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Grand journey · Cairo · the Nile · the Red Sea

The Nile & the Red Sea

Thirteen private days in two halves — Egypt's greatest monuments by river, and then four days of doing nothing by the sea, which is the half most itineraries forget to give you.

Duration
13 days / 12 nights
Route
Cairo · Aswan to Luxor · Red Sea
Style
Private throughout
On the river
4 nights, luxury cruiser
The Nile & the Red Sea Plan this journey
The journey

Thirteen days in two deliberate halves

The first half is Egypt at full strength: Cairo and the Pyramids, then the temples of the Nile from Aswan down to Luxor aboard a luxury cruiser. The second is the opposite of it — four unhurried days on the Red Sea, where the only thing asked of you is to rest. Most itineraries run the culture end to end and send you home tired. This one builds the recovery in.

You see a great deal — Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, Abu Simbel in the deep south, Kom Ombo and Edfu from the water, the temples and royal tombs of Thebes — and then you stop, by the sea, for as long as it takes to feel rested. You close where Egypt began for you: beneath the Pyramids, at the Mena House.

Day by day

Thirteen days

Cairo & the Pyramids · the Nile from Aswan to Luxor · four days on the Red Sea · and back to Cairo

Day 1Cairo, arrival+
Met inside the terminal, walked through immigration and the bags, and driven to the St. Regis on the Nile Corniche. The rest of the day is left empty on purpose — Cairo is a great deal to land into, and the fortnight ahead is full.Stay · St. Regis Cairo
Day 2Giza & the Grand Egyptian Museum+
The Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, the Sphinx and the granite Valley Temple, reached early before the heat and the crowds. Lunch, then the Grand Egyptian Museum — and the complete treasure of Tutankhamun, all of it under one roof for the first time. You meet the Pyramids now, and close the trip sleeping beneath them.Stay · St. Regis Cairo
Day 3South to Aswan, and aboard+
A morning flight to Aswan, where Egypt softens and turns Nubian. The High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk lying in its quarry, and Philae — the temple of Isis, taken apart and rebuilt on higher ground when the dam raised the water. Then you board the Oberoi Zahra and settle in as the river slips by.Stay · Oberoi Zahra · night 1 of 4
Day 4Abu Simbel+
An early start for the far south and the two rock temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari — colossal, remote, and, remarkably, cut into blocks and lifted to higher ground when the dam's lake rose to drown them. Back aboard for the afternoon as the ship turns north, downstream, toward Luxor.Stay · Oberoi Zahra · night 2 of 4
Day 5Kom Ombo & Edfu+
Kom Ombo, the temple to two gods at once, standing right on a bend of the river. In the afternoon, Edfu — the best-preserved temple in Egypt — by caleche through the town. Between them, the river itself: villages, palm groves, the green edge of Upper Egypt going by.Stay · Oberoi Zahra · night 3 of 4
Day 6Luxor, the east bank+
The temples of the living city of Thebes: Karnak, two thousand years of building in one enclosure, with its hall of 134 columns; and Luxor Temple in the middle of the modern town. Your last evening aboard.Stay · Oberoi Zahra · night 4 of 4
Day 7The west bank, then the sea+
Disembark for the necropolis of Thebes. The Valley of the Kings — several tombs on the standard ticket, and two worth their separate ones: Seti I, the longest and finest in the valley, and Ramesses VI, for the great painted ceiling of the heavens. Then Hatshepsut's temple against its cliff and the Colossi of Memnon, before the drive east through the desert to the Red Sea and the Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh.Stay · Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh · night 1 of 4
Day 8The Red Sea+
The first of four days with nothing in them but rest. After a week of early starts and great temples, this is the point of the journey, not a gap in it — a private beach, a long lunch, the spa if you want it, the sea if you don't.Stay · Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh · night 2 of 4
Day 9The Red Sea+
A day for the water, if you'd like it. The reefs off Hurghada are among the best-known in the world; we can arrange snorkelling, a day's diving, or a private boat out to quieter water. Or you can stay exactly where you are.Stay · Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh · night 3 of 4
Day 10The Red Sea+
A third day, entirely yours — the pool, the beach, the spa, a book finished in the shade. By now the temples feel like another country, which is the idea.Stay · Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh · night 4 of 4
Day 11Back to Cairo, and Islamic Cairo+
A flight to Cairo, and the medieval city: the Citadel of Saladin and the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali above the rooftops, then al-Muizz Street and the lanes of Khan el-Khalili as the day cools. To the Mena House, in the shadow of the Pyramids — ask for a room that faces them.Stay · Marriott Mena House, Giza · night 1 of 2
Day 12The first pyramids — Saqqara & Memphis+
A morning among the pyramids that came before Giza. Saqqara, and the Step Pyramid of Djoser — the oldest large stone building in the world, raised five thousand years ago, with painted tombs around it. Then Memphis, the first capital of a united Egypt, now a modest open-air yard around a fallen colossus of Ramesses II and an alabaster sphinx — worth an hour, no more, and we'll say so. The afternoon is left free at the Mena House: the pool, the gardens, and the Pyramids at the end of the lawn.Stay · Marriott Mena House, Giza · night 2 of 2
Day 13Coptic Cairo & departure+
As your flight allows, the oldest Christian quarter in the city: the Hanging Church, the church of St Sergius, and the Ben Ezra synagogue, all within a few quiet streets. Lunch, and then you are driven to the airport and seen through to your gate.Depart · Cairo
Where you stay

