Pyramids · Aswan temples · 5-star Nile cruise · Luxor West Bank · Saqqara · Dahshur. EDT private tours with licensed Egyptologist guide. Suggested framework — fully customizable.
Important: This itinerary is a suggested framework built from EDT’s operational experience with similar Cairo and Nile cruise packages. The day structure and pricing are anchor estimates. Actual routing and costs depend on your travel dates, hotel availability, and group size. WhatsApp Attarious at +20 100 680 88 57 to receive a confirmed itinerary and fixed quote for your travel dates.
Nine days allows you to complete the full Cairo and Nile cruise circuit and then add a dedicated Cairo south archaeological day before departure. Days 1-6 follow EDT’s proven Cairo and Nile cruise pattern: Giza Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, domestic flight to Aswan, three nights on a 5-star Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor with stops at Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Luxor Temple, and the Luxor West Bank. Day 7 is the Luxor to Cairo return flight day, with one night in a Luxor hotel before the morning departure.
Day 8 is what makes this itinerary distinctive. With the Nile cruise section complete and departure still a day away, Day 8 becomes a Cairo South archaeology day: Memphis (Egypt’s first capital, founded by King Menes, home to the colossal Ramses II statue), Saqqara (the Step Pyramid of Djoser, 2630 BC, the world’s oldest major stone structure), and Dahshur (the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid — the experiments that made Giza possible). All three sites are within 30-40km south of central Cairo, manageable in a single day with a guide.
Compare this to the 9-day archive hub for other 9-day patterns. For the Red Sea variant after Luxor, see the 10-Day Cairo, Nile Cruise, and Hurghada itinerary.
All tours are private with a licensed Egyptologist guide. WhatsApp Attarious at +20 100 680 88 57 for a confirmed quote. Booking confirmation within 3 hours.
Your EDT representative meets you at Cairo International Airport, holding a sign with your name, and assists with immigration and customs. Private AC vehicle transfer to your Cairo hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight in Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
After breakfast, your licensed Egyptologist guide picks you up for Cairo’s signature sites. At the Giza Plateau you visit the Pyramid of Cheops, the Pyramid of Chefren, and the Pyramid of Mykerinus, then the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple of Chefren. In the afternoon, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near Giza: the complete Tutankhamun collection with over 5,000 artifacts, including the gold death mask and the royal coffins on display for the first time. Overnight in Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Morning transfer to Cairo Airport for the domestic flight to Aswan. On arrival your guide takes you to the Aswan High Dam (built 1960-1970, controls the Nile flood cycle, created Lake Nasser). Then the Temple of Philae, relocated to Egilica Island by UNESCO to save it from Lake Nasser’s rising waters — dedicated to Isis and Hathor. End with the Unfinished Obelisk, showing exactly how pharaonic quarrymen worked granite. Transfer to your 5-star Nile cruise. Dinner and overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Optional: early morning AC vehicle trip to Abu Simbel, 280km south (add-on, not included in base price). The Temple of Abu Simbel was built by Ramses II and relocated by UNESCO in the 1960s. Return to Aswan. The cruise sails north to Kom Ombo Temple, a rare double temple dedicated to Sobek (crocodile god) and Haroeris (Horus the Elder). The cruise continues to Edfu. Overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Morning arrival at Edfu. Visit Edfu Temple (Temple of Horus), the best-preserved temple in Egypt, built over 180 years during the Ptolemaic period — pylons, hypostyle hall, and inner sanctuary all intact. Return to the cruise, sail north to Luxor. Evening visit to Luxor Temple, built by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramses II. Return to cruise. Overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
Optional: early hot air balloon over the Nile Valley (extra cost, pre-booking required). After breakfast, disembark and head to the West Bank. Valley of the Kings: 3 royal tombs from New Kingdom pharaohs. Temple of Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahari): the three-terraced mortuary temple of Egypt’s most famous female pharaoh. Photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon. Then Karnak Temple Complex, the largest ancient religious site in the world, with the Great Hypostyle Hall’s 134 columns. Transfer to your Luxor hotel. Overnight in Luxor.
Meals: Breakfast.
After breakfast, transfer to Luxor Airport for the domestic flight to Cairo. On arrival, transfer to your Cairo hotel. Rest of the afternoon at leisure — a good day to relax, visit a Cairo bazaar at your own pace, or prepare for the next day’s excursion. Overnight in Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
This day is the defining element of the extended 9-day itinerary and the reason to choose this plan over a standard 7-day Cairo and Nile cruise.
Your Egyptologist guide takes you south from Cairo. First stop: Memphis, Egypt’s first unified capital founded by King Menes around 3100 BC and the center of Egyptian civilization for over 3,000 years. See the colossal Ramses II statue and the sphinx of Memphis. Next: Saqqara, where the Step Pyramid of Djoser (built 2630 BC) stands as the world’s oldest major stone structure — architect Imhotep’s revolutionary design that started Egypt’s pyramid-building era. Then to Dahshur, 10km south of Saqqara. The Bent Pyramid (around 2600 BC) reveals mid-construction angle correction as ancient engineers realized the original 54-degree slope was too steep — one of the clearest records of ancient problem-solving visible in any monument. The adjacent Red Pyramid is the world’s first successful true smooth-sided pyramid, the direct forerunner of Giza. Return to Cairo. Overnight in Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast.
After breakfast, your EDT guide meets you in the hotel lobby and transfers you to Cairo International Airport for your departure. Nine days, one complete archaeological story — from Egypt’s first capital to its greatest monuments.
