20 guidesCairo & Giza
- How hotel pickup works for Cairo day tours
- What can you see in Cairo in 6 hours?
- Best time of day to visit the Giza pyramids
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Egypt day tour guides
Straight answers for one-day trips in Egypt: what a day tour includes, how the day runs, and what to know before the sites of each city. 82 guides, written from checked facts and our tours' own plans.
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New to day tours in Egypt?
What is a day tour in Egypt?A guided day from your hotel and back: what it includes, how long it lasts and where our tours start.
How we plan an Egypt day tour, hotel to hotelStops in order, drives without traffic, inclusions and changes: how a day on this site is put together.
Private day tours in Egypt: what "private" means on our toursYour car and guide are always private; on 17 tours the boat, show or safari is shared with other guests.
How to book an Egypt day tour: from request to pickupRequest, reply with the price and plan, deposit, pickup: how booking a day tour works on this site.
By city
Guides for the city you're staying in
20 guides
10 guidesLuxor
- West Bank or East Bank: how to split a Luxor day
- Valley of the Kings: tickets and tombs for a day visit
- Dendera and Abydos from Luxor: is the long day worth it?
7 guidesAswan
- Abu Simbel from Aswan: what the day looks like
- Philae Temple from Aswan: the boat, the hours and the tickets
- Edfu and Kom Ombo from Aswan: the temples on the road north
4 guidesAlexandria
- Alexandria in a day: what the city tour covers
- El Alamein or Wadi El Natrun: which day from Alexandria?
- Can you visit Alexandria from Cairo in one day?
14 guidesRed Sea
- Cairo in a day from Hurghada: how the day runs
- Giftun, Tiran or Port Ghalib: which sea day?
- Hurghada day trips compared: sea, desert or Cairo?
Quick answers
Before you book
Are the day tours private?
Yes. Your car and guide are always just for your group. On some tours the activity itself, such as a balloon flight, a show or a boat, is shared with other guests.
What private means on our tours →Is hotel pickup included?
Yes. Every tour starts and ends at your hotel, and some tours in Luxor and Aswan also collect guests from Nile cruise boats.
How hotel pickup works →How do I pay, and can I cancel?
A 25% deposit, paid online by card or PayPal, confirms the booking, and the rest is paid in cash on the day. Cancel up to 24 hours before the tour starts for a full refund.
How to book a day tour →Are domestic flights included on the day trips by plane?
No. The flights are never part of the tour price; they are booked separately and follow the airline's own rules.
How a day trip by plane works →Is lunch included?
On many tours, yes. On some it is optional and not included, and a few tours list no meal. Each tour page says which.
What is included in a day tour →Are the times on the tour pages fixed?
No, they are estimates. Your pickup time is confirmed when you book, because traffic and your hotel's location change it.
How we plan a day →Do children pay to enter the sites?
Children under 6 enter Egypt's state monuments and museums free. Older children pay the ticket that applies to them.
Day tours with kids →Is there a student ticket?
Yes. Students need a valid student ID and must be 24 or younger.
Tickets at Giza and Saqqara →Can I take photos at the sites?
Photos with a mobile phone are free of charge at the state sites. Some tombs sell a separate camera ticket.
Valley of the Kings tickets and tombs →When should I arrive at a site?
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities advises arriving at least one hour before a site closes.
Best time of day at the pyramids →What should I wear?
Dress modestly, especially in rural areas, mosques and markets.
First time in Egypt →Can I join a day tour from a Nile cruise?
Yes, on some tours in Luxor and Aswan the pickup can be from your cruise boat. Ask when you book.
Day tours from a Nile cruise →All guides
Every guide, by city
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Day tours in Egypt
- What is a day tour in Egypt?A guided day from your hotel and back: what it includes, how long it lasts and where our tours start.
- How we plan an Egypt day tour, hotel to hotelStops in order, drives without traffic, inclusions and changes: how a day on this site is put together.
- Private day tours in Egypt: what "private" means on our toursYour car and guide are always private; on 17 tours the boat, show or safari is shared with other guests.
- How to book an Egypt day tour: from request to pickupRequest, reply with the price and plan, deposit, pickup: how booking a day tour works on this site.
- Day tours or a package tour: seeing Egypt one day at a timeA package sells the whole trip; day tours let you build it from a base, one day at a time.
- Egypt day trips by plane: how a one-day flight tour worksThe airport, the drives at each end, the day on the ground, and the flights that are not in the tour price.
- Day tours from a Nile cruise boat in Luxor and AswanWhich Luxor and Aswan day tours pick you up from a Nile cruise boat, and how to fit one in.
- What is included in an Egypt day tour, and what is notPickup, car, guide, tickets, lunch, tips and flights: what our day tours include and leave out.
- Planning several day tours in one Egypt tripPlan by base, avoid repeated stops, and mix long drives with short days.
- Egypt day tours by city: what you can do from each baseWhat you can do from each of our 8 bases, from the Giza pyramids to the Red Sea reefs.
