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Grand journey · Cairo to the deep south

The Complete Egypt

Thirteen private days the length of the country, built around five nights under sail — with the Pyramids held back for the very end.

Duration
13 days / 12 nights
Route
Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Abu Simbel
Style
Private throughout
On the river
5 nights, dahabiya
The Complete Egypt Plan this journey
The journey

The length of the country, at the pace of the river

Thirteen days from Cairo to the edge of Nubia and back. Most grand tours of Egypt move at a march — a monument before breakfast, another after, a coach between. This one is built the other way round, around its slowest stretch: five nights under sail on a private dahabiya, with the cities set at either end to frame the river rather than crowd it.

You begin in Cairo and end there, with the Pyramids deliberately held back to the final day. In between: the temples and tombs of Thebes, the quiet water from Esna to Aswan, the far south at Abu Simbel, and the river itself — villages, islands, quarries and sandbanks the large ships pass without stopping. A journey for travellers who would rather understand Egypt slowly than tick it off quickly.

Day by day

Thirteen days

Cairo to begin · south to Luxor and the river · Aswan and the deep south · and the Pyramids held for the very end

Day 1Cairo, arrival+
Met inside the terminal, walked through immigration and the bags, and driven to your hotel. The day is left empty on purpose — Cairo is a great deal to land into, and the fortnight ahead is long.Stay · Four Seasons Nile Plaza, Cairo
Day 2Cairo, the long first day+
The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir — dim, unrestored, the most atmospheric introduction there is, now that its greatest pieces have moved on. Then Coptic Cairo, the Citadel of Saladin, and Khan el-Khalili as the heat goes out of the day.Stay · Four Seasons Nile Plaza, Cairo
Day 3Luxor, the temples of the living+
A morning flight south to ancient Thebes. Karnak — two thousand years in one enclosure, a hall of 134 columns — and Luxor Temple in the middle of the modern town. In the evening, the small, superb Luxor Museum.Stay · Mandarin Winter Palace, Luxor
Day 4Luxor, the west bank+
A balloon over the west bank at first light, weather permitting. Then the Valley of the Kings — three tombs, with a great one beyond it — Hatshepsut's temple against its cliff, and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch by the river; the afternoon yours.Stay · Mandarin Winter Palace, Luxor
Day 5Esna, aboard the dahabiya+
South to Esna, where the dahabiya waits — a handful of cabins, a crew who sail rather than keep to a timetable. The temple of Khnum in its pit below the streets, then you cast off and sail south, the north wind carrying you upriver against the current.Stay · aboard the dahabiya · night 1 of 5
Day 6El-Kab & Edfu+
Rock-cut tombs at El-Kab, the old city of the vulture goddess, reached past a fishermen's village. In the afternoon, Edfu — the best-preserved temple in Egypt — by caleche through the town. A mooring against a quiet bank for the night.Stay · aboard the dahabiya · night 2 of 5
Day 7The river+
A day given over to the Nile — sailing, silence, villages, palm groves, the light shifting over Upper Egypt. The boat ties up by an island or a sandbank; walk, read, or swim where the crew judge it safe. A mooring near Gebel el-Silsila for the night.Stay · aboard the dahabiya · night 3 of 5
Day 8Gebel el-Silsila+
Where the Nile narrows between sandstone cliffs, and where much of the stone for Egypt's temples was quarried — the chisel marks still in the rock. The cruise ships don't stop, so it is usually yours. The chapel of Horemheb, then on under sail.Stay · aboard the dahabiya · night 4 of 5
Day 9Kom Ombo+
The temple to two gods at once, standing right on a bend of the river — arranged for the end of the day where we can, once the ships have gone and the stone turns gold. Your last night aboard; the quiet is worth staying up for.Stay · aboard the dahabiya · night 5 of 5
Day 10Aswan, the river softens+
You wake as Aswan comes into view — the desert closer, the air more Nubian — and disembark. Philae, the temple of Isis among the rocks and water; then an island afternoon and a felucca under sail as the light goes long.Stay · Mandarin Aswan
Day 11Abu Simbel, then north+
A very early flight to the far south, and the colossal temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari — cut into blocks and moved to higher ground when the dam raised the lake. Then north by air to Cairo; a long day of early starts and aeroplanes, and the afternoon kept clear on purpose.Stay · Mena House, at the foot of the Pyramids
Day 12The Pyramids, kept for last+
You wake at the Mena House with the Pyramids in the window and reach them before most of Cairo has set out. After a fortnight of Egypt, Giza lands as a last word, not a first impression. Then the Grand Egyptian Museum, and a last dinner with the Nile in view.Stay · Mena House, at the foot of the Pyramids
Day 13Departure+
After breakfast you are met and driven to the airport, and seen through to your gate. Thirteen days behind you: Cairo's old quarters, the temples and tombs of Thebes, a week on the water, Aswan and Abu Simbel, and the Pyramids saved for the end.Depart · Cairo
Where you stay

Chosen for setting, not stars

Five places along the way, arranged so the journey ends beneath the Pyramids. The dahabiya is chosen to your travel dates; whichever sails, it is held to the same standard.

Cairo · first nights

Four Seasons Nile Plaza

On the river in Garden City, within reach of the Egyptian Museum and the old city — the calm landing for the long days ahead.

2 nights
Luxor

Mandarin Winter Palace

The grande dame of the east bank, open since 1907 — gardens, high ceilings, and the Nile across the road from the temples of Thebes.

2 nights
The Nile

A private dahabiya

The shallow-draught sailing boat that carried travellers before the steamer — a few cabins, a full crew, and the river at the window. Chosen to your dates, held to the same standard whichever sails.

5 nights, Esna to Aswan
Aswan · one night

Mandarin Aswan

A terrace above the Nile, looking onto Elephantine Island — a soft landing ashore between the boat and the flight south, and the best afternoon tea on the river.

1 night
Cairo · last nights

Mena House

At the foot of the Pyramids in Giza — ask for a room that faces them, so the final morning of the journey begins with the view.

2 nights

Twelve nights in all

Two in Cairo to begin · two in Luxor · five aboard the dahabiya · one in Aswan · two more in Cairo to close.

What's included

  • A private welcome at Cairo airport — met inside the terminal and walked through arrivals
  • Your Egyptian entry visa, arranged in advance
  • A certified Egyptologist throughout, from first day to last — and our team reachable at any hour
  • Private, late-model cars the length of the journey, air-conditioned, with Wi-Fi
  • Twelve nights at the houses above, the dahabiya among them
  • Every meal shown in the itinerary, and all meals aboard the dahabiya
  • All site entrances and fees named in the day-by-day

Not included

  • International flights to and from Cairo
  • Domestic flights within the journey (we arrange them; confirmed as a line at proposal)
  • Gratuities for crew, guide and drivers, at your discretion
  • Travel insurance — required, and we'll point you to it
Before you book

A slow journey, with two long days inside it

The dahabiya week is unhurried by design — sailing, mooring, hours that belong to the river rather than a schedule. The Abu Simbel day, by contrast, asks an early start and a good deal of flying in return for one of the great sights of the ancient world. If you want every site at speed, a tighter itinerary will suit you better, and we will say so.

The balloon and the southern flights depend on weather and schedules, and we plan around both rather than promise through them. If you want Egypt at the pace of the Nile, with its cities as bookends, there is little to better it.

Begin the conversation

See the whole of Egypt, properly.

Tell us your dates and what matters most to you, and we will shape this journey around you — these hotels, or others to suit.

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The Complete Egypt — 13 Days · Sillage Égypte