the same at the Red Pyramid but if you’re like us, you’ll be too tired to do it all over again.  The van’ll be parked near it so you can snap a few quick photos before moving to the next spot.

What’s different about the two pyramids is that the Bent Pyramid was built by pharaoh Sneferu in 2600 BC and the second of 3 he built.  The Red Pyramid, named for the rusty hues of the red limestone, was Sneferu’s third pyramid and often thought as Egypt’s first successful attempt and construction a true smooth-sided pyramid.

At this point, lunch will be on your mind but the challenge with archeological sites in Egypt are that they all close by 5PM.  We were given the option to eat lunch or power through and we opted to head straight to Saqqara’s sites.

The Step Pyramid or Pyramid of Djoser is where it all began when the pharaoh wanted a mortuary complex and had a mastaba or flat-roofed ancient tomb built.  You’ll learn how his vizier and architect Imhotep had a vision for something grander and it eventually became what you see today.

While you can’t go inside, you’ll walk through a roofed colonnade passageway, giant courtyard, enclosure walls, and temple.

Not far off are satellite pyramids and additional tombs.  The two that you’ll get to hurry through if you have time is the Pyramid of Teti and the Mastaba of Kagemni.  Neither are large but you’ll see plenty of carvings, reliefs, and well-preserved colours whether it be inside the pyramid’s tomb or in the tomb of the 6th Dynasty’s early vizier to King Teti I.

You’ll be ready to collapse at this point from hydration and exhaustion which means it’s perfect time for that lunch/dinner.  Nearby is the Blue Lotus Guesthouse where they also have a special farmhouse lunch.  This buffet-style meal was exactly what we needed with plenty of food for all of us, tea after our meal, and a place to wash up as well after such a long day.

On your way back, you’ll have the option of visiting a papyrus shop.  Again, we knew it was primarily a shopping stop but YOLO right?  In Giza is Golden Eagle Papyrus and there, like what you’ll have with the Alabaster in Luxor, is a demonstration of how papyrus paper is made, a free drink, and the awkward walking around to pretend you’re interested.

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Day 3 – Cairo – Antiquities Old and New

What a second day in Egypt right?  Well for your third day of this 10 day itinerary of Eypt, things will slow down a bit but only a little bit.

Everything the previous day is all about pyramids but you still haven’t seen Cairo at all so it’s time to dive right in.

After zig-zagging through traffic and all of the crazy honking that comes with it, start your day off having breakfast in an older part of town.  This is the kind of thing that your tour operator will need to help organize because these are hyper-local spots.  The restaurant we went to didn’t even have an English name but does show up on the planning map above as (مطعم حمادة).

Our guide ordered everything and the food just kept piling including traditional dishes like ful, falafel, eggplant, additional dips, and other fried goodness.

For the main event of the day you’ll be spending a good amount of time at the original Museum of Egyptian Antiquities or simply the Egyptian Museum.  This will soon be outdated because a brand new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is opening in early 2021 where all the collections will be moving to but for the time being, this is still the de-facto museum for everything Ancient Egypt.

As with all museums, this one is massive, taking up two floors and packed with hallways, side rooms, special exhibitions, and more artifacts than you can take in.  You’ll be extremely thankful to come here with an egyptologist because Mohamed really showed his worth here by being able to use the 4 hours allocated here to tell a complete story that was easy to digest and not overwhelming.  By all means we didn’t see every corner of the Egyptian Museum but we got to see all the important bits.

What you’ll find with the Egyptian Museum is that the collections are incredible but the way they are housed and protected is quite outdated and the overall condition is deteriorating.  That’s why I can’t wait to see what the new GEM will be like when it opens.  Also, if you go between now and its opening, you’ll notice that many pieces are missing because they’ve already been transported over.  More and more will be missing leading up to GEM’s opening.

Get picked up by the Djed Egypt Travel van and you’ll make your way into one of the oldest parts of Cairo.  With your guide, you’ll start off at Bab al-Futuh, one of the three remaining gates in the walls of the Old City of Cairo, built in 1087.

From the gates and down Muizz street, you’ll feel the pulse of Cairo through the streets that act as arteries for all of the bustling activity that you’ll see, hear, and small.  This is your chance to see locals going about their day, shops selling their wares, and the fascinating architecture of mosques and maze of the neighbourhood.

