Checking off bucket list- 7-day trip to Egypt

I know travel planning can be overwhelming and if you just want to see the itinerary and recommendations for hotels and some practical information, check out here (It’s like the link jump to the recipe on food blogs).

As far as I remember, I always wanted to be an archeologist. Not sure if it was the love of history or the romanticizing of the begone days, but I wanted to explore life as lived by people before us. Egypt has been on my backet list for a while now and finally we decided to go visit.

The plan: The 3 key cities that you need to visit in Egypt are: Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan. You need at least 2 days in each city to cover all the historical sites. You have option to do either land or river cruise from Luxor to Aswan (or Aswan to Luxor). We decided to do a Neil cruise from Luxor to Aswan and we felt like we got best of both worlds. You can add Alexandria, Memphis, and Hurghada and Sham El-Sheikh if have more time but 1 week seemed just enough to cover the key sites.

This is the first and only trip where we had a tour company organize the entire trip. We used this company and had a really good experience and every detail including getting picked up from the airport to dropping off to Cairo airport at the end of the trip was taken care of by the tour company. We met few people from various other tour groups on the cruise and this and this company seemed have very similar tours as ours. There are plenty of tour companies offering this type of service in Egypt and you can read the reviews before deciding the right one for your needs. A few people have done a self-guided tour and it is very doable if you know how to deal with tour guides, taxies, etc. but on the flip side, self-guided tour will give you lots of flexibility and may work out cheaper if you plan it properly.

Day 1: Cairo and dinner cruise

We landed in Cairo around 8.30AM on Sunday morning and were out of immigration by 9.30ish. Representative from the tour group met us before immigration and helped to get our bags and brought us our van. We were taken to Hilton Ramses and our guide met us in the lobby to talk to us about the plan for the day. We liked this hotel and its location as it was walking distance to Egyptian museum, Nile River and my favorite restaurant- Koshary Abou Tarek . Details about the restaurant and my review of the Egyptian national dish Koshary/Koshari can be found here.

Day 1 was kind of free day and scheduled had us booked for Light and Sound show at the pyramids. Based on personal reviews from my sister-in-law, we had decided to skip the show, but our guide informed us that the show was cancelled and instead of that we were going on a dinner cruise with entertainment -Sufi and belly dancing. We really enjoyed this dinner cruise especially the Sufi dancer was exceptional. Similar dinner cruises can be found on here .

We spent afternoon walking around Cairo and seeing non-touristy side of Cairo and had lunch at Abou Tarek. We felt pretty safe and didn’t run into any issues while walking around Cairo.

Day 2 : Egyptian Museum and Pyramids of Giza

Pro-tip for visiting Egyptian museum:
Museum opens at 9 AM and as soon as you enter at 9, go to the second floor. Most tour groups will go first floor. Second floor is where King Tut’s artifacts and other cool stuff is located. You will 3-45 min when you can leisurely look at the artifacts before everyone else comes to the second floor
The museum is supposed to move closer to Pyramids in 2023. If this happens, then you can visit both museum and pyramids in one area.

as per our tour guide

As we stayed walking distance from Egyptian museum, we were in front of the door before the museum opened and there was already a long line. As instructed by our guide we went to second floor of the museum.

King Tutankhamun and artifacts from his tomb

The second floor of Egyptian museum holds the golden treasures discovered in the tomb of King Tut by Howard Carter in 1922. The actual mummy of King Tut can seen in Valley of the kings Tomb #62 which we got to see when we went Luxor. There were more than 5000 objects found in the tomb of King Tut and this discovery of the tomb is considered to be one of the most spectacular discovery in the history of archeology. Photography is not allowed in the King Tut’s hall but you can take pictures everywhere else and there are tons of historical artifacts in the museum, and you can easily spend the entire day and we spent about half a day at the museum and felt like we got a good overview.

