Egypt – The Ultimate Guide to planning your epic Egypt trip

How to do Egypt?

Before I started researching on visiting Egypt, my impression of Egypt is really just mummies, tombs and pyramids (thanks to Brendan Fraser).

But Egypt is so much, much more than just that. It has so much to offer more than just the stereotypical pyramids and tombs.

And I will show you why and how from this itinerary.

Here is a cheat sheet of my painstaking research into this trip. This page covers some of the most interesting places you can go in Egypt as a tourist. If I do miss anything, feel free to leave a comment or PM me.

Brief overview of Egypt

So, first up, how to decide what you want to cover in Egypt.

These are the main things to explore in Egypt:

Cairo, Alexandria – Pyramids, temples and tombs
Luxor to Aswan (along the Nile River) – More temples and tombs, villages (You can take the Nile cruise to easily explore all the main sights)
Hurghada, the Red Sea – Luxury hotels, beach, diving, snorkeling, sea activities
Sahara Desert – Camping, campfire, stargazing, 4WD ride
Siwa Oasis – Salt lake
Mount Sinai/ Dahab – Hiking and beach

A typical tour group will cover Cairo, Luxor to Aswan and Hurghada. It is quite rare for them to do items 4-6 as not every tour agency can or are willing to do it. But if you have time and you are not following a group, I highly recommend that you try 4 and 5, as some of the highlights of my trip and my most memorable experiences are from these places.

Cairo

So the main stuff first. Cairo is the capital of Egypt, where most of your flights will land, and where the last standing original seven wonders – Giza Pyramids (the iconic Pyramid in all Egypt pamphlets) is located. There are lots of things you can explore in Cairo, here are a few of the most iconic ones.

Giza pyramids
Great Sphinx
The Egyptian Museum
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization – Royal Mummies Hall
Khan el-Khalili – A popular local bazaar
Citadel of Saladin, Mosque of Mohammad Ali
Step Pyramid of Djoser
The Hanging Church, Coptic Cairo, St. George’s Church
Grand Egyptian Museum (Opening in 2023)

Alexandria

Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa
Citadel of Qaitbay
Montaza Palace
Abu al-Abbas Mosque

Nile Cruise (4D3N or 5D4N)/ Train or Car

East bank of Luxor
- Karnak Temple
- Luxor Temple, Avenue of Sphinxes

West bank of Luxor
- Valley of Kings
- Valley of the Queens
- Temple of Hatshepsut
- Colossi of Memnon
- Alabaster Factories
Esna Locks
Temple of Horus at Edfu (Horse Carriage)
Kom Ombo aka Temple of Sobek and Horus
Isis Temple aka Philae Temple
Nubiah Village
Felucca boat to see sunset
Aswan Dam
Unfinished Obelisk
Abu Simbel
Events on the Cruise

Most of ancient Egypt’s temples and tombs are built along the Nile. The cruise will take you along the Nile, stopping at the main sights and attractions for you to explore. This is a fun and relaxing way to explore, but you can also opt to take the train or car if you prefer.

Sahara Desert

Sandboarding
Black white desert, crystal mountain
Campfire, camping at Sahara desert
Stargazing
Possible baby fox sightings

You will take a 4WD to explore different places in the desert, and end the day camping in the desert. Everything will be prepared for you: car, tent, food and all. The sunset is amazing. The night sky is absolutely breathtaking. Easily one of my favourite places in Egypt. After a hectic and busy city life, the desert gives you a lot of peace and quiet, pitch black without all the light pollution for the stars to shine. And if you’re lucky, you might just see a fox!

Hurghada (The Red Sea)

Luxury all-inclusive hotels
Water activities – Diving, snorkeling, glass boat
Lounge at the beach

A laid back beach town, with beautiful turquoise water. It is more affordable than other beach towns in EU/US, as such you will see a lot of Americans/Europeans living here for 1-2 months just to chill.

There are all kinds of water activities you can do here: Diving (chance to see dolphins!), snorkeling, party boat, parasailing, and for those who want to stay dry: glass boat, lounging at the beach. This is also a popular place for people to get their diving certification.

