7-Day Pyramids & Nile Cruise Tour with Domestic Flights

Our representative meets you inside Cairo International Airport, helps you through arrival formalities and walks you to your private transfer. The drive to your 5-star hotel (or similar) takes 30 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic and where the hotel is.

There is no sightseeing today, so the rest of the day is yours. If you land early, you can book an optional evening on the Nile with dinner on board, take a short walk around downtown Cairo, or browse the lanes of Khan el-Khalili bazaar. If you land late, rest up, because tomorrow is the busiest sightseeing day of the trip.

Your guide confirms tomorrow's pickup time with you or through the hotel. A local SIM card or an eSIM set up before you fly makes it easy to stay in touch. No meals are included today.

After breakfast your Egyptologist guide takes you to the Giza Plateau. You see the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre and the smaller Pyramid of Menkaure, all built about 4,500 years ago. Your guide explains how they were built and why they mattered to the kings who ordered them.

Next you walk down to the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple beside it. The temple's granite blocks are some of the best-preserved stonework on the plateau, and the Sphinx terrace is the classic spot for a photo with the pyramids behind.

After lunch you drive a few minutes to the Grand Egyptian Museum. The galleries cover thousands of years of Egyptian history, from huge royal statues to the treasures of the pharaohs. Plan on two to three hours inside, and wear comfortable shoes, as the plateau and the museum both involve a lot of walking. You return to your hotel in the late afternoon.

After breakfast you transfer to Cairo Airport for the domestic flight to Aswan, which takes about an hour and a half. Your guide meets you on arrival and takes you straight to Philae Temple. It stands on an island and is reached by a short motorboat ride. The temple honors the goddess Isis and was moved, block by block, to its current island to save it from rising water.

After the visit you check in to your Nile cruise ship and have lunch on board. In the late afternoon you can join an optional trip to a Nubian village on the west bank, where the houses are painted in bright colors and families keep their own language and customs.

The ship stays moored in Aswan tonight. Dinner is served on board, and the sun deck is a good place to watch the evening light on the river.

Today starts with a choice. You can join the optional early-morning excursion to Abu Simbel, where Ramses II carved two temples into the rock, one for himself and one for Queen Nefertari. In the 1960s both were cut into blocks and rebuilt on higher ground to escape the waters of Lake Nasser. If you skip it, enjoy a slow morning on board.

The ship then sails north for about five hours to Kom Ombo. Its temple sits right on the riverbank and is unusual because it serves two gods at once: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, a falcon-headed form of Horus. The two halves of the temple mirror each other, each with its own entrance and sanctuary.

Back on board, the evening brings an Egyptian-themed party where guests wear the galabeya, a long traditional robe, and dance to a mix of Arabic music and older pop hits. The ship sails on toward Edfu, where it moors for the night.

After breakfast you visit the Temple of Edfu, built for Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sky and son of Osiris and Isis. Construction ran through the Ptolemaic period and ended in the decades before Cleopatra VII. It is one of the most complete temples in Egypt, with its roof, towering gateway and inner sanctuary still in place.

The ship then sails on to Luxor, arriving in the afternoon. Your guide takes you to Karnak, the vast temple complex of the god Amun-Ra, and its forest of carved columns. Then you continue to Luxor Temple and walk part of the Avenue of Sphinxes, the ancient processional road that once linked the two temples and is open again after restoration.

If you have energy left, both temples are lit after dark and make for good night photos. You sleep on board, moored in Luxor.

After breakfast you check out of the ship and cross to the West Bank of Luxor with your guide. The first stop is the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in tombs cut deep into the hills. The painted walls inside many tombs still hold bright color after more than 3,000 years.

Next is the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, built in three wide terraces against the cliff face. Your guide tells the story of the woman who ruled Egypt as pharaoh. On the way back you stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two huge seated statues that once stood at the gate of a royal temple.

In the evening you transfer to Luxor Airport for the domestic flight to Cairo. On arrival you are driven to your hotel for the night. Only breakfast is included today, so plan lunch and dinner on your own.

Enjoy a final breakfast at your hotel, then check out at the time agreed with our team. A driver takes you to Cairo International Airport for your flight home. For most international departures, plan to be at the airport about three hours before your flight.

If your flight leaves late in the day, ask us about keeping your room longer or arranging a few more hours of sightseeing in Cairo before the transfer.

Would you like more time in Egypt? Many travelers add a few days of rest on the Red Sea in Hurghada after the cruise and temples. Tell us when you book, and we can quote the extension and adjust your departure plans to match. Our team stays in touch until you are checked in for your flight.