Some of my favorite things/artifacts from the museum are the silver coffin of King Psusennes (Only silver coffin in the history of Pharaohs), King Tut’s gold and jeweled throne, and my absolute favorite judgment before Osiris papyrus. I liked this papyrus and the meaning behind it so much that I bought my own copy from the papyrus store.

In 2023, the Egyptian museum is supposed to move closer to Pyramids of Giza. If you want to stay close to both pyramids and museum, this Mariott hotel is supposed to be good and close to the entrance to the pyramids as well as amazing views of pyramids from the hotel.

If you plan to buy any papyrus stuff, there are several stores near the Pyramids of Giza. They will show the process of making papyrus and you can buy your favorite artwork, or your name written in Hierographic letters. Like everything else (other than gold and perfume), you can bargain. Rule of thumb that locals use is if the item $100, you start at $25. If you get it for $25, you got a great deal. Most of the time, you should be prepared pay somewhere between 40-50% of original price.

A local guide in Egypt

Pyramids of Giza and Giza necropolis

Anyone visiting Egypt, Pyramids of Giza are on top of the list and one of the only seven ancient wonders of the world still standing. The Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest of the three main pyramids on the Giza plateau and was built around 2570 BC. Since I dreamt seeing these for such a long time, I might have shed a tear or two of happiness when I was standing in front of the pyramids. It is mind blowing to think that a building almost 5000 years old still standing and tells a story of lives of the kings and pharaohs. Depending on what you want to do here, you need about half a day . If you plan to do a self-guided tour, this blog has all the information you need. Top things to do at the Pyramids of Giza are:

• Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure- The 3 main pyramids
• Go inside one of the pyramids to see chamber of the kings- Skipped this based on reviews from other travelers and not suggested if you are claustrophobic
• Visit Panoramic Point- Where most iconic photos are taken
• Ride a camel – We skipped this.
• Visit Sphinx
• Visit the Valley Temple
• Watch the Sound and Light Show- Skipped and went to dinner cruise.

Pro Travel tip: Take precaution and don’t engage with any vendors if you are not planning to buy. They are very aggressive and will follow you around. Don’t let them put any head gear on you and you will be stuck with paying whatever they ask. We skipped camel rides as we had heard that the animals are not treated well but lots of people were riding them and enjoying. Please negotiate the price before getting on the camel

Day 3: Luxor-Nile River cruise, Hot air balloon ride, Valley of kings, Hatshepsut temple, Karnak temple

We flew on the evening of day 2 from Cairo to Luxor and made it our Nile cruise – Esmeralda. Most Nile cruises start on either on Monday or Tuesday from Luxor and sail down to Aswan by Thursday and Friday. Most cruises are either 3 nights or 4 nights. We found that 4 nights were perfect without feeling hurried. If you are doing road trip, you can avoid the cruise crowd by going to places like Abu Simble on Friday. In my opinion, Nile cruise is the best way to see all the temples in and around Luxor and Aswan and most cruises include all the key stops with added (extra fee) activities. The cruise ships vary, and you can book from cheap to really expensive. If you want to take the luxury cruise, Oberoi is supposed to be the best cruise on Nile. Since our tour company booked the cruise, we didn’t have a choice on the cruise ship, but we found Esmeralda to be pretty good. The staff was very accommodating, and chef made special vegetarian dishes when we didn’t have enough option in the buffet. If want to do more research on the cruise options, this blog has lots of good information.

Top things to do in Luxor:

• Luxor Sunrise hot air balloon ride (was not included in our tour and we added it as extra)
• Valley of kings
• Hatsheptsut temple
• Karnak Temple
• Luxor temple
• Light and sound show in Karnak temple
• Edfu temple
• Kom Ombu temple

We had only 24 hours in Luxor, and it felt little bit rushed. I would suggest spending at least 2 days in Luxor. We did a lot in the 24 hours we had and started the day early at 4AM to get the hot air balloon ride (Luxor hot air balloon rides don’t have the best reputation in terms of safety, but we didn’t feel unsafe at any point of time). We took a small boat from where our cruise ship was docked to other side of the river and drove about 10-15 min to reach a field where all the action for hot air balloon rides was going on. Even leaving at 4 AM, we missed the sunrise ride but still the experience was worth it. As we floated above the ancient city of Luxor, we had an amazing view of the valley of the queens, the desert, temple of Hatshepsut. The ride was about 45-60 minutes long and absolutely worth waking up early.

