7 Days in Egypt: A Luxury Itinerary, Day by Day

A good 7 days in Egypt itinerary spends 2 nights in Cairo for the pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, flies to Aswan, sails 3 nights to Luxor on a five-star cruise by way of Kom Ombo and Edfu, then flies back for a last night in Cairo. Add an eighth day and the cruise runs 4 nights the other way, from Luxor to Aswan.

The 7 days in Egypt itinerary at a glance

The plan below follows the site's journey Cairo and the Nile in Style, 7 Days: Cairo first, then the Nile northward from Aswan to Luxor, then Cairo again for the flight home. You change beds only twice: from the Cairo hotel to the ship on day 3, and from the ship back to Cairo on day 6.

Days 1 and 2: Cairo and Giza

Day 1 is the arrival. A representative waits at passport control with your name on a sign, and a private, air-conditioned car takes you to the hotel. The journey proposes The St. Regis Cairo, with the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza or the Marriott Mena House as alternatives; the Mena House is the one that stands by the pyramids.

Day 2 belongs to Giza. With a private guide you see the pyramids, the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple, then go on to the Grand Egyptian Museum with the same guide. The museum opened to the public on 4 November 2025, and its Tutankhamun galleries show the complete collection, more than 5,000 objects, together for the first time since the tomb was found in 1922. How to plan that visit is covered in a private visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum. If the older Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square matters more to you, the 8-day plan below uses it instead.

Days 3 to 6: three nights on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor

Day 3 starts with the flight south: Cairo to Aswan takes about 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 25 minutes on EgyptAir's schedule. In Aswan a boat takes you to Philae, whose temples were moved to the island of Agilkia during the UNESCO Nubia campaign of the 1960s to save them from the waters of the High Dam. Then you join the ship.

For these 3 nights the journey proposes The Oberoi Zahra, with Sonesta St. George I as the alternative; a vessel is proposed only where it sails the journey's own length and direction. On Oberoi's calendar the Zahra's 3-night cruises leave Aswan on Saturdays, and Sonesta St. George I lists its 3-night cruises from Aswan on Fridays, so the sailing day sets the day you land in Cairo.

Day 4 is a river day with two temple stops: Kom Ombo, a double temple with one sanctuary for Sobek and one for Horus the Elder, and Edfu, where you ride to the Temple of Horus in a horse-drawn carriage. On day 5 you cross to Luxor's West Bank for the Valley of the Kings, burial place of almost all the kings of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties, and for Hatshepsut's temple, built on three terraces against the cliffs. Day 6 is the East Bank: Karnak, where the Great Hypostyle Hall holds 134 columns, its sacred lake, and Luxor Temple. You then fly back to Cairo for the last night, and on day 7 a private car takes you to the airport.

The 8-day option: four nights from Luxor to Aswan

With one more day, Classic Egypt and Nile Cruise, 8 Days keeps the same frame but reverses the river. You fly from Cairo to Luxor, about 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes, and spend 4 nights on board sailing south to Aswan. The journey proposes The Oberoi Philae, with The Oberoi Zahra or Sonesta St. George I as alternatives.

Its optional extras, which are not included, take in a hot air balloon ride over Luxor and a visit to a Nubian village. Whether the balloon is for you is weighed up in is the Luxor hot air balloon worth it.

7 or 8 days: which version fits

Both versions see Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae; the direction changes the order, the nights on board and the flights. The two directions are compared day by day in Luxor to Aswan or Aswan to Luxor.

What is included, and what is not

Both plans include airport meet and assist, private sightseeing led by a guide in English, Portuguese, German or Spanish, the entrance fees at each site on the program, breakfast daily in Cairo, full board on the cruise, bottled water on tours and private air-conditioned transfers.

Not included: the two domestic flights, which are booked and paid separately, your international flights and Egypt visa, tips, optional tours and personal spending. Customary tips for guides, drivers and cruise crew are set out in tipping in Egypt.

Private, here, means that on land the guide, the vehicle and the driver are for your group alone. The cruise ship is shared with other guests; the guided visits ashore are private.

Changing the plan

Every journey on the site is a starting point. Its length, hotels and pace can be adjusted before you confirm, subject to availability, and any Luxury journey can be quoted at the ultra-luxury level, whose checked list includes The Oberoi Zahra and The Oberoi Philae on the Nile and, in Cairo, the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence. The result is a written proposal that names the route, the hotels and room types, the Nile vessel, what is included and what is not.

If a week feels short, how many days you need in Egypt compares trips of 5 to 11 days, Egypt in 4 or 5 days covers the shortest trips, and the 10-day itinerary adds Saqqara, more of Cairo and Abu Simbel.