Planning a trip to Egypt? This travel blog offers a detailed look at the country's most fascinating destinations, from the iconic pyramids to the serene Nile River and beyond. Drawing from personal experiences and thorough research, here's a guide to help you navigate the wonders of Egypt.
Map of Egypt
Independent Travel vs. Private Tours
Before diving into the itinerary, it’s crucial to consider how you want to travel. Research indicates that navigating Egypt independently can be challenging due to chaotic traffic, crowded public transport, and potential unwanted attention, especially for women. After spending 2 weeks in Egypt, we too came to the conclusion that independent travel would have been very difficult. For that reason, we recommend a private tour.
While group tours offer convenience, they often follow rigid itineraries. A private, custom tour strikes a balance, providing flexibility without the stress of independent travel.
A 16-Day Egypt Itinerary: Ancient Wonders and Modern Delights
This itinerary focuses on places associated with Ancient Egypt, including temples, tombs, and historic sites. With so many interesting places to visit in Egypt that we couldn’t quite fit them all into a 2 week itinerary, so we ended up spending 16 days in Egypt.
Read also: Egyptian Adventure
Days 1-2: Giza, Saqqara, and Dahshur
Begin your journey at the Giza Plateau, marveling at the Pyramid of Khufu (the Great Pyramid) and the Pyramid of Khafre. The last places we visited at the Giza Plateau were the Valley Temple of Khafre and the Great Sphinx. I was blown away by how massive the Sphinx was, especially its long front legs. But one of the most disappointing things about visiting The Giza Plateau was seeing so much litter around the pyramids.
Pyramids of Giza
For the second day of our Egypt itinerary, we planned to visit Saqqara and Dahshur to see pyramids older than the ones in Giza. Much of our day was spent at Saqqara exploring the tombs of Egyptian kings and nobles. The main point of interest is the mortuary complex of King Djoser and its central feature, the Step Pyramid. The most exciting part of our visit to Saqqara was going inside the Pyramid of Unas and seeing Egyptian hieroglyphs for the first time. The chambers were covered floor to ceiling with hieroglyphic symbols, which we did not expect after seeing how plain the Pyramids of Giza were inside.
Before leaving Saqqara we went inside the Pyramid of Teti and the Tomb of Kagemni. After Saqqara, we headed to Dahshur to visit two more pyramids- the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid. As you might have guessed from the name, the Bent Pyramid isn’t a perfectly shaped pyramid because of some miscalculations during construction. You can go inside both pyramids but we only went into the Bent Pyramid. It was quite the adventure because the tunnels were so long and low. I thought we’d never find the chamber at the end!
Our last stop of the day was in Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom. The two highlights of the museum were seeing the alabaster Sphinx of Memphis and the colossus of Ramesses II. The statue of Ramesses II is laying down because its base and feet broke off, but you still get a sense of how huge it is.
Read also: Learn Arabic in Egypt: Guide
Days 3-4: Aswan and Abu Simbel
Today we headed south to Aswan on an early morning flight, excited to start exploring the archaeological sites in Upper Egypt. Straight from the airport we drove to Philae Temple, then we visited the Unfinished Obelisk. Philae Temple is a gorgeous collection of buildings constructed on an island in the Nile. Philae is one of the earliest temples dedicated to the goddess Isis, a principal deity of Ancient Egypt revered for her magical powers of healing and protection. I quickly fell in love with Philae Temple because of its beautiful colonnade in the outer courtyard and the engraved pylons of the Great Temple of Isis.
Philae Temple
The obelisk was commissioned by Hatshepsut and was likely destined for Karnak Temple in Luxor. One of the most popular things to do in Aswan is go sailing on the Nile. Instead, we relaxed by the hotel pool, enjoying views of the Nile and the golden sand dunes that line its shores.
Today we had a 4:00 am departure for our road trip to Abu Simbel to see its iconic rock-cut temples. The Great Temple is considered to be one of the most beautiful temples in Egypt. It is famous for its four colossal statues of Ramesses II carved into the rock face, two on each side of the temple’s entrance. We were quite captivated by the facade, but the inside of the temple was as impressively grand as the outside. The Temple of Hathor and Nefertari was similar in appearance and layout, but smaller in scale. It was such a wonderful experience to walk through the grounds and see the buildings bathed in light.
