Best Egypt Day Trips & Tours

The best Egypt day trips for first-time visitors are the Pyramids of Giza with the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the East and West Banks of Luxor with Karnak and the Valley of the Kings, Philae Temple and the High Dam in Aswan, and Abu Simbel from Aswan for those happy with a long day. From the Red Sea resorts, a day in Luxor is the classic choice.

Sightseeing day trips usually include pickup and drop-off at your hotel, a private air-conditioned vehicle with driver, a licensed Egyptologist guide, the entrance fees to the listed sites and bottled water, with lunch on most full-day tours. Sea and desert trips include the boat, equipment or vehicle described for that trip. Each trip page lists exactly what is included.

Egypt day trips on this page start from $20 per person for short Red Sea activities such as a glass-boat trip. Half-day and full-day sightseeing tours with a private guide cost more, and the longest trips, such as Luxor from Cairo with a return flight, are priced higher because the flight, transport and guide are included. Each trip page shows its price and what it covers.

Yes. A Luxor day trip from Cairo uses a domestic flight of about an hour each way, giving you a full day for Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut before you fly back in the evening. It is a long day of about 15 hours, and the tour includes the return flight, a private guide, transport in Luxor and the entrance fees.

Yes. Luxor is about 4 hours by road from Hurghada, so a Luxor day trip from Hurghada takes around 12 hours, with a similar long day from Marsa Alam. Cairo can be reached from Hurghada by car in a 16-hour day, or from Sharm El-Sheikh by flight. These trips start early, and a private car lets you leave when it suits you and stop when you need to.

From the Red Sea resorts, the best day trips mix sea, desert and history. Popular choices are snorkelling at Orange Bay or Paradise Island from Hurghada; Ras Mohammed, Tiran Island and the Blue Hole in Dahab from Sharm El-Sheikh; and the Hamata Islands, Satayah Dolphin Reef and Abu Dabbab from Marsa Alam. Desert safaris by jeep or quad bike, stargazing evenings and St Catherine's Monastery with Mount Sinai are also favourites.

The best day trips from Cairo are the Pyramids of Giza with Saqqara and Memphis, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Islamic and Coptic Cairo, and, further out, Alexandria on the Mediterranean, the Fayoum Oasis with Wadi Al Hitan and Tunis Village, and El-Minya. Alexandria and Fayoum each make a full day by car, so start early to make the most of the daylight.

Yes, Abu Simbel is one of Egypt's most impressive sites and worth a day of its own. Its two huge rock-cut temples were built by Ramesses II and moved in the 1960s to save them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. The tour from Aswan takes about 10 hours with an early start, and a short flight is an alternative to the road journey.

Many short trips can be arranged a day or two ahead, but private guided tours in the peak season from October to April are best booked at least a week in advance to secure your date. Trips that involve a domestic flight, such as Luxor from Cairo, or a long transfer, such as Abu Simbel, need at least 3 to 5 days' notice. Booking them together with your main itinerary keeps the logistics simple.

Yes, our day trips are private by default: your party, your guide and your vehicle, so the start time and the pace are set around you. In the hot months we suggest early starts to avoid the midday heat. Where an activity runs differently, for example on a shared boat, the trip page says so, and your guide and our team are on WhatsApp throughout the day.