Cairo (Days 1-2) — Arrive + Giza Pyramids + Grand Egyptian Museum · Cairo hotel 2 nights B&B
Fly Cairo to Aswan (Day 3) — High Dam + Philae Temple + Unfinished Obelisk · Board 5-star cruise
Nile Cruise: Aswan to Luxor (Days 3-5) — Optional Abu Simbel + Kom Ombo (Day 4) · Edfu + Luxor Temple (Day 5) · Cruise 3 nights full board
Luxor (Day 6) — West Bank (Valley of Kings + Hatshepsut + Colossi of Memnon) + Karnak Temple · Luxor hotel 1 night B&B
Fly Luxor to Cairo (Day 7) — Return flight + rest afternoon in Cairo · Cairo hotel 1 night B&B
Cairo South — Memphis, Saqqara, Dahshur (Day 8) — The unique extension day: Step Pyramid of Djoser + Memphis capital ruins + Bent Pyramid + Red Pyramid · Cairo hotel 1 night B&B
Depart Cairo Airport (Day 9) — Transfer from hotel to Cairo International Airport
Total accommodation: Cairo 4 nights B&B + 5-star Nile Cruise 3 nights full board + Luxor 1 night B&B = 8 nights
Important: Prices shown are anchor estimates extrapolated from EDT’s 7-day Cairo and Nile cruise pricing plus two additional Cairo days. Prices correct as of 2026-06-07. WhatsApp Attarious at +20 100 680 88 57 for an exact quote for your specific travel dates and group size.
| Group Size | 3-Star Hotels from $1,620/person |
4-Star Hotels from $1,750/person |
5-Star Hotels from $1,900/person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Person (Solo) | $1,950 | $2,100 | $2,280 |
| 2 Persons | $1,620 | $1,750 | $1,900 |
| 4 Persons | $1,490 | $1,610 | $1,745 |
| 6 Persons | $1,420 | $1,530 | $1,660 |
| 8+ Persons | $1,360 | $1,470 | $1,590 |
All prices per person in double room. Solo supplement applies for single room. 5-star Nile cruise included in all tiers. WhatsApp Attarious at +20 100 680 88 57 for a confirmed fixed quote.
We did the Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor with EDT and the difference from a group tour is night and day. Our Egyptologist guide was with us for every site — explaining things no guidebook covers. The Grand Egyptian Museum day in Cairo was extraordinary. Highly recommend Attarious and the team.
The Cairo south extension was the best suggestion our guide made. Saqqara and Dahshur are almost tourist-free compared to Giza, and seeing the pyramid evolution story in one day — from Djoser’s Step Pyramid to the Bent Pyramid to Giza — was something I’ll never forget. This is how Egypt should be done.
Attarious and the EDT team were responsive from the moment I sent the first WhatsApp message. The itinerary was adjusted to fit our exact dates and interests within hours. The Nile cruise quality far exceeded our expectations for the price. I’ve already recommended EDT to four friends.
The standard 7-day Cairo and Nile cruise ends in Luxor and flies straight back to Cairo for departure on Day 7. This 9-day extended version returns to Cairo on Day 7, then adds Day 8 as a dedicated Cairo South archaeological day — visiting Memphis (Egypt’s first capital), Saqqara (Step Pyramid of Djoser, 2630 BC), and Dahshur (the Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid). Day 9 is the departure. The extra two days give you the full pyramid evolution story: Dahshur proto-pyramids, Saqqara’s Step Pyramid, and the Giza Pyramids already seen on Day 2.
Giza represents the peak of pyramid construction. Dahshur shows you the experiments that led to Giza. The Bent Pyramid (built by Sneferu, around 2600 BC) shows the builders changing angle mid-construction when the original slope proved unstable. The Red Pyramid next to it is the world’s first successful true pyramid. Seeing them after the Nile cruise puts the whole pyramid evolution story into order — from Step Pyramid (Saqqara, 2630 BC) to proto-pyramid (Dahshur, 2600 BC) to the full true pyramid (Giza, 2560 BC).
This is a suggested framework based on EDT’s operational experience with similar Cairo and Nile cruise packages. The day structure and pricing shown are anchor estimates. Actual routing, hotel selection, and domestic flight scheduling depend on your travel dates and group size. WhatsApp Attarious at +20 100 680 88 57 to receive a confirmed itinerary and fixed-price quote for your specific travel dates.
The Nile cruise is a 5-star vessel with full board accommodation for all 3 nights from Aswan to Luxor — this applies to all hotel tiers (3-star, 4-star, or 5-star land hotels). The cruise rating and full board status do not change based on your land hotel selection. All meals on board are included in the package price.
The 9-day extended cruise itinerary includes: Cairo hotel 4 nights on a bed and breakfast basis (Days 1-2 pre-cruise, Days 7-8 post-cruise), 5-star Nile cruise 3 nights full board (Days 3-5), and Luxor hotel 1 night on a bed and breakfast basis (Day 6 after disembarking the cruise). Total: 8 nights across three types of accommodation. The star rating of Cairo and Luxor hotels depends on the tier you select — the cruise is 5-star in all tiers.
Yes — if you only have 8 days available, the Day 8 Cairo South extension becomes the departure day. You would depart from Cairo Airport on Day 8 morning without visiting Memphis, Saqqara, and Dahshur. WhatsApp Attarious at +20 100 680 88 57 to adjust the day count and get a revised quote. Alternatively, the 7-day Cairo and Nile cruise itinerary pattern may be a better starting point if you have 7-8 days available.