Early starts and long drives on Egypt day trips

Some Egypt day trips are long road days. The longest on this site are Luxor from Marsa Alam, 355 km each way, Luxor from Hurghada, 289.7 km out, and Abu Simbel from Aswan, 283.4 km each way. Some start before dawn by design: the Mount Sinai climb runs through the night, and the balloon flight over Luxor picks you up before sunrise. Knowing which days these are helps you place them in your trip.

The longest drives on our tours

These are one-way legs from map routing without traffic, so the real drive can only be longer.

Why these days start early

• Last entry comes early. At Abu Simbel, last entry is 4:00 pm in summer and winter, and at Karnak it is 4:00 pm too (official ticketing portal, checked August 2026). After more than three hours on the road, a late start leaves little time.
• Some tours say so. The Cairo day from Alexandria lists an early pickup; the Cairo day from Luxor by plane starts with a very early transfer to Luxor airport; the Luxor days from Hurghada and from Cairo by plane and the Alexandria day from Cairo start with an early hotel pickup.
• Some are night or dawn by nature. The Mount Sinai tours climb at night to reach the summit for sunrise; the balloon pickup is before sunrise.

No pickup time is given in this guide. Clock times on the tour pages are approximate, and the pickup time is confirmed when you book, because traffic and your hotel's location change it.

Shorter ways to the same places

Where the site offers a choice, the base you stay in changes the drive more than anything else:

• Cairo from the Red Sea: from Hurghada the airport is 7.2 km from the hotel, about 12 min; from Marsa Alam the same flights mean 281 km of road first. The flights are not included in the tour price on any by-plane tour.
• Luxor from the Red Sea: from Sharm El Sheikh it is a day by plane, with 20 km to the airport, about 19 min; from Hurghada and Marsa Alam it is a day by road, 289.7 km and 355 km to Karnak.
• Mount Sinai: 129 km from Dahab, about 2 h 6 min, against 215.6 km from Sharm El Sheikh. See Mount Sinai from Sharm El Sheikh or from Dahab.
• Edfu and Kom Ombo: the drive out is similar, 109.2 km from Aswan and 111.8 km from Luxor, but the drive back to the hotel is 45.4 km, about 36 min, from Kom Ombo to Aswan, against 173.3 km, about 2 h 8 min, to Luxor.

The by-plane days are explained in Egypt day trips by plane, and Abu Simbel step by step in Abu Simbel from Aswan.

Getting through a long day

• Water is covered: nearly every tour on this site includes bottled water.
• Check the meal: some tours include lunch, some list it as optional and not included, and others list no meal; on the Cairo day from Alexandria, lunch is optional and not included. Each tour page says which.
• Dress for the season. In Aswan the average January low is 8.8°C, which you feel on a pre-dawn start, and the average July high is 41.4°C (monthly averages, not forecasts).
• Ask before booking if you want to skip a stop or change the order: where the tour allows it, you are told what is possible.

If a long drive does not suit your group, tell us your dates and base through the contact page and ask what the day involves before you book.