8 Days Cairo, Aswan, Luxor and Fayoum Tour Package

After breakfast at your hotel, meet your private Egyptologist guide for one of the main sightseeing days of your 8-day Egypt tour. You will explore the Giza Plateau and Saqqara, visit the Grand Egyptian Museum, and then fly south to Aswan.

Giza Pyramids Complex:

Explore the Giza Plateau, home to the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Your guide will explain the history of these royal pyramid complexes and their place in the development of monumental architecture during Egypt’s Old Kingdom.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu:

See the Great Pyramid of Khufu, originally about 146.5 meters high and the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World. Built during Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty, it remains the largest of the three main pyramids at Giza.

The Great Sphinx:

Continue to the Great Sphinx, the monumental limestone figure with the body of a lion and the head of a king. Located beside Khafre’s pyramid complex, the Sphinx is one of the most recognizable monuments on the Giza Plateau.

After exploring Giza, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before continuing to Saqqara.

Step Pyramid of Saqqara:

Visit the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, one of the earliest monumental stone structures in ancient Egypt. Built during the Third Dynasty and associated with the architect Imhotep, the complex represents an important stage in the development of pyramid construction.

Grand Egyptian Museum:

Continue to the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Plateau. Explore galleries and monumental displays covering different periods of ancient Egyptian history, including the collection associated with King Tutankhamun.

After completing your sightseeing, transfer to Cairo International Airport for your flight to Aswan. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your selected hotel for check-in and an overnight stay in Aswan.

After breakfast at your hotel, meet your Egyptologist guide and begin a private tour of Aswan’s main highlights before traveling north to Luxor later in the day.

Philae Temple:

Take a boat to the Philae temple complex on Agilkia Island. The site is best known for its Temple of Isis and includes monuments dating mainly to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The temples were relocated from their original island during the international campaign to protect Nubian monuments from rising waters.

After your visit, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before continuing your sightseeing in Aswan.

The Unfinished Obelisk:

Visit the ancient granite quarries to see the Unfinished Obelisk, believed to have been commissioned during the reign of Hatshepsut. Work was abandoned after flaws and fissures appeared in the stone. Had it been completed, the obelisk would have stood around 42 meters high, giving visitors a useful insight into how enormous stone monuments were quarried and shaped.

Aswan High Dam:

Continue to the Aswan High Dam, one of Egypt’s major modern engineering projects. The dam transformed flood control and water management along the Nile, supported irrigation and electricity generation, and created Lake Nasser to the south of Aswan.

Later, transfer to Aswan railway station and board your first-class train to Luxor. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your selected hotel for check-in and an overnight stay in Luxor.

After breakfast at your hotel, meet your private Egyptologist guide and begin a full-day tour of Luxor’s East and West Banks before flying back to Cairo.

Karnak Temple:

Begin at the Karnak Temple Complex on Luxor’s East Bank, one of ancient Egypt’s most important religious centers. Developed over many centuries, the complex includes temples, chapels, obelisks, monumental gateways, and the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 134 massive columns.

After visiting Karnak, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before crossing to Luxor’s West Bank.

Hatshepsut Temple:

Visit the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, built for the Eighteenth Dynasty queen who became pharaoh. Set against the cliffs of the Theban mountains, the temple rises across three terraced levels and preserves reliefs connected with Hatshepsut’s reign, including her expedition to the land of Punt.

Valley of the Kings:

Continue to the Valley of the Kings, the royal burial ground used by rulers of Egypt’s New Kingdom. More than 60 tombs are known in the valley, many decorated with religious texts and scenes connected with the king’s journey into the afterlife.

Colossi of Memnon:

Stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two enormous seated statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III that once stood at the entrance to his mortuary temple. Each statue rises approximately 18 meters above the West Bank landscape.

After completing your Luxor sightseeing, transfer to Luxor International Airport for your flight to Cairo. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your selected hotel for check-in and an overnight stay.

After breakfast at your hotel, meet your Egyptologist guide for a day exploring different periods of Cairo’s history, from ancient Egyptian collections to the monuments and streets of Islamic Cairo.

The Egyptian Museum:

Begin at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, opened in 1902 and home to an extensive collection spanning ancient Egyptian history. Important displays include the burial collections of Yuya and Thuya, the treasures of Tanis, the Narmer Palette, royal statues, papyri, sarcophagi, and jewelry.