Temple of Hatshepsut– The queen who ruled as a king

Hatshepsut was one of the first female pharaohs of Egypt and her story resonated with me as she stood as symbol of female empowerment and as she was erased from all history until recently make one wonder but her impact remains as Hatshepsut’s temple is one of the world’s most striking architectural masterpiece. The eldest daughter of King Thutmose, Hatshepsut first assumed the role of queen regent during the 18th dynasty after the death of her husband, Thutmose II. Although her stepson, Thutmose III , was supposed to be the king, Hatshepsut assumed the role of king and ruled for 20 years had one of the most prosperous and peaceful rules in Egypt’s history.

Valley of Kings – the resting place of Pharaohs

Valley of the kings is on the west bank of the Nile River while city of the Luxor is on the east bank- living in the east as sun rises and bury the dead on west where sun sets. If you are starting in one of the hotels of the Luxor, then you will have to take a boat to cross to east to the west bank.

• Valley of the kings is where 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties of Pharoh’s are buried in elaborate caves. After a while, Pharoah’s realized that instead of protecting the wealth, pyramids were actually attracting looters and hence they started building burial chambers in the caves.
• There are 62 tombs so far excavated and they range anywhere from a simple pit to elaborate tombs such as of Rameses V and VI.
• Ticket for the general admission comes with entry to 3 tombs and based on recommendations from our guide we bought tickets for King Tuts and Rameses V and VI tombs which have most elaborately decorated walls that have been preserved for 3000 years.

Karnak Temple

This was my absolute favorite temple on the entire trip and if you want to see Light and sound show, this would be the perfect place. We didn’t have enough time in Luxor to spend more time at this temple (3-4 hours is good) and if we go back to Egypt, we will plan on spending couple of full days in Luxor. Some of the interesting facts about Karnak:

• It is a complex of several temples built over a period of 2000 years and considered to be one of the most sacred places in all of Egypt.
• Great Hypostyle Hall in Karnak temple is considered to be one of the most amazing monuments of ancient Egypt and consists of 16 rows of a total of 134 massive columns (10 meters tall) and covers an area of about 5,000 square meters.
• Queen Hatshepsut erected 2 massive obelisks, which were the tallest in the world upon completion. She was planning to erect the biggest Obelisk which broke during construction and can be seen in Aswan quarry as the unfinished obelisk.
• My favorite feature of the temple is the sphinx row.

Day 4 : Edfu and Kom ombu temple

Edfu temple: After overnight sailing from Luxor, this was our first stop in the morning of day 2 on the Nile cruise. If you are taking a road route, it would be better to hire a driver and guide through your hotel or on your own from companies like Egypt Tailor Made. This temple and Kom Ombo temple can be your stopping points on the way to Aswan and can be covered in about half-a -day.

From the Nile cruise, we took a carriage ride to the Edfu temple. Since all cruises have the same itinerary, it was a mad house with caravan of horse carriages going to the temple in the morning.

Some interesting facts of Edfu temple:

• This temple is dedicated to the god Horus, the ancient Egyptians sacred hawk depicted by a man with a hawk’s head. A colossal statue of Horus in his falcon form dominates the temple.
• The Temple of Horus is the most completely preserved temple in Egypt and must visit on your way to Aswan
• Recipe room- multiple recipes of the ancient perfumes instructed on the walls and it is fascinating to see these intact recipes and according to our guide, you can use these recipes to make modern perfumes.
• The holy boat room- “Holy Boat “is scared barques of miniature boat-like shrines treated as temporary resting places for the gods. The main attraction at Edfu temple is this holy boat room.

