Eight days of slow travel in Alexandria and its countryside, built around food and everyday life. You cook Alexandrian dishes with a local instructor after shopping in the market, eat street-food breakfasts, ride a horse carriage along the corniche, and visit Montazah and the fishing harbour of Abu Qir. In the countryside you spend a day at Edku with its markets, a farm lunch and a bee farm, then stay by Lake Mariout for Bedouin meals, fishing or kayaking and a visit to the Monastery of St Mina. Accommodation and transfers are arranged, from $780.
You arrive in Alexandria and have the rest of the day free to get to know the neighbourhood. We can arrange your transfer from any airport or hotel in Egypt if you book it in advance. Overnight in Alexandria.
The day starts with a traditional Egyptian breakfast in a local home, with an explanation of the dishes and how they are made. Your cooking instructor then takes you to the market to buy fresh ingredients from the stallholders, and back at your accommodation you cook your first Alexandrian meal for lunch, with a light dinner set aside for later. In the afternoon you ride a double-decker bus downtown and a horse carriage along the corniche to the Citadel of Qaitbay, then walk through the old Turkish quarter and its market street to the Mosque of Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi. Overnight in Alexandria. Meals: breakfast and lunch.
After a home-cooked breakfast of falafel, ful and sesame dishes, you visit the Montazah royal gardens, where King Farouk, Egypt’s last king, had his summer palace. You continue to Abu Qir, site of the ancient city of Canopus and of the 1798 naval battle between Nelson’s fleet and Napoleon’s, for lunch overlooking the bay and a walk among the fishermen mending their nets and boats. In the evening you dine on grilled and stuffed pigeon and quail at a traditional restaurant, then walk through the Bahari district for om ali, Egypt’s famous pastry-and-milk dessert. Overnight in Alexandria. Meals: breakfast and lunch.
After breakfast you drive east to Edku, on the lake and the Mediterranean, arriving early to watch the fishermen prepare their boats and to browse the fish, vegetable and fruit markets, where you can buy fruit and fish for dinner. Lunch is at a country farm, where you help the farmers prepare the food and bake fresh bread, followed by a visit to a bee farm to see how honey and beeswax are produced. Back at your accommodation your cook prepares the fish you bought. Overnight in Alexandria. Meals: breakfast and lunch.
You check out and head to Manshiya Square, laid out as the consular quarter in the 1830s, with its statue of Muhammad Ali, for a standing breakfast of falafel and ful from a street cart and mint tea in a local café. You then drive to the Monastery of St Mina, next to the UNESCO-listed ruins of Abu Mena, where you can buy herbs, olive oil and honey made by the monks. After lunch at a Bedouin restaurant and some rest, you ride a tuk-tuk to Lake Mariout for sunset and a Bedouin barbecue dinner in a private tent by the lake. Overnight in King Mariout. Meals: breakfast and lunch.
After breakfast you ride a tuk-tuk through the area where the local Bedouin community lives and spend the morning in the market, buying ingredients with your cook for lunch in a Bedouin home, followed by Bedouin tea. In the afternoon you can fish or kayak on Lake Mariout, walk by the lake or spend time with the fishermen. Dinner is served by the pool at your hotel. Overnight in King Mariout. Meals: breakfast and lunch.
A free day to relax by the lake or explore the town of King Mariout at your own pace. Overnight in King Mariout. Meals: breakfast and lunch.
After breakfast you are transferred to the airport for your flight home. Meals: breakfast.
All prices are in US dollars per person and depend on your travel dates, group size and hotel category. Every tour is private, so we prepare a quote for your own group. You can pay online through our secure payment gateway with no extra costs or surcharges.
After you book, we email your confirmation and tour voucher with all the contact numbers you need.
Tipping is not included and is at your discretion.
100% refund if you cancel 60 or more days before arrival, 50% refund at 30 to 59 days, and free rebooking to new dates inside 30 days. Full details on our cancellation policy page.
A 20% deposit by card confirms your booking (70% for groups of 20 or more). You pay the balance in Egypt.
We strongly recommend travel insurance. Our cancellation policy page lists the providers we trust.
Not included unless listed: special entry tickets (such as inside a pyramid), visa fees, tips and personal expenses.
Most days combine a hands-on cooking class with a local instructor, a trip to the market to pick your own ingredients, and a mix of Alexandria’s landmarks like the Qaitbay Citadel and Abu El Abbas Mosque, so you’re tasting the city as much as sightseeing it.
Not at all. Your instructor walks you through each recipe step by step, so this suits complete beginners as well as anyone who already loves to cook.
You’ll cook traditional Alexandrian and Egyptian dishes using ingredients you help pick out yourself at the local market, from breakfast staples like falafel and fava beans to full home-style meals.
No, it goes further afield too. Later days take you to Edku Lake to see the local fishing and produce markets, and to Mariout for more of the region’s food culture and history.
Yes, every Egypt Day Tours trip is private, just you and your group with your own guide and instructor throughout the 8 days.