As you delve deeper, you’ll eventually make it to the Khan el-Khalili bazaar with its dazzling array of trinkets, souvenirs, artwork, antiques, and of course, lots of tourists.  Meander through the grid stalls, and make sure you check out the entry-way that is flanked with vibrant lanterns on both sides (marked on the Egypt itinerary map).

Finish your guided walk at Al-Hussain Mosque and get picked up by your driver to finally have dinner (or late lunch).  If your guide doesn’t recommend it, I’d definitely ask to go to a local spot like Koshary Abou Tarek to try a type of street food dish called koshary.  Something of a Frankenstein college-dorm creation of spaghetti, rice, ditalini pasta, tomato sauce, lots of garlic, fried onions, lentils, and more.  This dish was invented by Abou Tarek which started off as a street cart and eventually became so big that they now have their own restaurants and copy cats all over.

After your meal, take some time to walk the streets of Cairo and get a feel for what it’s like.  From Koshary Abou Tarek, you’re not far from the main shopping street of the city.  Do a little window shopping and people watching before picking up a cup of ice cream at Abdel Rahim Koueider.

If you’re lucky like we were with our local guide at Djed Egypt Travel, you can ask to hang out at a local street bar for fresh juice, mint tea, and/or shisha (this spot also marked on the planning map).

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Day 4 – Luxor – Ancient City of Thebes

It’s time to put Cairo behind and catch an early morning flight to Luxor because there is so much more of Ancient Egypt to explore and learn about.

The flight to Luxor only takes 1 hour so you’ll be there in the blink of the eye.

Upon landing in Luxor, you’ll be picked up by the Djed Egypt Travel team and you’ll hit the ground running since it doesn’t make sense to head to the hotel only to drop off the bags since your room won’t be ready.

The first site you’ll head to is Luxor Temple right in the middle of the city.  Choose this over Karnak Temple because our guide, Hamdi, told us that the crowds would be insane in the morning with all the tour buses heading there.

Luxor Temple was started by Amenhotep III but continued to completed and added on by proceeding pharaohs.  Its function was primarily for the annual Opet celebration where special statues were triumphantly carried from Karnak, along the Avenue of the Sphinxes.

When you arrive you’ll be greeted by a massive 24m-high pylon built by Ramses II and the remains of one obelisk.   The deeper you go, more secrets of what the temple was used for and its builders and occupants are uncovered.

With the large crowds gone, now’s the perfect time to switch over to one of my favourite ancient Egyptian sites, Karnak Temple.  Also located on the East Bank of Luxor, you’ll get here in a matter of minutes.

This is a massive complex that will take time to explore.  From sanctuaries, temples, kiosks, obelisks, and pylons, you’ll only see a fraction of them but through your visit you’ll learn more about how tightly connected this was with Luxor Temple and how the Thebans put so much of their focus on paying tribute to the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu during the New Kingdom.

Your guide will walk you through all the different sections built, added, dismantled, restored, and enlarged through various pharaohs.

The part where you’ll be immediately drawn to is the hypostyle hall which is literally a forest of giant papyrus-shaped columns below remains of what was a roof.  Here you’ll find reliefs all around and the light bounces in so perfectly any time of day that you’ll want to take a ton of photos.

What continuously amazed me in Egypt and also at Karnak Temple is just how much of it still needs to be excavated and re-built.  There are whole other sections that aren’t completed yet and perhaps in 50 years you’ll be able to come back and see even more.

For your late lunch/dinner, you’ll head over to Sofra Restaurant & Café.  This was highly recommended to us and boy did they not disappoint.   On top of the traditional Egyptian decor and ambiance, the aromas from the kitchen and menu will surely make you want to order everything on the menu.

Start with the fresh juices.  Depending on the season, they’ll have incredibly sweet mangos and guava.  Another popular Egyptian drink is the lemon with fresh mint.  To start, their 6 dish combo of hot and cold appetizer (called mézzes) is great to share where you have your choice of dippable spreads, grilled vegetables, meatballs, samosas, and others.  For the mains, our server, Ragab, recommended the lamb,  duck, veal, and mixed grill.  To top it all off, we a fine selection of Egyptian pastries, and tea with fresh mint.

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Day 5 – Luxor – West Bank

Get ready for a big day because for your fifth day, you’ll be tackling all of the biggest and most impressive sites on the West Bank of Luxor.  It’ll be a step back in time that’ll leave you completely amazed.

