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If you have been dreaming about visiting the pyramids in Giza or seeing the mummies or exploring the famous Luxor temple, we have designed this unique 7 days in Egypt itinerary for you! Egypt has always felt like an exotic location for us to visit, and we were completely in awe with the beauty of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
We visited Egypt during the Thanksgiving break of 2021 (yes, during Covid!), and I think November was perhaps one of the best months to visit. It is not crazy hot as in summer, and the evenings are nice and pleasant too. So, if you have been thinking about visiting this dreamy desert land, jump right in and learn how to spend 7 days in Egypt using our itinerary below!
7 Days Egypt Itinerary – How We Structured It
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the country, so this is the best location to start your trip from. It was quite a simple route actually; starting from Cairo, then traveling down south to Aswan and moving up north to Luxor, and finally returning to Cairo. Scroll down for a view of the Google map that highlights the entire trip. If you have an extra day, you can do a day trip further down south to Abu Simbel from Aswan, which is highlighted in the 7 days Egypt itinerary map. Technically, we spent 8 nights in Egypt, however, we got to spend 7 full days there, so this itinerary is focused on these 7 days.
How To Get Around During Your 7 Days In Egypt
It is best to book a cab/taxi directly from the hotel that you will be staying in during these 7 days in Egypt, instead of trying to find one outside by yourself. Uber operates in Cairo, but not in the other locations that you would travel, so I would recommend booking a taxi service from the hotel itself; it is much more easier and safer to travel this way. I would advise against trying to drive by yourself in Egypt, the cab services are really economical and their customer service is top notch too.
EGYPTAIR operates flights between the cities with really good schedules and service, so you should be using them to travel between Cairo, Aswan and Luxor.
The Ultimate 7 Days Egypt Itinerary
Day 0: Arrive in Cairo and check-in.
The flight from USA are long (we traveled from San Francisco), so you will mostly arrive in Cairo (airport code CAI) in the evening. Instead of staying in Cairo, I recommend staying in Giza, which is where the ancient pyramids exist. Giza is a 30-45 minute drive from the airport, so make sure you make cab arrangements with the hotel in advance. There are limited ‘quality’ hotels in Giza that can give you the view of the pyramids from your room, so keep that in mind while booking the hotel. Try and get some sleep in the hotel since you will be jet-lagged, and feel refreshed for what Egypt has to offer next.
Day 1: Explore the mosque and museum in Cairo.
After having a hearty and delicious breakfast at your hotel overseeing the pyramids, the first thing that you will do is exchange your USD currency for Egyptian pounds (EGP). None of the major banks (Bank of America, Chase) offer EGP exchange, so you will need to convert your USD to EGP at Egypt. I would recommend avoiding the exchanges at the airport since you will get much better value within the city.
You will then head out to visit the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo. This mosque was built in 1848 by Muhammad Ali Pasha, and is a must visit in Cairo. You can explore the mosque by yourself; the location is huge and is very well maintained. Right next to the mosque is the National Military Museum, which is maintained by the Egyptian Armed Forces. We found this to be interesting and a good place to spend some time in the morning.
It’s almost lunch time and I am sure you must be starving after the long explorations. Your cab driver is the best person who can take you to a clean and decent restaurant for you to savor some local Egyptian cuisine.
Head over to The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), which is absolutely not to be missed. The Royal Mummies’ Hall showcases the most famous mummies of the ancient Kings and Queens of Egypt, specifically those of Hatshepsut (Maatkare), Thutmose III (Menkheperre) and Seqenenre Tea II. This hall has a total of 20 royal mummies, and you must see them to appreciate the scientific advancement that the people during that time had made. Tickets are required to enter, so book in advance.
TIP: Carry the student ID card(s) of your kid(s) along with you, they can avail the student pricing in all the locations in Egypt!
You will easily end up spending around 3 hours exploring the museum, after which I am sure you must be extremely tired (and jet lagged). At this point, head back to the hotel and grab some nice dinner before calling it a night.
Day 2: Visit the Great Pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza.
