14 Days in Egypt & the Red Sea: The Complete Itinerary (2026)

Two weeks is the amount of time that lets Egypt unfold in order — from the Old Kingdom pyramids at Giza to the Ptolemaic temples of the south, then a Red Sea decompression before the flight home. This route covers Cairo and the new Grand Egyptian Museum, an Alexandria day on the Mediterranean, the full Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan, Abu Simbel, and a beach finish in Hurghada, with almost no backtracking. It suits honeymoons, milestone trips, and anyone who would rather travel deep than fast.

At a glance: 14 days, Cairo → Alexandria → Luxor → Aswan → Abu Simbel → Hurghada. Best months are October to April, when Upper Egypt sits around 25C by day. Budget roughly 1,800 to 3,500 USD per person for mid-range hotels, two domestic flights and a Nile cruise, excluding international airfare. Two internal EgyptAir hops keep transit under 90 minutes each, so you never lose a full day to the road.

The 14-day plan at a glance

Day	Base	Focus
1	Cairo / Giza	Arrive, Giza plateau at opening, GEM
2	Cairo	Islamic Cairo, Citadel, Khan el-Khalili at dusk
3	Cairo	Coptic Cairo, NMEC and the Royal Mummies
4	Cairo	Alexandria day trip by fast train
5	Luxor	Fly to Luxor; Karnak and Luxor Temple floodlit
6	Luxor	West Bank: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, sunrise balloon
7	Nile cruise	Board; sail to Edfu
8	Nile cruise	Edfu temple, Kom Ombo double temple
9	Aswan	Disembark; Philae Temple, felucca at sunset
10	Aswan	Nubian village, High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk
11	Aswan	Abu Simbel run (convoy or flight)
12	Hurghada	Fly to Hurghada; rest, marina evening
13	Hurghada	Boat day to Orange Bay / Giftun reefs
14	Hurghada	Desert quad safari or beach, then fly home

Day 1 to 3: Cairo and Giza

Land, then start at the Giza plateau at the 7am opening to beat the heat and the tour buses. Two to three hours covers the three pyramids, the Sphinx and a walk to the panorama point; site entry is 700 EGP, with the Great Pyramid interior an extra 1,000 EGP if you want the crouching climb inside. Next door, the Grand Egyptian Museum — fully open since November 2025 — holds all 5,398 Tutankhamun objects together for the first time; entry is 1,450 EGP, booked online in advance, and it deserves a half-day of its own. Day 2 is Islamic Cairo: the Citadel of Saladin, the Muhammad Ali Mosque, the length of Al-Muizz Street, then Khan el-Khalili at dusk for mint tea at El Fishawy. Day 3 covers Coptic Cairo — the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue — and the Royal Mummies, which moved to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in 2021 and are best seen there. Three days is the right amount for Cairo on this route: it lets you take the pyramids and the GEM slowly, give Islamic Cairo an unhurried afternoon, and still have the third day for Coptic Cairo and NMEC without the whiplash of trying to cram it all into one. Plan ticket timing with the pyramids of Giza guide, the Grand Egyptian Museum guide and the fuller Cairo travel guide.

Day 4: Alexandria day trip

Alexandria is a complete change of register from Cairo — Mediterranean, salt-aired, faded-grand — and one day is enough for its highlights. The Cairo to Alexandria fast train takes about 2.5 hours each way from Ramses Station, or you can hire a car and driver for door-to-door flexibility and an earlier start. Walk the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the striking modern library that reopened in 2002 on the site of the ancient Library of Alexandria; the 15th-century Qaitbay Citadel, built on the ruins of the Pharos lighthouse, one of the original Seven Wonders; and the three-level Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, dug into the rock in the 2nd century AD and blending Egyptian, Greek and Roman styles. Eat grilled sea bass on the Corniche at a fish-market restaurant — you pick your fish from the ice and they cook it — before the evening return. If the round trip feels tight, spend the night in Alexandria and rejoin the plan a half-day later. The Cairo to Alexandria day trip guide has the train and timing detail, and the Alexandria travel guide covers a longer stay.