You’ll be picked up at your hotel on day 5 of your Egypt itinerary and if you’re living already on the West Bank like we were at the Villa Nile House, you might capture the perfect glimmer of sunrise over Luxor Temple before going to a hyper-local falafel shop on the road.

I need to mention this falafel shop because I’ve had some pretty good ones around the world but this was by far the most delicious deep fried, flavour packed and fresh.  Hamdi asked us the day before whether this would be okay to add to the itinerary and we all said a resounding “YES!”  If you’re with Djed Egypt Travel, make sure you ask for it and your local guide will make it happen.

The first ancient Egyptian site you’ll visit is the famous Valley of the Kings.  After going through a dynasty of building pyramids dedicated to the afterlife of pharaohs, they realized that this was too much work and so with Thebes playing a more central role in the religious importance, the kings moved to the idea of building rock cut tombs in a central valley in the New Kingdom (19th – 20th Dynasties).  While they weren’t going to build pyramids anymore, they still made sure that there was the symbol of one and that is the triangular mountain peak that overlooks the valley.

Your visit to the royal necropolis starts off with a diorama of the area similar to what you saw at Karnak except this one allow you to see underground to give you a perspective of how they cut into the rock. 

From there, there’s a short 5 minute trolley ride to the start of where the tombs are located. 

Once you’re here, your guide will put together a plan of attack as he explains the general information about the site, excavation works, tomb robberies during the time of antiquity, and modern-day discovery.

Here are the tombs that we visited and in this particular order.  I will also mark the tombs that I used the photography pass on in red.

1. KV11 – Ramses III
2. KV8 – Merenptah
3. KV9 – Ramses V/VI (paid)
4. KV62 – Tutankhamun (paid)
5. KV2 – Ramses IV

What will blow you away in these tombs is just how spiritually dedicated they were to the afterlife and how meticulous they were with the carvings, reliefs, and paintings that fill the corridors, side rooms, ante-chambers, final burial chamber and on the sarcophaguses themselves.  You then start thinking about the work required to dig out all the stone.

It’s incredibly that archeologists like Howard Carter were able to find these amongst all of the sand and mounds of stone sitting above.  Add to that the fact that there are probably more tombs yet to be discovered makes you appreciate the scale of the civilization.

While you can’t see it, just behind the mountain is another famous temple, the mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.  With very few female pharaohs in the Ancient Egyptian books, Queen Hatshepsut’s story is one that feels like it was lifted from the pages of Game of Thrones. 

The story goes that Queen Hatshepsut grabbed power from her step-son, Thutmose III by sending him away to but then gets usurped by him later on and mysteriously disappearing from the history books.

Your guide will walk you through the impressive temple that’s cut into the mountain to blend organically with the towering cliffs of Deir el Bahri and in perfect alignment with winter solstice sunrise.  You’ll learn more about this famous queen and how she also gained her power by getting the priests to tell the story of her divine birth.

You’ll feel like you’ve done a full day’s worth of things at this point so make sure you refuel in the van.

For a drastically different perspective of tombs from this time, head over to the Valley of the Nobles.  With much less of a spotlight on this site, this is your chance to see where high-ranking officials were buried.  Looking out into the vast open space, you’ll see hundreds of tombs embedded in rock.  With the handful of them that are actually open, you’ll visit 3 of them as you hike into an unending maze of openings.

While you’re here, there’s a small house occupied by the artist and just so happens to be the uncle of our guide.  There’s no pressure to buy here but this is your chance to see how the talented Ahmed Abdelfattah carves sandstone using the same techniques as the ancients.

Cool down in the shade at the nearby Sekhmet Alabaster Shop where you’ll get to see a demonstration of how alabaster is carved into vases and bowls before being escorted into the store where you’ll serve you a drink similar to papyrus store in Cairo.  If you’re not interested in buying anything, just be straight up with them so they don’t follow you around.

The next Ancient site you’ll head to is the Medinet Habu Temple.  This is an important archeological site in the West Bank because its incredibly detailed reliefs of the war against the Libyans and the Sea Peoples during Ramses III’s reign. 

Hamdi showed us how there are reliefs depicting the counting of severed male parts to tally how many kills were made on the battlefield.

