Egypt Highlights – Where to Go and What to See

We planned a two-week trip through Egypt including a few extra days at a resort in Hurghada to finish it off. 

• Day 1 – Arrive in Egypt at the Alexandria airport
• Day 2 – Alexandria
• Day 3 – Alexandria, Train to Cairo
• Day 4 – Day Trip to Memphis, Saqqara, Hashur
• Day 5 – Day Tour in Cairo, Overnight Train to Aswan
• Day 6 – Aswan
• Day 7 – Day Trip to Abu Simbel
• Day 8, 9 – Two Night Nile Cruise
• Day 10, 11, 12, 13 – Luxor East Bank and West Bank
• Day 14 – Travel to Hurghada
• Day 15, 16, 17 – Hurghada, All Inclusive Resort

A little over three years ago, Ben and I had the opportunity to visit Cairo for a 24 hour stop over on our way from Dubai to London. We hired a driver to pick us up from the airport and take us to the pyramids and the museum in Cairo. Since it was only a small sample of everything Egypt has to offer, we knew that we would have to go back at some point.

We originally started by planning a trip to Jordan and Israel. However, it turned out that Israel still had a few covid travel restrictions in place. So rather than cutting the trip short, and only doing Jordan, we decided to revisit Egypt.

Pre-Departure

Based on the hassle factor that Egypt is known for we did consider booking with a tour group. However, in the end we planned the entire trip on our own, except for a few day tours along the way. We only hired guides for two days while in Cairo and we had a guide included to show us a couple temples in our Nile Cruise package. We also hired a driver for a day trip from Aswan and a driver for a couple days in Luxor. Everything else we did ourselves by taking taxis, trains and buses.

While we were researching our trip, we read that foreigners are required (by law) to pay in foreign currency, however we found this not to be the case. We used local currency or credit/debit cards everywhere and had no issues.

The other things that came up, is non-married couples being able to stay in hotel rooms together. This law/requirement is only if one of the people in the coupe is Egyptian. This does not apply to foreigners. We stayed in a mix of AirBNBs and hotels and were never asked about our marriage status.

Day 1 – Arrive in Alexandria, Egypt

We arrived in Egypt at the Alexandria airport. We knew we wanted to visit Alexandria, and rather than wasting time traveling back and forth from Cairo, we thought it would be worthwhile flying directly into Alexandria.

When you arrive in Egypt you need to purchase a visa – which is more of an entry fee into the country than a visa. The visa costs $25 USD per person and must be purchased before you go to passport control. 

Alexandria is a small airport, so when we got off the plane, we didn’t see anywhere to purchase the visa. We were the first ones off the plane, so we just walked right up to passport control. The officer at the desk was nice and told us where to go for the visa. It was around the corner, off to the side with no signs to get there (no wonder we missed it). We purchased our visas (took about 2 seconds) and we returned to passport control. The officer that helped us the first time told us to come right back to him once we got our visa and thank goodness he did. The line for passport control was huge. We walked to the front of the line, near his desk. He saw us right away, told the other people to step aside, checked our passports and sent us through to baggage claim. It all worked quite well!

Near baggage claim there is a desk where you can buy a local sim card. We weren’t sure that would be an option (as online resources said there weren’t any sim cards available for purchase at that airport), so we were happy to see it. It took forever to get a sim card. They have to enter tons of information for a tourist to get a sim card, so go there right away (don’t wait for your luggage first) and get the process started.

After the sim card and collecting our luggage, we arranged for an Uber to take us to our hotel.  We walked outside to the pickup waiting area. To get to the waiting area you have to cross the street, and then walk between two buildings. There you will find a large parking lot, which is where the Uber comes to pick you up. It’s not very well marked, so we just followed the crowd, hoping it would take us to the right place.

We didn’t get hassled for a taxi, until we got to the waiting point. We were asked multiple times, even by the same person, and we had to explain we already had a pickup arranged. The car arrived and took us to our hotel. It was all pretty seamless.

We used Uber and Careem a few times while in Egypt. Sometimes we used pricing in the apps to help negotiate local taxis. The apps were always a lot cheaper (almost too cheap when you factor time and distance), but it gave us a good idea of pricing, so we felt comfortable negotiating and agreeing on a price with local taxis. Always agree on a price beforehand. For the most part we found that we could easily get the price down to at least half of the original price. And most of the time we were happy with that amount. We could probably have gone lower (they were usually quick to get to half the cost), but for us it was still a cheap taxi ride. A 20 – 30-minute ride it was costing us less a few USD. We were happy with that, and the driver seemed happy, so there was no real need to negotiate further.

Day 2 – Alexandria

Highlights for the day:

• Catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa

Our flight to Egypt was supposed to arrive late evening, but it was rescheduled, and we didn’t arrive until 1am. By the time we arrived at our AirBNB it was after 3am, so we had a bit of a late start to the morning.

We started our day by visiting the Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa. We ordered an Uber to pick us up at our hotel and drop us off at the Catacombs.

Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa

The Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. The Catacombs were discovered in 1900 when a donkey accidentally fell into the access shaft!  and consist of a large spiral staircase that leads you down into the labyrinth of tombs that were carved into the bedrock. The complex was used as a burial chamber from the 2^nd century to the 4^th century AD.

The burial chamber is accessed via a spiral staircase that winds around the access shaft (the one that the donkey fell through). The shaft was used to lower the deceased, by rope, to their burial place.

Once inside the complex you will see the Rotunda (has passageways leading into chambers), the Triclinium (where families likely met during funerary festivals), the Hall of the Caracalla (tombs created for the horses of Emperor Caracalla), and the burial chambers. 

The carvings in the walls show a mix of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian culture. Some statues are Egyptian in style but show Roman clothes and hair styles.

We didn’t realise how large the catacomb complex was and ended up spending quite a bit of time exploring the different chambers below ground. There are also various items to explore above ground in the area surrounding the catacombs.

Pompey’s Pillar

From the catacombs we walked about 15 minutes to Pompey’s Pillar. Unfortunately, last entry had already passed by the time we got there (they closed early for Ramadan), but they did let us stick our heads in and see the pillar.

After briefly seeing the pillar, we ordered an Uber to take us towards the Mediterranean. We went to one of the old, original hotels, for a very late lunch and then we walked along the coast. Since it was Ramadan most of the attractions closed by 3pm and since we had a late start to the day (thanks to our late flight) we didn’t have time to see much on our first day.

Day 3 – Alexandria, Travel to Cairo

Highlights for the day:

• Bibliotheca Alexandrina
• Alexandria Museum

We had most of the day in Alexandria before our 5pm train to Cairo. We spent our second day visiting the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. They offer tours in different languages throughout the day, so we timed it with a morning English tour. The library has several museums that you can visit after your tour. Some of the museums are included in the entry price, others are an additional (small) fee. We visited the free museums and paid extra to visit the old manuscripts museum.

After the library we took an Uber to the Alexandria Museum.

At first glance, we thought it was a small museum, however there is lots to see. There are three floors (arranged by different time periods) full of amazing things to see.

By the time we finished the museum it was about 3pm. We needed to get back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and get to the train station for our 5pm train. We thought we would have enough time, but we did not factor in the terrible traffic. To travel a short distance, it took well over an hour. We arrived at the train station at 5:10pm. We hurried to the platform and were so happy to see that the train was late. We ended up waiting another 10-15 minutes before it arrived.

The train to Cairo was supposed to take about 2.5 hours, arriving in Cairo at 19:35, however we didn’t arrive until nearly 21:00. We only took the train twice while in Egypt, but both times it departed a bit late and arrived at our destination a lot later than expected (hours later).

Once we arrived in Cairo, we headed to our hotel to check in, then we grabbed a late dinner from a nearby restaurant, and went to bed.

Day 4 – Memphis, Saqqara, Dahshur

Highlights for the day:

• Saqqara – Step Pyramid, Tomb of Kagemni
• Dahsur – Bent Pyramid, Red Pyramid
• Memphis
• National Museum of Egyptian Civilization – Royal Mummies Hall

For our first day in Cairo, we arranged a driver and guide to take us to Memphis, Saqqarah, and Dahsur for the day. We had prearranged this before we arrived, but we could have easily booked with the hotel (for a similar price).

Unfortunately, we were not overly happy with our guide. During the drive he gave an overview of our plan for the day, which was not at all what we had arranged. Luckily, we were able to get it sorted right away, so that we visited the correct sites. At each of the sites we did not receive much information from the guide, he was very hard (not so much a language/accent issue, just his communication style) to understand and didn’t answer our questions. We also felt very rushed and not able to see what we wanted to see. We should have just arranged a driver to take us and used the information provided on boards at the various sites for information. It would have been better than what the guide provided and saved us some money.

Saqqara

We started our day by visiting Saqqara. Saqqara is an Egyptian village that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty. It contains several pyramids, including the Step Pyramid (aka the Pyramid of Djoser). This is the oldest complete stone building complex known in history. It was built during the Third Dynasty (2686 – 2613 BC). Another sixteen Egyptian kings built pyramids in the Saqqara, all in different states of preservation.

We were able to visit inside the Step Pyramid. When we visited Cario a couple years prior, we did go inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, but there it was pretty bare inside. The Step Pyramid was a first real experience of seeing carved hieroglyphics on the wall of a tomb. It was breathtaking. Floor to ceiling, covered in hieroglyphics.

Also at Saqqara is the Tomb of Kagemni. This is the largest mastaba (a monumental tomb in the shape of a low-cut pyramid) at the Teti cemetery in Saqqara. This tomb was full (wall to wall, floor to ceiling) of carved drawings, some even still had the original coloring. This tomb was jaw dropping. We could have spent hours there just looking over all the carvings. It was incredible. 

Dahshur

South of Saqqara lies Dahshur, which we visited next. The Dahshur pyramids were an extremely important learning experience for Egyptians. Here is where the transitioned from step pyramids to smooth-sided pyramids. This experience is what lead them to create the Great Pyramid of Giza. The first of the Dahshur pyramids was the Bent Pyramid. This was the first attempt at a smooth-sided pyramid and proved to be unsuccessful due to miscalculations. The sides of the pyramid form an angle, therefore giving it the name the Bent Pyramid.

