Classic Egypt in 8 Days: Cairo and the Nile by Train

Breakfast at the hotel, then out to Giza with your guide. You begin at the Great Pyramid of Khufu and work along to Khafre and Menkaure, with time at the panorama point where all three sit in one frame. The Valley Temple follows, built of granite and alabaster, then the Sphinx at the end of Khafre's causeway. Lunch is at a local restaurant. The afternoon goes to the Grand Egyptian Museum two kilometres east, where the complete Tutankhamun assemblage now sits in two purpose-built galleries: 5,398 objects from a single tomb, together for the first time since Howard Carter cleared it in 1922. You transfer to the railway station in the evening for the sleeper train to Aswan, with dinner served in your cabin.

Overnight: Sleeper train
Included visits: Great Pyramid, Khafre and Menkaure pyramids, Valley Temple, Sphinx, Grand Egyptian Museum
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: Entry inside one of the pyramids; camel or horse ride across the plateau
Important notes: The GEM runs on timed entry and needs two hours minimum. There is almost no shade at Giza — hat and water. Cabins are compact, so pack an overnight bag and let the rest of your luggage travel stowed.

The train reaches Aswan in the morning and your representative meets you on the platform, then drives you to the ship. You board and have lunch. Sightseeing follows: a motorboat crossing to Agilkia Island for Philae Temple, dedicated to Isis and rebuilt block by block here when the dams raised the water, then the Unfinished Obelisk, still lying in the granite quarry where a flaw opened along its length with the ancient tool marks legible on the stone. Dinner is on board.

Overnight: On board in Aswan
Included visits: Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: Abu Simbel by road or short flight, booked in advance; a felucca sail around Elephantine Island at sunset; the Nubian villages by motorboat
Important notes: Philae involves a short boat crossing at each end.

Breakfast is served on board as the ship sails north to Kom Ombo. You go ashore for the double temple, which stands directly above the riverbank and is unusual for being built in mirrored halves: one for Sobek the crocodile god, the other for Haroeris, Horus the Elder, each with its own sanctuary, doorways and processional route. Lunch is back on board as the ship continues towards Edfu, with dinner and the evening entertainment following.

Overnight: On board
Included visits: Temple of Sobek and Haroeris at Kom Ombo
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast a horse-drawn carriage takes you from the mooring into Edfu for the Temple of Horus — roof intact, enclosure walls intact, the most complete pharaonic building standing anywhere in Egypt, with the Horus and Seth story carved in sequence along the inner walls. The ship sails north for Luxor with lunch under way and the Esna lock crossing in the afternoon. Dinner on board is followed by a belly dance performance.

Overnight: On board in Luxor
Included visits: Temple of Horus at Edfu
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Important notes: Small notes are useful for the carriage drivers at Edfu. The lock crossing is slow and worth watching from the deck.

Breakfast on board, then disembarkation with your luggage. Karnak comes first, which needs a couple of hours and is best done before the heat builds, then Luxor Temple on the corniche. Lunch follows, and you cross to the West Bank in the afternoon for three tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's terraced mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari, and the two seated Colossi of Memnon. You transfer to Luxor station in the evening for the sleeper train to Cairo, with dinner in your cabin.

Overnight: Sleeper train
Included visits: Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: Dawn hot-air balloon over the West Bank, before disembarkation; the tombs of Tutankhamun and Seti I, ticketed separately
Important notes: The fullest day of the trip, and a long one — both banks plus a night departure. Uneven ground and warm, still air inside the tombs, so closed shoes are worth wearing. Reception will hold your bags between the tour and the train.

Breakfast is served on the train before it reaches Giza station in the morning. Your representative meets you and drives you to your hotel, with early check-in arranged where the hotel can manage it. The day is otherwise free. If you would rather use it, Saqqara and Memphis make a natural half-day: Djoser's Step Pyramid is the earliest large stone building in Egypt and the model everything at Giza was built from.

Overnight: Cairo
Included visits: None
Meals: Breakfast
Optional experiences: Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur as a half-day tour; Coptic and Islamic Cairo with Khan el-Khalili; a Nile dinner cruise
Important notes: Early check-in depends on availability and is not guaranteed. Lunch and dinner are not included today.

Breakfast at your hotel, then checkout and 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 spend the last hours in the city. Your driver collects you with enough margin for Cairo traffic and airport queues.

Included visits: None
Meals: Breakfast
Important notes: Allow three hours before an international departure.