Finally, you’ll make a quick stop at Colossi of Memnon where only the remains of two massive statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III sit.  Unfortunately, there’s not much else to see in the surrounding area even though it is said a massive mortuary temple for Amenhotep to stand behind.

It should be around 3PM at this point.  You can either head back to your hotel to freshen up or you can ask your guide to recommend a spot nearby.  If you’re about to break down into a fit of hangry then maybe it’s best you get that late lunch/early dinner.

Since Sofra Restaurant & Café is that good, I’d recommend that you just head back because you’ll know what you’re getting.  Try some of the dishes you didn’t get to the first time around and if you sat upstairs, try the downstairs terrace.

If you need to take the ferry to cross back and forth between West and East Bank, Djed Egypt Travel can help you arrange it or you can walk up to the port and grab a private boat ride for less than 10 EGP.

It’s worth noting that if you’re interested in a hot air balloon ride, don’t hesitate to reach out to your tour operator to see how you might be able to fit it in as Luxor is the place to do it. If there’s anything that I would say you can swap out could be Medinet Habu Temple and the alabaster shop.

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Day 6 – Dahabiya – All Aboard!

I’ll be the first to admit that the first 5 days in this 10 day itinerary of Egypt are a crazy whirlwind.  It’s the heat exhaustion, unending thirst, the sheer number of places to visit, and the skipping of meals.  That’s why you will be looking forward to start off this day when the pace of things finally screech to a gentle rolling instead constantly going full steam ahead.

Start off with your complimentary breakfast at the Villa Nile House and get your luggage read to go for the 1 hour ride from Luxor to the city of Esna.  This is where your dahabiya experience begins.

Several Djed Egypt Travel vans will converge at this point and your group will also meet your Egyptologist for the duration of your Nile river cruise.

If you’re lucky, you’ll be with Abdulla Yosef, an incredibly skilled guide with unparalleled knowledge of Ancient Egypt and a knack for making stories come alive.

Instead of boarding right away, you will start off with the Esna Temple or Temple of Khnum as it’s locally known.  Built during the reign of Ptolomy VI, you’ll descend 9 meters from the level of today’s streets into an excavated pit area surrounding the only part that’s can be visited today which is the hypostyle hall built by the Romans.  Your guide will show you well-reserved examples of colours, and relief carvings on the walls.

The pulse of modern day Esna beats in the winding streets and markets of the city where tuk tuks honk, and food and goods are sold from shops and temporary stalls.  Walk amongst the locals to see what daily life is like.  This is also your chance to buy local fruits that are in-season.  I highly recommend mangoes and figs.  Your guide can help with making the purchase – just ask!

Life on the dahabiya is tranquil and peaceful.

It’s finally time to make your long-awaited boarding of the Egypt Nile cruise with the Dahabiya Loulia.

Good to know: A dahabiya is not the same as a felucca. While there are a number of sailing opportunities within Luxor as a day trip, a dahabiya is a much larger traditional sail boat that has cabins, kitchen, and multiple galleys. A felucca on the other hand is normally for day excursions but for those that are used for overnight, it’s one large shared sleeping space.

When you board with the group, you’ll be welcome with open arms by the crew and treated with a refreshing drink to start.

First order of business is settling into your home for the next 4 nights.  All of your bags will be waiting in the library of the ground floor as everyone makes their way to the cabins to pick their rooms.  There’s a mix of queen-size and single-bed cabins so just call dibs on the one you want once you see it since there’s no real advantage of cabin location (unless you have a suite of course, in which case you’ll be assigned a room).  Bring your luggage into your room and make yourself at home.

You’ll feel the itch to go-go-go but you’ll need to remind yourself that life on the dahabiya will be completely different.   Life on the dahabiya is tranquil and peaceful.

Your first day on your Nile cruise in Egypt will be a chance for you to meet some of the crew and your Egyptologist/guide to give you a quick orientation of your boat.  Lunch will also be served at this time.  You’ll get a feel for what the daily routines will be like, how things like power and wifi work, and also things that you can order from the kitchen at any time during the day.

One thing that you’ll quickly learn is that the Dahabiya has two modes of moving.  In most cases, it’s actually pulled by a tugboat for speed but if you get to go upriver (counter-intuitively the direction that the wind blows), you’ll get an opportunity to sail and let wind power the Nile cruise.

Right before afternoon tea (yes, you heard me right!), you’ll head out on an expedition with your new family out to the El-Kab Tombs. 

