How Many Days in Egypt? Itineraries for 4, 5, 8 and 10 Days

How many days in Egypt depends on how far south you go. Eight days is enough for the essentials: Cairo and Giza, then Luxor and Aswan with a Nile cruise between them. Here is what fits in each length, with the programmes we run for it.

4 days: Cairo and Giza

The pyramids and the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the step pyramid at Saqqara and the old city. It is a full short break without flights. See our Cairo short breaks and Discover Cairo Like Never Before, or every programme of up to 4 days.

5 days: Cairo and Luxor

Two days in Cairo, then a short flight to Luxor for Karnak, Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings. 5 Days Trip to Egypt- Cairo and Luxor is built this way. Our Luxor guide explains what the two days cover.

8 days: the essentials, with a Nile cruise

The classic shape: Cairo and Giza, a flight to Luxor, four nights on the Nile to Aswan, stopping at Edfu and Kom Ombo, and a flight back to Cairo. Pyramids and Nile Escape Program follows it, and Classic Egypt tours vary it. See all 5 to 8-day programmes.

10 days or more

Add the temples of Abu Simbel, Alexandria, a night in the White Desert, or days on the Red Sea: From the Red Sea to the Nile ends a Nile trip by the sea. See programmes of 9 days or more.

An 8-day plan, day by day

1. Day 1: Arrive in Cairo. Met at the airport and taken to the hotel.
2. Day 2: Giza. The pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, the Sphinx, and the Grand Egyptian Museum in the afternoon.
3. Day 3: Fly to Luxor. Board the Nile cruise; Karnak and Luxor Temple in the afternoon.
4. Day 4: Luxor's West Bank. The Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, then sail south.
5. Day 5: Edfu and Kom Ombo. Two temples on the river, sailing on to Aswan.
6. Day 6: Aswan. The High Dam, Philae Temple and a felucca in the afternoon.
7. Day 7: Fly to Cairo. With an optional dawn trip to Abu Simbel first.
8. Day 8: Depart.

Getting between the cities

• Cairo to Luxor or Aswan: about an hour by plane, which is how most programmes travel. There is also an overnight sleeper train.
• Luxor to Aswan: by Nile cruise over three or four nights, or about three hours by road.
• Aswan to Abu Simbel: about three hours by road each way, or a short flight.
• Cairo to the Red Sea: about an hour by plane to Hurghada, or around five hours by road.

How to decide

• First visit: 8 days, with a Nile cruise.
• A stopover: 4 days in Cairo.
• Time of year: read the best time to visit Egypt, and a summer trip is better kept short in the south.
• Pace: every one of our programmes is private, so a rest day or a slower morning can be added to any of them.
• Arrival and departure days: count them. A late arrival on day one and an early flight on the last day leave six full days in an eight-day trip.

Common mistakes

• Too little time in Luxor. One day is not enough for both banks of the river.
• Abu Simbel squeezed in. It is a long day from Aswan; plan it as its own morning.
• Nothing between the flights. An evening at leisure after a flight keeps the next morning's early start easy.

Cover: The three pyramids of Giza. Photo: Ricardo Liberato / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.