10 day luxury Egypt tour: 2026 itinerary and cost

• **Day 1**: Arrive Cairo, transfer to Four Seasons Nile Plaza or St Regis Cairo, rest
• **Day 2**: Pyramids of Giza + Sphinx (private, with camel option), lunch at Mena House, Grand Egyptian Museum
• **Day 3**: Coptic + Islamic Cairo (Hanging Church, Ben Ezra, Sultan Hassan, Al-Azhar), Khan el-Khalili at dusk
• **Day 4**: Morning flight to Luxor, board Sanctuary Sun Boat IV, Karnak afternoon, Luxor Temple after dark
• **Day 5**: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon – sail to Esna
• **Day 6**: Esna Lock, Edfu Temple, sail to Kom Ombo + temple
• **Day 7**: Sail to Aswan, Philae Temple, High Dam, Nubian dinner ashore
• **Day 8**: Disembark, fly to Abu Simbel (90-min visit), transfer to Old Cataract for 1 night
• **Day 9**: Felucca sail at sunrise, fly back to Cairo, last night at Four Seasons
• **Day 10**: Optional Saqqara + Dahshur morning, evening departure

Three concrete differences between a luxury 10-day Egypt holiday and the (cheaper) deluxe equivalent:

• **Cairo hotel.** Luxury = Four Seasons Nile Plaza, St Regis Cairo, or the new Four Seasons First Residence. Deluxe = Sofitel El Gezirah, Kempinski Nile, Marriott Mena House. The gap is £150–300/night plus the Four Seasons' incomparable service ratio.
• **Nile cruise vessel.** Luxury = Sanctuary Sun Boat IV (38 cabins, butler service), Oberoi Philae or Zahra (22-24 cabins, true 5-star afloat). Deluxe = Movenpick Royal Lily, Sonesta St George – large vessels, fine but not personalised. The gap on a 4-night sail is £450–1,000 per person.
• **Guide tier.** Luxury bookings get our senior Egyptologists (the 20+ year team with PhDs or near-PhD), not our standard Egyptologist roster. Deeper context, more flexibility on which tombs to visit, often direct curator access at GEM.

Land-only (excluding international air) on the lower end (£6,300–7,500): Four Seasons Nile Plaza Pyramid View, Sanctuary Sun Boat IV in a standard cabin, Old Cataract garden room in Aswan. All private guiding, all transfers, all entry tickets (including Tutankhamun, Seti I, the Mummies Hall), internal flights Cairo-Luxor / Aswan-Cairo and the Abu Simbel air day-trip.

Upper end (£8,500–10,500): same hotels but suite-category, Oberoi Philae in a deluxe stateroom, Old Cataract Sultan Suite, hot-air balloon over Luxor at dawn, helicopter transfer to Sakkara, private felucca with a Nubian quartet at sunset.

International flights from the UK add £400–650 in economy, £2,000–3,500 in business (BA Club World or Qatar QSuite is the sweet spot).

Best for: couples celebrating a milestone (silver wedding, retirement, post-divorce solo splurge), small family groups (4 adults), and first-time visitors who specifically want the unhurried 5-star end of the Egypt experience.

Pick something else if: (a) you're travelling on a budget – the 10-day deluxe at £4,200–5,600 per person delivers 85% of the same monument experience; (b) you want comprehensive Egypt – extend to 14 days luxury to add Alexandria, the Red Sea, or the Lake Nasser cruise; (c) you have kids under 8 – the pace works but the luxury hotels are quiet, child-orientated options at the deluxe tier (Marriott Mena House) are better.