The Grand Tour of Egypt
Fourteen days, every register of the country — Cairo, Alexandria, the Nile by cruise, Abu Simbel and the Red Sea to finish.
What does The Grand Tour of Egypt include, and what does it cost?
The Grand Tour of Egypt is a private 14-day, 13-night journey through Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor and Sharm El Sheikh, from €2,728 per person. It includes a private Egyptologist guide throughout and 13 nights — 4- or 5-star hotels, a 3-night full-board Nile cruise and a Red Sea resort. International flights are not included.
Overview
This is the itinerary for travellers who intend to come once and see it whole. The first week belongs to history: Cairo's two great museums and medieval quarters, Alexandria on the Mediterranean, then a flight south for Abu Simbel — the mountain temple of Ramesses II above Lake Nasser — before a three-night cruise carries you down the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. The second week changes key entirely: after Luxor's tombs and temples you fly to Sharm El Sheikh, where the desert meets some of the clearest water on earth. Four Red Sea days close the journey with snorkelling over the reefs of Ras Mohammed and nothing on the schedule that cannot be cancelled in favour of the pool. All domestic flights are included; every guided day is private.
Itinerary
Arrival in Cairo
- Private airport welcome and transfer to your hotel
- Evening orientation with your planner
Giza & the Grand Egyptian Museum
- The pyramids, panorama and Sphinx in the morning cool
- Tutankhamun's complete treasure at the GEM
Islamic & Coptic Cairo
- The Citadel and the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali
- The Hanging Church and Old Cairo's lanes
- Khan el-Khalili at dusk
Alexandria day
- Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa and Pompey's Pillar
- The Citadel of Qaitbay on the Pharos site
- Seafood lunch on the corniche; return to Cairo
Fly south — Aswan
- Morning flight to Aswan
- Philae by motorboat and the Unfinished Obelisk
- Evening free on the corniche
Abu Simbel
- Dawn road journey to Abu Simbel
- The Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Temple of Nefertari
- Return to Aswan; felucca at golden hour
Embark your Nile cruise
- Morning at leisure; board before lunch
- Sail-away afternoon on the river
Kom Ombo & Edfu
- The twin temple of Sobek and Horus the Elder
- Edfu — the best-preserved temple in Egypt
Arrival in Luxor
- Through the Esna lock to Thebes
- Luxor Temple illuminated in the evening (optional)
Luxor — both banks
- Karnak with your Egyptologist at opening
- Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's temple
- Disembark to your Luxor hotel
Fly to the Red Sea
- Morning flight to Sharm El Sheikh
- Check in; the schedule ends here on purpose
Reefs of Ras Mohammed
- Boat day in the national park — two snorkelling stops over coral walls
- Deck lunch on board
Red Sea at leisure
- A free day — dive, spa or simply the sea
- Farewell dinner in Old Market Sharm
Departure
- Fly to Cairo connecting to your international departure
Included & not included
Included
- Private Egyptologist guide throughout
- 13 nights — 4- or 5-star hotels, a 3-night full-board Nile cruise and a Red Sea resort
- All domestic flights (Cairo–Aswan, Luxor–Sharm El Sheikh, Sharm–Cairo)
- Abu Simbel excursion by private vehicle
- Ras Mohammed boat day with snorkelling equipment
- All entrance fees to sites and monuments
- Lunch on each touring day
- Private air-conditioned transfers
- Hotel pickup & drop-off
- Bottled water every day
Not included
- International flights to and from Egypt
- Egypt entry visa
- Tipping (gratuities)
- Personal expenses
- Optional extras — Abu Simbel, camel rides, dinner cruise, drinks
Comfort & pace
Good to know
Is fourteen days too long for a first visit?
It is the length most returning guests wish they had booked the first time. The Red Sea days at the end are what make the history week sustainable — the trip breathes instead of accumulating fatigue.
How much of this journey is flying?
Three internal flights, each about an hour, replacing what would otherwise be twelve-hour road or rail legs. The one long drive we keep — Aswan to Abu Simbel — is itself part of the experience, crossing open desert at dawn.
Can the Red Sea leg be swapped or extended?
Freely. Some guests trade it for extra Luxor nights or Siwa; others extend Sharm to a full week. The first ten days form the spine and the final act is yours to shape.
How demanding is The Grand Tour of Egypt?
The walking on The Grand Tour of Egypt is moderate, as on any journey built around monuments. Nights: Hotels in Cairo and Aswan, three nights on the Nile cruise, a hotel in Luxor, then a Red Sea resort. By road: A day trip to Alexandria, and Aswan to Abu Simbel and back by road. Early starts: A pre-dawn road journey to Abu Simbel.
Is this journey right for you?
- Travellers who would rather see four things properly than twelve badly
- Anyone who wants a licensed Egyptologist beside them, not a headset and a flag
- Couples and families for whom pace, comfort and privacy decide whether a trip works
- Visitors marking something — a honeymoon, an anniversary, a milestone birthday
- Anyone looking for the lowest price on Egypt — we are not the cheapest and do not try to be
- Coach tours, shared group departures and itineraries sold by the seat
- Hostels, dormitories and hop-on backpacking routes
- Travellers who would rather organise the logistics themselves
What this journey is, without exception
Every operator in Egypt uses the word luxury. These are the specifics behind ours — checkable before you pay for anything.
A licensed Egyptologist, not a guide
Every journey is led by a guide licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism with a degree in Egyptology. They are with you at the monuments, not waiting in the car park — and they are yours for the day, answering your questions rather than reciting to forty people.
Your party only
No shared coaches. No fixed departure dates. No strangers on your itinerary. If you are two people, the vehicle, the guide and the pace belong to two people.
Built around you, then written down
We design the itinerary from your interests and your dates — not from a catalogue page. You receive it in writing before anything is paid, and it changes as often as you want it to until it is right.
One price, itemised
The quote lists what is included and what is not, line by line, before you commit. Your Egyptologist, private air-conditioned transfers and lunch on touring days are inside the price on every journey, and entrance fees are inside it on every multi-day one. Where something sits outside — monument tickets on a day tour, for instance — it is named on the page you are reading, at the rate the ticket office charges, not discovered at the end.
Reachable while you travel
You have a direct line to the people who planned your journey for the whole time you are in Egypt — not a call centre, and not a number that stops answering after the deposit clears.
Time protected, not filled
A day with four sites crammed into it is a cheaper day to sell and a worse day to live. We plan around light, heat and crowds — the Valley of the Kings at opening, the Egyptian Museum when the coaches have gone — and we leave the afternoon alone.
On price, plainly
Kemet sits at the upper end of the Egyptian market and we are comfortable saying so. A private Egyptologist for a week costs what it costs; so does a car that is yours alone and a room that faces the river rather than the car park. What we will not do is quote low, then recover the difference through optional extras, shopping stops and an itinerary that quietly turns into a group. Every price on this site is a per-person starting point for a private journey, and the written quote that follows is the price you pay.
Preparation reading
Guides to help you prepare for this journey.
Egypt Travel Guide
Everything you need to plan a trip to Egypt — visa requirements, the best time to go, getting around, top destinations, culture and practical essentials.
Best Time to Visit Egypt
Egypt's best travel season is October to April, when Nile Valley temperatures are mild and monuments are comfortable to explore. Here is what to expect season by season and destination by destination.
Getting Around Egypt
How to travel between Egypt's cities and sites — domestic flights, the sleeper train, Nile cruises, the Cairo Metro, taxis and private transfers explained.
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