After the unsuccessful Bent Pyramid, King Sneferu ordered another pyramid to be created, known now as the Red Pyramid. This was a success and is believed to be the resting place of King Sneferu.

After the death of King Sneferu, his son Khufu used his research to design and build the third smooth sided pyramid – known as the Great Pyramid of Giza.

It is amazing to see the evolution of the pyramids.

Before leaving Dahshur, we visited the inside of the Red Pyramid. The inside has three funeral chambers. To access the chambers you must climb down a very narrow passageway. At the end of the passageway you enter a chamber with a corbelled roof 40 feet tall. From here, another passage leads into the second chamber. The second chamber is similar to the first and lies directly beneath the apex of the pyramid. High in the corner of the wall is an entrance to the third chamber. You can reach this chamber by a large wooden staircase built for tourist access. In the third chamber you will find that the floor is rough and sunk below the entrance level. It is believed that this was done by robbers searching for treasure.  

Memphis

Our last stop for the tour was Memphis. Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt for more than eight consecutive dynasties. Memphis declined after the Eighteenth Dynasty with the rise of Thebes and the New Kingdom. It was revived under the Persians, but fell into second place after the founding of Alexandria. Memphis remained the second city of Egypt until Fustat was established in 641 AD. After that time it was largely abandoned. Today it is an open-air museum with various ruins and artifacts on display, as well as the huge statue of Ramesses II.

All in all we enjoyed the sites we visited during the tour. We do think we could have skipped the guide and only hired a driver, although hopefully others have a better guide then we did which may enhance the experience. If you want to visit these three places, you could probably mange it all in half a day. There are tours available that include some of these sites plus the Great Pyramid of Giza. Since we had already seen the Great Pyramid, we did our own custom tour to visit the three new sites.

Our tour finished early afternoon, so we grabbed a quick lunch and walked a short distance from our hotel to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Last time we were in Cairo we visited the Egyptian Museum, and at this time the new Grand Egyptian Museum was not yet open.

We didn’t have time at the museum so we went straight to the Royal Mummies’ Hall. The hall includes 20 Royal mummies (18 Kinds and 2 Queens) from the 17^th dynasty (1580 to 1550 BC) to the 20^th dynasty (1189 to 1077 BC). Most of these mummies were from the Valley of The Kings in Luxor, which we plan to visit later in our trip. The hall and display of mummies was fantastic. You aren’t allowed to take pictures inside the Mummies’ Hall so we have nothing to show, but it was pretty crazy seeing these mummies that were over 3000 years old.

The lights were turned down low and the mummies were arranged in different chambers of the hall. It was designed to give visitors the feeling of strolling down the Valley of The Kings, and it does have a tomb like feel about it.

After visiting the Royal Mummies’ Hall we explored the rest of the museum until closing time. We didn’t have much time, but did get to see some amazing things.

Day 5 – Cairo, Overnight Train to Aswan

Highlights for the day:

• Citadel – Mosque of Muhammad Ali
• Garbage City
• Cave Church – Monastery of Saint Simon
• Old Coptic Cairo – Museum of Islamic Art, Hanging Church, Khan el-Khalili
• Lunch – Koshary, Kushari, or Koshari (Egypt’s National Dish)

We had an overnight train booked from Cairo to Aswan later in the evening, so we spent the day exploring Cairo. On our first night in Cairo we arranged a tour through our hotel. After the previous days, not so great tour, we were a little worried that we wouldn’t get a good guide again. We were pleasantly surprised that our guide was great. She was very knowledgeable and worth the small fee we paid to have her take us around Cairo. 

We visited the Citadel and went inside the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.

Then we drove through Manshiyat Nasser, known as Garbage City, on our way to the Monastery of Saint Simon. Garbage City is a slum settlement with around 60,000 occupants, known as Zabbaleen (meaning garbage people). Garbage City is the result of Cairo never having established an efficient garbage collection system. The inhabitants of Garbage City have established garbage collection services to Cairo’s residents. For a small fee, they door-to-door collection. They then take the garbage to their home, where they sort it for recyclables. Almost 90% of the garbage is recycled by the inhabitants, which is incredible. However, the living conditions are terrible and very unsanitary.

In 2003 the government began hiring private companies to collect garbage, which is a direct competition for the inhabitants. And in 2009, as a preventative measure for a swine flu outbreak, the government ordered a culling of all 350,000 pigs in the area. The pigs play an important rule in the area, as they help clear all organic waste and their meat is sold to hotels and restaurants.

As we drove through the area, it was covered in garbage. There were trucks hauling piles of garbage from one location to the next. 

The Monastery of Saint Simon is one of the largest Christiaan churches in the Middle East. It was built by the Zabbaleen, who are largely Coptic Christians. The first Christian church was built in the village, but after a fire broke out nearby, they began work on the a monastery that was built directly into the cliffside. The monastery is dedicated to Simon the Tanner, who was a craftsman during the 10^th century. Other nearby caves also have church spaces built into them. All of them are linked to create a massive Christian complex.

