Pharaohs and Pyramids — Self-Launched

Land at Cairo International, buy a tourist SIM at the airport (Vodafone/Orange, ~£8 for 20GB) and take an Uber or Careem to Giza (~£6–8, 45–60 min) — ignore the taxi touts in arrivals. Check into a mid-range hotel on Pyramids Road with a rooftop view rather than Mena House. Use the late afternoon to walk the perimeter of the Giza plateau from the Sphinx side for your first, free-of-charge Pyramids view, then eat koshari at a local chain (Koshary Abou Tarek downtown, ~£2) or on Pyramids Road.

🚌Airport taxi/Uber ~£7; walking + Uber locally ~£3

🛏3-star hotel in Giza with pyramid-view rooftop (~£28/night, e.g. Panorama Pyramids Inn or similar)

• →Airport SIM setup
• →Evening walk around Giza plateau edge
• →Koshari dinner downtown or Giza

Arrive at the Giza plateau at opening (8am, ~£13 entry to the plateau; Khufu interior extra ~£10 if you want it). Walk between Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure and down to the Sphinx viewpoint — you can do this self-guided with a good audio guide or hire a licensed guide for a half-day (~£35 total, split if you find people at your hostel). Short camel/horse ride at the plateau edge is negotiable at ~£8–12 — agree the price and duration in writing first. In the afternoon take an Uber to Saqqara (~£8 each way, 40 min) for the Step Pyramid complex and the Teti Pyramid interior (~£8 entry). Return to Giza for dinner.

🚌Uber Giza–Saqqara return ~£16

🛏Same Giza hotel (~£28)

• →Giza plateau + Sphinx (self-guided)
• →Optional half-day licensed guide
• →Camel ride at plateau
• →Saqqara Step Pyramid complex

Uber downtown (~£3). Start at the Citadel of Saladin and the alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali (~£5 entry) for skyline views. Then the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square (~£10) — go with a guide or an audio tour for the Tutankhamun galleries, which are now largely superseded by the Grand Egyptian Museum. Lunch at Nagib Mahfouz restaurant inside Khan el-Khalili (the same spot the tour uses, mains ~£6–9) and spend the late afternoon wandering the souk and al-Muizz Street's medieval gates and mosques. Optional evening Cairo Jazz Club or a rooftop beer at the Cairo Marriott's gardens.

🚌Ubers across Cairo ~£8 total

🛏Same Giza hotel (~£28)

• →Citadel & Muhammad Ali Mosque
• →Egyptian Museum Tahrir
• →Khan el-Khalili souk & al-Muizz Street
• →Lunch at Nagib Mahfouz restaurant

Two options: the overnight sleeper train from Cairo Ramses (Watania, ~£55–70 for a single cabin, books out weeks ahead) or a 1-hour EgyptAir/Nile Air flight (~£55–85 one way, book 6–8 weeks ahead). If you fly, take a morning flight and check into a West Bank or Nile-side guesthouse. Afternoon: Karnak Temple (~£10 entry) late in the day when it's cooler and quieter, then walk the Avenue of Sphinxes to Luxor Temple (~£8) as it lights up at dusk. Evenings on the West Bank are cheap and friendly — dinner at a local guesthouse rooftop ~£5.

🚌Cairo–Luxor flight ~£70 (or sleeper train ~£60)

🛏West Bank guesthouse or 3-star Nile-view hotel in Luxor (~£25/night)

• →Karnak Temple Complex
• →Avenue of Sphinxes walk
• →Luxor Temple at sunset
• →Luxor Library & Heritage Center (free/cheap)

Optional dawn hot-air balloon flight over the West Bank (~£65–85 booked via GetYourGuide or your guesthouse — a fraction of the tour's add-on). Then hire a local taxi driver for the day (~£20–25) to run the West Bank circuit: Valley of the Kings (~£14 for three tombs), the tomb of Queen Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens (~£35 extra ticket, limited numbers, book early — genuinely worth it), and the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari (~£8). Add the Colossi of Memnon for free on the way back. Sunset felucca on the Nile ~£8.

