| Duration |
8 Days / 7 Nights |
|---|---|
| Tour Location |
Cairo / Luxor / Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan / Abu Simbel |
| Tour Type |
Daily Tour |
| Pickup |
Cairo Airport or Your Hotel |
This 8 day all inclusive Cairo, Abu Simbel, and Nile cruise tour stands out among premium tour packages to Egypt by covering six destinations: Cairo, Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan, and Abu Simbel. It is the only 8 day all inclusive package combining Cairo's Pyramids, the Abu Simbel sun festival site, and a full Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan with zero hidden costs and all inter city flights included in the price.
The tour begins in Cairo on Day 1 with an evening Nile dinner cruise, then on Day 2 moves through the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, the Valley of Khafre Temples, and the Grand Egyptian Museum with Tutankhamun's treasures. Day 3 is the flight to Luxor and boarding the 5 star Nile cruise, followed by the Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple on the East Bank. Day 4 covers Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, and the Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank on the West Bank before the cruise begins sailing south. Day 5 brings Kom Ombo Temple, dedicated to both Sobek and Horus, and the Temple of Edfu, one of Egypt's best-preserved ancient structures. Day 6 is the Abu Simbel excursion, the twin rock-cut temples of Ramses II. Day 7 in Aswan takes in the High Dam and the Philae Temple on Agilkia Island, reached by motorboat, followed by a flight from Aswan back to Cairo for the final night. Day 8 is the departure.
Only on this route
Your Tripidays representative meets you at Cairo International Airport and transfers you directly to your 5-star hotel, no queuing, no navigating alone on your first night. After settling in, the evening begins on the water.
One of the highlights included in many 8 day Egypt vacation packages, this evening you'll board a lit cruise boat as Cairo's skyline reflects off the river, with live Tanoura spinning and belly dance performances unfolding on the deck in front of you. The performance has been running in this form for centuries, and the Tanoura dancer's skirt can spin continuously for more than 20 minutes without stopping.
Dinner
Your Egyptologist guide picks you up after breakfast for a full day across the Giza Plateau. The 8 day cairo abu simbel nile cruise all inclusive itinerary gives you two full days in Cairo before the cruise begins, enough time to cover the plateau, and the museum.
You'll stand at the base of the Great Pyramids and look up at a structure that held the record as the world's tallest building for over 3,800 years. Your guide positions you for the angles that photographs can't prepare you for, the sheer mass of it only registers when you're standing next to it.
Your guide walks you to the viewpoint where the Sphinx sits in its original orientation, facing east toward the rising sun. Look closely at the body; the weathering pattern across the limestone tells a different geological story than the head above it.
You'll enter the Valley Temple of Khafre at the base of the plateau, where the original mortuary rituals for the pharaoh were performed before mummification and burial. The massive pink granite blocks here, some weighing over 100 tons, were cut and fitted without mortar.
Your guide leads you through the Tutankhamun galleries, where over 5,000 objects from the tomb are displayed together for the first time since excavation in 1922. The golden death mask is the obvious centerpiece, but it's the scale of what surrounded a single 19-year-old king that hits hardest.
Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast and checkout, you transfer to Cairo Airport for the short domestic flight to Luxor, the first of the inter-city flights included in this all-inclusive Cairo Abu Simbel Nile cruise package. On arrival, you board your 5-star Nile cruise and meet the crew before heading straight to the East Bank. Travelers seeking a more premium river experience often compare this itinerary with a luxury Nile cruise & Cairo upgrade, which focuses more heavily on upscale onboard amenities and extended luxury cruising.
You'll enter through the Avenue of Sphinxes and walk into the Great Hypostyle Hall, 134 columns, the tallest reaching 21 metres, packed so densely that it takes a moment to understand what you're looking at. Construction here spanned over 2,000 years and involved 30 different pharaohs, each adding to what the last left behind.
Continue to the Temple of Luxor, the first pylon and the single standing obelisk are the obvious landmarks, but your guide takes you into the inner sanctuaries where Roman soldiers painted Christian frescoes directly onto walls carved for Egyptian gods. The temple has been used continuously for religious purposes for over 3,000 years.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The cruise stays docked in Luxor for the morning while you cross to the West Bank. This is the day when the scale of ancient Egyptian architecture becomes fully clear.
You'll descend into Valley of the Kings tombs carved 3,200 years ago into the limestone cliffs of the Theban hills, where the walls are covered floor to ceiling in painted texts from the Book of the Dead. Your guide tells you which tombs are open that day and which angles in each chamber are worth stopping for the detail in the pigment is still vivid at this depth.
Stand back from the colonnaded terrace at Deir el-Bahari, and you'll understand why this temple was built here. The cliffs frame it like a stage set, and the proportions only make sense at full distance. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for over 20 years as pharaoh, and her architects designed a building that has no close parallel in the ancient world.
Your guide stops here briefly on the way back to the cruise, two 18-metre quartzite statues of Amenhotep III sitting in an open field, stripped of almost everything that once surrounded them. For centuries, the northern statue emitted a sound at sunrise that Roman travelers came specifically to hear.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The cruise sails overnight, and by morning, you are docking for the two temple stops that define the middle stretch of the Nile cruise all inclusive route. Both are reached directly by foot from the riverbank.