After the monastery we headed to Old Coptic Cairo. We visited the Museum of Islamic Art, the Hanging Church, and the Khan el-Khalili. Old Cairo was quite busy when we visited due to it being a religious holiday. The Hanging Church had a service going on, so we were only able to peak in the door way to see the cut out in the floor showing the palm tree trunks.

After Old Cairo, we were taken to a popular spot for lunch to enjoy Egypt’s National Dish, Koshary (as called Kushari or Koshari). At the table our waiter prepared the dish for us in the traditional manner. It was delicious.

After our late lunch, we were taken back to our hotel to gather our luggage and make our way to the train station for our overnight train to Aswan.

The overnight train was scheduled to depart at 19:45 and arrive in Aswan the next morning at 9:25. Our train ticket had a carriage number, but it wasn’t clear where to go on the platform for that carriage. Once the train arrived, we had to ask about the carriage numbers. We were finally directed to the correct carriage and were shown are cabin for the night.

The train arrived at the station about 15 minutes late and it took quite a while for the train to depart. Our room was good. It was in similar condition to what we have experienced throughout Europe. I was a little worried, because the first-class car from Alexandria to Cairo was not great. It was really dirty, and the seats were all stained. I wasn’t expecting much for the overnight train but was pleasantly surprised.

Another big bonus was the server assigned to our car. He was waiting for us on the platform next to our car. He showed us to our room and said he was available if we needed anything. Shortly after we got moving, we were served dinner – very similar to the kind of food you would get on an economy flight. We sat around for a while before asking the server to convert our cabin to bunk beds.

The cabin had its own sink, but the bathrooms were shared. Throughout the trip the bathrooms were kept clean and fully equipped.

I love train travel and love sleeping on trains; however, this train was not the best for sleeping. It was so jerky and bumpy – a few times I thought I was going to be thrown out of bed! It was not the best sleep.

Day 6 – Aswan

Highlights for the day:

• Elephantine Island
• Aswan Archaeological Site

We arrived in Aswan around 11:00, about 1.5 hours later than scheduled. We had booked accommodation on Elephantine Island at a Nubian guesthouse. We arranged to be picked up from the train station, then taken by boat to the guesthouse.

After we checked into the guesthouse, we went for a walk around the island. The island is not very large, so it’s easy to walk around.

We wondered to the edge of the island to visit the Temple of Khnum and the Aswan Museum. The ruins around the temple are amazing and there’s lots to see. Unfortunately, it was very hot and there was little to no shade around the site. We didn’t stay and enjoy the ruins as much as we would have liked, because we had to get out of the heat after a while.

Since we didn’t have the best sleep the night before, we headed back to the guesthouse to rest and avoid the heat of the day. Later, we headed to another Nubian guesthouse nearby for dinner. We had an early night, as we had a very early morning the next day to visit Abu Simbel.

Day 7 – Abu Simbel

Highlights for the day:

• Abu Simbel
• Philae Temple Light and Sound Show

For our full day in Aswan, we arranged to do a trip to Abu Simbel. The bus was leaving at 5:15am, so we had to arrange a private boat ride across the Nile from the island at 4:30am. The pickup point was along the main road right at the boat drop off point. The minibus had seating for 12 people, but luckily, we only had 8 people in the bus so we were able to spread out a bit more. My knees were touching the back of the seat in front of me, so I had to sit sideways. Ben moved to the row behind us (which he had to himself) so he could stretch his legs. The guy seating across the aisle from me had to stretch his legs into the aisle. It was quite crammed, and it would have been a very uncomfortable ride for 6 hours had it been full. I would recommend asking what type of transportation is available, as some of the minibuses were larger and some tours had coach buses.

The drive took about three hours to get to the temple. We made one stop on the way to stretch our legs and have a bathroom break. When we arrived at Abu Simbel, we made our way to the ticket booth to purchase tickets, and then we walked to the temple. Some people on the tour arranged a tour guide, others already had tickets purchased, and some booked a tour guide once we arrived.

There are two temples at Abu Simbel. The temples were originally carved in the 13^th century BC during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The complex was relocated in 1968 as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia. They were moved in order to be saved from the new Lake Nasser that was created after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. The temples are amazing, the huge statues outside the entrances are beyond impressive. It’s even more impressive when you know that the complexes were moved. You would never know by looking at them, and you would never think it was possible to move such a monument.

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel

The Small Temple of Abu Simbel

The temples at Abu Simbel are well worth the drive from Aswan. We got to spend a few hours there, before meeting back at the minibus for the drive back to Aswan. Once we got back, we had some down time, before making our way back across the river to get a ride to Philae Temple for the Night Light show. We found a taxi once we got off the ferry from Elephantine Island and arranged for him to take us to Philae Temple, wait for us to finish the light show, and then drive us back to the ferry. 