Today is the day that you have probably been waiting for (we certainly did!), right from the time you planned this trip. You will get to see the Great Pyramids, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the Great Sphinx, and the best day in this 7 days Egypt itinerary.
There are many tour operators in Giza that you will help you experience these wonders. The general duration is either 4 hours or 8 hours depending on all the locations you want to visit; we chose the 4 hour option to cover the pyramids and the sphinx, that included camel ride and lunch as well. Egyptian people are generally very warm and they certainly know how to provide excellent customer service, so you will hopefully experience the same with your tour guide and the driver.
The tour will start off with a visit to the Great Pyramids, where the tour guide will detail the ancient Egyptian history, and will click a lot of photos of you and your family.
After that, enjoy a camel ride which was fun and bumpy! You can spend as much time as you want by the pyramids, the tour guides are generally very welcoming to this.
After having your heart’s fill of the pyramids, the tour will then continue to the Great Sphinx. We found this place to be packed with tourists, so it was difficult to get some good photos.
It was the end of the tour and close to lunch time, so we decided to head for lunch. The tour guide recommended us to check out shops that sell custom perfumes (and Egypt is famous for that!), so we decided to stop by at a store, and ended up buying three bottles of varied fragrances, one for each one of us! We were a little disappointed in the quality of the restaurant that was provided for lunch, so decided to pack our lunch and take it back to the hotel and have it there. Don’t forget to tip the guide and the driver as you bid goodbye to them.
Spend the rest of the day at the hotel enjoying the view of the pyramids. Have an early dinner since you will catch an early flight next day to Aswan.
Day 3: Visit Philae Temple and 1902 restaurant in Aswan.
On day 3 of this 7 days Egypt itinerary, catch an early morning flight on EGYPTAIR from Cairo to Aswan, which is just under 90 minutes. There are many good hotels by Nile River to choose from, so whatever you choose, book the airport pick-up service directly with them. We stayed at the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract, which is a historic luxury resort by the river.
Since we flew in to Aswan early in the morning, we dropped off our luggage (not before enjoying an incredibly warm welcome at the resort) and headed off towards Philae temple. Do book your tour well in advance, you will have many options to choose from, so if you need help, email us.
The Philae temple is on the Philae island, so you will get to enjoy a nice boat ride to get to the temple. The tour guide will help you explore the temple and give you a glimpse into its history.
Your next stop will be the the Aswan High Dam which is built across the Nile River. Your last stop in the tour will be at the Unfinished Obelisk, which is the largest known ancient obelisk. At the end of the tour, don’t forget to tip the guide and the driver.
Spend the rest of the day relaxing at your hotel, or explore the Nubian village nearby. For dinner, I would strongly recommend the 1902 restaurant at the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract. This will give you an opportunity to explore the resort if you are not staying here. The grandeur of the 120 year old restaurant is extraordinary, and expectedly, the service is exemplary. Reservations are recommended and they follow a strict dress code too.
Day 4: Visit Edfu temple and head north to Luxor.
If you have an extra day to spare, you can do a day trip to visit the temples at Abu Simbel built by King Ramses II. It’s a 3 hour drive from Aswan, so the trip will be an easy 8 hour round trip by road. We chose to head north to Luxor instead.
You can choose from a lot of cab operators that can drive you from Aswan to Luxor, which is under 4 hours.
Visit Edfu temple, which is roughly halfway between Aswan and Luxor. Getting good lunch is going to be a challenge, so rely on your cab driver to take you to a decent restaurant.
After checking in at your hotel, head to the Luxor Temple which is in the main area of Luxor. The temple looks magical under the lights at night, so this is something you don’t want to miss.
After spending an hour here and capturing a lot of photos, rest of the time is for your to roam arounds the local streets or have dinner and head back to your hotel.
Day 5: Visit Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.
Today, you will visit the most famous sites in Luxor on the west bank of the Nile, where the mummies of the ancient Kings and Queens of Egypt are kept in their tombs in their originally discovered location. Plan to start early since the sites are across the river and will take you an hour to get to the first one. Arrange for a cab from your hotel and head first to the Valley of the Kings.