These are the type of off-the-beaten-path archeological sites that you can expect to see thanks to where the Dahabiya can sail to. 

While this isn’t at the scale of what you’ve seen so far, it gives you glimpse into how a provincial necropolis was built for dignitaries of the local town. 

Pay attention to just how different these rock cut tombs are decorated – celebrating personal achievements as opposed to large and grand offerings and instructions for the afterlife. 

Along the way you’ll also see remnants of mud-brick walls for the ancient town of Nekheb.

You’ll walk back to the boat and at this point the sun will be on its way down.

Enjoy coffee, tea, and biscuits for afternoon tea once you’re back on board.  Chat with your other cruise-mates, grab a book from the library, relax on one of the sun loungers, or take a nap on the hammock.  The choice is yours!

For dinner, your guide will let you know when it is served.  All the meals on board are incredibly delicious and expertly prepared by the exclusive chef onboard.  Every meal features traditional Egyptian dishes with tons of variety to make sure there’s something for everyone. 

Dinner is always a great time to get to know everyone else, chat about the day, and fill your belly.

And that’s it.  A sweet day right?

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Day 7 – Dahabiya – A Sailing Adventure

The Nile is the lifeblood of Egypt and being on its waters and seeing a full day’s cycle gives you a true appreciation of how it important it is for everything.

This will be your first full day on your Nile cruise and just like the Nile beats to its own rhythms, you too will begin to get accustomed to the rhythms of the Dahabiya.

If I may make a suggestion, something you have to do at least once is to wake up early enough for sunrise.  It’s a truly magical experience to watch the calm of the silky smooth Nile shimmering with the orange glow and watching life waking up all around it.

No expenses are spared for breakfast with jugs filled with freshly blended mango juice, traditional ful, the sweetest fig jam, Turkish coffee, and more!

Soon, your boat will dock and your adventure to the most impressive temple along this stretch of the Nile – Edfu Temple.  Private horse carriages will be waiting for you at the wharf, eagerly ready to whisk you to temple’s entrance.

Dedicated to Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, this is a Ptolemaic temple completed around 57 BC.  It is an impressive site because of how well it was preserved for centuries by the desert sand.

Exploring the temple from its massive 36m high pylon at its entrance, to the outer hypostyle hall, and delving deeper to the offering chamber, and sanctuary of Horus, your guide will tell you many fascinating stories and show you reliefs on the wall depicting the rituals of the priests that worked here.

One of the most memorable of stories from Abdulla was how Napoleon’s soldiers used the pylon as barracks and pushed out blocks of stone to create defensive gun positions.  The enormous stone emblem in the outer hypostyle hall is riddled with bullet holes because it was used as target practice.  When you look up, you start getting a sense of how high the sand was up to hide the rest of the temple below and why it’s mostly all intact.

Back on your Dahabiya, you’ll have ample time to hang out in your cabin or chill on the top deck. Along the banks of the Nile, you’ll catch glimpses of farmers tilling the land, fishermen setting their lines, kids waving from the small villages, and white egret birds wading in shallow water.

If you’re lucky, the winds will be strong enough to fill the sails to carry the boat upriver.  Deploying the sails is quite the task but there’s something majestic and calming about replacing the chugging of the tugboat with the flapping of the sails.

After a hearty lunch and an early afternoon tea, you’ll feel like the food just keeps coming which nobody will complain about.

For your second excursion of the day, you will be dropped off in an area that will seem completely in the middle of nowhere but your Egyptologist will guide you through the brush of fig trees and tall grass to eventually these innocent looking rocks that hold back the desert sand.  Up close, you’ll see 16,000 year old petroglyphs in Wadi el Shat that incredibly depict safari animals such as rhinos, lions, and giraffe that used to roam the fertile lands.

The rocky landscape will lend to flat road and your group will hike towards El Hamam Village while passing by fields of hand-picked figs drying in the sun and a boneyard grave of farm animals.

Walk through the village to see local architecture, way of life, and say hello to curious children and adults alike.

At the end of the village, there’s an arranged “taxi” ride which was really the backside of a pick up truck.  Abdulla told us that the typical taxi transportation to the boat wasn’t available but I wasn’t complaining because it was quite the thrilling ride with all of us holding on to each other as the truck zipped through the desert path.

And just like that you’ll be back on your Nile cruise boat and getting ready for a delicious dinner with the stars twinkling above the docked Dahabiya.