Philae Temple is on an island and you have to take a boat to get there. There’s not a lot around the dock area, so don’t expect to find many options for food before the light show. We made the mistake of thinking that something would be nearby, but that wasn’t the case. We ordered a couple Cokes and chips from the café. They tried to charge us a fortune for the two drinks and two bags of small chips. We handed him a reasonable amount and left. He tried to argue, but we weren’t playing his game. Then shortly after that we had to negotiate a boat ride to the island. They were also trying to charge a ridiculous amount and unfortunately that’s the only way to get to the island. We talked to a few boat drivers, but they weren’t willing to negotiate. We hung around for a little while, not sure what to do, and then finally one of the drivers offered us a very small reduced fee. We had to take it as we wanted to see the light show.

It was day six in Egypt and we were starting to get a little tired of all the scams and hassles from the locals. It’s a shame it has to be like that as Egypt is a beautiful country with some amazing sites to see. After all the issues beforehand, we did really enjoy the light show. There’s an audio story, with different lights shown on the temple walls. You make your way around the site, watching and listening to the story. It was a different way to see the temple. It looked like it would be worth visiting in the day, but if you only have one option the light show is well worth seeing.

Day 8, 9 – Nile Cruise

Highlights for the days:

• Nile River
• Komombo Temple
• Edfu Temple
• Esna Temple

We booked a two-night cruise along the Nile. There are lots of duration options available – you can book anywhere from two nights to seven nights or more. The most common options are three or four nights. These cruises are similar to what we did (as far as travel goes) but includes an extra night or two docked in Aswan or Luxor. Rather than paying the cruise nightly rate, just to be docked in Aswan or Luxor, we went with the two night cruise option and booked our own accommodation in Luxor.

We found a really good rate for a two-night cruise on Viator. It was way cheaper than a lot of the other options, so we were worried with what we were going to get. The reviews seemed good, so we just went with it and hoped for the best.

The cruise package included pick up from the Elephantine Island ferry to the cruise ship. It also included all meals, and stops at Komombo Temple, Edfu, and Esna.  We paid a bit extra to get the unlimited drink package. This option was well advertised, but I saw something about it at reception. It was well worth the cost, even for Ben who didn’t have any alcoholic beverages. The ship had a small pool, sunlounges, a covered seating area, and entertainment on the second night.

We got on the ship just before noon and got settled into our room. Shortly after checking in, it was time for lunch. All the meals on the ship were delicious. We had several options for all of the meals, plus very yummy desserts.

During lunch, we set sail towards Komombo. It took a few hours to get so we just hung around the sundeck and relaxed while we sailed. We were served tea on the sundeck during the journey, which was a good afternoon snack. We eventually arrived at the Komombo Temple. The entry fees to the temples were not included in the cruise package, but we did have a tour guide included. He took us around each of the temples and was fantastic. He was a great guide, with lots of information.

We spent the afternoon at the Komombo Temple. This temple is unusual as it is a double temple. There are duplicates of the various rooms, courts, and halls – one for each god. The southern half was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the northern half is for the falcon god Haroeris, Tasenetnofret, and Panebtawy. Everything in the temple is symmetrical along the main axis. 

The carvings, the hieroglyphics, and the tall columns were all amazing to see. Our guide was great at pointing out specific carvings and telling us about the structures around the temple. I don’t usually, but I would recommend a guide for this temple. There are a lot of interesting carvings to view, which you may not easily find on your own.

After the tour, we visited the nearby Crocodile Museum. Crocodiles played a huge role in life along the Nile River. They were dangerous to the locals and therefore a temple dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek was an important place as he offered protection against the dangers. On display you will find several mummified crocodiles all that were found in the local area.

Once we were finished with the museum, we took another walk around the temple. It was sunset so the lighting offered a different look and feel to the temple. We stayed until the temple closed and then made our way back to the cruise ship.

We set sail again towards Edfu, which is where we were docking for the night. Along the route we had dinner and then entertainment on the sundeck. We had an early night as we had an early morning planned to visit Edfu.

Day 9 – Nile Cruise

Our visit to Edfu included a horse and carriage ride to the entrance. We were the first ones there and actually arrived a bit before the temple opened. We had to wait at the entrance, but still made it inside before anyone else arrived. It was so special to be the only ones in the temple.

The Temple of Edfu was built between 237 and 57 BC and is one of the best-preserved shrines in Egypt. The inscriptions on the walls provide important information on language, myth, and religion during the Hellenistic period.

The temple includes huge entrance walls, tall archways, and lots of columns. It was a beautiful temple and interesting to see the important inscriptions.

After the tour we took the horse and carriage back to the ship to have breakfast. We then set sail for Esna. The Temple of Esna wasn’t supposed to be on the itinerary (and is not normally included in these tours) but it was an extra stop arranged for a large group on the cruise ship. We were lucky to get to go and see it along with them.

The temple was dedicated to the ram-headed go Khnum. It was constructed during the reign of King Tuthmosis III. The remains of the temple is smaller than the other temples we have seen, but it includes one of the most amazing halls with 24 columns. Each column is beautifully decorated from top to bottom. Many of the columns still include the original painted colours. I’m so glad we got to see the temple, it was stunning. 