Siwa

Salt lake
Fatnas Island – To view sunset and try local dates drink
Natural hot spring
Salt cave
Shali old town
Local market
Fresh water lake
Sandboarding
Dinner and optional camping at desert
Stargazing in desert

A less-known place, but absolutely a hidden gem in Egypt. Just look at the list above to understand. If you got the time and in for the adventure, visit here.

Marsa Matruh

Seafood
Mediterranean Sea views

Usually done as a stop on the way to Siwa. It’s a small town with lots of fresh seafood and beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea.

Dandara and Abydos

Temple of Seti I (Abydos)
Temple of Hathor (Dandara)

These are less well-known temples, but they are also the most well-preserved temple in Egypt. This is usually done as a day trip from Luxor. Abydos is about a 3 hours drive from Luxor, and Dandara is on the way from Luxor to Abydos. If you have time, hate crowds and love history, archeology and mythology, you can set aside a day for this place.

Mount Sinai

Hiking the mountain that Moses received the ten commandments

I didn’t do this and wouldn’t advise you to, due to the terrorism activities in North Sinai.

Dahab

Another beach town like Hurghada
Casino

I didn’t do this and wouldn’t advise you to, due to the terrorism activities in North Sinai. Although some say its relatively safe to fly in to Sharm El-Sheikh (the main airport in Sinai) and visit Dahab and Mount Sinai from there, but I just decided to avoid the whole Sinai Peninsula entirely.

How to plan your days

A good plan would be to do the adventurous and “difficult” activities/places first, and then leave Hurghada to the last few days. Cairo and the Nile Cruise involves all the historical stuff, so there’s a lot of walking, sometimes under a very hot sun if you are going during summer. Siwa is a far journey. And the desert… well, it’s camping with minimal facilities, so you don’t get your down feather pillows and hot baths.

So imagine doing all of those, then end off your trip with a bang, chilling in a 5-star luxury hotel in Hurghada(which by the way is super affordable compared to the rest of the world). Do note though, if you are planning to dive in Hurghada, leave some time (~24 hours to be safe) to recover before your flight home.

My schedule was to do Siwa first, because the moment we touch down in Egypt, we could sleep in the car in our long journey to Siwa. But this is not for everyone as some may find this a little too long because if you include your flight, you would spend 10-20 hours traveling. An alternative would be to explore Cairo first, then Siwa.

The Nile Cruises sail on fixed days on the week. If you have a particular cruise that you want to take, make sure to check their sailing dates. Generally, if you want to do North to South, it is 5D4N (5 days 4 nights), and the sailing days are Saturdays and Mondays. Tuesdays and Thursdays are rarer and expensive. If you want to do South to North, it is 4D3N, and the sailing days are Wednesdays and Fridays. Mondays and Saturdays are rarer and more expensive. A good rule of thumb is to plan your cruise first before anything else in your trip because the dates are fixed.

I arranged my itinerary such that I can alternate between the rural and civilization to keep things exciting and fresh. So Siwa(rural), Cairo(city), Sahara Desert(rural), Hurghada(city), Nile cruise(modern). If you like to chill, spend a few more days in Hurghada to recuperate.

Note the time required to travel to different places. Here is a rough illustration

My itinerary wasn’t the most optimized, because of my traveling dates and my oh-so-many stubborn requirements. I wanted to visit the desert on a moonless night(for the best starry night experience), and I wanted to visit two deserts. If I were to do something differently, it is to plan a 4D3N Nile Cruise instead of 5D4N, and spend more time in Hurghada. I would also put Hurghada on the last part of my trip.

Itinerary

While I was there, I covered items 1-5 in two weeks. Here is how I plan my trip:

Extras

You don’t have to do all these, but to make your trip more fun and meaningful:

Learn the numbers. If you are gonna take Uber, you HAVE to learn 0 to 9 to read the number plates.
Learn a bit of basic mythology, or watch some movies, like Moon Knight, Death on the Nile, Cleopatra etc.
If you are a language freak like me, learn some basic greetings or even better, the Arabic alphabets.
I make it a point to learn how to read and speak a little of the language to whichever country I go to, to better immerse in the culture. I use Duolingo for this. Arabic is written from right to left, and has only 28 alphabets.
Learn about the common scams and tricks in Egypt, take everything with a pinch of salt and be constantly vigilant.