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Day 8 – Dahabiya – Quarry and Crocodiles

Spending the night docked right beside the sandstone quarry is a smart move because once you finish breakfast, you’ll be able to walk right off the boat and be one of the only groups at Gebel el Silsila and the Temple of Horemheb.

On the 8th day of your itinerary of Egypt, you’ll visit my favourite spot on the Nile.  Yes, you’ll see the small Temple of Horemheb dedicated to seven deities but what I love about Gebel el Silsila is that this is one of the primary quarries where sandstone was cut to build many of the grand temples that you’ve seen already including Karnak, Luxor, Medinet Habu, and the upcoming Kom Ombo.

Your Djed Egypt Travel guide will show you evidence of how workers were divided into groups and the techniques they used to cut blocks of stone.  You’ll also discover several tombs and carvings by pharaohs that ruled over this quarry.

Stand at the base of the wall of stone and just imagine how much stone was shipped along the Nile to build all the incredible sites that we see today.

While you’ll like have a completely different lunch than we did, I remember this one particularly well because I got a chance to spend some time in the kitchen with Chef Mohamed.  Watching him cook was a real treat and I remember being so impressed with what he could do in the small kitchen and on a sail boat no less.  Simultaneously frying cauliflower, cooking fresh tomato sauce, stir-frying chicken, and kneading dough, he cooked a storm while I intrusively filmed.

His masterpiece that meal was no-doubt the fateer or Egyptian pizza as Abdulla jokingly called it.

With favourable winds, the sails were let loose again and we leisurely cruised up the Nile while doing not much more than reading a few books, chatting about our new-found knowledge of Ancient Egypt, and drinking fresh mango juice.

By the afternoon, you’ll make it to Kom Ombo Temple dedicated to the god Sobek, the local crocodile god, and Haroeris, Horus the Elder.  In this way, this is a unique double-temple with a perfect symmetrical main axis with twin entrances, linked hypostyle halls, and matching sanctuaries. 

Inside, your guide will show you examples of an Ancient calendar with all 12 months and depictions of medical devices that closely resemble tools that we use today.

On your way out, you’ll also visit a Crocodile Museum.  It’s dark and air conditioned which is quite welcome.  Inside you’ll find a large collection of mummified crocodiles from the area, excavated discoveries, and explanations of why Sobek and crocodiles were so important.

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening with coffee, tea and biscuits before another glorious meal on the Dahabiya – this time with tasty meat fresh from the grill!

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Day 9 – Dahabiya – Daraw, the Nile, and Farewell

One of the great things about this itinerary of Egypt that you don’t often get in others is that through the Nile cruise, you get a behind the scenes look at what life is like beyond the big city and beyond the tourist areas.  The ability to moor practically anywhere along the river is a huge advantage especially over the large cruise ships.

Docked right by Kom Ombo Temple, you’ll start off your final day with a visit to the nearby town of Daraw.   From the boat you’ll get on an enclosed pickup truck taxi.

What most people don’t know is that the Daraw Camel Market is the largest market in the world.  It’s unfortunately an uncomfortable sight for most people because we learned that many of the camels sold here are meant for the slaughterhouse.  We spent a little bit of time here to see the space but I felt uneasy watch the mistreatment of the camels as the handlers aggressively packed them into a pick up truck.

Hop on the taxi again and you’ll be dropped into the middle of the Daraw Market.  Like in Esna, you’ll be surrounded by chaos as the group winds through the streets.  You’ll pass by butcher shops, clothing shops, cafes, shops for odds and ends, fruit stalls, and of course falafel stands.

Back on the Dahabiya, you’ll quickly cross over to the other side of the river where you’ll get to visit another rural village.  There won’t be too many people out and a bit mid-day but you’ll pass by a number of dwellings, animals, farming fields, women working on dried hibiscus, and children coming from school.

You’ll make your way back to a sandy beach where the Dahabiya will be waiting for you.

This is your one and only chance to swim in the Nile.  While we were all a bit shocked when we heard about this, Abdulla busted the myth that there are crocodiles in the Nile.  Ever since the building of the modern dams, they’ve all but disappeared on this side of north Aswan.  Once you’re in the cool waters, you’ll understand how strong the current is because my front stroke was barely enough to keep me moving upriver.

