Route A: Cairo and Luxorالمسار أ: القاهرة والأقصر
The stronger week for first-time visitors. Two hotels, one internal flight, no packing and unpacking on a boat.
- Day 1 — Arrive Cairo. Nothing scheduled.
- Day 2 — Grand Egyptian Museum in the morning, Giza plateau late afternoon.
- Day 3 — Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur.
- Day 4 — Islamic Cairo: Citadel, Sultan Hassan, Al-Muizz, Khan el-Khalili. Evening flight to Luxor.
- Day 5 — West Bank at opening: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Colossi. Afternoon free.
- Day 6 — Karnak early, Luxor Temple at dusk. Optional sunrise balloon.
- Day 7 — Fly out from Luxor or via Cairo.
Route B: Cairo and a short cruiseالمسار ب: القاهرة ورحلة قصيرة
Fits Aswan and the river temples into the same week, at the cost of a faster Cairo.
- Day 1 — Arrive Cairo.
- Day 2 — Grand Egyptian Museum and the Giza plateau in one day.
- Day 3 — Islamic and Coptic Cairo. Evening flight to Luxor.
- Day 4 — Luxor East and West Banks, board the cruise.
- Day 5 — Esna lock, Edfu.
- Day 6 — Kom Ombo, arrive Aswan; Philae in the afternoon.
- Day 7 — Fly Aswan to Cairo and home.
Making it workكيف ينجح البرنامج
| Internal flights | Cairo–Luxor and Aswan–Cairo are short and cheap. Do not drive these routes to save money; you will lose a day each way. |
|---|---|
| Arrival day | Never schedule sightseeing on the day you land. Traffic and jet lag will take it from you anyway. |
| Start times | Be at every site at opening. This matters more than any other decision in the week. |
| What to cut | Saqqara before Giza, the balloon before the West Bank, Abu Simbel entirely — it doesn't fit in seven days. |
| Best months | October, November, March and April. A seven-day trip has no slack for weather or heat recovery. |
Longer versions of both routes are on the itineraries page; the packaged equivalent is on 7 day Egypt tour.
Common questionsأسئلة شائعة
Is 7 days enough for Egypt?
For Cairo and Luxor, comfortably. For Cairo, Luxor, a cruise and Aswan, it is tight but possible if you fly between bases and accept a fast Cairo.
Can you do a Nile cruise in 7 days?
Yes — a three-night cruise fits alongside two or three nights in Cairo. Four-night cruises leave almost no Cairo time.
Should I fly or take the train from Cairo to Luxor?
Fly. The flight is about an hour; the train is ten hours or an overnight sleeper. The sleeper is an experience in itself but costs you a day in a seven-day trip.
Can you visit Abu Simbel in a week?
Not comfortably. It needs a day from Aswan, and a seven-day trip that includes Cairo has nowhere to put it. Plan ten days if Abu Simbel matters to you.