Classic Egypt & Nile Cruise: 12 Days from Cairo to Abu Simbel

If you ask us for one Egypt itinerary that gets everything right, this is it. Twelve days gives you time to do Cairo properly (Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Saqqara, Dahshur and the old city) before you fly to Luxor and board a five-star ship for the classic four-night cruise upriver to Aswan.

The cruise is the most relaxing way to see the temples of Upper Egypt. You unpack once, and the ship takes you to Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae while you watch village life pass from the sundeck. Your private Egyptologist joins you at every site, so you never get herded with a 40-person group.

We finish with Abu Simbel and a free day in Aswan, Egypt's most relaxed town, before flying back to Cairo for a final night. That buffer protects your international connection home and gives you a last evening by the Nile.

Journey highlights

• Giza pyramids and the Great Sphinx with a private Egyptologist
• A full morning in the Grand Egyptian Museum with Tutankhamun's treasures and Khufu's Solar Boat
• Saqqara, Memphis and the Dahshur pyramids
• Islamic and Coptic Cairo, the Citadel and Khan el-Khalili
• 4-night five-star Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan with full board
• Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae
• Sailing through the Esna lock and a felucca at sunset in Aswan
• Abu Simbel and a visit to a colourful Nubian village

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1

   Arrive in Cairo

   Your Noble Travel representative meets you inside the terminal at Cairo International Airport, helps with visa formalities and walks you to your private car. You are driven to your Giza hotel, about 45–60 minutes depending on traffic. Relax, and if you arrive in daylight, enjoy your first view of the pyramids.

2. Day2

   Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx

   Reach the Giza Plateau at opening time to explore the Great Pyramid, Khafre's and Menkaure's pyramids and the Great Sphinx with your Egyptologist. There is time to go inside a pyramid (optional ticket) and to stop at the panoramic viewpoint for the classic photo of all nine pyramids. The afternoon is free for the pool or a camel ride at the edge of the desert.

3. Day3

   Grand Egyptian Museum

   Spend most of the day at the Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened in full in November 2025. Your guide takes you past the colossal statue of Ramses II in the atrium, up the Grand Staircase lined with royal statues, and through the Tutankhamun galleries, where more than 5,000 objects from the boy king's tomb are shown together for the first time. End with the Solar Boat of Khufu, a 4,500-year-old cedar vessel.

4. Day4

   Saqqara, Memphis, Dahshur and Old Cairo

   Drive south to Saqqara for Djoser's Step Pyramid and the finely carved tombs of Old Kingdom nobles. Stop at Memphis to see the colossal limestone statue of Ramses II, then go on to Dahshur for the Bent and Red Pyramids. Return to the city for the Citadel of Saladin and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, then an evening walk through Khan el-Khalili.

5. Day5

   Fly to Luxor and board your Nile cruise

   Take the morning flight to Luxor (about 1 hour) and board your ship. In the afternoon your guide leads you through Karnak, the largest religious complex of the ancient world, and Luxor Temple as the sun goes down. Dinner on board.

6. Day6

   Valley of the Kings and the Esna lock

   Cross to the West Bank for three royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings (Tutankhamun's tomb is an optional extra), the terraced Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Back on board, the ship sails south and passes through the Esna lock, where traders row alongside to sell tablecloths by throwing them up to the deck. Overnight on board, sailing towards Edfu.

7. Day7

   Edfu and Kom Ombo

   Go ashore early by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the most complete temple in Egypt with its roof still in place. Spend the middle of the day cruising on the sundeck, then visit Kom Ombo's riverside double temple and the mummified crocodiles in its museum. The ship arrives in Aswan overnight.

8. Day8

   Aswan: High Dam, Philae and a felucca

   Visit the Aswan High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk, which would have been the largest ever cut if it had not cracked. Take a motorboat to Philae, the graceful Temple of Isis rebuilt on Agilkia Island. In the late afternoon, sail on a felucca between the granite boulders of the First Cataract. Final night on board.

9. Day9

   Abu Simbel

   Disembark early and drive about three hours through the Nubian Desert to Abu Simbel (or upgrade to the 45-minute flight). Stand beneath the four 20-metre statues of Ramses II and step inside the Temple of Nefertari. Return to Aswan and check in to your hotel for two nights.

10. Day10

    Nubian village and a free afternoon

    Take a boat upstream to a Nubian village on the west bank, where houses are painted in bright blues and yellows and you can have tea with a local family. The afternoon is free: have a drink on the terrace of the Old Cataract hotel, wander the spice souq or relax at your hotel.

11. Day11

    Fly to Cairo

    Take the flight from Aswan to Cairo (about 1 hour 20 minutes) and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for last-minute shopping or a visit to Coptic Cairo's Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue with your guide. Enjoy a farewell dinner by the Nile.

12. Day12

    Depart Cairo

    A private transfer takes you to Cairo International Airport for your flight home via the Gulf or Asia, or on to a Red Sea extension.

Where you’ll stay

Destinations on this journey

Cairo & Giza · Luxor · Aswan · Abu Simbel