After viewing Esna we headed back to the ship and set sail for Luxor. We spent majority of the day sailing. We hung out on the sundeck, enjoyed the pool, had lunch, had tea, dinner, and then finished the evening with a belly dancer.

We arrived in Luxor for our last night on the ship. Breakfast was provided in the morning and then we checked out of our room.

Day 10, 11, 12, 13 – Luxor

We made the decision to spend several days in Luxor. Most suggested itineraries only include a couple days in Luxor, usually one day on each side of the river. We wanted to see as much as possible, so we included several full days in our itinerary. I would absolutely plan as many days as you can. There are so many tombs and temples to see, plus all the less visited sites that most people don’t get to with limited time.

Day 10 – Luxor East Bank

Highlights for the days:

• Karnak Temple

Our Nile cruise ended in Luxor in the morning. We had to be out of our room, but we could continue to use the facilities and leave our luggage. Since we were staying on the West Bank, we decided to leave our luggage on the cruise while we explored the East Bank.

We grabbed a taxi near to where the cruise ship was docked and went straight to Karnak Temple. It is a huge site with some amazing things to see. We were there for a few hours but were rushing through the site near the end as it was so hot by early afternoon.

By the time we finished Karnak, and grabbed some lunch, it was too late to do any of the museums. We had planned to visit Luxor Museum and the Mummification Museum, but they both closed early due to Ramadan. We could have explored Luxor Temple, but it was too hot to walk around a temple in the peak of the day. Instead, we headed back to the cruise to get our luggage and make our way to our hotel on the West Bank.

We did have trouble getting a taxi in the early evening because it was nearing the end of the fasting period for the day. No one wanted to be driving at that time – everyone wanted to be digging into their breakfast. While we waited we were able to enjoy the cruise ship a bit longer.

After we finally got a taxi, we checked into our hotel and then walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We then headed back to the hotel and had an early night. We planned an early start to see as much as possible before the heat of the day.

Day 11 Luxor West Bank (Day 1 of 2)

Highlights for the day (everything was a highlight):

• Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
• Medinet Habu
• Deir el-Medina
• Mortuary Temple of Merenptah
• Tomb of the Nobles
• Temple of Seti I
• Howard Carter’s House

We had arranged with our taxi driver from the previous day to drive us between the sites on the West Bank. We paid around 400 EGP for the day. We started our day early, we wanted to see as much as possible before the heat of the day. He arrived at our accommodation a little after 5:30am, which allowed enough time to purchase tickets and get to our first site for the day.

One the way to the ticket office, we stopped at Colossi of Memnon to view the two large statues. The statues are completely open and free to visit. There are really only the two statues to see, so it’s a quick stop to walk around them and take a few pictures.

After that and before we went to any other sites, we stopped at the Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office to purchase entry tickets. Most of the entry tickets will need to be purchased at the ticket office, only a few are purchased on site. 

Here’s a table for the sites were visited in Luxor. The table includes how long we were at each site, the cost (as of April 2021), and where to purchase the entry ticket. Please check the official websites for up-to-date information.

Site	Duration	Cost	Ticket Location
Colossi of Memnon (large statues)	10 minutes	Free	NA
Madinat Habu – Mortuary Temple of Ramses III	1 hour	100 EGP	Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office
Valley of the Queens	1 hour	100 EGP 1400 EGP for Tomb of Nefertari	On Site Camera Usage – Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office
Mortuary Temple of Merenptah	20 minutes
Village of Dayr Al-Madina (Valley of the Workers)	1 hour	100 EGP 30 EGP for Pashedu Tomb	Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office
Tombs of the Nobles	40 minutes	40 EGP	Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office
Ramesseum, Temple of Rameses II	40 minutes	80 EGP	Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office
Dayr l-Bahari – Temple of Queen Hatshepsut	1 hour	140 EGP	On Site
Howard Carter House	30 minutes	80 EGP	Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office
Temple of Sety I	30 minutes	60 EGP	Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office
Valley of the Kings	5 hours	240 EGP Extra for Ramesses V & VI, Seti I, and Tutankhamen	On Site

We were at our first site, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, shortly after they opened around 6:00am and we finished all of our planned sites around 12:30pm. It was starting to get hot, so it was a good time to get out of the sun. Some of the durations in the table above were similar to what I read online, however some of the times were quite different. I think we were lucky with the time of our visit as well, as the sites didn’t seem too busy. Many times we were the only ones at the sites, so our visit was very easy and allowed us to see everything we wanted to see without too much trouble. We aren’t “fast” visitors either. We like to take our time, read as much information as available (on-site or in our travel books), and really lookover everything.

The sites are hard to describe, as they are beyond words. They are impressive and absolutely stunning. The details below are quick descriptions of the sites, what you might find, as well as pictures from our visit. We’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut was built during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The temple is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture – and it is impressive. The scenery behind the temple really adds to the overall beauty of the site. It stands in front of the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. This was a temple I was really excited to see based on all the details and reviews online, however I was a little underwhelmed and disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it wasn’t that great. This was the first temple we saw in Luxor, so it wasn’t based on a comparison with the other temples either. The history of the temple and the story of Queen Hatshepsut make it worth visiting and learning about.

