The Perfect 10-Day Egypt Itinerary (2026): Day by Day, with Real Costs

Ten days is the sweet spot for a first trip to Egypt: long enough to see the Pyramids and the new Grand Egyptian Museum, sail the Nile between Aswan and Luxor, stand in front of Abu Simbel, and still have a morning to breathe. This is a genuine day-by-day plan on the classic loop, the route that minimises backtracking, with the real timings and real 2026 prices to budget honestly. Fly the long hops, book the small-group options, and this is one of the great trips.

At a glance: 10 days · Cairo, Nile cruise (Aswan to Luxor), Abu Simbel, optional Red Sea · fly between cities · best October to April · experiences budget roughly 25,000 to 60,000 EGP per person plus international flights, hotels and the cruise.

Day 1: Arrive in Cairo

Land, clear the visa on arrival (a single-entry e-visa or visa-on-arrival sticker is straightforward for most nationalities), and transfer to a hotel in Giza, so you wake up to the Pyramids, or in leafy Zamalek for a more central base. Do not overplan the first day. If you land by early afternoon and have energy, a Nile dinner cruise is a gentle, jet-lag-friendly first evening: two hours on the water, a buffet, and a belly-dancer and tanoura show, from about 1,900 EGP with hotel pickup. Otherwise, eat koshary at a local spot and sleep.

Day 2: The Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Grand Egyptian Museum

The day the trip is really about. Start at the Giza plateau at opening, around 8am, while the air is cool and the coaches have not arrived. Give the Great Pyramid, Khafre and Menkaure a couple of hours, ride a camel out to the panorama point for the classic three-in-a-row photo, and visit the Sphinx and the Valley Temple. By late morning, when the plateau bakes, move two kilometres to the Grand Egyptian Museum for the afternoon: the Ramses II atrium, the Grand Staircase, and above all the complete Tutankhamun galleries. A Giza tour with camel ride runs from about 2,200 EGP, the museum ticket about 1,450 EGP, or a combined tour from about 4,100 EGP. This is the best single day in Egypt; do not dilute it.

Day 3: Saqqara, Dahshur, Memphis and Islamic Cairo

Head south in the morning to the older pyramids most first-timers miss. Saqqara holds Djoser's Step Pyramid, the world's first monumental stone building, from around 2650 BC; Dahshur has the Bent Pyramid, where the builders changed the angle mid-construction, and the Red Pyramid, the first true smooth-sided pyramid, which you can usually enter almost alone; Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital, keeps a giant recumbent Ramses II. Back in the city by late afternoon, walk Islamic Cairo and Khan el-Khalili as the light softens and the bazaar comes alive, tea at El Fishawy included. A full, rich day that shows both the ancient and the living city.

Day 4: Fly to Aswan

Take a short morning flight to Aswan (about 90 minutes; book ahead, they fill up). Aswan is the Nile at its most relaxed, the river wide and studded with granite islands. See the island Temple of Philae, moved stone by stone to save it from the dam, and the High Dam itself, then end the afternoon with a felucca sail around Elephantine Island and past the Nubian villages as the sun drops. Board your Nile cruiser for the night.

Day 5: Abu Simbel

Worth the early alarm. A pre-dawn departure carries you roughly three hours south to Abu Simbel, where four 20-metre statues of Ramses II stare out over Lake Nasser, with Nefertari's temple beside them. The interior reliefs of the Battle of Kadesh are as impressive as the facade. A group day trip runs from about 3,466 EGP; you are back at the boat by afternoon. If a dawn drive does not appeal, some cruises reach Abu Simbel as part of the itinerary, or you can fly the short hop.

Day 6: Sail the Nile, Kom Ombo and Edfu

The restful heart of the trip. The cruise moves north with the current behind it, and you watch farmers, fishermen and palm villages slide past from the sun deck between two stops: Kom Ombo, a rare double temple shared between the crocodile god Sobek and Horus, best seen at dusk right on the riverbank, and Edfu, the Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved in Egypt, reached from the dock by horse carriage. Evenings on board bring a galabeya party or a belly dancer; the pace is deliberately slow, and that is the point.

