7 Day Egypt Tour: Private Egyptologist From Cairo to a Nile Cruise

Inside the $1,500

The listing includes an entrance fee, though it does not itemise which sites it covers. So are breakfast, lunch and dinner across the week, all airport and hotel transfers in air-conditioned vehicles, the private licensed Egyptologist and 3 nights in a private cabin on your selected Nile cruise ship. The ship's class is not stated, so ask which vessel you are assigned before you pay.

Touring is private at every site, with no bus groups and no shopping stops, and the Cairo office stays reachable on WhatsApp 24/7 during the trip.

What You Pay Outside the Listing

Three costs sit on top of the $1,500. The Cairo hotel and both domestic flights are the big ones, and the operator does not publish their amounts, so the honest move is to request a written total before booking. The optional Abu Simbel flight is the third, its cost is also not stated.

Add your Egypt visa. The FCDO lists the on-arrival visa at US$30 cash, and Gulf News reports a rise to US$45, so carry enough cash for either figure. Tipping is expected for the guide, driver and cruise crew and is excluded from the package. Own costs like hotel drinks, souvenirs and the hot air balloon over Luxor, which this tour does not offer at all, are yours separately.

• Cairo hotel, booked by the operator at an unstated extra cost
• Domestic flights Cairo to Aswan and Luxor to Cairo, unstated extra cost
• Optional Abu Simbel flight, unstated extra cost
• Visa on arrival at US$30 per the FCDO, or US$45 per Gulf News
• Tips for guide, driver and cruise crew
• Drinks and personal expenses

Cairo, Two Days

Pickup from your Cairo hotel is included, with the exact time set when you check a date. Day work covers the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx on the plateau, then the Grand Egyptian Museum about 2 km from the pyramids, where the listing highlights Tutankhamun's complete treasures shown together. Old Cairo rounds out the Cairo section. All three are entered on your entrance fee.

Your Egyptologist stays with you throughout and adjusts the pace. There are no shared bus groups and no shopping stops on this listing, which is the operator's main selling point.

• Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx
• Grand Egyptian Museum with Tutankhamun's treasures
• Old Cairo

The Flight to Aswan and the First Cruise Day

The listing leaves the flight booking to the operator for an extra cost, so the schedule is theirs to set. Rome2Rio puts a Cairo to Aswan flight at 3h48m door to door with about 1h25m in the air, if you want a sense of the leg. Aswan sightseeing covers the High Dam, 3,830 m long and 111 m high, and Philae Temple, both on the included entrance fee.

Then you board your selected Nile cruise ship for night one of three. The cabin is private, the class of ship is not stated in the listing.

• Flight Cairo to Aswan, booked by the operator at extra cost
• Aswan High Dam and Philae Temple, entrance included
• Optional flight to Abu Simbel, extra cost, timing not stated

Sailing North, Kom Ombo to Luxor

Three nights on the ship carry you past Kom Ombo Temple and Edfu Temple, both entered on the included fee, before Luxor. Rome2Rio puts Luxor and Aswan 213.8 km apart by road, which gives a rough scale of the sailing stretch.

In Luxor the itinerary covers the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, all private toured. The Valley of the Kings holds 65 numbered tombs, of which only about 20 held kings, and your Egyptologist steers you through the open ones. From Luxor you fly back to Cairo on the second extra-cost flight, and the tour ends where it began.

• Kom Ombo and Edfu temples on the sailing north
• Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Karnak and Luxor Temple
• Flight Luxor to Cairo, extra cost, then the tour ends

Anyone Who Wants One Fixed Total

The Cairo hotel and both domestic flights are outside the price, in amounts the listing does not state. If you want a single quote covering bed, wings and touring, the 8-Day Cairo Aswan Luxor Private Tour includes 4 nights in a 5-star deluxe hotel and both flights for $1,800 per person. It rates 4.9 from 285 reviews, though peak dates there add $200 per person.

Travellers with only Cairo on their mind should skip the cruise entirely. The 3-Day Private Cairo Pyramids Tour covers the plateau, museums and Old Cairo privately for $441 per person.

• No fixed total, hotel and flight quotes come separately
• Budget the visa, tips and drinks on top

Fitness, Pregnancy and Heat

The listing states travellers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness and is not recommended for pregnant travellers. Tomb and temple touring means stairs, uneven floors and long stands in the heat. Luxor averages summer highs above 40 C, and the preferred cruise season runs October to February, so a summer date makes the physical demands sharper. If your dates are fixed to summer, read the guide to the best time to visit Egypt before booking, or pick a cooler month.

The listing states no minimum age and no wheelchair information. The listing shows age bands of 0 to 2, 3 to 11 and 12 to 99.

• Moderate fitness required, stated by the operator
• Not recommended for pregnant travellers
• No wheelchair information stated, ask the operator directly
• Summer highs above 40 C in Luxor and Aswan

Cruise Purists and Balloon Seekers

You cannot buy this week cruise only, and there is no hot air balloon in the listing at all. If the sailing is the point, the 5-Day Luxury Nile Cruise Luxor to Aswan is a private cruise-only option at $1,900 per person with an Egyptologist on board, though sales there are final. If a balloon matters, the 8-Day Egypt Highlights with Balloon includes a Luxor balloon ride and Abu Simbel for $1,808 per person, against 12 reviews.

Arriving in Cairo

The listing includes all airport transfers in air-conditioned vehicles, so the operator meets you either way. Your passport needs at least 6 months' validity beyond arrival and a blank page, and the on-arrival visa is US$30 in cash per the FCDO, with Gulf News reporting US$45.

Both domestic flights, Cairo to Aswan and Luxor to Cairo, are booked by the operator at an unstated extra cost. If you would rather skip flying one way, the overnight sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan runs about 14h15m per Rome2Rio, and Rough Guides puts the Cairo to Luxor flight at about 1.5 hours for comparison.

• Fly into Cairo, transfers included
• Visa on arrival US$30 or US$45, cash
• Sleeper train alternative, about 14h15m to Aswan

What to Add Before or After

This itinerary skips Saqqara, Memphis, Alexandria, the Red Sea and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Saqqara sits about 30 to 40 km south of Cairo and holds Djoser's Step Pyramid, the oldest complete stone building complex known. Alexandria is 140 miles (225 km) away by road per Rough Guides, an easy overnight add-on after the tour ends.

The Grand Egyptian Museum guide helps you plan the museum day in depth, including its 12 permanent halls and the Grand Staircase with more than 60 artefacts. The Nile river cruise guide covers the ship choices this listing leaves open.