Kom Ombu temple :Next stop on the cruise was Kom Ombu temple which we reached by 4 pm in the evening. This temple is right on the bank of Nile and it is breath-taking view as you sail into the harbor.

• The temple is unusual in that it is dedicated to two gods who were worshipped in the two halves of the temple.
• The main god of the northern half of the temple is Horus, the ancient Egyptian god of the sky, hunting, and war.
• The southern part of the Temple of Kom Ombo is dedicated to Sobek, the ancient Egyptian god of fertility. Often represented as a man with a crocodile head, Sobek is also regarded as the creator of the world.
• My favorite feature of this temple is the well-preserved Almanac showing important events and festivals.
• There is a crocodile museum on site with mummified crocodiles that have been excavated in the surrounding area. We decide to skip it.

Day 4 on the cruise was a relaxing day with most of the day spent on the upper deck of the cruise. The main entertainment was the relentless and enterprising vendors coming next to the river boat on small boats and throwing their wears up the top deck in plastic bags and people from the cruise haggling with them and buying towels, galabeyas and other goods. Even if you don’t buy anything, it is fun to watch these vendors and their creative selling tactics.

Day 5: Aswan and Nubian village

Next stop on the cruise was Aswan which is our final stop and boat was docked here for 2 days. We were supposed to leave early morning (4AM) to go Abu Simble but there was an issue with the vehicle, and we rescheduled it to next day (Friday). Some of the other tour groups left at 2 AM as it is a 2.5- 3 hour ride to Abu Simble. If you are not taking the cruise, then you can either drive to Abu Simble from Aswan or take a short flight or do an overnight stay in Abu Simble. I wish we had stayed over in Abu Simble as watching the sun come up and light the temple of Abu simble is supposed to be amazing. Thursday is the day most cruise ships reach Aswan and go to Abu Simble, it turned out that Friday was a better day to go as the other groups told us that there were about 2000+ people in Abu Simble on that Thursday and it was very hard to appreciate the temple with so many people. Friday was lot less crowded, and we were able to enjoy the temple peacefully.

Of all places visited, Aswan was my favorite place. Couple of things that we really enjoyed in Aswan are :

• Boat ride to Nubian village with stop at Nubian cafe- This was not included in our tour itinerary and at the recommendation of our guide, we decided to do this and had an amazing time.
• Nubian food- Clay pot lunch at Nubian restaurant in Abu Simble. My picky eater teenager said it was one of the best dishes he has ever eaten.

Philae temple or Temple of Isis : As out trip to Abu Simble was rescheduled, we decided to go see all the things Aswan had to offer which included Philae temple, Aswan Dam, Unfinished Obelisk, and Nubian village

• Philae temple is located on the island of Agilkia Island and you will have to take a boat to reach the temple.
• The current temple complex was started by 30th-dynasty pharaoh Nectanebo but influence of Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods can be seen  in the temple
• In the first room of the temple, you’ll find eight columns that were separated from the court by screens. Many Coptic crosses and Greek inscriptions are found inside this room, which reveals the transformation of the temple into a Christian place during the Byzantine age.
• it is considered to be the last of the ancient temples constructed in the classical Egyptian style. It was built to honor the goddess Isis and serves as an amazing example of the cult that was built around the story of  Isis and Osiris.
• This temple has lots of cats and kittens and they stay here as the temple is on an island.

Nubian village boat ride :

This was my favorite activity of the entire cruise and most colorful one too. More than visiting the village, we enjoyed the ride and looking at the colorful houses and walking through the local bazars. I am lukewarm about the actual visit to Nubian house and seeing the crocodile but the scenery on the way to the village was beautiful including Agah Khan’s mausoleum and elephantine island. Halfway through the boat ride, Nubian folk singers embarked the boat and song and danced which was really great.