Tickets are required to enter, however, advance booking is not needed. The ticket includes entrance to three tombs, except for Tutankhamun, Seti I, and Rameses V and VI’s tombs. Entry into each of these tombs is an additional expense, with the ticket to Seti I being the most expensive. Since this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we did end up visiting all the tombs by paying extra. It’s a decision you need to make depending on how much you are willing to spend.
After spending around 3 hours here, head to the Valley of the Queens. This site is located just a 10-minute drive away from the Valley of the Kings. Tickets are required to enter the site, with an additional charge to visit the tomb of Queen Nefertari, which is absolutely worth it! Unlike the previous site, you will be able to see the open tombs in under 2 hours.
Head back to the hotel or stop by for lunch if it’s not too late already. We were exhausted by the amount of walking needed at both the sites, so ended up having a late lunch and resting at the hotel the rest of the day. There are many good restaurants at Luxor, so you will not have any trouble finding good food for lunch or dinner.
Day 6: Enjoy a hot air balloon ride at Luxor.
One of the famous activities to be done in Luxor is going on a hot air balloon ride! You will get to see many of the sites that you have already visited from an aerial view, and that experience is breathtaking! There are several tour operators that offer this ride; I would recommend you pick one that provides for rides with smaller group sizes (more expensive).
This is an early morning activity since you are going to view the sites from the top, right at sunrise. Most of the operators provide hotel pick-up and drop-off as part of their package, and the total duration is generally around 3 hours, so you can easily return to your hotel in time for breakfast, and you still have the entire day for yourself!
Visit the Karnak Temple, which is very close to the Luxor Temple that you visited on day 4 of your trip. Plan to spend around 3 hours here.
The rest of the day is up to you. I would recommend visiting the Luxor Temple again since you can see it during the day time, and it looks marvelous (and different!) during the day. The other option is to experience the Sound & Light Show at the Karnak Temple, for which you will need to book tickets well in advance. We decided to visit the Luxor Temple during the day, and then wandered along the local streets looking for souvenirs.
Plan to sleep early since you will catch a morning flight back to Cairo, for your last day as part of this 7 days Egypt itinerary.
Day 7: Fly back to Cairo.
Catch a morning flight to Cairo, which is just an hour of flight time. This is your last day in Cairo before you head home, so I would suggest picking a hotel near the Cairo international airport (CAI). We stayed at the Le Passage hotel, which is a luxury hotel just 5 minutes away from the airport. We picked the family connecting room, which gave us two huge interconnected rooms for us to relax in.
Since you have the entire day to yourself, head to the Egyptian Museum which has the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. Tickets are required, but student pricing is available for your kids here too. You will want to spend at least 2-3 hours here; tours are available but this is one of the museums where you don’t need one since you can visit each of the rooms at your own pace.
If souvenir shopping is your thing, the Khan El-Khalili market is the place for you to visit. This market is located in the heart of Islamic Cairo, and is filled with souvenir shops and pick up some nice Egyptian gifts for your family and friends back home. Beware that the vendors will haggle with you to purchase something from their shop, so engage in a conversation only if you are genuinely looking to make a purchase. If your palate is desiring some local Egyptian food, there are many restaurants here that can satisfy your taste buds.
After you have done your shopping, head back to the hotel and prepare to say Ma’a El Salama (goodbye) to the land of the pyramids and the mummies, wrapping up your magical 7 days in Egypt vacation!
Your 7 days Egypt Itinerary Map
Need Help Planning Your 7 Days In Egypt Vacation?
If you need help in planning your 7 days Egypt itinerary, we can create a uniquely custom itinerary for you depending on your taste, right from leaving from home, and returning back. If you want us to book all of your travel, hotels and tours, we can do that too! Email us if you need our help experiencing the ancient wonders of the world and the magical sights of Egypt!
Check out our blog posts about Egypt before you start planning your 7 days Egypt itinerary: