Our most-loved route, and the one we’d send a first-time visitor on without hesitation. Ten days is enough to see the three faces of Egypt properly — the ancient, the river, and the sea — without ever feeling like you’re being marched.
You start in Cairo with the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, fly south to Aswan and board a five-star boat for the slow sail to Luxor, then finish on the Red Sea with nothing at all to do.
Your journey, day by day, from Cairo to Hurghada.
Met at Cairo airport by your guide and driver, and transferred to your hotel. Nothing scheduled — rest, eat, and if you're up for it, a first walk along the Nile at dusk.
An early start at Giza before the heat and the crowds — the three pyramids, the Sphinx, and the option to go inside the Great Pyramid. Afternoon at the Grand Egyptian Museum, where Tutankhamun's full collection is displayed together for the first time.
The Step Pyramid at Saqqara — the oldest stone building on earth — then Memphis, Egypt's first capital. Afternoon in Islamic Cairo: Khan el-Khalili, the mosques, and mint tea somewhere quiet.
A domestic flight south to Aswan. Board your five-star boat, then Philae Temple on its island and a felucca out to the botanical gardens as the light goes gold.
An early convoy south to Abu Simbel, arriving as the sun hits Ramses II's four colossi. The whole temple was cut apart and moved uphill in the 1960s — your guide will show you the joins.
Kom Ombo's double temple to Sobek and Horus, right on the riverbank. Then Edfu — the best-preserved temple in Egypt — reached by horse-drawn carriage. Afternoon on deck watching the valley go by.
Karnak, the largest religious building ever constructed, and its hypostyle hall of 134 columns. Luxor Temple in the evening, lit up and half-empty.
A short transfer east to the coast and your beach resort. Nothing scheduled from here — the rest of the trip is yours.
Snorkel the reefs, take a boat out, dive, or don't move at all. We can arrange anything you fancy, or nothing.
Transfer to the airport for your flight home. We'll be on WhatsApp until you land.
Tell us your dates and how you like to travel. A real travel designer shapes this trip around you, usually within the hour.