Cairo and Luxor in 5 Days
Signature Brand
All Egypt Tours
Overview
Five days is tight for Egypt, and this Cairo and Luxor tour handles that by flying rather than driving. You get three nights in the capital and one in Luxor, with both flights, a private guide and every entrance ticket already in the price.
## Cairo
The Giza Plateau fills the first full day. You stand at the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the last of the seven ancient wonders still standing, then move along to Khafre and Menkaure and finish at the Sphinx, which sits at the end of Khafre's causeway rather than beside the pyramids as most photographs suggest. Lunch follows at a local restaurant. The afternoon goes to the Grand Egyptian Museum, two kilometers east of the plateau, where the complete Tutankhamun find is displayed together for the first time since Howard Carter cleared the tomb in 1922 — 5,398 objects, the gold mask among them, in two purpose-built galleries.
## Luxor's West Bank
An early flight south puts you in Luxor for the morning. The Valley of the Kings holds more than sixty tombs cut deep into the limestone, and the three on your ticket still carry their painted ceilings, the pigment holding after three thousand years underground. Hatshepsut's mortuary temple comes next, terraced against the cliff face at Deir el-Bahari and architecturally unlike anything else the New Kingdom built. The Colossi of Memnon close the afternoon: two seated figures of Amenhotep III, weathered almost featureless, standing where his own temple once did.
## Luxor's East Bank
Karnak is the following morning. It was enlarged by one pharaoh after another across two thousand years, which is why nothing about it feels planned, and the Hypostyle Hall's 134 sandstone columns still hold traces of paint high up where the light does not reach. Luxor Temple sits a few kilometers south on the corniche, joined to Karnak by an avenue of sphinxes that has now been excavated along its full length. You fly back to Cairo the same evening.
## What the trip suits
Travelers with a week or less who want the two headline destinations done properly rather than four done at a run. Because the sightseeing is private, the pace bends around you — extra time at the museum, less at the bazaar, a later start after the early flight. The walking is moderate: uneven ground at the temples, some steps and warm, still air inside the tombs.
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Daily Itinerary
Your tour manager meets you inside Cairo International Airport, past passport control, holding a sign with your name. They deal with the arrival formalities, wait while your luggage comes through and walk you out to a waiting air-conditioned vehicle. The drive into the city runs from 40 minutes to well over an hour depending on the traffic and the hour you land. At the hotel they see you through check-in, walk you through the week ahead and agree pickup times with you for each day. The rest of the evening is yours.
Overnight: Cairo
Included visits: None
Meals: None
Important notes: Airport pickup is included whatever time you arrive.
Breakfast at the hotel, then out to Giza with your guide. You start at the Great Pyramid of Khufu, work along the line to Khafre and Menkaure, and stop at the panorama point where all three sit in one frame. The Sphinx follows, at the end of Khafre's causeway. Lunch is at a local restaurant nearby. The afternoon belongs to the Grand Egyptian Museum, where the full Tutankhamun collection is on display in two dedicated galleries. Back at the hotel by early evening.
Overnight: Cairo
Included visits: Great Pyramid, Khafre and Menkaure pyramids, Sphinx, Grand Egyptian Museum
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Optional experiences: Entry inside one of the pyramids; camel or horse ride across the plateau; Saqqara and Memphis as a half-day extension
Important notes: The GEM runs on timed entry and needs a solid two hours. There is almost no shade at Giza — bring a hat and water.
The flight south is an early one, which means checking out and leaving the hotel while it is still dark. Your guide meets you at Luxor airport and takes you to your hotel to drop bags — the room may not be ready that early, but you can change and leave luggage at reception. Sightseeing starts on the West Bank. Three tombs in the Valley of the Kings come first, then Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari, and finally the Colossi of Memnon on the road back. Lunch is included. You check into the hotel properly in the afternoon with the evening free.
Overnight: Luxor
Included visits: Valley of the Kings (three tombs), Temple of Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Optional experiences: Sound and light show at Karnak after dark; dawn hot-air balloon over the West Bank the following morning; the tombs of Tutankhamun and Seti I, ticketed separately
Important notes: Pickup is around 3:30 to 4:00 am for a 6:00 am departure, so the first day in Luxor is a long one. Breakfast is usually taken as a packed box from the hotel. Closed shoes are worth wearing — uneven ground and warm, still air in the tombs.
Breakfast at the hotel, then Karnak, which needs a couple of hours and is best done before the heat builds. Luxor Temple follows on the corniche. Lunch is included, and you check out afterwards. Your flight to Cairo is a late one, so the rest of the afternoon and early evening are free — reception will hold your bags, and Luxor's corniche, souk and museum are all walkable from the central hotels. Your driver collects you in good time for the airport, and a representative meets you on arrival in Cairo to take you to your hotel.
Overnight: Cairo
Included visits: Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Optional experiences: A guided half-day extension to Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum to fill the afternoon; a felucca hour on the river; late checkout at the Luxor hotel, subject to a fee
Important notes: The Cairo flight departs around 10:00 pm and lands close to 11:00 pm, so you reach your hotel around midnight. Dinner is not included on this day — eat in Luxor before the transfer.
Breakfast at your hotel, then free time until your transfer. Late checkout can usually be arranged for a fee if you fly in the evening, and reception will hold your luggage if you would rather check out and spend the last hours in the city. Your driver collects you with enough margin for Cairo traffic and airport queues, and your representative walks you through to departures.
Included visits: None
Meals: Breakfast
Important notes: Allow three hours before an international departure.
What's Included
- Airport meet-and-greet by our representative on arrival and departure
- Guest relations support on call for the length of your stay
- Private air-conditioned vehicle for every transfer and tour
- Return domestic flights, Cairo to Luxor and Luxor to Cairo
- Three nights in Cairo on a bed-and-breakfast basis
- One night in Luxor, breakfast included
- Sightseeing throughout runs privately, just your party and your guide
- Licensed English-speaking Egyptologist on all tours
- Entrance tickets to every site named in the itinerary
- Meals as set out day by day below
- Bottled water whenever you are away from the hotel
- Porterage at hotels and airports
- All service charges and applicable taxes
Not Included
- International airfare.
- Entry visa to Egypt.
- Any optional tours.
- Personal spending.
- Tipping.
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