Duration: 5 days · 4 nights
Starts from: Cairo
Group size: Up to 12 guests
Difficulty: Easy

Overview

Five days based in Cairo: Giza, Saqqara and Memphis, a day trip to Alexandria's catacombs, library and citadel, and the Egyptian Museum with Coptic Cairo, with lunches included.

This trip keeps you in one Cairo hotel for all four nights and brings the sights to you, with a private air-conditioned car and a guide who speaks English, Spanish or German. Our representative meets you at the airport, helps you through passport control and with your luggage, and is there again on the way home.

The first full day runs from the pyramids of Giza, the Valley Temple and the Sphinx to Saqqara, where Djoser's Step Pyramid is the oldest of them all, and on to Memphis for the fallen colossus of Ramses II and the alabaster sphinx. The next day you drive about three hours north to Alexandria for the Roman Theatre, the three-level catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Qaitbay Citadel and the El Mursi Abu el-Abbas Mosque.

Your last full day is in central Cairo: the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, then the churches of Coptic Cairo, among them Abu Serga, St Barbara and the Hanging Church, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Lunch at a local restaurant is included on each of the three touring days.

Highlights

The pyramids of Giza, the Valley Temple and the Sphinx
Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara
The colossus of Ramses II at Memphis
Alexandria's catacombs, library and Qaitbay Citadel
The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square
The Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue

Itinerary

1
Day 1
Arrival in Cairo
Our representative meets you at the airport, helps you through passport control and with your luggage, then drives you to your hotel. Check in and rest. Overnight in Cairo.
2
Day 2
Giza, Saqqara & Memphis
Pickup at 8:00 for the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, the Valley Temple and the Sphinx. Drive on to Saqqara for Djoser's Step Pyramid, Egypt's earliest monumental stone building, and to Memphis for the colossus of Ramses II and the alabaster sphinx. Lunch at a local restaurant, then back to your hotel. Overnight in Cairo.
3
Day 3
Day trip to Alexandria
Leave at 7:00 for the 220 km drive north, arriving around 10:00. Visit the Roman Theatre, the catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Qaitbay Citadel and the El Mursi Abu el-Abbas Mosque, with lunch at a local restaurant. Back in Cairo by about 19:00. Overnight in Cairo.
4
Day 4
Egyptian Museum & Coptic Cairo
Spend the morning in the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, among statues, coffins and jewellery from thousands of years of history. Then walk through Coptic Cairo to the churches of Abu Serga, St Barbara and the Hanging Church, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Lunch at a local restaurant. Overnight in Cairo.
5
Day 5
Departure
Breakfast at the hotel, then our representative drives you to Cairo International Airport at the time you need and helps with departure formalities.

What's included

4 nights in a 3-star Cairo hotel with breakfast (4- and 5-star hotels available on request at extra cost)
All transfers by private air-conditioned car or minibus
Return road trip Cairo – Alexandria
Meet-and-assist service at the airport
Guide speaking English, Spanish or German
Lunch on days 2, 3 and 4
Bottled water during the tours
Entry fees for the sites in the itinerary
All taxes and service charges

Not included

Egypt visa
Drinks with meals
Optional tours
Personal items
Tips for your guide and driver
Travel insurance

What to bring

Comfortable walking shoes for the uneven ground at Saqqara
Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen
Clothes that cover shoulders and knees for churches, the synagogue and the mosque
A light jacket for the Alexandria seafront
Passport, and a visa if you need one