Egypt 12-Day Luxury Private Tour

Welcome to Egypt. Your representative meets you at Cairo Airport and your private driver takes you to your hotel, where you can settle in and rest after the flight. Nothing is planned today, so take the evening gently. If you arrive in good time, a quiet dinner overlooking the Nile is an easy way to begin. Your local team is on hand for anything you need, and your Egyptologist will be in touch to go over tomorrow’s plans.

Meet your private Egyptologist after breakfast and start early at the Pyramids of Giza, before the heat and the crowds. Walk around the Great Pyramid of Khufu, take in the view of all three pyramids from the desert plateau, and stand in front of the Great Sphinx. Later, a drive of about 40 minutes brings you to Saqqara and the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the oldest of Egypt’s pyramids, with finely carved tombs nearby. You are back at the hotel by mid-afternoon for a swim or a rest.

After a relaxed breakfast your driver takes you north along the desert road to Alexandria, about three hours with a coffee stop on the way. Founded by Alexander the Great, the city faces the sea and has a softer, Mediterranean feel. Check in and have lunch, then visit the Citadel of Qaitbay, built in the 15th century on the site of the ancient Pharos lighthouse. Walk out along the harbour wall and end the day with fresh fish on the Corniche as the sun goes down.

Start at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the modern library that honors the famous ancient one. Its great tilted reading hall is a striking space, and the small museums inside hold manuscripts and antiquities. After a break for lunch, your guide takes you to the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, a Roman-era tomb where Egyptian gods appear in Greek and Roman dress, and to Pompey’s Pillar nearby. Late afternoon is free for the hotel or a slow walk along the seafront. The library is closed on Fridays, so we plan your Alexandria days around it.

Take the morning slowly. If you like, your driver can stop at the gardens of Montaza Palace, the old royal summer estate by the sea, before you head back to Cairo, about three hours. This time you stay close to Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum. The afternoon is free to rest by the pool, book a massage or simply enjoy the view. It is a good pause between the coast and the busier days in the south.

Spend an unhurried day at the Grand Egyptian Museum with your Egyptologist. The grand staircase is lined with colossal statues, and the galleries hold the complete treasures of Tutankhamun, shown together for the first time, including his gold mask and chariots. Take a long lunch on site, then continue with the halls that interest you most. There is no need to see everything. In the evening, dinner with a view of the pyramids is a fitting end to your time in Cairo.

A morning flight of about an hour brings you to Luxor. Board your Nile cruise and settle into your cabin over lunch. In the afternoon your guide takes you to Karnak, a vast complex of temples built over two thousand years, where the columns of the great hypostyle hall rise above you like a stone forest. Finish at Luxor Temple as the floodlights come on, then return to the ship for dinner on board.

Cross to the west bank early, while it is cool, for the Valley of the Kings. Your ticket covers several royal tombs, and the painted walls are still bright after more than three thousand years. Continue to the terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut and stop at the Colossi of Memnon on the way back. Lunch is on board, and in the afternoon the ship sets sail. Find a lounger on the sundeck and watch farms, palm groves and villages slide past along the riverbank.

In the morning visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the best preserved temple in Egypt, with its tall pylon and dark, quiet sanctuary. Back on board, the ship continues south while you rest over lunch. In the late afternoon you stop at Kom Ombo, a temple set right on the riverbank and shared by two gods, Sobek the crocodile and Horus the falcon. You reach Aswan in the evening. Visit times follow the cruise schedule.

Instead of the long desert road, a short morning flight of about 45 minutes takes you from Aswan to Abu Simbel. Your guide meets you there for the great temple of Ramesses II, its four colossal statues facing the sunrise, and the smaller temple of Queen Nefertari beside it, both moved to higher ground when Lake Nasser was created. Fly back to Aswan around midday for lunch on board. Late in the afternoon, a felucca sail around the islands, included in your tour, is a lovely way to end the day.

After breakfast, leave the ship and take a small boat to Philae, the island temple of Isis, rescued from the rising waters of the Nile and rebuilt stone by stone. It is one of the most graceful places in Egypt. In the afternoon you fly back to Cairo, about an hour and a quarter, for your final night. If you still have energy, the lanes and lamps of Khan el-Khalili are at their best in the evening.

Enjoy a last breakfast at your hotel. Depending on your flight time, there may be a little time to relax before your private driver takes you to Cairo Airport. On the way you may catch the Citadel’s domes and minarets on the skyline. We say goodbye there and hope you leave with the Mediterranean, the Nile and the temples of the south still fresh in your mind.