Ancient Egypt in a week: the sites, the order and how far they are
Ancient Egypt has three centres for visitors: Cairo and Giza (the pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Saqqara), Luxor (the Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Hatshepsut, Dendera and Abydos) and Aswan (Philae, Abu Simbel). From the Red Sea resorts, Cairo is a day by coach or plane and Luxor a day by private car. Two days in Cairo and two in Luxor cover the essentials; a week adds Alexandria, the Fayoum and the Nile road to Aswan.
Cairo and Giza: two days
Day one is the Giza plateau (Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure, the Sphinx) and the Grand Egyptian Museum with the complete Tutankhamun collection two kilometres away. Day two is the city: the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir or the royal mummies at the NMEC, the Citadel of Saladin, Coptic Cairo and Khan El Khalili. A third day goes to Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur for the origin of the pyramids, or to Alexandria, or to the Fayoum.
Luxor: two days
Day one is both banks: the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi in the morning, Karnak and Luxor Temple in the afternoon. Day two is either Dendera and Abydos (the two most complete temples in Egypt) or the great tombs (Seti I, Tutankhamun, the Valley of the Queens). Mornings start with the balloon; evenings with a felucca or the Sound and Light Show at Karnak.
From the Red Sea
Hurghada, El Gouna, Makadi, Soma Bay and Safaga are 3 to 4 hours from Luxor by private car and 5.5 to 6 hours from Cairo by coach (one hour by plane). Sharm El Sheikh is 6.5 to 7 hours from Cairo by coach through the Suez tunnel, or an hour by plane; Luxor from Sharm is by plane via Cairo. Marsa Alam and El Quseir reach Luxor in 4 to 4.5 hours and Cairo by plane. Every day trip returns the same night.
Distances
| From | To | Road | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo | Giza | 12 km | 30–45 min |
| Cairo | Saqqara | 30 km | 45–60 min |
| Cairo | Alexandria | 220 km | 2.5–3 h |
| Cairo | Fayoum | 100 km | 1.5–2 h |
| Hurghada | Cairo | 460 km | 5.5–6 h coach, 1 h flight |
| Hurghada | Luxor | 280 km | 3.5–4 h car |
| Sharm El Sheikh | Cairo | 500 km | 6.5–7 h coach, 1 h flight |
| Luxor | Dendera | 60 km | 1 h |
| Luxor | Abydos | 160 km | 2.5 h |
| Luxor | Aswan | 220 km | 3 h direct, 10 h with the temples |
When to go
October to April is the season: 20 to 28 °C by day, cool nights, clear mornings for the balloon. May to September is hot (38 to 42 °C in Luxor) but workable with early starts; prices are lower and the sites emptier. Ramadan changes nothing at the sites; evening tours are shorter.
Tickets and guides
Every site sells tickets at the gate in EGP or by card; our tours include them. A licensed Egyptologist guide is the difference between looking at walls and reading them: guides carry a Ministry of Tourism ID and most have a degree in Egyptology. Private guides speak English; German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Russian on request.