Seven days give you a chance to see Egypt's most prominent landmarks if the route is arranged efficiently and the right means of transport are chosen. The trip starts in Cairo with a visit to the Giza Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then moves by air to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple, and after that heads south by car passing through Edfu Temple and Kom Ombo Temple all the way to Aswan.
The program includes a full day to visit Abu Simbel, which sits 280 kilometers south of Aswan, then the trip concludes with exploring Aswan's most important landmarks before flying back to Cairo. A private Egyptology guide accompanies you daily, with a private air-conditioned vehicle throughout the trip, five-star accommodation at all stops, and two domestic flights included in the price
Upon your arrival at Cairo International Airport, your Traviaz Egyptology specialist meets you and assists with completing arrival procedures and baggage collection.
You then transfer by private air-conditioned vehicle to the luxury hotel in Cairo.
In the evening, a three-hour dinner cruise on the Nile begins aboard one of the upscale cruise boats.
You sail through the waters of the Nile amid Cairo's lights stretching along both banks, with an open buffet of Egyptian and international dishes and folk performances reflecting aspects of Egyptian heritage.
After breakfast, you start your day with your Traviaz guide visiting the Giza Plateau and the Grand Egyptian Museum in a packed program, before heading to the airport in the evening to board the domestic flight to Luxor.
The Giza Plateau represents a royal funerary complex from the Fourth Dynasty era, extending over more than 16,000 hectares and containing three main pyramids, valley temples, and ceremonial causeways. It remains the only surviving site from the ancient Seven Wonders of the World.
The Pyramid of Khufu was built between 2580 and 2560 BC using six million tons of limestone and granite, and it remained the tallest structure in the world for more than 3,800 years.
The Great Sphinx was carved from a single block of limestone, measures 73 meters in length and 20 meters in height, and faces directly east toward the sunrise during the spring and autumn equinoxes.
Its construction dates to around 2500 BC, and it is believed to combine the face of Pharaoh Khafre and the body of a lion, in a representation associated with power and wisdom.
The Valley Temple was built using limestone blocks, some of which exceed one hundred tons in weight, making it one of the oldest preserved stone buildings in the world.
The temple served a role in purification and mummification rituals before transferring the pharaoh's body to his tomb.
The Grand Egyptian Museum, which officially opened in November 2025, sits two kilometers from the Giza Plateau.
The museum displays for the first time the complete Tutankhamun collection, which contains 5,398 artifacts, in a cohesive sequence inside a wing covering 7,500 square meters.
The entrance hall welcomes the visitor with the 82-ton statue of Ramesses II, while behind it the grand staircase is flanked by 87 large statues of pharaohs and deities. In the evening, you transfer to Cairo Airport to board the flight to Luxor.
This entire day is dedicated to exploring Luxor on both banks of the Nile, with visits to some of the most important archaeological sites on the east and west banks.
The Valley of the Kings sits on the west bank of the Nile and contains 63 tombs carved into the rock for the pharaohs of the New Kingdom during the period running approximately from 1550 to 1069 BC.
The standard entrance ticket allows visits to three tombs from the open rotation, while Tutankhamun's tomb requires a separate additional ticket.
The area appears from the outside as ordinary desert hills, but inside the tombs walls decorated with religious texts and scenes documenting the pharaoh's journey to the afterlife appear in distinctive detail.
The Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari was built during the fifteenth century BC in the form of three ascending colonnades in front of the rocky slopes of the west bank mountains.
Hatshepsut, one of Egypt's most powerful queens, dedicated the temple to the god Amun, while its inscriptions record the details of a trade expedition she sent to the Land of Punt.
These inscriptions are considered among the oldest known documentation of long-distance trade relations in history.
The site consists of two massive statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, each carved from quartzite and standing 18 meters tall. The two statues have stood on the Theban plain for more than three thousand years, and they are among the most prominent remains still associated with a massive funerary temple that once stood behind them and has since disappeared entirely.
The Karnak Temple complex represents the largest religious structure built in ancient history, extending over an area of 247 acres. Its construction and development continued for two thousand years, as each pharaoh added a new gateway, hall, or obelisk to the complex.
The Great Hypostyle Hall holds 134 sandstone columns and covers 5,000 square meters, making it the largest hall within any religious structure in history. Traces of the original colors have survived on the bases of some columns for roughly 3,000 years.
The program heads south on this day from Luxor to Aswan, stopping at two prominent temples that do not appear on many traditional tourist routes.
The total distance is approximately 200 kilometers by private air-conditioned vehicle, while the transfer between stops takes about an hour and a quarter each time.
Edfu Temple was built between 237 and 57 BC and is considered the most completely preserved temple in Egypt. The site remained buried under sand and villages for centuries, which helped protect it from erosion and looting.