After the museum, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before continuing to the Citadel.

Salah El-Din Citadel:

Visit the historic Citadel of Salah El-Din, established in the late twelfth century as part of Cairo’s defenses. Its elevated position and later monuments reflect several centuries of the city’s political and architectural history.

Muhammad Ali Mosque:

Inside the Citadel, visit the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, one of Cairo’s most recognizable Ottoman-style landmarks. Its large central dome, slender minarets, courtyard, and interior decoration make it one of the principal monuments within the Citadel complex.

Al-Muizz Street:

Continue to Al-Muizz Street in historic Cairo, where mosques, madrasas, houses, and other monuments from different periods of Islamic history line one of the city’s most important historic streets.

Khan El Khalili Bazaar:

Finish your sightseeing around Khan El Khalili, the historic market district beside Islamic Cairo. Walk through its narrow streets and browse shops selling crafts, jewelry, spices, lamps, and souvenirs before returning to your hotel for the night.

After breakfast, leave Cairo and travel southwest with your guide toward Fayoum. The Fayoum section gives this 8-day Egypt itinerary a different character, shifting from major cities and archaeological sites to lakes, desert landscapes, and an overnight camping experience.

Lake Qarun:

Begin at Lake Qarun, a natural lake in the Fayoum Depression and the surviving remnant of the much larger ancient Lake Moeris. The lake and surrounding protected area form one of Fayoum’s most distinctive landscapes, where water, agricultural land, and desert meet.

Wadi El Rayan:

Continue to Wadi El Rayan Protected Area, known for its lakes, sand dunes, desert scenery, wildlife, and fossil-rich landscapes. The two main lakes are connected by a waterfall area, creating one of Fayoum’s best-known natural settings.

Fayoum Water Wheels:

See Fayoum’s traditional water wheels, locally known as saqia, a feature closely associated with the oasis and its agricultural landscape. These water-lifting systems have long been used within the area’s network of canals and farmland.

Later, continue into the desert and settle into your camp for the night. Enjoy dinner at the camp and spend the evening away from Cairo before visiting Wadi El Hitan the following morning.

After breakfast at the desert camp, continue through Fayoum to Wadi El Hitan. For travelers choosing an Egypt tour with Fayoum, the Valley of the Whales is one of the main reasons this route offers something different from a conventional Cairo and Upper Egypt itinerary.

Wadi El Hitan (Valley of the Whales):

Explore Wadi El Hitan, or the Valley of the Whales, a UNESCO World Heritage Site within the Wadi El Rayan Protected Area. The desert valley preserves exceptional fossils of early whales dating back roughly 40 million years, when this part of Egypt was covered by an ancient sea.

The fossils are especially important because they document a major stage in whale evolution from land-based ancestors to fully marine mammals. Some of the early whale skeletons retain evidence of hind limbs, helping scientists understand this transition in remarkable detail.

After exploring Wadi El Hitan, begin the drive back to Cairo. Upon arrival, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before transferring to your selected hotel for check-in and an overnight stay.

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel, then check out and meet our representative for your private transfer to Cairo International Airport. You will receive assistance with the departure procedures before your flight home.

Your Cairo, Aswan, Luxor and Fayoum tour comes to an end after eight days combining the pyramids and museums of Cairo, the archaeological sites of Aswan and Luxor, and the contrasting landscapes of Fayoum, including Wadi El Rayan, desert camping, and Wadi El Hitan.

Day 1 begins with arrival in Cairo and a Nile River dinner cruise. Day 2 visits the Giza Pyramids Complex, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Great Sphinx, the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, and the Grand Egyptian Museum before flying to Aswan. Day 3 visits Philae Temple, the Unfinished Obelisk, and the Aswan High Dam before the train to Luxor. Day 4 covers Karnak Temple, Hatshepsut Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and the Colossi of Memnon before flying to Cairo. Day 5 visits the Egyptian Museum, Salah El-Din Citadel, Muhammad Ali Mosque, Al-Muizz Street, and Khan El Khalili Bazaar. Day 6 explores Lake Qarun, Wadi El Rayan, and the Fayoum Water Wheels before desert camping. Day 7 visits Wadi El Hitan before returning to Cairo. Day 8 concludes with departure.