Egypt Tours with Flights from €1,300

A standard 7-day trip opens in Cairo with two nights at the pyramids of Giza and the gleaming Grand Egyptian Museum, then a short hop south to Luxor where the river takes over. Most weeks run Luxor to Aswan, stitching together Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu and Kom Ombo, before a sunrise flight carries you back to Cairo.

The cruise is the heart of it. Budget boats run around €700-€900 for three all-inclusive nights, mid-range dahabiyas sit at €1,100-€1,500, and the truly grand ships like the Oberoi Zahra sail past €2,500. Most bundled weeks land somewhere in the €900-€1,400 band with guide, entry fees and the internal flight folded in.

Temple days are walking days — reckon on 8-12 km over uneven stone — and the heat is no joke, so pack real shoes rather than sandals. Breakfast and your cruise meals are almost always covered; lunches and dinners in Cairo are yours to choose, and a good one runs €10-€20.

If you can spare the time, ten days is the one to book. You keep the Cairo-Luxor-Aswan spine and add either Abu Simbel — yes, it means a 3am alarm, and yes, it is worth every bleary minute — or a couple of slower nights snorkelling at Hurghada or Dahab on the Red Sea. Expect €1,500-€2,100 with flights.

Fourteen days is for travellers who want desert as well as river. Carve out a 2-3 night 4x4 run into the surreal White Desert from Bahariya, detour to the date-palm oasis at Siwa, or seek out the quieter temples at Dendera and Abydos that most groups breeze past. A few operators bolt on a Jordan extension with Petra and Wadi Rum, which lifts the total to €2,400-€3,200 but hands you two of the Middle East's defining experiences in a single trip.

If you only get one crack at Egypt, make it ten days. Seven feels tight once two long travel days are accounted for, and fourteen without any desert is really just more time on the beach.

Small-group tours of 12-16 people are the default, and the best value going. Intrepid, G Adventures, On The Go and TruTravel all run dependable Egypt itineraries from around €900-€1,500 before flights, and every one comes with a full-time Egyptologist — which genuinely changes how a place like Karnak lands when someone can read the walls for you.

Go private if there are two or more of you and you would rather set your own rhythm. Reckon on €1,800-€3,000 per person for 8-10 days with a private guide, driver and mid-range hotels. You skip the 7am bus calls and can linger in the cool of the tombs long after the groups have moved on.

Budget and younger-crowd trips (TruTravel, Topdeck, some G Adventures 18-to-Thirtysomethings) drop a hotel star or two and start around €700-€900 before flights — a fine call if you are under 35 and want the social side. At the other extreme, the river cruises run by Uniworld or AmaWaterways sit at €3,500+: small ship, balcony cabin, proper dining and a gentler pace.

Egypt really only has two seasons that matter: cool and hot. October to April is the window you want, with daytime highs in Luxor around 25-30°C and balmy evenings up on the cruise deck.

December and January are the peak — prices climb 20-30%, Abu Simbel fills up, and cruises want booking 4-6 months out. February and March are the quiet sweet spot: still warm, far thinner crowds, and flights from Europe under €250 return if you move early.

May through September turns fierce. Luxor regularly tips 42°C and temple visits become a 6am affair. The upside is that tour prices fall 30-40% and the Red Sea stays gloriously swimmable. July and August in Upper Egypt are strictly for travellers who truly do not mind the heat.

Ramadan shifts each year (roughly late February to late March in 2026). Sites stay open, but some restaurants close through daylight and the mood softens by day and lifts after dark — no reason to stay away, just worth having in mind.

Cairo (CAI) is the main gateway, and it's well-connected from every major market — though almost no one flies it nonstop from across an ocean, so plan on one stop unless you're coming from Europe or the Gulf.

From the US, Egypt is a genuinely popular long-haul trip, and the routings are easy. EgyptAir flies nonstop from New York JFK and Washington Dulles (around 11 hours). From everywhere else — the West Coast, the South, the Midwest — you connect once through a European or Gulf hub (London, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Doha, Dubai). Expect roughly US$900-$1,400 return from the East Coast, US$1,100-$1,700 from the West Coast or Texas, and reckon on 14-18 hours door to door with the layover. Turkish via Istanbul and the Gulf carriers (Qatar, Emirates) tend to price keenest from inland cities.

From Australia there's no short way: Sydney and Melbourne route through a single Gulf or Asian hub — Doha on Qatar, Dubai on Emirates, Abu Dhabi on Etihad, or Singapore — for a total of 20-24 hours flying. Reckon on roughly A$1,800-$2,800 return, with the Gulf carriers usually the smoothest single-stop option.

From Canada, Toronto and Montreal connect once through a European or Gulf hub (Air Canada to London, Frankfurt or Istanbul, or a European carrier onward); budget roughly C$1,300-$2,000 return and 14-17 hours via the layover.

From the UK and Europe, you've the shortest hop of anyone. EgyptAir runs direct from a handful of European hubs in season; more reliably you connect through London, Paris, Frankfurt, Istanbul or Rome. Door to door from Western Europe is 6-9 hours, and return fares from most capitals sit at €220-€400 in the shoulder months of February, October and November, climbing to €400-€700 over Christmas and Easter.

Some trips begin or end in Luxor (LXR) or Hurghada (HRG) rather than Cairo, which can save a backtrack whatever your origin. When you bundle here, the flight prices live from your own home airport in your own currency, right beside the tour price, so you can size up the whole trip before you commit to either piece.

US, UK, EU, Australian and Canadian passport holders all need a visa, and it's the same painless drill for everyone: the e-visa costs US$25 and clears in under a week online, or you pick one up on arrival at Cairo airport for the same price. Your passport needs at least six months left on it beyond your entry date.

Egypt is generally safe for travellers in 2026. Foreign ministries advise exercising normal precautions across Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and the Red Sea resorts, with avoid-only notices limited to parts of North Sinai and the Western Desert border zones, where no tour goes anyway.

The currency is the Egyptian pound (EGP). Cards work in hotels and bigger restaurants, but keep cash on you for tips, taxis and the souks. Tipping — baksheesh — is constant and expected: budget €30-€50 per person for the week on top of the guide's tip, which is usually €40-€60 at the end.

Don't drink the tap water; most tours hand out bottled water on the bus and cruise anyway. Upset stomachs are common, so pack Imodium and rehydration sachets and you'll likely sail through.