The temple was dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus, and its main pylon reaches 36 meters in height.
The inscriptions on the walls record the details of the myth of Horus's battle with his uncle Seth, which is the story of the conflict between order and chaos that played a central role in ancient Egyptian belief.
The temple can be reached from a cruise or by car, with the option of using a traditional horse-drawn carriage that has become part of the visit experience.
Kom Ombo Temple sits on the east bank of the Nile and was built during the Ptolemaic period between 180 and 47 BC. It is distinguished as the only temple in Egypt dedicated to two gods simultaneously, namely Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the falcon god.
Its design features complete symmetry around its main axis, with two entrances, courts, colonnades, and sanctuaries dedicated separately to each god. The inscriptions on its walls include what is believed to be the oldest known depiction of surgical instruments in history.
Next to it sits the Crocodile Museum, which displays more than 22 mummified crocodiles that were offered as sacrifices to the god Sobek. After the visit concludes, the trip continues south toward Aswan.
You depart early by private air-conditioned vehicle on a trip that takes two and a half to three hours south of Aswan, through the desert road leading to Abu Simbel. The early departure allows arrival at the temples before the heat rises and before visitor numbers increase.
The Abu Simbel temples sit on the western bank of Lake Nasser and were built by Ramesses II between 1264 and 1244 BC inside the rock face.
Four massive statues of Ramesses stand before the Great Temple, each reaching 20 meters in height, while inside it a 60-meter corridor extends carved into the rock and decorated with inscriptions of the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites.
That battle later led to the first written peace treaty in history. The temple was designed according to precise astronomical calculations that allow sunlight to enter it twice a year on February 22 and October 22, illuminating the statues of Ramesses, Amun, and Ra-Horakhty inside the innermost sanctuary, while the statue of Ptah remains in permanent darkness.
When construction of the High Dam began in the 1960s, the waters of Lake Nasser threatened to submerge the temples entirely.
UNESCO, in cooperation with 50 countries, led a rescue operation that lasted four years from 1964 to 1968 and cost $40 million.
During the operation, 1,036 stone blocks were dismantled, some weighing up to 20 tons, and then reassembled 65 meters above the level of their original site.
Next to it stands the Temple of Nefertari, dedicated to Ramesses's favorite wife and the goddess Hathor, and it is the only temple in ancient Egypt where statues of the queen appear at nearly the same scale as statues of the pharaoh.
Many visitors focus on the Great Temple only and pass by the Temple of Nefertari, so it is preferable to include it in the visit.
After breakfast, the tour begins with your Traviaz guide to explore Aswan's most prominent landmarks, before heading later to the airport to board the return flight to Cairo.
Construction of the High Dam was completed in 1970, and it became an essential element in controlling the annual Nile flood and generating approximately 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
The project also led to the creation of Lake Nasser, which stretches over 500 kilometers in length.
Visiting the High Dam helps in understanding the reasons that drove Egypt to relocate Philae Temple, Abu Simbel, and dozens of other archaeological sites away from the water.
The Unfinished Obelisk sits inside the ancient granite quarries of Aswan, and Queen Hatshepsut had ordered its construction to make it the largest obelisk in ancient Egyptian history, reaching 42 meters in length.
Work on the obelisk stopped after cracks appeared in the rock during the carving process. The block remained in its place without completion, which preserved it half-carved inside the rock and allowed visitors to see the stone-carving techniques used in the pharaonic era directly.
Philae Temple sits on Agilkia Island, is dedicated to the goddess Isis, and dates back to the fourth century BC.
The temple underwent a UNESCO-led rescue operation during which more than 40,000 stone blocks were dismantled and the entire temple was transferred to Agilkia Island, then reassembled while preserving its original orientation.
Access to the temple is by boat across the waters of the Nile, which adds a different element to the visit experience compared to other temples in Egypt. After the tour concludes, you fly to Cairo.
After the final breakfast at the hotel, a Traviaz representative arrives in a private air-conditioned vehicle to transfer you to Cairo International Airport, with the necessary assistance provided throughout departure procedures.
Meals: Breakfast.
Explore Cairo, Aswan, and Luxor in 6 days, visiting the Pyramids, Grand Egyptian Museum, Philae Temple, Valley of the Kings, and Karnak Temple. Includes 5-star hotels and a private guide.
Experience Egypt’s highlights in 5 days with luxury hotels and a private guide. Visit the Pyramids, Grand Egyptian Museum, Saqqara, Luxor, Aswan, and Philae Temple.
Enjoy a luxury Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, with stops at Edfu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel, and Nubian villages. Experience Egypt’s top archaeological sites and the Nile in one journey.