Displays and historic photographs in the Abu Simbel visitor centre explaining how the temples were relocated to higher ground after the Aswan High Dam was built, protecting them from being submerged. The chambers in the Great Temple can get packed with people so I missed going into a few of the rooms.
Read also: Clothing in Ancient Egypt
The relocation of Abu Simbel's Temples, Egypt - Webuild Project
Unfortunately, I missed the sanctuary with the four statues that get illuminated by the sun on February 22 and October 22. We would have loved to spend the night at Abu Simbel so we could explore the temples after the day trip crowds leave.
Day 5: Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples
On day 5 of our Egypt itinerary we drove from Aswan to Luxor, stopping at Kom Ombo Temple and Edfu Temple along the way. Our first stop was at The Temple of Kom Ombo, a unique double temple honouring two gods. The temple is small and not as well preserved as others we saw, but we still really liked the experience of visiting it (probably because there was hardly anyone else there). A must-see on the journey between Aswan and Luxor is the Temple of Edfu. Inside the temple there were so many interesting reliefs decorating the chambers and passageways.
Days 6-7: Luxor and the West Bank
We woke up early on our first morning in Luxor excited to visit some of the city’s top attractions including Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, and the Luxor Museum. It was a wonderful experience to walk in quiet solitude between the towering columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall, imagining what it looked like before the roof collapsed. As we wandered through this huge temple complex, much of which is in partial ruin, we saw obelisks, colossal statues, ram-headed sphinxes, and a sacred lake. In the evening we returned to see the Karnak Sound and Light Show. The museum’s collection of antiquities is small, but of high quality, and beautifully displayed. Some of the masterpieces include the two colossal heads of Amenhotep III and the Wall of Akhenaten.
Karnak Temple
Next on our Egypt itinerary was two full days exploring the mortuary temples and tombs along the West Bank of Luxor in the Theban Necropolis. This sprawling, three-level temple has beautiful colonnades, a row of large statues, some shrines, and painted reliefs. The Colossi of Memnon are two giant, but damaged, stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
For our second day exploring the Theban Necropolis on the West Bank of Luxor, we visited a temple, the Valley of the Queens, and some tombs of nobles and workers. Like other temples, this one had many reliefs on the walls and columns, but the inscriptions went much deeper into the rock than at other temples we visited. I loved how pronounced they were! We went inside two tombs of Egyptian officials at the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis and immediately noticed how different the artwork was compared to royal tombs.
The Valley of the Queens has several tombs of pharaohs’ wives, plus a few princesses and princes too. Queen Nefertari’s tomb is spectacular and in our opinion, one of the best places to visit in Egypt. The polychrome reliefs and paintings decorating the chambers of her tomb were so vibrant that we couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of awe. Deir el-Medina was a workmen’s village, home to artisans who crafted the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Visiting the workmen’s tombs was another opportunity to see a different style of Egyptian tomb.
Day 8: Nile Felucca Ride
Due to the current and wind direction, we actually weren’t able to sail very far on the Nile but still got to enjoy some nice scenery. I liked seeing Luxor Temple from the river and the sunset was beautiful.
Days 9-10: Hurghada and the Red Sea
The drive to Hurghada was mostly in the desert on a two-lane divided highway that was in good condition. There were views of low rocky hills, then bigger mountains as we got closer to Hurghada. We did an excursion on a yacht that went to two different snorkelling locations then cruised to a touristy beach. Since the water was very clear, we got a great view of the coral reefs and fish swimming around them. We didn’t spot any big fish, mostly just schools of small ones.
Red Sea Coral Reef
After snorkelling the boat dropped people off at two different tourist beaches. It took a lot of time to get to these beaches, and although the scenery was nice, it wasn’t an atmosphere we enjoyed because of all the people. Feeling like Hurghada didn’t really have anything unique to offer.
Days 11-12: Cairo's Cultural Landmarks
In the morning we flew from Hurghada back to Cairo. There were plenty of other incredible artifacts to see including statues, mummies, sarcophagi, papyri, jewelry, and funerary masks. The Citadel of Saladin is one of Cairo’s most prominent landmarks. This medieval fortress, built by Sultan Saladin and expanded by later rulers, was once the official residence of Egyptian rulers but is now a preserved historic site with museums and mosques.
