Yes. Children aged 4 to 11 pay the child price and under 4 travel free on a parent's lap. Strollers are fine at the pyramids and the museums; tombs have stairs. Tell us the ages in the booking so we plan the pace.

How and when do I pay?

You book without a card. You pay on the day of the tour in EUR (or the equivalent in EGP or USD) to the guide, or by bank transfer in advance if you prefer. Flight options need the flight paid 72 hours before travel; we send a link.

What is the cancellation policy?

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup, 48 hours for tours that include a flight. Balloon flights cancelled by Civil Aviation for wind are refunded in full.

Fayoum

Whale Valley (Wadi El Hitan) and Wadi El Rayan Private Tour from Cairo

40-million-year-old whale skeletons in the open desert, a UNESCO site, and the waterfalls on the way back.

4.9(62+)UNESCO sitePrivate car

Duration

11 h

Group

Private

Pickup

07:00

From your hotel

Cairo

Min. age

Any age

Tickets

Included

In short

An 11-hour private day trip from Cairo to Wadi El Hitan, the Valley of the Whales (UNESCO World Heritage since 2005), where the skeletons of Basilosaurus and Dorudon lie in the sand 40 million years after the sea retreated, plus the Wadi El Rayan waterfalls and lunch in the Fayoum oasis. Guide, private car, 4x4 in the protectorate and all fees, 110 EUR per adult.

Prices by departure city

Adult and child (4–11) per person, entry tickets included. Choose your row in the booking box.

From Cairo and Giza hotels
private car11 hours
Pickup
07:00
Back
18:00
€110Adult€65 · Child

Departure	Transport	Pickup	Back	Duration	Adult	Child
From Cairo and Giza hotels	private car	07:00	18:00	11 hours	€110	€65

Highlights

Basilosaurus and Dorudon

Whale skeletons with hind legs, in situ in the sand.

Fossils and Climate Change Museum

A complete 18 m Basilosaurus.

Wadi El Rayan waterfalls

On the way back.

Private car and 4x4

About this tour

Wadi El Hitan is the best place on earth to see how whales moved from land to sea: skeletons with hind legs, walrus-sized ancestors, sharks' teeth in the sandstone. The site is 150 km from Cairo and reached by a desert track; the fossil museum is small and excellent.

Pickup at 07:00. Two hours to the Fayoum oasis and a further hour on the desert track through Wadi El Rayan into the fossil valley. A 3 km walking trail leads past the excavated skeletons in the open: Basilosaurus 18 m long, Dorudon, the mangrove roots and the sharks' teeth. The Fossils and Climate Change Museum shows a complete Basilosaurus.

Lunch is a picnic in the shade at the visitor centre or at a garden restaurant in Tunis village, depending on the season.

On the way back, the Wadi El Rayan waterfalls and the lower lake for birds and photographs. Back in Cairo about 18:00.

Itinerary

07:00
Pickup from your Cairo hotel
09:00
Fayoum oasis, into Wadi El Rayan
10:15
Wadi El Hitan walking trail
About 2 hours with the guide.
12:30
Fossil museum
13:15
Lunch
14:30
Wadi El Rayan waterfalls
15:45
Drive back to Cairo
Hotels by about 18:00.

What is included

Private guide
Private air-conditioned car
4x4 on the desert track
Protectorate and museum fees
Lunch
Bottled water

About the tickets: Protectorate fees, the fossil museum, the 4x4 track and lunch are included.

Not included

Drinks
Tips

Good for

Natural-history lovers
Families with school-age children
Guests who want a day of open desert

Not ideal for

Guests with walking difficulties (the trail is 3 km on sand)

What to bring

Closed walking shoes
Hat, sunscreen, sunglasses
A litre of water per person in summer (we carry more)
Camera

Sites you visit

Fayoum

Waterfalls in the desert, dunes, a salt lake and the Valley of the Whales.

Questions about this tour

Yes. Forty million years ago this was a shallow sea. The skeletons of Basilosaurus and Dorudon, early whales with small hind legs, were found here in hundreds and are left where they lay.