The Luxury Egypt Itinerary: 10 Days in Style (2026)

This is the classic Egypt route, Cairo to the Nile to Aswan, raised at every step: the finest hotels, a private sailing boat, a scholar at your side and access most travellers never get. Ten days, beautifully paced. (See the arc on the interactive map.)

Days 1 to 3: Cairo and Giza, in style

Settle into a pyramid-view hotel (see Cairo luxury hotels) or a Nile-front five-star. With a private Egyptologist, take the Grand Egyptian Museum and the pyramids at the quietest hours, add the uncrowded pyramids of Saqqara and Dahshur, and spend an evening in Islamic Cairo with dinner over the city. See private pyramids access for the upgrades.

Day 4: Luxor

A private transfer and short flight to Luxor. Karnak and the West Bank tombs with your guide, a night at a heritage hotel like the Sofitel Winter Palace, and an optional sunrise balloon over the Theban hills.

Days 5 to 7: a private dahabiya to Aswan

Board a dahabiya, a small wind-powered sailing boat with private crew and chef, for the loveliest stretch of the Nile. Edfu and Kom Ombo by day, quiet sandbank moorings and candlelit dinners by night, and a river that has not changed in millennia drifting past the deck. See luxury Nile cruises.

Days 8 and 9: Aswan and Abu Simbel

Check into the legendary Sofitel Old Cataract above the First Cataract. Sail to Philae, visit a Nubian village, and fly south to Abu Simbel for Ramesses II's colossi above Lake Nasser.

Day 10: a graceful finish

A last Nile morning before private transfers home, or extend with a few days on the Red Sea to unwind. Throughout, expect dedicated guiding, private transfers and smooth domestic flights. For the philosophy behind it, see the luxury Egypt guide.