• Nubians are the original inhabitants of the central Nile Valley, in northern Sudan and the southern tip of Egypt.
• The Nubian houses were built based on the Nubian architecture by using mud bricks which are a mixture of natural elements such as clay, water, hay, and sand.
• Nubian Villages are painted in a rainbow of colors and each color represents various parts of nature such as blue for ocean, yellow for desert, green for tree etc.
• Crocodiles have a significant role in Nubian culture and kept as pets and Taliman to protect the houses from evil eye.
• One of the most colorful houses I saw were perched on a hill facing Nile River and I took about 50 photos of this place. Later our guide told us that those colorful houses are actually a hotel, and you can spend night there getting an authentic Nubian experience. You can check out the rates here (Kato Dool Wellness Resort).

Day 6 : Abu Simble

The larger than life twin temples at Abu Simble is bound to take your breath away. These twin temples are dedicated to King Ramses II and his wife Queen Nefertari and carved out of rock cliffs.

There are 3 ways to reach Abu Simble- by air, by road or by water. There is direct flight connecting Aswan to Abu Simble and will take about 7 hours round trip including seeing the temple and bus service to Abu Simble is included in the airfare. Egypt air is the only airliens that flies to Abu Simble. There are several cruises (3/4 day) that starts from Aswan and end in Abu Simble. Check here for some suggestions. We chose the road as our Cruise ship was docked in Aswan. It took us about 3.5 hours to reach Abu Simble and we left cruise ship at 4AM with a stop for breakfast around 7.30. The entire trip took about 10 hours including lunch.

There are 2 temples at Abu Simble complex- The great temple and small temple

• The temples of Abu Simbel were by Ramesses II, one of the most powerful rulers of ancient Egypt. The Great Temple of Abu Simbel is dedicated to the gods Amon-Ra, Ra-Harakhti, and Ptah.

• The Small Temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari, the beloved and favorite wife of Ramesses II. One notable feature of this temple is the statue of Nefertari is the same height as that of her husband indicating that king considered his wife to be equal to him. You don’t see this very often in Egyptian temples as wives and children are usually portrayed as small figures near the feet of the pharaoh.
• The Abu Simble (meaning father of Simble) came about as the Swiss explorer Burckhardt was led to the site by a boy named Simbel in 1813 CE and the site was then named after him. Burckhardt, however, was unable to uncover the site, which was buried in sand up to the necks of the grand colossi and later mentioned this experience to his friend and fellow explorer Giovanni Belzoni. It was Belzoni who uncovered and first excavated (or looted) Abu Simbel in 1817 CE and it is considered likely that it was he, not Burckhardt, who was led to the site by the young boy and who named the complex after him. As with other aspects regarding Abu Simbel (such as the date it was begun), the truth of either version of the story is open to interpretation and all that is known is that the original name for the complex, if it had a specific designation, has been lost .(From World History site and information by our tour guide)
• With the construction of the Aswan High Dam, rising water levels threatened to flood the temples of Abu Simbel. In the 1960’s, in an initiative spearheaded by UNESCO, with a multi-national team of archaeologists, the entire complex was moved to its present location.

Inner sanctuary of Abu Simble and its significance: In the sanctuary inside the Temple of Ramesses II (Great Temple) at Abu Simbel are rock-cut sculptures of four seated figures: Ra-Horakhty, the deified king Ramesses, and the gods Amun Ra and Ptah. The architects of ancient Egypt in the 13th century BCE aligned the temple so that on October 22 and February 22, the sun’s rays enter into the sanctuary to illuminate the sculptures on the wall, except for the statue of Ptah, the god associated with the underworld, which remains in shadow.

World History

With Abu Simble visit, our six-day trip to Egypt came to a close. We flew out of Aswan to Cairo on Friday night and boarded our flight back to US on Saturday morning.

Final thoughts:

• Egypt is a country of so much history and everyone must visit at least once
• Egypt reminded me of India in terms of people and traffic and I would not drive on my own here.
• It is definitely easier to do the trip with a tour company.
• As much as we enjoyed Nile cruise, if we go back, we will probably do road trip as it gives more control on our time
• Would definitely spend at least 2 days in Luxor and add few other things to our itinerary including The Dendera Temple complex.