Four addresses, two very different moods

A city hotel on the river, a cruiser down the Nile, a beachfront enclave on the Red Sea, and a last night beneath the Pyramids.

Cairo · first nights

St. Regis Cairo

On the Nile Corniche in the centre of the city, with river-view rooms and the museums and old quarters close by — the polished landing for the days ahead.

2 nights
The Nile · Aswan to Luxor

Oberoi Zahra

An all-suite luxury cruiser — spacious, serene, and one of the most refined ships on the river. Larger and more polished than our small dahabiyas; a different way to take the Nile, and a very comfortable one.

4 nights, full board
The Red Sea

Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh

A beachfront resort south of Hurghada's bustle — private beach, a serious spa, and the quiet of an enclave set a little apart from the town. The place the journey slows down.

4 nights
Cairo · last nights

Marriott Mena House

At the foot of the Pyramids in Giza, with gardens running up toward them — ask for a room that faces the Pyramids, so the last mornings begin with the view.

2 nights

Twelve nights in all

Two in Cairo · four aboard the cruiser · four on the Red Sea · 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
  • All sightseeing in private, air-conditioned cars, and the private transfer from Luxor to the Red Sea
  • Both domestic flights — Cairo to Aswan, and Hurghada to Cairo
  • Twelve nights at the houses above, full board aboard the cruiser
  • All meals shown in the itinerary
  • Every site entrance in the day-by-day — including the separate tickets for Seti I and Ramesses VI in the Valley of the Kings

Not included

  • International flights to and from Cairo
  • Optional Red Sea activities — diving, snorkelling, a private boat, the spa — as you take them
  • Gratuities for crew, guide and drivers, at your discretion
  • Travel insurance — required, and we'll point you to it
Before you book

The two halves are the whole point

This journey gives four days to the Red Sea on purpose. If you want culture without a pause, it is the wrong shape for you, and a continuous temple itinerary will suit you better — we'll happily build one. But for most people, four days by the sea after the Nile is exactly the right amount, and we would rather plan the rest in than watch you run out of energy by Luxor.

Two honest notes. The boat here is a luxury cruiser, not one of our small sailing dahabiyas — roomier and more polished, but a different thing from sail; if the few-cabin, wind-powered river is what you're after, ask us about The Private Nile or The Complete Egypt instead. And the Luxor-to-Red-Sea leg is a long road transfer, around four to five hours across the Eastern Desert — the price of joining the two halves by car. Abu Simbel and the internal flights depend on early starts and schedules, which we plan around rather than promise through.

Begin the conversation

The temples, and the rest after them. 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.

Plan this journey

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The Nile & the Red Sea — 12 Days · Sillage Égypte