- First time in Egypt: which day tours to start withGiza and a museum in Cairo, both banks in Luxor, Philae in Aswan: where a first trip starts.
- How Egypt day tour prices work on this sitePer person, for 2 or more: 'from' prices, the deposit, cancellation and what sits outside the price.
- Sound and light shows compared: Giza, Karnak and PhilaeHow you watch each show, the story it tells, its length, and what our evenings include.
- Early starts and long drives on Egypt day tripsThe longest drives and earliest starts on our day trips, why, and the shorter alternatives.
- Summer heat on Egypt day tours: how to plan the daySummer highs by city, the sites that open earliest, and how to shape a day tour around the heat.
- Day tours during Ramadan: hours and paceWhich sites on our tours change hours in Ramadan, and which tour days that tightens.
- What to wear and bring on an Egypt day tourClothes for each kind of stop, the weather by month, and what the tour already provides.
- Photography rules at Egyptian sitesPhone photos, museum limits, tomb camera tickets, drones and photographing people.
- Opening hours of the sites on our day toursOpening and last-entry times for the sites on our tours, from Giza to Abu Simbel.
- Do you need a guide at Egypt's temples and pyramids?What you handle on your own, what a guide adds, and which tickets stay separate on a tour.
- Questions to ask before you book an Egypt day tourPrivate or shared, pickup, tickets, lunch, flights and cancellation: what to ask and what a clear answer says.
- Egypt day tour glossary: terms you will see when bookingPrivate, without traffic, Egyptologist, last entry, felucca: the words on a tour page, defined.
- Only one day in Egypt: which city and which tour?The one-day tour from each base, and what Cairo, Luxor and the Red Sea give you in a single day.
- How many days do you need in each city for day tours?Full-day and shorter tours city by city, and where two tours cover the same ground.
- Egypt day trips by historical eraFrom the pyramids to the High Dam: the day trips that cover each period of Egypt's history.
- Egyptian site names and spellings: Saqqara or Sakkara?Saqqara or Sakkara, Khufu or Cheops: the double names on tour pages and tickets, matched.
- Best things to do in EgyptThe pyramids, the Nile temples, Alexandria and the Red Sea, base by base, as day tours.
Cairo & Giza
- How hotel pickup works for Cairo day toursDrive times without traffic from three Cairo hotel areas, who meets you, and what the transfer includes.
- What can you see in Cairo in 6 hours?A half-day tour, one cluster of nearby sites, or a two-hour felucca sail or quad ride; check last entry.
- Best time of day to visit the Giza pyramidsOpening hours, the 4 p.m. cutoff, Ramadan hours, monthly temperatures and the evening show.
- Cairo day tours for families with kidsFree entry under 6, student tickets with ID, what each Cairo tour includes, and what to ask first.
- Giza pyramids or Saqqara: which day trip first?Giza first, then Saqqara: what each site has, hours, tickets and the drive between them.
- Egyptian Museum or Grand Egyptian Museum?Tutankhamun is at the GEM and the royal mummies at NMEC: what each Cairo museum holds and how to choose.
- Best Cairo day tours for first-time visitorsOur Cairo tours compared by what they cover and how long they run, and how to pair them without repeats.
- Before you book a Grand Egyptian Museum visitTimed online tickets, gallery hours by weekday, what admission covers and where Tutankhamun is.
- Giza pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum in one dayBoth fit in one day: 6.8 km apart, plateau first, museum after lunch, with hours that allow it.
- Going inside the Great Pyramid: the extra ticketThe separate interior ticket, its hours, what the passages lead to, and how it fits our tours.
- Drive times between Giza, Saqqara and Memphis, without trafficEach leg of the Giza, Saqqara and Memphis day in km and minutes without traffic, plus site hours.
- Giza plateau, Giza city and Cairo: where the pyramids areWhere the pyramids stand, how Giza and Cairo fit together, and how far each hotel area is.
- Before you book a quad bike ride at the pyramidsWhat the Giza quad ride includes, what it leaves out, and the monthly heat to plan around.
- The pyramids sound and light show: what to expectHow the evening runs, what is lit up, what is included and what to ask before you book.
- Cairo evenings: felucca, dinner cruise or sound and light?Felucca, dinner cruise or the show at the pyramids: what each evening includes and who it suits.
- Coptic Cairo or Islamic Cairo: which half day?Churches and a synagogue, or the Citadel and the mosques: what each side holds and how to see both.
- One full day or two half days in Cairo?What a full Cairo day covers, which half days fit a morning, and when splitting the sights helps.
- Cairo on a layover: what fits between flightsVisa options, airport-to-pyramids drive times, and the layover tour that meets you at the airport.
- Best things to do in CairoMuseums, the Citadel, Coptic and Islamic Cairo, the bazaar, the Nile and the evenings.
- Best things to do in GizaThe pyramids, the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum and the pyramid fields to the south.
Luxor
- West Bank or East Bank: how to split a Luxor dayWhich sites sit on each bank of the Nile, and how our Luxor day tours divide them.
