Slow-Paced Exploration of Egypt Tour

Camels near the Great Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, Egypt.

What to expect on this itinerary

Cruise around the ancient highlights of Egypt on this 10-day tour handcrafted for senior travelers. Enjoy a slow pace as you discover highlights all along the Nile, from the Valley of the Kings to laid-back Aswan. Including a three-day Nile cruise and fly-in excursion to Abu Simbel, you’ll uncover 5000 years of history at your own pace.

Countries Visited

Egypt

Places Visited

Cairo, Aswan, Esna, Luxor

Suggested Duration

10 Days

Customizable Itinerary

Expand All
Day 1

Cairo – The Great Pyramids of Giza

Touch down in Cairo and you will be immediately greeted by a local guide, who will help you navigate customs and sidestep all the touts. Whisked into a private vehicle you’ll head straight for the sanctuary of Giza, where your hotel has a private rooftop overlooking the pyramids. Central Cairo can be overwhelming but it’s quiet out here, sat on the roof, dining on local cuisine, the pyramids illuminated on their nightly light show. There’s simply no better view of this show than the one from your hotel rooftop.

What's Included:

Accommodation
Transfer
Dinner
Day 2

Cairo – Egyptologist Tour of the Pyramids

Day 3

Cairo – Egyptian Museum and Khan El-Khalili Bazaar

Day 4

Aswan – Laid-Back Indulgence in Aswan

Day 5

Aswan – Abu Simbel Temples

Day 6

Aswan – Cruising Around the Nile

Day 7

Esna – River Nile Cruise

Day 8

Luxor – Wander the East Bank

Day 9

Luxor – Luxor West Bank

Day 10

Luxor – Hot Air Balloon Ride

Trip Highlights

  • Immerse yourself in the wonders of Luxor’s West Bank, where the Valley of the Kings impresses both scale and detail
  • Savor three days cruising along the River Nile, on a small-boat cruise that’s perfect for slow historical exploration
  • Settle into Aswan’s old-world desert atmosphere with a leisurely three days of private tours around the riverside town
  • Explore the Great Pyramids of Giza as well as earlier Egyptian pyramids on a Cairo tour led by an Egypologist guide
  • Fly to Abu Simbel for an exquisite day trip at the rock-carved temples
  • Soar above Luxor in a hot air balloon, a final treat for your ten days in Luxor
  • Get to know the best of the Egyptian Museum with a specialist guide, then explore Khan El-Khalili’s living history
  • Feast on the history of Luxor’s East Bank, where remains and relics hint at a magnificent past

Starting Price

$3,900 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.

4.9

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 43 reviews

Egypt Tour Review: Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Nile River Cruise, Pyramids, Temples, 10 Nights

Once again, Zicasso exceeded expectations by recommending this tour company. From my very first interaction with our travel specialist, he listened closely, guided us thoughtfully, and offered excellent suggestions that helped shape an unforgettable family trip to Egypt. I highly recommend the tour company for their personal, top-notch service and outstanding, super-friendly guides.

Our travel specialist and his entire team went above and beyond to ensure our journey was safe, seamless, and completely worry-free. He was always available to answer questions—whether about security concerns (the Middle East war began just weeks before our departure) or arranging a last-minute day trip to Alexandria while we were still in Luxor. We even met via Zoom to finalize our itinerary. He handled every logistical detail, from domestic flights, transfers, and our Nile River cruise to dining recommendations and sightseeing plans.

The itinerary he crafted was perfect, capturing everything we hoped to see and do. He was attentive, flexible, and consistently helpful with suggestions and adjustments along the way.

In Cairo, our Egyptologist and our driver were exceptional—warm, knowledgeable, and so friendly that they quickly felt like family. We learned so much about Ancient Egypt, Alexandria, and the historic sites of Old Cairo. In Luxor and throughout our Nile River cruise, our guide was equally wonderful: attentive, kind, and deeply informative.

