Egypt, Cairo, the Red Sea and Luxor
A night in Cairo for the pyramids, three by the Red Sea at El Gouna, and three among the temples of Luxor.
- Seven nights
- Three stays
- Egypt
- Antiquities, Red Sea, desert, Nile
Seven nights that link the pyramids and museums of Cairo with the lagoons and reefs of El Gouna and the temples and tombs on either side of the Nile at Luxor. The journey travels by road, from Cairo to the coast and from the coast to the river.
- Length
- Seven nights
- Pace
- Three stays
- Style
- Antiquities, Red Sea, desert, Nile
- Route
- Cairo to El Gouna, the Red Sea to Luxor
- CairoOne night
- El Gouna, the Red SeaThree nights
- LuxorThree nights
01
Days 1 to 2 · one night
Cairo
One night in Cairo, for the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Saqqara and Al-Qarafa, the old cemetery district known as the City of the Dead. The next day is a drive of about 275 miles to El Gouna on the Red Sea.
Where you stay
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza
Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza stands on the banks of the Nile, with views across the city. Rooms look over the river or towards the Citadel, and there is a spa for the evening after the pyramids.
02
Days 2 to 5 · three nights
El Gouna, the Red Sea
Three nights on the Red Sea coast. The steady north wind and calm water suit kitesurfing, and the reefs can be explored by diving or snorkelling. There are rides on horseback along the shore and out into the desert. The onward drive to Luxor is about 214 miles.
Where you stay
La Maison Bleue
La Maison Bleue is an adults-only house of 13 suites in El Gouna, beside a private lagoon with its own beach. It has two restaurants, a bar and a spa with a Turkish bath, sauna and plunge pools.
03
Days 5 to 8 · three nights
Luxor
The last three nights are on the west bank at Luxor, for Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Further south, at Aswan, the Temple of Isis stands on Agilkia Island, reached only by boat and rebuilt there after the Aswan Dam was built, close to the Temple of Hathor and Trajan's Kiosk, and the old souk is a good place to wander.
Where you stay
Al Moudira Hotel
Al Moudira Hotel stands on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, near the Valley of the Kings, in palm groves and gardens. Its 54 suites, furnished in Middle Eastern style, are grouped around courtyards with fountains.
Ways to make it yours
- A Nile cruise aboard the Set Nefru, a traditional dahabiya built more than 90 years ago.
- A dahabiya cruise of three or four nights on the Nile Canopus, as an alternative to the hotel in Luxor.
This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.
Made around you
Most travel is bought. This is designed.
Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.
The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.
More like this