Medinet Habu and the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III

Medinet Habu is the site of the Temple of Amun, the Temple of Ay and Horemheb, and, the most known, Temple of Ramesses III. The Temple of Ramesses III has an imposing 150m (490 ft) long wall built around the entry.

Deir el-Medina

Deir el-Medina, or the worker’s village, was home to the workers of Thebes who built and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. This site provides tons of information about the workers of the Valley and gives an insight into their daily lives.

The site includes 68 houses, inside a protective wall. On both sides of the complex there were worker’s cemeteries which feature elaborate and beautiful tombs. The workers were all artists or craftsman. There were no farmers, which meant they could not produce their own food. Water, food, and other necessities were brought in from Thebes monthly as payment for the workers’ labor.

You can explore the ruins of the workers’ houses as well as the brightly decorated Tombs of Sennedjem and Inerkhau.

Mortuary Temple of Merenptah

Merenptah was Ramesses II’s thirteenth son, as well as his successor. His temple was mostly destroyed, but has recently been restored. There’s not a whole lot to see, but there are a few large statues and lots of carvings around the site ruins.

Tomb of the Nobles

There are more that 400 tombs in the Valley of the Nobles. These were created for the high priests from the middle and new kingdom. All of the tombs have the same layout and are simple in design. Most of the tombs were found intact and untouched.

The tombs open to visit are divided into groups of three, each group requires a separate ticket. We visited the Tombs of Ramose, Userhet, and Khaemhet. The Tomb of Ramose is one of the best tombs in the Valley of the Nobles, so this is a good group to select. I do wish we would have seen a few more tombs, but the entry ticket(s) needs to be purchased at the Antiquities Inspectorate Ticket Office and we only purchased the one group.

Ramesseum

Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II. Ramesses II constructed many buildings, and his memorial temple was the most impressive. The temple is best known for the 57-foot seated statue of Ramesses II, which unfortunately only lays damaged at the entrance to the temple.

Temple of Seti I

The Temple of Seti I was a necropolis for Egypt’s earliest kings, and later became a pilgrimage for the worship of the god Osiris. The temple was completed after Seti I’s death, by his son Ramesses II.

Howard Carter’s House

Howard Carter was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who lead the team that excavated the tomb of Tutankhamun. You can visit the house that he lived in during the excavation. Near the house is a replica of Tutankhamun’s tomb. The real tomb can be visited in the Valley of the Kings.

It was quite fun seeing Howard Carter’s house and the real tomb of Tutankhamun (which we saw the following day).  A couple years prior we visited Highclere Castle in England (the filming location of Downton Abbey). We didn’t know it before visiting, but Lord Carnarvon (previous owner of Highclere Castle) was the funding behind the exploration that found Tutankhamun’s tomb. Years after Lord Carnarvon died, his descendants found a room full of artefacts from Egypt, specifically Tutankhamun’s tomb. The items found, along with information about the exploration, are on display inside the castle. It felt like a complete circle to see the artefacts from Lord Carnarvon to Howard Carter’s house, and then the tomb and mummy of Tutankhamun.  

Day 12 Luxor West Bank (Day 2 of 2)

Highlights for the day (everything was a highlight):

• Valley of the Kings
• Valley of the Queens

The next day was spent visiting Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. We arranged another driver to take us to the two sites. The cost was 150 EGP for about six hours. We started our day at 5:30am again, so that we could get to the Valley of the Kings for opening.

Valley of the Kings

Entry to Valley of the Kings is purchased on site. When you arrive you will see a list of the tombs that are open for the day. You can select three tombs per normal ticket. Ramesses, Seti I, and Tutankhamen are an additional fee and cannot be selected under the normal ticket. We decided to purchase two normal tickets (each), and all three of additional tombs. That allowed us to visit nine different tombs. For the normal ticket you will receive one ticket and it will be hole punched each time you enter a tomb. For the additional tombs you will get separate tickets that you show at the entrance of the tomb.

There is a tram you can take from the visitor center to the tombs. It’s an additional cost but is optional if you would prefer not to walk the short distance.

At the entrance to each tomb that is someone there to take your ticket. There is also usually someone else in the tomb that will point things out to you or tell you about the tomb. They will then ask you for a tip. You can say no when they approach, sometimes they will accept the no, other times you need to say it multiple times or just ignore them – unless of course you want the information.

Each tomb is incredible to see. It is hard to describe the detail and beauty that are in each tomb. I would highly recommend seeing as many tombs as possible while you are there. They each deserve a visit.

Rameses III tomb (KV11) is the most popular. If you arrive at the Valley of the Kings early, I suggest starting there before the tour buses arrive and it gets busy. We made the mistake of visiting it near the end of our visit, and it was by far the busiest tomb. It is one of the most decorated tombs and is a must see.

Below are pictures from each of the tombs. It’s hard to describe the beauty of the tombs. We’ll let the pictures tell the story, even though the pictures won’t do them justice.

With our normal entry tickets, we visited the following tombs – six in total since we each purchased two entry tickets.