The rest of the afternoon is yours to enjoy as you please.  It’s your last day aboard so make it count!

After dinner, you’ll be treated with a farewell performance by the crew and this is also your opportunity to say goodbye to all of the incredible friends you’ve made with your fellow travellers on the Dahabiya.

This isn’t quite the end of your 10 day itinerary of Egypt! There’s still another huge monument that awaits.

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Day 10 – Aswan – Abu Simbel

It’s sadly time to say goodbye to your Dahabiya and so begins the last segment of your 10 day itinerary for Egypt.

At 6AM your luggage will be picked up by your new Aswan guide and the crew will bid you farewell.  You’ll also be given your breakfast boxes.  After 4 days on the river, it’ll feel a bit strange to be back on a van.

The ride to Abu Simbel is a long 3 hours which is why you’re starting so early.  On the car ride, you’ll have more than enough food in your box.  This is also your chance to catch up on some sleep because there won’t be much to look at outside with desert passing by.  Mid-way through the drive there’ll be a bathroom pitstop.

Like a shimmering oasis, civilization will suddenly come into view with palm-tree lined roads and lush greenery.

The Abu Simbel Temple Complex consists of the Great Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor and is easily one of the most impressive monuments in Egypt next to the pyramids.

It’s impressive because of a number of reasons. 

1)  The original construction 3000 years ago was incredibly audacious being this far south in the kingdom, lined up perfectly for sun to shine on two specific days a year which are believed to be the pharaoh’s birthday and coronation day. 

2) With the rising water from the building of the High Dam, the entire complex had to be cut, moved, and reconstructed above the original site on an artificial hill and above the new Lake Nasser.

Your guide will walk you in from behind the new artificial hill and the first thing you’ll remark is how massive Lake Nasser is and how you never knew it was there from all the photos you’ve ever seen of Abu Simbel.

As you wrap around the path, you’ll walk right up to the edge and when you look below, you have to imagine the original location of the temples below the water.

Turn around and you’ll be hit with the grandeur of both temples.  In the great temple you have the 4 statues of Rameses in seated position and stoically staring out Sudan where the border is only 40km away.

From the benches that are used for the night sound and light show, your guide will tell you what you need to know, starting with the Temple of Hathor to the right which was dedicated to King Ramses II’s wife, Nefertari.  After this first part of the explanation, you’ll get a chance to walk inside.

Come back outside to meet your guide and you’ll learn about the construction of the temple, small monkey carvings above, the stories depicted on the walls, side chambers, and the significance of the inner chamber with respect to the gods.  The remaining time will be yours to explore the main temple of Abu Simbel.

On your way out, visit the museum at the entrance which tells a more complete story of the modern marvel of an engineering feat of relocating the temple complex.

If there’s time, you might be able to rush back in time for Philae Temple but if you’re like us and don’t leave the site until 12:30PM, you won’t make it.

Instead, we asked our guide, Mustafa, for recommendations of where we can try local food.  This is when we learned about this seafood spot that he and the driver all frequent and to make sure the food was ready when we got there he also ordered the food for us on the phone on our way back.

We ended up with fresh fish off the grill, and plates of flavor packed calamari and shrimp to share.

After our early dinner, we got dropped off at our hotel, the Basma Hotel which is a welcome switch to western hotel comforts.

Since we were too full to eat any more, we wanted to make the most of our evening by walking into the city and wandering the local market of Aswan known as the Old Souk.

And just like that, your 10 days in this itinerary for Egypt are over. 

There’s another day accounted for transit time but I decided it wasn’t worth fitting it in since it’ll very quite drastically from person to person.  If you’re looking to tighten up the itinerary, you could look at taking an afternoon flight out from Aswan back to Luxor and then connect with your international flight out of Egypt.  Otherwise, enjoy the night and start making your way home on your own day 11.

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Egypt Travel Guide Essentials

This is a condensed version of the full guide that you’ll find in the Comprehensive Egypt Trip Planning Guide which includes topics like trip to Egypt cost, common scams, “is Egypt safe?” and more.  Here are basic topics and questions that I want to cover.