Every moment of our trip was enjoyable, comfortable, and safe. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Thanks to Zicasso for matching us with this tour company!

See more

Egypt Trip Review: Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor, Nile River Cruise, Giza, Camel Ride, Felucca, Museums, 8-Night Tour

This trip, arranged by Zicasso's travel agent, was by far the most amazing vacation ever! The rich history, explained by our guide in Cairo and Alexandria and our guide in Aswan and Luxor, made all the sights so memorable! Our driver was the best ever!

See more

Egypt Tour Review: Cairo, Luxor, Pyramids, 4-Day Trip

Zicasso's tour operator took care of everything. All we had to do was show up. Our tour guides in Cairo and Luxor were great and very knowledgeable. They took very good care of us. I would definitely recommend this company. We saw everything we hoped for in four short days.

See more

Egypt Travel Review: Cairo, Luxor, Abu Simbel, Nile Cruise, Museums, History, 10-Night Tour

Overall, the experience was wonderful—well-designed, professionally executed, and full of memorable moments. We truly loved the journey and appreciate the organizational expertise that went into the planning.

As an FYI for your internal quality control and future planning, I’ve outlined the highlights of our experience along with a few areas for constructive feedback.

Exceptional Highlights

Guiding in Cairo: Our Egyptologist was above excellent. His knowledge, passion, and level of engagement were truly impressive and set a very high bar for the trip.

The cruise on the Nile: The cruise was perfection. From the cleanliness and the quality of the food to the exceptional staff, the experience on board was outstanding.

Logistics: The execution of prompt pick-ups and general organizational flow throughout the trip was seamless.

Points for Consideration

Communication & Administrative Coordination: We experienced significant delays with the travel specialist during the planning phase. Despite adding an extra night for leisure back in August and requesting final confirmation four separate times, the addition was missing from the final documents. This oversight resulted in an unexpected $200 charge per couple during the week of the trip.

Guiding (Luxor to Abu Simbel): In contrast to our experience in Cairo, our guide was a disappointment. He provided very brief introductions before directing us to watch National Geographic videos, often waiting in cafes while we explored the sites ourselves. While he was adequate as a "tour guide," he did not meet the standards of an informative Egyptologist.

Professionalism: Furthermore, the travel specialist contacted us via WhatsApp after the trip to claim our tips were insufficient, stating he should have been tipped for full days rather than the half-days he spent with us. This was quite unprofessional, especially as we had tipped above the standard travel company recommendation for the time provided.

Itinerary Discrepancy: The itinerary included a Nubian Village excursion; however, we were instead taken to a small children's museum near our hotel. This was a significant letdown for our party and did not align with the high-end cultural experience we expected.

We wanted to share these details to help you maintain the high standards the travel company is known for. We had a fantastic time overall and remain very happy with the majority of the experience.

Thank you again for a great trip.

Best regards,
Shannon

See more

Egypt, Jordan Vacation Review: Wadi Rum, Temples, Ancient Sites, 2 Weeks

Through Zicasso’s travel company and its agent, my husband and I had a wonderful experience in Egypt and Jordan. 

While we loved all the sites, the most unexpected visit was to the gorgeous Wadi Rum in Jordan. We were glad we missed the flash flood at Petra by a few hours, so we were still able to enjoy the ancient city and lovely natural canyon. And we were only minimally touched in Luxor by the sandstorm in Cairo! 

The whole experience was five-star, especially in terms of the sites visited, guides provided, hotels, and kindness of the people.

Thank you for arranging such a memorable and enlightening trip! We strongly recommend traveling to Egypt and Jordan through our travel agent and his team "on the ground”.

See more

Egypt Vacation Review: History, 7-Day Trip

Everything from the airport meet in Cairo to the airport departure from Cairo was perfect. Each guide was an expert, engaging, and excited to discuss and describe our various sightseeing adventures. The hotels were also fabulous. We could not have expected any more.

See more

Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

30,000+ Verified Traveler Reviews