Giza House
Hotel
Day 1
Egypt: Cairo to Abu Simbel - 7 Days (Giza, Saqqara, Luxor, Karnak & Edfu)
Seven days, a sleeper train and two nights on a cruise boat. Seven days with a private Egyptologist, a five-star cruise boat, sleeper berths in a two-person cabin and every entry prepaid.
Meridian Overland
Runs this trip
Group trips
Seven days, a sleeper train and two nights on a cruise boat
Group Tour
Join a fixed-date departure with other travellers
Top Highlights
Nile cornicheCairo is loud, enormous and does not ease you in. Great PyramidDjoser's step pyramid at Saqqara is older than Giza by about a century and is where the idea started. Sphinx Grand Egyptian MuseumThe sleeper south saves a hotel night and a domestic flight, and the berths are perfectly decent. Valley of the KingsKarnak took two thousand years to build and its hypostyle hall has a hundred and thirty-four columns. Hatshepsut Temple
Itinerary
Cairo is loud, enormous and does not ease you in. The first evening is deliberately empty.
CairoHow the day runs
- 1 hrsAirport transfer into the city
- MealsDinner
- AccommodationGiza House
Included Activities
- Airport transfer
- Hotel night
LANDMARKS Nile corniche Zamalek Start point Cairo, Cairo International Airport (CAI) 00:00 - 23:59Djoser's step pyramid at Saqqara is older than Giza by about a century and is where the idea started.
Giza, SaqqaraHow the day runs
- 1 hrs7:30 AM — the plateau at opening, before the heat
- 1 hrs1:00 PM — the step pyramid at Saqqara
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationCairo Residency
Included Activities
- Giza plateau entry
- Saqqara entry
- Egyptologist guide
Optional Activities
- Inside the Great Pyramid — a separate ticket, and a hot crawl
LANDMARKS Great Pyramid Sphinx Step Pyramid of Djoser The sleeper south saves a hotel night and a domestic flight, and the berths are perfectly decent.
Cairo, LuxorHow the day runs
- 9:00 AM — the museum, Tutankhamun and the royal mummies
- 10 hrs8:00 PM — the sleeper south to Luxor
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationLuxor Lodge
Included Activities
- Museum entry
- Sleeper train berth with dinner and breakfast
LANDMARKS Grand Egyptian Museum Tahrir Square Karnak took two thousand years to build and its hypostyle hall has a hundred and thirty-four columns.
Luxor, Karnak, Valley of the KingsHow the day runs
- 1 hrs6:30 AM — the west bank first, before the heat
- 1 hrs1:00 PM — back east for Karnak
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationLuxor Lodge
Included Activities
- Three tombs in the Valley of the Kings
- Karnak and Luxor temple entries
- Egyptologist guide
- Hotel night
Optional Activities
- Tutankhamun's tomb — a separate ticket
LANDMARKS Valley of the Kings Hatshepsut Temple Karnak Luxor Temple Edfu is the best-preserved temple in Egypt because it spent centuries buried in sand.
Luxor, Edfu, AswanHow the day runs
- 8 hrs8:00 AM — cast off south down the Nile
- 4 hrs4:00 PM — on towards Aswan overnight
- MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- AccommodationAswan Residency
Included Activities
- Nile cruise cabin with all meals
- Edfu and Kom Ombo entries
LANDMARKS Edfu Temple Kom Ombo Esna lock Abu Simbel was cut into pieces and moved 65 m uphill in the 1960s to save it from Lake Nasser. The joins are visible if you look.
Aswan, Abu SimbelHow the day runs
- 4 hrs3:30 AM — south to the Sudanese border
- 4 hrs10:00 AM — back to Aswan for the afternoon
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationAswan Residency
Included Activities
- Abu Simbel entry and transport
- Philae temple by boat
- Hotel night
LANDMARKS Abu Simbel Philae Temple Aswan High Dam Fly rather than take the train north — it is the one leg where the flight is clearly worth it.
