DAY 1

Giza

STAY: Four Seasons Cairo, Sofitel Cairo or Le Meridian Pyramids (touristy option but direct proximity to Pyramids)
DO: Pool at the hotel with a view of the Pyramids of Giza
EAT: Anywhere BUT Lebanese food and entertainment on a Nile River dinner cruise. This was literally our worst experience on any trip, let alone just Egypt!

DAY 2

Cairo to Aswan

STAY: Overnight train from Cairo to Aswan
DO: In the morning, visit the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. In the afternoon, visit the Cairo Museum, that holds amazing artifacts and the contents of King Tut’s tomb.
EAT: For lunch, stop for a falafel or Egyptian Kushari (a local dish of lentils, rice, pasta and tomato sauce). Have dinner on the overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. This train is really cute and worth the experience, but also pretty filthy, so you might want to eat beforehand…

DAY 3

Aswan

STAY: Helnan Aswan Hotel or Sofitel Legend Old Cataract (where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile)
DO: Temple of Filea and the local Aswan Market
EAT: Dinner in the Nubian Village, at a local house if possible (a guide or the hotel can assist you with a Nile boat to dinner and a reservation at a local home)

DAY 4

Sail the Nile on a Felucca

STAY: Onboard a felucca
DO: Spend the morning at Abu Simbel, and spend the afternoon on a local wooden boat called a felucca.

EAT: Have lunch and dinner on the felucca, and stop off for a bonfire and dinner on the shore of the Nile. Spend that night onboard the felucca.

DAY 5

Luxor

STAY: Steinberger Palace
VISIT: Filae, the Temple of Isis (once you disembark the felucca, visit Filae, the Temple of Isis), and in the afternoon, visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu. Visit the Valley of the Kings, or save it for the next day. At sunset, visit the Luxor Palace.

EAT: At the Palace, have lunch brought to you poolside or eat at the Lebanese restaurant in the hotel. For dinner, have dinner near the Luxor Palace.

DAY 6

Luxor

STAY: Luxor Palace. In the evening, drive to Hurgada

DO: Begin the day with a hot air balloon ride at sunrise. Spend the afternoon visiting the Valley of the Kings (or go back if you didn’t have enough time before) and Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple (Hatshepsut’s Temple); Medianat Habu (Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III); stop for a photo op at Rameses II Son’s Temple, and end at Karnak Temple. This is the longest day! If you need to minimize this itinerary, skip the Son of Rameses II’s Temple, before considering leaving out Medianat Habu, but do not miss Hatshepsut, Valley of the Kings or Karnak!
EAT: Something quick! We had lunch at the Lebanese restaurant at the Palace again we loved it so much!

DAY 7

Hurgada (Red Sea)

STAY: Sun Rise Royal Makadi Resort, Hurgata
DO: Snorkeling, beach on the Red Sea
EAT: Dinner at Bedouin

Day 8

Hurgada (Red Sea)

STAY: Sun Rise Royal Makadi Resort, Hurgata

DO: Fly to Cairo first thing in the morning. Check into Le Riad Hotel de Charme and visit Old Cairo, the Islamic Village and the Old Souks. If you want, take a tour of Cairo.

EAT: Shawarma

Day 9

Old Cairo

STAY: Le Riad Hotel de Charme

DO: Markets of Old Cairo. Fly home.