🚌Private taxi driver for West Bank day ~£22

🛏Same Luxor guesthouse (~£25)

• →Hot air balloon over Luxor (optional)
• →Valley of the Kings
• →Tomb of Queen Nefertari
• →Valley of the Queens
• →Hatshepsut Temple
• →Sunset felucca

Skip the cruise and use the road: pre-book a shared or private car Luxor–Aswan with stops (~£45–60 private, or ~£15–20 per seat on a shared microbus via your guesthouse). Stop at the Temple of Horus at Edfu (~£8) and the twin-dedicated Temple of Kom Ombo (~£6), best visited late afternoon with the Nile glinting behind it. Arrive Aswan in the evening and check into a guesthouse in the Nubian village or along the Corniche. Cheaper alternative: the daily 1st-class train Luxor–Aswan (~£8–12), skipping one temple or doing Edfu as a morning stop by taxi.

🚌Private/shared car Luxor–Aswan with stops ~£25–55 (or train ~£10)

🛏Aswan guesthouse, Nubian village or Corniche (~£22/night)

• →Temple of Horus, Edfu
• →Temple of Kom Ombo
• →Nubian village evening

Take a local motorboat to Agilkia Island for Philae Temple (~£6 boat share + ~£8 entry) — go early to beat the cruise crowds. Then the Unfinished Obelisk in the northern granite quarries (~£4). Afternoon: a two-hour felucca sail around Elephantine and Kitchener's islands (~£8–12 per person, negotiate directly with the boat captains at the Corniche, weather permitting), and a walk through the Nubian village for tea. Optional upgrade the tour guests rave about: afternoon tea (or a night) at the Sofitel Old Cataract — tea is ~£25, a room is far more.

🚌Local motorboat and felucca ~£15

🛏Same Aswan guesthouse (~£22)

• →Philae Temple by boat
• →Unfinished Obelisk
• →Felucca sail around the islands
• →Nubian village walk
• →Optional Old Cataract afternoon tea

Book the shared convoy minibus or a seat on the early morning tour from Aswan (~£25–35 including a guide, leaves ~4am) or fly with EgyptAir (~£90 return) for the twin temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari at Abu Simbel (~£10 entry). Back in Aswan by early afternoon; fly Aswan–Cairo (~£60–80, book ahead) and check into a downtown or Zamalek hotel. Evening walk along the Nile or a cheap dinner in Zamalek.

🚌Abu Simbel shared minibus ~£30; Aswan–Cairo flight ~£70

🛏3-star hotel downtown Cairo or Zamalek (~£30/night)

• →Abu Simbel temples
• →Nile-side evening walk in Zamalek

Give the Grand Egyptian Museum a full day (~£25 entry, book a timed slot online in advance). Focus on the complete Tutankhamun galleries, the Khufu solar boat and the grand staircase of monumental statues. A licensed guide for 3 hours is ~£30–40 and worth it here. Late afternoon: return to the Pyramids plateau viewpoint for a last sunset, or visit the NMEC royal mummies hall (~£10) if you still have energy. Final-night dinner at Zooba (Egyptian street food, ~£6) or Abou El Sid in Zamalek (~£12).

🚌Ubers ~£8

🛏Same Cairo hotel (~£30)

• →Grand Egyptian Museum full day
• →Optional licensed guide
• →Optional NMEC royal mummies
• →Sunset at Pyramids viewpoint

Breakfast, last-minute souvenir shopping at the Khan (better prices than the airport), and Uber to Cairo International (~£7) for your flight home. If you have time, the 4-night Jordan extension to Petra is easy to self-launch: Cairo–Amman flight ~£120–160, JETT bus Amman–Petra ~£10, Petra entry ~£40 for one day (or the Jordan Pass ~£55 which covers visa + Petra).

🚌Uber to airport ~£7

🛏—

• →Souvenir shopping
• →Airport transfer
• →Optional self-launched Jordan/Petra extension