Day Tour Itineraries

Cairo Day 1 — Giza Plateau & Grand Egyptian Museum

This is the most efficiently structured approach to Cairo's two biggest draws. Begin at the Giza plateau at 08:00 — taxi from central Cairo takes approximately 30 minutes outside rush hour. Spend the first two hours on the plateau itself before the first coach tours arrive from central hotels. Enter the Great Pyramid (King's Chamber) between 09:00–10:00 when queues are shortest. Visit the Sphinx and its valley temple before walking south to the Solar Boat Museum for 30 minutes. Depart the plateau by 12:30. Take a 15-minute taxi directly to the Grand Egyptian Museum — taxis wait outside the plateau's main gate. Spend the afternoon at the GEM (12:30–19:00), allowing the full seven hours to cover the permanent galleries and the Tutankhamun wing without rushing.

Total estimated entry cost: EGP 2,910 (including Tutankhamun galleries). Without pyramid interior or Tutankhamun: EGP 1,410.

Cairo Day 2 — Saqqara, Dahshur & Memphis

This itinerary is best done by private taxi hired for the day (agree the full-day rate in advance — typically EGP 600–800 from central Cairo). Depart by 08:00. Arrive Saqqara (30 minutes from Cairo) at 08:30. Spend three hours covering the Step Pyramid complex, the Serapeum and the tombs of Ti and Kagemni. At 11:30, drive 12 km south to Dahshur (20 minutes). Spend two hours at the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid — enter the Red Pyramid for the corbelled chamber experience. At 14:00, drive to the open-air museum at Mit Rahina (ancient Memphis) — 30 minutes from Dahshur. The statue of Ramesses II, the alabaster sphinx and the artefacts in the museum shed take 45 minutes. Depart for Cairo by 15:30, arriving before rush-hour traffic builds.

The key advantage of this circuit over the more popular Cairo Day 1 is that Dahshur rarely has more than a handful of visitors — you can stand in front of the Bent Pyramid in near-total silence, which is essentially impossible at Giza. See our Archaeological Sites guide for full details of each site on this route.

Luxor West Bank Full Day

The West Bank of Luxor concentrates a remarkable density of pharaonic monuments: the Valley of the Kings, Deir el-Bahari (Temple of Hatshepsut), the Colossi of Memnon, the Ramesseum, Medinet Habu and the Valley of the Queens. Attempting all of these in a single day produces exhaustion and superficial engagement. The itinerary below selects the four highest-priority sites for a thorough full-day experience.

Cross the Nile by local ferry from the East Bank Corniche (EGP 5 per person) at 06:00. Take a microbus or taxi to the Valley of the Kings ticket office (15 minutes). Arrive at 06:30 and select three tombs. In October–April, choose from KV9 (Ramesses V–VI), KV62 (Tutankhamun, separate ticket), and KV35 (Amenhotep II) or KV6 (Ramesses IX). Spend 90 minutes in the valley before the morning tour coaches arrive. At 08:30, drive 10 minutes to Deir el-Bahari. Hatshepsut's temple takes 60–90 minutes. Return to the valley area for 11:00. At 11:30, visit Medinet Habu (Temple of Ramesses III) — 30 minutes by taxi. This enormous and relatively uncrowded site warrants 90 minutes. Return to the ferry landing by 15:00. Evening: Karnak Temple (open until 17:30) or Luxor Temple (open until 22:00).

Abydos & Dendera Day Trip from Luxor

One of the finest single days in Egyptian travel, this circuit covers two of the most important temples outside the Giza–Luxor axis. The route is straightforward with your own driver: depart Luxor at 07:00, drive 2 hours north to Abydos. Spend two hours at the Temple of Seti I and the Osireion — arrive before 10:00 to experience the temple's inner sanctuaries before coach tours. At 11:00, drive 1 hour north to Dendera. Spend 90–120 minutes at the Temple of Hathor — the roof, accessible by interior staircase, offers aerial views of the complex and the agricultural plain. Depart Dendera by 14:00 and return south to Luxor in 1.5 hours, arriving by 16:00. Both sites are fully described in our Archaeological Sites guide.

Private taxi rate for this circuit: EGP 800–1,200 from Luxor. Entry fees: Abydos EGP 360, Dendera EGP 180. Total daily budget per person (solo driver): approximately EGP 1,200–1,500 including transport and entry.

Abu Simbel Day Trip from Aswan

Abu Simbel is 280 km south of Aswan on the western shore of Lake Nasser. The temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari were cut from the living rock in the 13th century BCE and relocated, stone by stone, between 1964–1968 to save them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser following construction of the High Dam. The operation — coordinated by UNESCO and involving engineers from 51 countries — is as remarkable as the temples themselves. The precision with which the original astronomers oriented the Great Temple is demonstrated twice a year: on 22 February and 22 October, the first rays of dawn sun penetrate 65 metres through the entrance to illuminate the seated figures of Ramesses II, Ra-Horakhty and Amun-Ra in the innermost sanctuary.

Three transport options from Aswan: (1) convoy by road — departs 04:00 or 11:00, journey 3 hours each way, entry EGP 450; (2) EgyptAir flight — 45 minutes each way, departures 07:00 and 11:00 (seasonal), significantly more expensive; (3) overnight boat via Lake Nasser cruise (2–4 day option for those wishing to include Wadi el-Seboua and Qasr Ibrim). The road convoy is the most common choice for day visitors. Combined with Philae Temple (Isis Temple on Agilkia Island, another UNESCO-relocated monument) and the High Dam overview, Aswan offers three major sites in addition to Abu Simbel.

For more seasonal and event-specific advice on visiting Abu Simbel — including the solar alignment dates — see our Seasonal Events page. For visiting with children, see our Family Tours guide which covers the child-suitability of Abu Simbel and alternative arrangements for very young children.

Want a fully personalised day-by-day schedule for your exact travel dates and group? Our Explorer pack includes a complete itinerary built around your specific constraints.