Day 7: Luxor, the East Bank

Arrive in Luxor, the ancient Thebes and the greatest concentration of monuments on earth. Devote the day to the East Bank: the vast Karnak complex, whose Great Hypostyle Hall packs 134 columns up to 21 metres tall, and Luxor Temple in the town centre, which is at its most atmospheric floodlit after dark. Karnak rewards a slow visit with a good guide; rushing it is the common mistake.

Day 8: Luxor West Bank and a sunrise balloon

Set the alarm for dark. A sunrise hot air balloon over the West Bank, from about 5,400 EGP, drifts you over the tombs and temples as the sun comes up, and it is the morning most travellers remember longest. Come down to earth for the Valley of the Kings, where you enter three painted royal tombs (add Tutankhamun's on a separate ticket), the terraced Temple of Hatshepsut, and the Colossi of Memnon. By early afternoon you will have earned a rest.

Day 9: Fly to the Red Sea, or back to Cairo

Choose your ending. Fly to Hurghada for a day or two of Red Sea reefs and genuine rest after a busy week, or fly back to Cairo for anything you missed, the Egyptian Museum's royal mummies, a second run at Khan el-Khalili, or the Coptic quarter. Both flights are short.

Day 10: A Red Sea day, or departure

If you went to the coast, spend the morning on a snorkel or boat trip (from about 1,700 EGP) or simply on the beach before flying home. If you are back in Cairo, use a relaxed final morning for last sights and shopping before your onward flight.

What it costs (real 2026 prices)

The big-ticket experiences on this route, from real listings:

Experience	From (per person)	Typical
Giza Pyramids & Sphinx group tour	2,200 EGP (about 45 USD)	4,050 EGP
Grand Egyptian Museum entry ticket	1,450 EGP (about 30 USD)	2,000 EGP
Nile dinner cruise, Cairo	1,900 EGP (about 39 USD)	2,600 EGP
Red Sea boat day, Hurghada	1,700 EGP (about 35 USD)	1,900 EGP
Desert quad safari	720 EGP (about 15 USD)	1,900 EGP
Luxor sunrise hot air balloon	5,400 EGP (about 112 USD)	7,000 EGP
Abu Simbel day trip from Aswan	3,466 EGP (about 71 USD)	9,650 EGP
3 to 4 night Nile cruise, full board	18,000 EGP (about 370 USD)	22,000 EGP

Add international flights, the domestic hops (Cairo to Aswan, Luxor to Cairo), hotels, and the cruise (from about 18,000 EGP per person for three to four nights full board), and a comfortable mid-range ten days lands around 25,000 to 60,000 EGP per person for experiences and internal travel, before international flights and hotels, depending on how much you go private. Our Egypt trip cost guide breaks it down further.

Alternatives and add-ons

• Only a week? Drop Abu Simbel and the Red Sea and run Cairo, a three-night cruise, and Luxor as a tight seven days.
• Prefer the beach to the boat? Swap the cruise for a longer Hurghada or Marsa Alam stay and see Luxor on a day trip.
• Two weeks and slow travel? Add Alexandria, the Fayoum, or the White Desert and Siwa, the routes most itineraries ignore.

When to go

Run this itinerary October to April. The shoulder months (October, November, March, April) are the sweet spot, warm and clear without the winter-peak crowds and prices; midsummer is brutal in the Nile Valley, where Luxor and Aswan regularly pass 40 degrees Celsius. See our best time to visit Egypt guide.

The verdict

This ten-day loop is the most rewarding way to meet Egypt for the first time: the Pyramids and the new Grand Egyptian Museum, the river temples seen from the water, Abu Simbel, and a taste of the Red Sea to finish. Fly the long legs, book the small-group options, and use the real prices above to plan a trip with no nasty surprises at the Nile end.