Day 5 to 9: Luxor and the Nile cruise

Fly EgyptAir from Cairo to Luxor, about 70 minutes and the smart way to cover the distance without losing a day. Luxor is often called the world's greatest open-air museum, and two days barely scratch it. Day 5 covers Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built — a forest of columns you could lose an afternoon in — and Luxor Temple floodlit after dark, when the crowds thin and the stone glows. Day 6 is the West Bank, the ancient city of the dead: the Valley of the Kings, where a standard ticket covers three tombs (Tutankhamun's and Seti I's cost extra and are worth it), Hatshepsut's dramatic terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari, and the Colossi of Memnon standing guard over the fields. A sunrise hot-air balloon over the Theban necropolis is worth the early alarm — book the first slot, before the wind and the heat pick up; see the Luxor hot air balloon guide, and the Karnak and Luxor temples guide for the East Bank. Then board a 4-night cruise that stops at Edfu, home to the best-preserved temple in Egypt (dedicated to the falcon god Horus), and the double temple of Kom Ombo, sacred to both Sobek the crocodile god and Horus, arriving in Aswan on Day 9. Cruise days are gentle by design — a temple in the cool of the morning, then the sun deck and passing riverbank villages in the afternoon, the Nile doing the work while you watch Egypt slide by. The Nile cruise Aswan to Luxor guide breaks down what each day includes and how to pick a boat.

Day 10 to 11: Aswan and Abu Simbel

Aswan is the calmest city on the river, and after the intensity of Cairo and the cruise it is a welcome change of pace. See the Philae Temple on its island, reached by a short motorboat and best in the late afternoon light; sail a felucca around Elephantine Island at sunset, drifting past the granite boulders and the Old Cataract Hotel where Agatha Christie wrote; and visit a Nubian village on the west bank for hibiscus tea and vivid painted houses. If you have appetite for more, the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk lying cracked in its ancient quarry fill out Day 10. Day 11 is the Abu Simbel run — either a 3.5-hour drive each way (usually in an early convoy) or a 45-minute flight — to Ramses II's four 20-metre colossi carved into the cliff and the smaller temple of Nefertari beside it, both relocated block by block in the 1960s to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser, one of the great feats of modern engineering. Go by the early convoy or the first flight to arrive before the midday heat and the tour crush. The Abu Simbel day trip from Aswan covers convoy times and the flight option, and the Aswan travel guide rounds out the city.

Day 12 to 14: The Red Sea

Fly to Hurghada for reef time and a proper wind-down (the Aswan–Hurghada hop is quick, though you may route via Cairo depending on the day). The house reefs off Giftun Island and the wrecks near Abu Nuhas are among the Red Sea's best snorkel and dive sites, with 20 to 30 metres of visibility most of the year and warm water even in winter. Book a boat day to Orange Bay (from about 2,255 EGP, plus a small marine-park fee in cash), a quad safari into the eastern desert at sunset, or a discovery dive if you have never breathed underwater — the reefs here are shallow and calm enough for a first go. After ten days of temples, three days of sun, snorkelling and doing very little is exactly the right note to end on. The Hurghada travel guide lists the reef sites and trips, and you can browse Hurghada experiences directly.

What it costs

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)	2,255 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
4-night Nile cruise, full board	18,000 EGP (about 370 USD)	22,000 EGP

Practical tips for two weeks

Book the Nile cruise and the Abu Simbel flight before arrival, since both sell out in the December-to-February peak. Carry a light scarf for mosque and church visits, and pack for a 15C swing between an Aswan afternoon and a pre-dawn balloon lift-off. A single-entry tourist visa now costs 30 USD (raised from 25 in March 2026), available online through the official e-visa portal or on arrival; note that Luxor and Aswan airports have been granting free entry visas in the May-to-October low season. Tip in small EGP notes — 20 to 50 for hotel staff, 100 to 200 a day for a private guide — and carry cash for the marine-park fee on Red Sea boat trips. Domestic flights on EgyptAir link Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada in under 90 minutes each, so transit never eats a whole day. Work out your season and budget with best time to visit Egypt and the Egypt trip cost breakdown.

Make it yours

Swap Hurghada for Sharm el-Sheikh if Ras Mohammed diving is the real draw, or add three nights in Siwa Oasis for salt lakes and the Oracle Temple. Honeymooners might trade the standard cruise for a slower, sail-powered dahabiya and a night or two in one of Aswan's grand old riverside hotels. Travellers with more history in them can bolt on Saqqara and Dahshur as a half-day out of Cairo, or an extra day in Luxor to reach the tombs of the nobles and Medinet Habu, which most tours skip. Want a tighter loop? The 10-day Egypt itinerary drops Alexandria and trims the beach, and the 7-day Egypt itinerary covers the greatest hits for a shorter trip. Not sure how long you need? Start with how many days in Egypt.