KV 6: Rameses IX

KV8: Merneptah

KV11: Rameses III

KV14: Tausert/Setnakht

KV15: Sety II

KV16: Rameses I

Plus, we purchased entry tickets to all three of the additional tombs:

KV9: Rameses V/VI

KV17: Sety I

KV62: Tutankhamen

Valley of the Queens

After spending over five hours at the Valley of the Kings, we returned to our taxi driver (that waited for us) and he drove us to the nearby Valley of the Queens. The Valley of the Queens was the burial place for royal wives, princesses, and princes. There are only four tombs open to the public. You can purchase your entry tickets on site. The ticket includes entry to three of the four tombs. For an additional fee you can visit the tomb of Queen Nefertari.

We visited all four tombs. Below are pictures from each of the tombs. Just like the Valley of the Kings, it’s hard to describe the decorations inside the tombs. The pictures don’t show the real beauty but will give you an idea.

QV44: Tomb of Prince Khaemwaset

QV52: Tomb of Tyti (no photos)

Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in the Tomb of Tyti.

QV55: Tomb of Prince Amen Khopshelf

QV66: Nefertari (extra ticket)

After the Valley of the Queens we grabbed some lunch and then went back to our accommodation for an afternoon swim. We spent the heat of the day relaxing by the pool. We then went to dinner and headed to the Karnak Light and Sound Show. We enjoyed the light show in Aswan, so we decided to do it again at Karnak. We also hoped that we would get to see a bit more of the temple as we rushed part of our previous visit due to the heat.

Karnak Light and Sound Show

We arranged a private boat to take us to the east bank, wait for us, and return us to the west bank. We thought it would be easier to do that as the boat can take us near to Karnak Temple. The normal ferry drops you off about a 20 – 30 minute walk from the temple.

The sound and light show was great and provided an opportunity to see the temple in a different way.

Day 13 Luxor Museums

On our last full day in Luxor we visited the Luxor Museum and the Mummification Museum.

The Luxor Museum is a smallish museum that displays amazing pieces of Egyptian sculpture. The items on displays are incredible. The size of some of the sculptures and the details that you can still see today after so many years is impressive.

The Mummification Museum is very small. It’s simply one large room. There are some very interesting objects on display, including mummification tools, mummification substances, and several mummies (mostly animals).

After the museums, we walked around the Luxor Temple. We decided not to go inside as it was starting to get hot and we felt seeing it from the road was sufficient.

Day 14 – Travel to Hurghada

We had a bit of a sleep-in before we checked out of our accommodation. We left our luggage there, while we went to lunch. After lunch we returned to collect our luggage and catch the ferry to the East Bank. We booked the afternoon bus from Luxor to Hurghada, our last stop in Egypt.

The bus ride was about three-hours. The bus was one of the better modes of transportation we had in Egypt. It was very roomy and comfortable. We arrived only a little after the schedule arrival time. From the bus depot we took a taxi to our resort.

Day 15, 16, 17 – Hurghada

In Hurghada we stayed at an all-inclusive resort along the Red Sea. It was fantastic. The had multiple restaurants to select from, as well as an ice cream parlour. They also had multiple swimming pools and access to the Red Sea. Throughout the day they had entertainment and activities planned for all ages, as well as entertainment in the evening.

At the end of our stay, we arrived a taxi with the hotel to take us to the airport.

Closing

The only real downside to our time in Egypt, were the locals and the amount of hassling that we received. It’s such a shame that it has to be that way. Ben, the most patient man in the world, was over it by the end of our trip. It was tiring, being nagged all day every day. Even at the sites we paid money for, we were getting hassled inside the tombs and temples. You don’t want to be rude, but it’s hard not to have the thousandth time being asked for money. Unfortunately, they don’t take no for an answer and keep going and going and going. I only mention this part, so that you can be prepared for what you will (oh it’s guaranteed) receive. Go in prepared, don’t feel bad about saying no, and focus on the amazing things you are going to see. At the end of the day it is more than worth it. We saw some of the most amazing things that we have ever seen, and probably ever will. So the nagging and hassling can be tolerated. Just aa a side note, I never once felt unsafe or uncomfortable with the situation. We weren’t being attacked and were never in danger, it was just never ending offers for services and items, sometimes right in your face, following you for periods of time (taxi ride, boat ride, restaurants, guides, tours, information, cheap tickets, souvenirs, etc.). It was annoying and irritating, but nothing more. With that being said, I still think everyone should visit Egypt – just know what you are getting into. It will help make it a bit more tolerable. It was easier for me this time, as I was prepared thanks to our last quick trip in Cairo.

For a positive closing, Egypt has some of the most amazing, AMAZING things to visit. Everything we saw was incredible and from start to finish, things just kept getting more and more impressive. Our highlights definitely included our time in Aswan. The island is beautiful and the day trip to the incredible Abu Simbel temples was something else. We absolutely loved our cruise along the Nile. It was one of the top activities that we did and would highly recommend as a great way to travel between the cities. But the absolute best part of the trip was Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. It’s hard to describe the beauty of the tombs, the pictures we’ve shared don’t do them justice. You simply have to see it for yourself to fully appreciate them.