- Valley of the Kings: tickets and tombs for a day visitThe general ticket, the tomb tickets our tours leave out, and where the valley falls in each day.
- Dendera and Abydos from Luxor: is the long day worth it?Three long drives, two temples and lunch: what the day holds and when it beats staying in Luxor.
- Luxor hot-air balloon: what the morning looks likePickup before sunrise, the ferry, the flight over the West Bank, what is included and how cold it gets.
- Karnak or Luxor Temple: which one first?Karnak stops admitting visitors first, so it comes first. How the two temples compare.
- What time of day to visit Luxor's temples and tombsOpening and last-entry times set the order: West Bank early, Luxor Temple last.
- Dendera and Abydos or Edfu and Kom Ombo from Luxor?Two long temple days from Luxor, and what sets them apart.
- Luxor in the evening: the Karnak sound and light show and Luxor Temple's late hoursThe Karnak show and Luxor Temple's late hours: what an evening in Luxor can hold.
- How many temples fit in one day in Luxor and Aswan?Five sites inside Luxor, two temples out of town: what fits, the drives, and last-entry times.
- Best things to do in LuxorThe east bank temples, the west bank tombs, a balloon at sunrise and the temples beyond Luxor.
Aswan
- Abu Simbel from Aswan: what the day looks likeA long road day from Aswan: the drive, the two temples, and the site's hours and tickets.
- Philae Temple from Aswan: the boat, the hours and the ticketsThe boat to the island, our Philae tours by day and by night, two sets of official hours, and the tickets.
- Edfu and Kom Ombo from Aswan: the temples on the road northEdfu first, Kom Ombo on the way back: the drives, the two temples, their hours and the tickets.
- Abu Simbel or Philae: which day from Aswan?A long road day to Abu Simbel or a short boat ride to Philae: how the two Aswan days compare.
- Philae by day or at the sound and light show?Daytime visit or evening show at Philae: what each covers and how they combine.
- Aswan in one day: Philae, the High Dam and a Nubian villageThe High Dam, Philae, a Nubian village and the Philae show: what a day in Aswan can hold.
- Best things to do in AswanPhilae, the High Dam, a Nubian village, a felucca on the Nile and the long day to Abu Simbel.
Alexandria
- Alexandria in a day: what the city tour coversSeven stops from the catacombs to Stanley Bridge, the drives between them and what the tour includes.
- El Alamein or Wadi El Natrun: which day from Alexandria?War museum and cemeteries or three Coptic monasteries: drives, stops and what each day includes.
- Can you visit Alexandria from Cairo in one day?The drive, what one Alexandria day holds, and how our day from Cairo runs.
- Best things to do in AlexandriaCatacombs, a Roman theater, the new library, Qaitbay and day trips, with hours, tickets and tours.
Red Sea
- Cairo in a day from Hurghada: how the day runsFly in, see Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum and the bazaar, fly back: the day in order.
- Giftun, Tiran or Port Ghalib: which sea day?Three boat days from three resorts, compared by boat, stops, lunch, gear and instructor.
- Hurghada day trips compared: sea, desert or Cairo?Snorkeling, a submarine, the desert at sunset, Cairo by plane or Luxor by road: Hurghada day trips compared.
- Sharm El Sheikh day trips: Tiran, the desert or Mount Sinai?A boat day, a desert ride, an evening in Old Sharm, a night climb or a flight: Sharm day tours compared.
- Mount Sinai at night: how the sunrise climb runsThe night drive, the climb for sunrise, the monastery and the road back, from Sharm El Sheikh or Dahab.
- Marsa Alam day trips: the sea, the desert or Luxor?A boat day from Port Ghalib or Samadai, a sunset quad ride, or a long road day to Luxor: what each tour lists.
- Dahab day trips: the Blue Hole, Mount Sinai or Cairo?Snorkeling and a desert ride near town, a night climb, or a flight to Cairo: three days from Dahab.
- Cairo or Luxor as a day trip from the Red SeaWhich resort reaches Cairo or Luxor in a day, by plane or road, and what each day covers.
- Snorkeling trip or submarine in Hurghada?Giftun or Dolphin House snorkeling, or the Sindbad submarine: length, swimming, food and what is included.
- Mount Sinai from Sharm El Sheikh or from Dahab?The same sunrise climb from two bases: drive distances, guides and the way back compared.
- Best things to do in HurghadaReefs, a submarine, a desert evening, the town museum and long days to Luxor or Cairo from Hurghada.
- Best things to do in Sharm El SheikhReefs at Tiran and Ras Mohammed, the desert, Mount Sinai, Old Sharm and days to Cairo or Luxor.
- Best things to do in Marsa AlamLagoons from Port Ghalib, Samadai, a desert sunset and long days to Luxor or Cairo from Marsa Alam.
- Best things to do in DahabThe Blue Hole, the desert, Mount Sinai, St Catherine's Monastery and Cairo in a day from Dahab.