Our main reason for visiting the Citadel was to see the Mosque of Muhammad Ali (also known as the Alabaster Mosque because its walls were tiled with alabaster). It’s a beautiful Ottoman-style building with multiple domes and twin minarets. It was great having our guide accompany us in the Egyptian Museum museum because he knew where all the best artifacts were displayed, saving us time.
Days 13-14: Siwa Oasis
Today we embarked on a long drive through the barren Western Desert to the Siwa Oasis, about 50 km from the Libyan border. We had to dedicate 4 days of our Egypt itinerary to Siwa since it takes 2 full days to drive there and back and at least 2 days to experience the main attractions. The drive to the Siwa Oasis was pretty boring because there wasn’t much to look at. After settling into our hotel, we had a traditional dinner at an outdoor restaurant surrounded by palm trees.
The first place we visited during our two days in Siwa was the Mountain of the Dead. There are only four tombs that are open to visitors and we went inside all of them. The Temple of the Oracle, also called the Temple of Amun, gained prominence after Alexander the Great visited it in 331 BCE. I really love wandering around ruins, so wasn’t bothered that the temple hadn’t been restored very well. Shali was an ancient fortress built from clay and salt that was abandoned after heavy rain caused significant erosion.
Siwa Oasis
One of my favourite experiences in Siwa was floating in the salt pools. These pretty turquoise pools have such a high concentration of salt that you can effortlessly float on top of the water. It was a unique sensation that we hadn’t experienced before. It was an absolute blast to race up and down the long, lofty ridges of sand.
Day 15: Wadi El Rayan Protected Area
The last activity on our Egypt itinerary was a day trip from Cairo to the Wadi El Rayan Protected Area. 40 million years ago this incredible landscape was under an ancient sea. It contains almost 400 fossils of the earliest forms of whales, now extinct. We had so much fun walking through the desert to see the whale fossils.
Day 16: Departure
Reflect on the incredible journey as you prepare for departure, carrying cherished memories of Egypt's ancient wonders and vibrant culture.
Observations from an 11-Day Visit to Cairo and the Sinai Peninsula
- Ramshackle Cities: Cairo can be a difficult place to love due to chronic traffic jams and urban sprawl. The cityscape is filled with half-abandoned buildings, often due to tax loopholes or the tumultuous economy.
- Where Are The Women?: There is a noticeable invisibility of women in Egyptian society, with a low female labor participation rate.
- The Land of Hustle & Baksheesh: Egypt has a vibrant hustle culture, with bargaining being pervasive. Baksheesh, or tipping, is often verbally demanded.
- Egypt Is Not Exactly A Great Value: Despite being considered affordable, independent travel is not the norm, and tourist-class accommodations can be downmarket.
- Checkpoint & Police: There is a heavy security presence, with frequent checkpoints due to regional instability.
- Anti-Americanism Is On The Rise: There are uneasy feelings due to the close alliance between the United States and Israel.
- The Disconnect With Ancient Egypt: Despite the pride in ancient heritage, there is a surprising lack of ancient Egyptian symbols in everyday life.
Additional Tips for First-Time Visitors
Traveling to Egypt can be an enriching experience with the right preparation. Here are some essential tips to ensure a smooth and memorable trip:
- Best Time to Visit: Plan your trip between October and April for milder temperatures.
- Dress Modestly: Respect local customs by wearing lightweight, long-sleeved clothing.
- Learn Basic Arabic Phrases: Simple phrases like "Shukran" (thank you) and "Marhaba" (hello) can enhance interactions.
- Stay Hydrated: The desert climate can be dehydrating, so carry a water bottle and drink plenty of fluids.
- Bargain Like a Pro: Haggling is common in Egyptian markets, so negotiate prices for souvenirs.
- Try the Local Cuisine: Don't miss out on local specialties like koshary, feteer meshaltet, and falafel.
- Keep an Open Mind: Be ready to embrace different customs, beliefs, and lifestyles.
Essential Information for Travelers
Here’s some practical information to help you prepare for your trip:
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Credit Cards & ATMs | Major cards are accepted in trendy establishments. ATMs are widely available in major cities. |
| Plugs | Type C and F power plugs. Standard voltage is 220 V, and frequency is 50 Hz. |
| Safety | The northern half of Sinai is unstable. Consider tours or private guides at tourist attractions. |
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