10-Day Egypt Itinerary: Cairo, a Nile Cruise and the Red Sea

Ten days is the sweet spot for a first trip to Egypt. It is long enough to see the Pyramids, sail past the great temples of Upper Egypt, and still end with your feet in the Red Sea — without the punishing pace of a shorter visit. This itinerary stitches those three very different Egypts together so each leg flows into the next, with the connections and timing that actually make it work on the ground.

The shape of the trip

The route is built around one internal flight and one Nile cruise, which together remove most of the long overland driving. You start in Cairo, fly south to Luxor to pick up the cruise, sail to Aswan, then transfer across the Eastern Desert to the Red Sea coast before flying home.

Days	Base	Highlights
1–3	Cairo	Pyramids of Giza, Egyptian Museum, Islamic Cairo
4	Luxor	Karnak, Luxor Temple, board the cruise
5–6	Nile cruise	Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo
7	Aswan	Philae, High Dam, disembark
8–9	Red Sea (Hurghada)	Snorkelling, diving, rest
10	Departure	Fly out of Hurghada or back via Cairo

Tip: book the Cairo–Luxor flight and the Nile cruise before locking in your international dates. Domestic flights and cabins on the better boats fill up fast in peak season (December–February), and they anchor the whole itinerary.

Days 1–3: Cairo and Giza

Day 1 — Arrival and the Pyramids

Land in Cairo, settle in, and head straight to the Pyramids of Giza if your arrival is early enough. Giza sits on the western edge of the city, so a hotel in Giza itself saves you a long morning commute the next day. Save the inside-the-pyramid ticket for those who really want it — the chambers are bare and cramped — and spend your energy on the panorama point and the Great Sphinx.

Day 2 — Ancient and Islamic Cairo

Spend the morning at the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square (or the newer Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza, if you prefer the modern displays of Tutankhamun’s treasures). In the afternoon, dive into Islamic Cairo: the Citadel of Saladin, the Sultan Hassan Mosque and the bustle of Khan el-Khalili bazaar.

Day 3 — Saqqara and Memphis

A half-day trip to Saqqara, home of the Step Pyramid of Djoser — the oldest stone pyramid in Egypt — and the ancient capital of Memphis rounds out the Cairo leg and gives useful context before you head south. Fly to Luxor in the evening or first thing on Day 4.

Day 4: Luxor and boarding the cruise

Luxor is an open-air museum. Start at Karnak, the vast temple complex whose Hypostyle Hall of giant columns is one of the most photographed spaces in Egypt, then visit Luxor Temple, especially atmospheric when lit at dusk. Board your Nile cruise boat in the afternoon and settle in for the sail south.

Days 5–7: The Nile cruise to Aswan

This is the most relaxed stretch of the trip — the temples come to you.

• Valley of the Kings (West Bank, Luxor) — the rock-cut tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs, painted in colours that still glow.
• Edfu — the Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved in Egypt, usually reached from the dock by horse-drawn carriage.
• Kom Ombo — an unusual double temple right on the riverbank, often visited at golden hour.
• Aswan — gentler and warmer, with the island temple of Philae and the High Dam.

Between sights, the cruise is yours: a sun deck, slow river views and Nubian villages drifting past. Disembark at Aswan on Day 7.

Days 8–9: The Red Sea

From Aswan it is a few hours by road across the Eastern Desert to Hurghada on the Red Sea — or a short domestic flight if you prefer. These two days are your reward: warm, clear water and some of the most accessible coral reefs in the world.

• Snorkelling or diving straight off the beach or on a boat trip to offshore reefs.
• A desert excursion for those who want a change of scene.
• Doing nothing at all — after a week of early starts, a pool day is well earned.

Tip: if you only have time for one water activity, a half-day boat trip to a reef like Giftun Island beats a beach swim — the visibility and marine life offshore are in a different league.

Day 10: Departure

Hurghada has its own airport with seasonal international flights, so you can often fly home directly. If not, a short hop back to Cairo connects you to long-haul departures. Build in buffer time — Egyptian airports can be slow at security.

Making it work

A few practical notes that save headaches:

• Pace: this itinerary front-loads the sightseeing in Cairo and Luxor, then eases off. That rhythm matters in the heat.
• Guides: a good Egyptologist guide transforms the temples from stone to story. Worth it for at least Cairo and the cruise.
• Season: October to April is the comfortable window; midsummer in Upper Egypt is genuinely punishing.

This is a template, not a rulebook — swap the Red Sea for a few extra days in Cairo if ruins are your thing, or extend the cruise to seven nights for a slower pace. To shape it around your own dates and tastes, see our plan your trip page. Ten days, well sequenced, is enough to fall for Egypt.