4-Day Cairo & Luxor Tour with Domestic Flights and the Grand Egyptian Museum

As you clear immigration at Cairo International Airport, look for your representative holding a sign with your name. A private air-conditioned vehicle is waiting to take you into the city, and your driver handles the whole journey, from the airport roads to your hotel's front door.

There is nothing on the schedule for the rest of the day. Land in the evening and you can go straight to bed; land in the morning and you have time to unpack, have a late lunch on your own, and perhaps take a gentle first look at the neighborhood on the advice of the concierge or your guide. The trip has one demanding day ahead, Day 3 in Luxor, so a slow start here is worth protecting.

Your guide confirms the Day 2 pickup time when you arrive or with a short welcome call in the evening. No meals are included today.

After breakfast you are collected for the short drive to the Giza Plateau. Up close, the Great Pyramid of Khufu is less a smooth triangle than a mountain of stepped blocks, each as tall as your waist or higher; around it stand the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, with the remains of temples and nobles' tombs at their feet. Your Egyptologist explains how the pyramids were built and what role they played in the cult of the king.

You continue to the Great Sphinx, carved directly from the limestone of the plateau, with a lion's body and the face of a pharaoh. There is time at the classic panoramic viewpoint for photographs of all the pyramids together before you move on.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, near the plateau, is the largest archaeological museum devoted to a single civilization. Your guide leads you up the Grand Staircase, lined with statues of kings and gods, and through the Tutankhamun halls, where the whole of the young king's burial treasure, from the gold mask to his chariots, is shown together. Lunch at a local restaurant is included during the day.

You return to the hotel by evening. Pack a small day bag tonight: tomorrow begins early.

Your driver collects you early for Cairo International Airport and a short morning flight south. In Luxor, your local Egyptologist meets you on arrival and heads first to the West Bank, the side of the Nile that the ancient Thebans set aside for the dead.

The Valley of the Kings is a dry limestone gorge where New Kingdom pharaohs, Tutankhamun among them, were buried in tombs cut deep into the hillside. Standard entry typically covers three tombs, their walls painted with texts that guide the king through the underworld; Tutankhamun's own tomb is an optional extra. Next is the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, three broad terraces set against a sheer cliff, built for the woman who ruled as pharaoh. A photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two seated statues of Amenhotep III that once fronted his long-vanished temple, rounds off the West Bank.

After lunch at a local restaurant you cross to the East Bank for Karnak, the largest religious complex built in the ancient world, dedicated above all to the god Amun. The 134 carved columns of the Hypostyle Hall are what most visitors remember longest. A shorter visit to Luxor Temple, on the Nile corniche in the heart of town, follows.

In the evening you transfer to Luxor Airport for the flight back to Cairo, arriving late in the day.

After yesterday's long day in the south, you can take breakfast at your own pace. The rest of the morning is free until your airport transfer, which depends on your flight schedule.

Your private driver plans the pickup around Cairo's traffic and the check-in time for international departures, and gets you to Cairo International Airport with time to spare. If your flight is late in the day, use the free hours to repack, rest, or note down what your guides told you at Karnak and in the Valley of the Kings while it is still fresh.

You leave Egypt having stood beside the Great Pyramid and walked into a pharaoh's tomb in the space of two touring days, and having slept in the same bed every night. Any extra sightseeing on this final day is outside the package and can be discussed with your guide in advance.