Money – This is perhaps the most underserved topic when it comes to planning for a trip to Egypt.  Let me break this down into a few things:

• Do not exchange for Egyptian Pounds (EGP) in your home country.  It’s not a common currency and our guides told us beforehand to do this locally in Cairo instead.
• There are money changers all over the main cities and they are regulated by the government so there is not much deviation in the rate.
• Some ATMs are capable of exchanging as well but the rate is a tad worse.  It is still fine to use in a pinch.
• If you’re on a guided tour, you’ll need to factor in spending money (extra admission costs, meals, market, and tipping), and tour tips.
• Spending money is mostly all cash in EGP except for the bigger restaurants where credit card is accepted.
• Tipping for your tour operator can be paid in any currency but suggested amounts are given in EUR or USD.  To make sure you have enough cash on your trip, make your life easier by calculating all of this beforehand based on your operator’s guideline on tipping whether it be for the city guide, Egyptologist, Dahabiya crew etc.  Paying by USD for this part is better because you don’t have to worry as much about over-exchanging or needing a last minute exchange.

When is the best time? – Essentially the rule of thumb for Egypt is anytime that isn’t summer.  July to September are the hottest months in the country and should be avoided with temperatures hitting 40-50 C (104-122 F).  As a result, the best time to come are in the Fall to Spring.  The height of the season is around Christmas time so try to avoid that if you can.  This means that the best time is going to be around late Fall (October – November) or early Spring (March – April) before the searing heat picks up again.

Getting here – The primary international airport for Egypt is in Cairo (CAI) and depending on where you live you’ll either be able to fly directly here or transfer through somewhere in Africa, Europe, or the Middle East most likely.

How do I get around? – When it comes to travel within Egypt, I highly recommend going through a local operator like Djed Egypt Tour because this isn’t the type of country where you can just rent a car and explore on your own.  We discovered quite quickly that you need a local on the ground to make sure you’re kept safe, to know the local rules, scams to look out for, and to be able to get through all the security checkpoints without issue.  Within the city, taking the taxi is your best bet and for the stress-free option use Uber which does operate in Cairo.  From Cairo, there are overnight trains down to Luxor and Aswan but the most efficient way is to fly.  Low-cast carrier, Nile Air, and Egypt Air have frequent flights that you can find with Skyscanner.

Where should I stay? – I’ve listed all of the recommended accommodations above but in general when it comes to where to stay in Egypt, Booking.com is going to be your best bet to find not only the main players but also the smaller mom & pop inns and B&Bs with the benefit of a great cancellation policy and also Genius level discounts whether for Cairo, Luxor, or Aswan.  As an alternative, there’s also Expedia and Airbnb.

Do I need travel insurance? – As always, travel insurance is highly recommended and even more so for this 10 day itinerary for Egypt.  While I believe Egypt is safe, it’s still the kind of country where you need to be smart and if shit happens, you’ll want to make sure you have insurance to back you up. Make sure to read our guide on choosing the right travel insurance for you.

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Our Itinerary of Egypt Experience

This is my second time to Egypt and it was just as special as the first.  I was a little hesitant at the beginning because I had done the Dahabiya before and quickly breezed through Luxor last time around but with additions to the itinerary and being able to travel with my wife and two of my close friends, I never once felt disappointed.

We were honestly in the best of hands with Djed Egypt Travel.  They’re really the ones that made the experience so amazing. 1) All the people they hire are quality and hand-picked, 2) The Dahabiya is an unfair advantage and 3) I appreciated all of the local off-the-beaten-path experiences.  Sometimes I felt like the service was over-the-top but they really do make sure you have the best time and that you don’t get affected by any unexpected bumps in the road.

If there was anything that I would change, it’d probably be the pacing of Cairo and Luxor.  I jokingly call it Ancient Egyptian Boot Camp because we packed so much in.  This was mostly our fault because of the limitations of only having 10 days but definitely would have liked more time at each monument, temple, or tomb to really take it all in.

Lastly, I’m convinced that any trip to Egypt that doesn’t include a Djed Dahabiya Nile cruise is not a complete itinerary.  It was my second time doing it and for the second time straight it’s still my favourite experience.

What you need to prepare before you go:

• Book your full experience with Djed Egypt Travel including the Dahabiya.
• Read the Egypt packing list and pick up what you don’t have.
• If you’re coming in from Ethiopia and staying the night there, make sure you have your Yellow Fever card.

Egypt is a mystery waiting to be discovered and this 10 itinerary for Egypt is perfect for any first-timer (or second-timer in my case!)

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Got questions for your own classic trip to Egypt? Let me help by simply dropping a comment down below!