Aswan, CairoHow the day runs
- 2 hrsMorning flight to Cairo
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationNot included — onward travel
Included Activities
- Domestic flight
- Airport transfer
- Day 1Airport transfer
- Day 1Hotel night
- Day 2Giza plateau entry
- Day 2Saqqara entry
- Day 2Egyptologist guide
- Day 2Inside the Great Pyramid — a separate ticket, and a hot crawlCosts extra
- Day 3Museum entry
- Day 3Sleeper train berth with dinner and breakfast
- Day 4Three tombs in the Valley of the Kings
- Day 4Karnak and Luxor temple entries
- Day 4Tutankhamun's tomb — a separate ticketCosts extra
- Day 5Nile cruise cabin with all meals
- Day 5Edfu and Kom Ombo entries
- Day 6Abu Simbel entry and transport
- Day 6Philae temple by boat
- Day 7Domestic flight
- Day 1 · 1 nightGiza House
- Day 2 · 1 nightCairo Residency
- Day 3 · 2 nightsLuxor Lodge
- Day 5 · 2 nightsAswan Residency
- Day 1Cairo to CairoAirport transfer into the city
- Day 2Cairo to Giza7:30 AM — the plateau at opening, before the heat
- Day 2Giza to Saqqara1:00 PM — the step pyramid at Saqqara
- Day 3Cairo to Luxor8:00 PM — the sleeper south to Luxor
- Day 4Luxor to Valley of the Kings6:30 AM — the west bank first, before the heat
- Day 4Valley of the Kings to Karnak1:00 PM — back east for Karnak
- Day 6Aswan to Abu Simbel3:30 AM — south to the Sudanese border
- Day 6Abu Simbel to Aswan10:00 AM — back to Aswan for the afternoon
- Day 7Aswan to CairoMorning flight to Cairo
Where you'll stay
All accommodations are subject to change
Cairo Residency
Hotel
Day 2
Luxor Lodge
Lodge
Days 3, 4
Aswan Residency
Hotel
Days 5, 6
What you'll eat
6 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 3 dinners across 7 days, at the lodges you sleep in. It opens with dinner on day 1 and closes with breakfast on day 7.
- DinnerServed on days 1, 3, 5
- BreakfastServed on days 2–7
- LunchServed on day 5
10 meal services named in the itinerary. Vegetarian and vegan covered everywhere; Jain and gluten-free on notice at booking
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Customer reviews
Overall rating
4.3/5
Based on 15 reviews
Review summary
Food4.3/5
Guide3.9/5
Itinerary4.1/5
Transport4.0/5
Accommodation4.1/5
Tour operator4.1/5
Sort by:Recommended
5
D
Divya Reddy – Kochi2026-02-26 · Verified booking
Everything was arranged properly — transfers, entries, all of it. Hotels were clean and central, which saved a lot of time. Whoever planned the days knew what they were doing. Recommended.
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5
Y
Yuki Tanaka – Lisbon2026-02-26 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Crew were professional without being stiff about it. Recommended.
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5
J
James Whelan – Stockholm2026-02-26 · Verified booking
Nile Valley done well. The itinerary had room to breathe. No complaints about any of the hotels — all of them well placed. Whoever planned the days knew what they were doing.
Reply from Meridian Overland
Thank you. We've taken the point about the transfer and are reviewing it.
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5
Y
Yuki Tanaka – Singapore2026-02-26 · Verified booking
Well paced over 7 days with enough free time to not feel herded. Accommodation was a notch better than the price suggested. Crew were professional without being stiff about it.
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3
O
Owen Clarke – Melbourne2026-02-26 · Verified booking
Too much time on the coach and not enough at the places we'd come for. Crew were professional without being stiff about it.
Reply from Meridian Overland
Thanks for writing this up. We've passed your note to the team.
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1
D
Dev Chatterjee – Kolkata2025-05-26 · Verified booking
Hotels were a step below what I expected for the price.
Reply from Meridian Overland
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope to see you on another trip.
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4
M
Marc Dubois – Berlin2025-05-26 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Worth every rupee.
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5
P
Priya Nair – Delhi2025-05-26 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found.
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Questions people ask
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