7 Day Private Egyptologist Tour Cairo, Luxor and Nile Cruise

Overview

Day by day itinerary

1. 1Arrival in Cairo – Welcome to Egypt⌄

   Your Egyptologist meets you at Cairo Airport and transfers you to your hotel. There is no sightseeing today beyond your first look at the city, just a smooth landing, your questions answered, and a plan for the days ahead. Cairo hotel accommodation can be arranged for you at additional cost. Rest up; tomorrow is Giza.

2. 2Giza Pyramids & Egyptian Museum⌄

   You stand at the base of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, 2.3 million blocks and 4,500 years old, then take in the Sphinx and the panoramic viewpoint where all three pyramids align. Optional: inside the Great Pyramid ($11 USD), camel ride (about $15 USD).

   In the afternoon, the Grand Egyptian Museum, opened November 2025, where Tutankhamun's full collection sits together for the first time. Lunch is included.

   Beside the pyramids you stop at the Great Sphinx, the lion-bodied guardian carved from a single limestone ridge over 4,500 years ago.

   Meals: Lunch: Enjoy a traditional Egyptian meal at a local restaurant.

3. 3Fly to Aswan – High Dam, Philae Temple & Nile Cruise Begins⌄

   You fly to Aswan and step into a softer, slower Egypt on the river's edge. You see the High Dam that reshaped the country, then take a short boat to the island temple of Philae, dedicated to the goddess Isis and moved stone by stone to save it from the rising water. By evening you board your Nile cruise for the first of three nights.

   Meals: Lunch · Dinner

   Overnight: overnight on board your selected Nile Cruise

4. 4Kom Ombo & Edfu Temples, sailing to Luxor⌄

   The boat sails north and you go ashore at Kom Ombo, the unusual double temple shared between the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Horus, with mummified crocodiles still on display.

   Further along, the Temple of Edfu is the best-preserved in Egypt, its towering pylon and falcon statues almost intact after 2,000 years. Between stops you watch riverbank life slide past from the deck.

   Meals: Lunch · Breakfast · Dinner

   Overnight: overnight on board your selected Nile Cruise

5. 5Luxor West Bank – Valley of the Kings & More⌄

   You reach Luxor and cross to the West Bank, the realm of the dead. In the Valley of the Kings you enter royal tombs cut deep into the rock, their painted ceilings still vivid after 3,000 years. You stand below the terraced temple of Hatshepsut, Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh, and pause at the Colossi of Memnon. This is your last night aboard.

   At the Temple of Hatshepsut you stand before the dramatic colonnaded terraces that Egypt's great female pharaoh cut into the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari.

   You pause at the Colossi of Memnon, two 18-metre stone statues of Amenhotep III that have guarded the Theban plain for 3,400 years.

   Meals: Lunch · Breakfast · Dinner

   Overnight: overnight on board your selected Nile Cruise

6. 6Luxor East Bank: Karnak & Luxor Temple, fly to Cairo⌄

   You disembark and turn to the East Bank and Karnak, the largest temple complex ever raised, where 134 giant columns crowd the Great Hypostyle Hall.

   Nearby, Luxor Temple sits in the heart of town, once linked to Karnak by an avenue of sphinxes. Then you fly back to Cairo. The internal flight can be booked for you at additional cost.

   Meals: Breakfast

7. 7Departure from Cairo⌄

   A final transfer to Cairo Airport closes the week. If your flight is late, your guide can suggest a last stop or some time for souvenirs in Khan el-Khalili before you go. You leave having seen the span of Egypt, from the Old Kingdom pyramids to the temples of the Nile, with the same expert beside you the whole way.