You'll walk into a Temple of Kom Ombo split perfectly down the middle, one half dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god, the other to Horus, the falcon god, with every column, corridor, and relief duplicated symmetrically on each side. The site's small museum displays real mummified crocodiles found buried in the temple grounds, some over two metres long.
Your guide leads you through the Temple of Edfu, the best-preserved ancient temple in Egypt, so intact that the roof is still in place over the inner sanctuary, and the carved reliefs on the exterior walls run unbroken from ground to cornice. Edfu was built between 237 and 57 BC, which makes it one of the last major temple complexes constructed under the ancient system.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today begins before sunrise. You'll wake up early in Aswan, collect your breakfast box from the cruise, and travel by private air-conditioned vehicle with your Egyptologist guide to Abu Simbel. The early morning journey is rewarded by one of Egypt's most extraordinary temple complexes, where the colossal monuments of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari stand on the shores of Lake Nasser.
You'll arrive at the twin rock-cut temples of Ramses II as the morning light reaches the façade, four colossal seated figures, each 20 metres tall, carved directly into the cliff face above the waterline. The interior of the Great Temple is aligned so precisely that twice a year, on February 22 and October 22, sunlight travels 60 metres down the central corridor and illuminates the inner sanctuary statues, all except the god of darkness, who remains in shadow by design. Travelers looking for a lower-cost alternative that covers the same major highlights often compare this experience with a budget overland Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel itinerary, where most journeys are completed by road or rail instead of domestic flights and cruise sailing.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today is your final morning on board the Nile cruise. After enjoying your last breakfast on the ship and completing check-out, you'll meet your Egyptologist guide for a tour of Aswan's most important highlights. Following your sightseeing, you'll be transferred to Aswan Airport for your included domestic flight back to Cairo.
You'll stand on the Aswan High Dam and look across a reservoir that stretches 500 kilometres south into Sudan, holding back 132 cubic kilometres of water behind a structure built between 1960 and 1970. Your guide explains how its construction directly triggered the UNESCO campaign that relocated Abu Simbel, the reason the temples survive today.
A short motorboat ride takes you to Agilkia Island, where the Philae Temple was dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt on higher ground before the reservoir filled in the 1970s. You'll arrive by water and see the temple appear above the treeline exactly as ancient pilgrims would have approached it. The island setting is inseparable from what the temple means.
Breakfast, Lunch
After a final breakfast at the hotel, your Tripidays representative transfers you to Cairo International Airport for your onward departure.
As your Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan 8 day itinerary comes to an end, reflect on the unforgettable experiences of the timeless pyramids, the serene Nile cruise, and the warm Egyptian hospitality. If you wish to explore beyond Cairo, Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan, and Abu Simbel on a future visit, a complete Egypt 5 cities grand tour offers a broader introduction to Egypt's most important historical and cultural regions.
Breakfast
* You can let us know if you'd like to customize your tour itinerary to meet your needs. We value your input and aim to accommodate your requirements.
This tour includes 3 nights in a 5-star Cairo hotel, 4 nights on a 5-star Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, two domestic flights (Cairo to Luxor and Aswan to Cairo), a guaranteed Abu Simbel day visit, all entrance fees across all six destinations, all meals as specified, and a private licensed Egyptologist guide throughout. All taxes and transfers are covered; there are no hidden extras.
This is the only 8 day all inclusive package that combines Cairo's Pyramids, a full Luxor to Aswan Nile cruise, and Abu Simbel as a guaranteed included day, not an optional paid add on with zero hidden costs and all inter city flights in the price.
Abu Simbel is a pair of rock-cut temples built by Ramses II around 1264 BC, carved directly into a cliff face in Egypt's deep south, 280 kilometres from Aswan. The Great Temple is aligned so precisely that twice a year, on February 22 and October 22, sunlight travels 60 metres down the central corridor to illuminate the inner sanctuary, a feat of ancient astronomical engineering unrepeated anywhere else in Egypt.
The cruise runs for 4 nights aboard a 5 star vessel sailing from Luxor to Aswan, stopping at the East Bank sites on Day 3, West Bank on Day 4, Kom Ombo and Edfu temples on Day 5, and Abu Simbel Temples on Day 6. All meals onboard are included, and the cruise disembarkation on Day 7 leads directly into the Aswan Highlights before the flight back to Cairo.
Yes. Two domestic flights are included in the all-inclusive price: Cairo to Luxor on Day 3, and Aswan to Cairo on Day 7. No separate booking is required, and there are no additional airline fees.
Prices shown include your hotel stay by default. Switch off to see tour-only pricing if you're arranging your own accommodation.
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
8 Days / 7 Nights
Your Hotel in Luxor
Luxor / Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan
8 Days / 7 Nights
Cairo Airport
Cairo / Giza / Luxor / Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan
5 Days / 4 Nights
Cairo Airport or Your Hotel
Cairo / Aswan / Lake Nasser / Kalabsha / Wadi El Seboua / Amada / Kasr Ibrim / Abu Simbel
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Cairo Airport
Cairo / Aswan / Luxor / Alexandria
All things you should know before visiting Egypt & Beyond
Tripidays Egypt Tours has been offering an exceptional range of Egypt tours, vacation packages, Nile cruises, day trips, and shore excursions tailored to meet the diverse interests of travelers worldwide for over 45 years.
