Egypt day trips by plane: how a one-day flight tour works

A day trip by plane is a day tour built around a domestic flight to Cairo or Luxor and back. A car takes you from your hotel to the airport; you fly out, see the sites with a guide, stop for lunch, fly back and are driven to your hotel. On Egypt Day Tours, 7 tours run this way; the flights are never part of the tour price.

The 7 tours that fly

Lunch at a local restaurant is included on all of them. Each has an English-speaking guide: an Egyptologist, that is, a guide trained in ancient Egyptian history, on all but the Marsa Alam tour, which lists an English-speaking tour guide in Cairo. Luxor in a day from Cairo is a new tour: its program follows how the market runs that day and is confirmed with the quote.

How the day runs

1. Pickup at your hotel and a drive to the departure airport.
2. A domestic flight to Cairo or Luxor. The flight tickets are not included in the tour price.
3. On arrival, guided visits by air-conditioned vehicle, with lunch at a local restaurant.
4. A drive back to the airport and the flight back.
5. A transfer from the airport to your hotel.

Tour pages show approximate clock times; the pickup time is confirmed when you book, because traffic and your hotel's location change it.

The drive to the airport, and back

From Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, Luxor and Cairo the airport is a short drive. From Dahab and Marsa Alam the flight leaves from another town's airport, so the day starts and ends with a long road leg.

On the ground in Cairo or Luxor

All figures are map routing without traffic. On the Cairo tours that start at the pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum is 6.8 km from the Sphinx, about 11 min.

What the price covers, and what it does not

On all 7 tours the price covers the hotel pickup and return, the transfers in an air-conditioned vehicle, the entrance fees to the sites in the program, bottled water and lunch at a local restaurant. Not included on any of them: the domestic flight tickets and tips. Going inside the Great Pyramid is not included on the Cairo tours; on the Luxor tours the Tutankhamun tomb is not included, nor, on the tour from Sharm El Sheikh, the Seti I tomb. Prices are per person, for 2 or more people, and the reply to your request gives the price for your date.

Because the flights are not part of the tour, they follow the airline's own rules if you change or cancel. The tour itself can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before it starts, with a full refund; how to book an Egypt day tour sets out the deposit and the other terms.

By plane or by road

Not every long day flies. From Marsa Alam, Luxor in a day goes by road: 355 km from your hotel to Karnak Temple, about 4 h 11 min without traffic, and 359.3 km back from the Colossi of Memnon, about 4 h 16 min. From Hurghada, Luxor in a day from Hurghada also goes by road: 289.7 km from your hotel to Karnak Temple, about 3 h 43 min without traffic, and 277.5 km back from the Colossi of Memnon, about 3 h 33 min. The Cairo day from Hurghada has its own guide: Cairo in a day from Hurghada: how the day runs.