In short
- Our full-day Cairo tours are private for your group, with an English-speaking Egyptologist; most include lunch.
- Saqqara is on two days, Pyramids, Memphis and Saqqara and Saqqara, Dahshur and Memphis; the Citadel and Coptic Cairo share two full days and each has a half day.
- The Tutankhamun Galleries are at the Grand Egyptian Museum: see it as a half day, with the pyramids, or with the Tahrir museum.
- Half days of about 3 to 5 hours cover one site or area: the pyramids, one museum, the Citadel, Coptic Cairo or Islamic Cairo.
- From New Cairo the first leg to the pyramids is 45.3 km, about 42 minutes without traffic; from a Giza hotel near the pyramids it is 1.8 km.
There is no single best tour; choose by what you want to see. Grand Egyptian Museum and the pyramids pairs Giza with the Tutankhamun Galleries. Pyramids, Memphis and Saqqara adds Saqqara and Memphis to Giza. Egyptian Museum, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo stays in the city. Booked on different days, the Citadel tour plus either of the other two sees no site twice. With less time, a half day covers one site in about 3 to 5 hours.
Our Cairo tours compared
Lengths are as each tour describes itself; each tour page lists the stops in order, with approximate times. An Egyptologist is a guide trained in ancient Egyptian history. On the newest tours, the program follows how the day usually runs and is confirmed with your quote.
Full days
| Tour | What it covers | Length | Meal | Group and guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pyramids, Memphis and Saqqara | Giza pyramids, Sphinx, Valley Temple; Step Pyramid of Djoser, Pyramid of Teti and nobles’ tombs at Saqqara; Memphis open-air museum | Full day | Lunch | Private; Egyptologist |
| Giza pyramids and the Egyptian Museum | Giza pyramids, Sphinx, Valley Temple of Chephren; Egyptian Museum in Tahrir | Full day, about 8 hours | Lunch | Private; Egyptologist |
| Grand Egyptian Museum and the pyramids | Giza pyramids, Sphinx, Valley Temple; Grand Egyptian Museum | Full day | Lunch | Private; Egyptologist |
| Egyptian Museum, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo | Egyptian Museum in Tahrir; Citadel and Mosque of Mohamed Ali; Hanging Church, Church of St. Sergius, Ben Ezra Synagogue | Full day | Lunch | Private; Egyptologist |
| Pyramids and both museums in a day | Giza pyramids, Sphinx; Grand Egyptian Museum; Egyptian Museum in Tahrir | Full day, about 9 hours | Lunch | Private; Egyptologist |
| The two museums: GEM and Tahrir | Grand Egyptian Museum; Egyptian Museum in Tahrir | About 7 hours | None listed | Private; Egyptologist |
| Coptic and Islamic Cairo in a day | Citadel and Mosque of Muhammad Ali; Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan; Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue; Al-Muizz Street; Khan El Khalili | Full day, about 8 hours | Lunch | Private; Egyptologist |
| Saqqara, Dahshur and Memphis | Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid at Dahshur; Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara; Memphis open-air museum | Full day, about 7 to 8 hours | Optional, not included | Private; Egyptologist |
| Cairo on a layover | From Cairo airport: Giza pyramids, Sphinx, and the Grand Egyptian Museum if your layover leaves time | About 8 hours between flights | None listed | Private; Egyptologist |
Half days
Each is private, just your group, with an English-speaking Egyptologist and the entrance fees included; none lists a meal.
| Tour | What it covers | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Giza pyramids and the Sphinx, half day | The three pyramids, a viewpoint on the plateau, the Sphinx and the Valley Temple | About 4 hours |
| Grand Egyptian Museum with a guide | The Grand Hall, the Grand Staircase and the Tutankhamun Galleries | About 4 hours |
| The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir | The galleries of the older museum on Tahrir Square | About 4 hours |
| National Museum of Egyptian Civilization | The main hall and the Royal Mummies Hall | About 3 to 4 hours |
| The Citadel and Muhammad Ali Mosque | The Citadel of Saladin and the mosque inside it | About 3 to 4 hours |
| Coptic Cairo | The Hanging Church, the Church of St Sergius and the Ben Ezra Synagogue | About 4 hours |
| Islamic Cairo and Al-Muizz Street | The Al-Azhar Mosque, Al-Muizz Street and Khan El Khalili | About 4 to 5 hours |
Evenings and short outings
| Tour | What it covers | Length | Meal | Group and guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pyramids sound and light show with dinner | Sound and light show on the Giza Plateau, narrated in the voice of the Sphinx | Evening | Dinner | Private transfers and guide; a representative meets you at your hotel |
| Maxim dinner cruise on the Nile | Reserved table on a Nile dinner-cruise boat; belly dancing, a Tanoura show (a whirling folk dance) and live music | Evening | Open buffet dinner | Private transfers and guide; English-speaking tour leader |
| Tanoura show night | The whirling tanoura dance with live Sufi music, a show shared with other guests | Evening | None listed | Private transfers and guide; tour leader |
| Private felucca ride | Felucca (a traditional sailboat) on the Nile with views of the Cairo skyline, in the morning or at sunset | About 2 hours on the Nile, plus transfers | None listed | Private, just your group; a tour leader takes you to the riverbank |
| Quad bike at the Giza pyramids | Quad bike ride in the desert with the three pyramids in view, after a safety briefing from a Bedouin desert guide | About 2 hours of riding, plus transfers | None listed | Private, just your group; a tour leader picks you up |
| Khan El Khalili walk | The lanes of the old market, then Al-Muizz Street | About 3 hours, afternoon or evening | None listed | Private; English-speaking guide |
| Cairo street food | Koshary, falafel (taameya), ful and other street food, then sweets and tea | About 4 hours, afternoon or evening | The tastings | Private; English-speaking guide |
| Egyptian cooking class | Cook Egyptian home dishes with a local cook, then eat what you made | About 3 to 4 hours | The meal you cook | Private, just your group |
Beyond the city, three full days start at your Cairo hotel: Alexandria in a day, about 11 hours; Fayoum, about 8 to 9 hours, for the Wadi El Rayan waterfalls and the pottery of Tunis Village; and Luxor in a day by plane, whose flights are not included in the tour price. If you would rather plan your own day, a guide-only booking in Cairo gives you a licensed guide in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French or Italian; a car and the entrance fees can be added on request.
Which tour covers what
- The pyramids and the Sphinx up close: the full days that start at Giza and the Giza pyramids and the Sphinx half day. The sound and light show is on the plateau in the evening, and the quad ride sees the pyramids from the desert.
- Tutankhamun: the Tutankhamun Galleries are at the Grand Egyptian Museum, in its standard admission, so go with Grand Egyptian Museum and the pyramids, the GEM half day, the two museums, or pyramids and both museums.
- The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir: Giza pyramids and the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel tour, the Tahrir half day, the two museums, or pyramids and both museums.
- Saqqara and Memphis: Pyramids, Memphis and Saqqara, or Saqqara, Dahshur and Memphis, which adds the Red and Bent Pyramids instead of Giza.
- The Citadel and Coptic Cairo: Egyptian Museum, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo, or Coptic and Islamic Cairo in a day; each also has its own half day.
- Islamic Cairo and Khan El Khalili: the Islamic Cairo half day, Coptic and Islamic Cairo in a day, or the Khan El Khalili walk. The Coptic Cairo or Islamic Cairo guide compares the two areas.
- The Nile: the felucca ride or the dinner cruise.
- The royal mummies: the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) half day, which visits the Royal Mummies Hall; our Cairo museums comparison explains where each collection is.
- Food: the street food tour or the cooking class.
