Ultimate Egyptian Experience: Self-Launched 10-Day Cairo, Nile & Oasis Circuit

Fly into Cairo International and take the airport shuttle bus or ride-hailing app (Uber/Careem, roughly £5–7) into Downtown. Base yourself around Talat Harb or Islamic Cairo in a budget hotel — the Dahab Hostel or a small Downtown guesthouse both run around £12–18 for a private single. Spend the afternoon acclimatising: walk the Corniche, grab koshari from a street stall (£1–2) and pick up an Egyptian SIM card (Vodafone/Orange, ~£7 for 20GB). Evening: sunset over the Nile from Qasr el-Nil bridge.

🚌Airport bus or Careem/Uber to Downtown (~£6)

🛏Budget hotel or hostel, Downtown Cairo (~£15)

• →Downtown Cairo walk
• →Qasr el-Nil Bridge sunset
• →Buy local SIM card

Get to the Giza plateau for opening time (8am) before the heat and the coach crowds — ride-hailing there costs about £4, or take the metro to Giza then a microbus. Buy your own tickets at the gate: plateau entry ~£3, Khufu interior ~£12, Khafre interior ~£3. You can hire a licensed guide at the gate for roughly £20–25 for two hours if you want context, or download a self-launched audio guide instead. Afternoon: the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) at the pyramids' foot — prebook a timed slot online (~£20) and allow 3–4 hours for the Tutankhamun galleries. Back to Downtown for a cheap fuul and taameya dinner.

🚌Ride-hailing to Giza and back (~£8)

🛏Budget hotel or hostel, Downtown Cairo (~£15)

• →Giza plateau and three pyramids (self-guided)
• →Great Pyramid of Khufu inner chamber
• →Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) timed entry

Hire a driver for the day (~£35–45 divided between a small group of 2–4 travellers you can meet on hostel noticeboards or in Cairo backpacker groups) for the classic pyramids-route loop: Dahshur's Red and Bent Pyramids with inner-chamber access (~£4), the open-air museum at Memphis (~£3) and Saqqara's Step Pyramid complex with the Serapeum (~£8). This is far cheaper than any tour and you set your own pace. Evening: book a seat on a Nile dinner cruise (Nile Maxim or Nile Pharaoh, ~£30–40 booked direct or via GetYourGuide) for the folklore and belly-dancing show Golden Egypt includes — or skip it and eat grilled fish on the Corniche for £8.

🚌Full-day private car with driver (~£20 per person, shared)

🛏Budget hotel or hostel, Downtown Cairo (~£15)

• →Dahshur pyramids with inner chamber
• →Memphis open-air museum
• →Saqqara and Step Pyramid of Djoser
• →Nile dinner cruise with folklore show (optional)

Take the daytime or overnight train from Cairo to Aswan (1st class ~£25–35, book at the station or via Egyptian National Railways; the sleeper Watania costs ~£55). Most travellers take the night train to save a hotel night — we've costed a 1st-class seat plus an Aswan guesthouse. On arrival, drop bags and head to Philae Temple (~£8 ticket plus ~£3 boat), the Unfinished Obelisk (~£3) and the Aswan High Dam viewpoint (~£3). Late afternoon, take a public ferry or shared boat to a Nubian village on the west bank (£3–5) for tea and a home-cooked dinner (~£6).

🚌Cairo–Aswan train 1st class (~£30)

🛏Aswan guesthouse, west bank (~£14)

• →Temple of Philae
• →Unfinished Obelisk
• →Aswan High Dam
• →Nubian village visit

Join a shared minibus convoy to Abu Simbel (~£12–18 return booked the night before through any Aswan hotel; entry ~£16) — it leaves around 4am so you reach Ramses II and Nefertari's temples in soft morning light. Back in Aswan by early afternoon, board your Nile cruise. Book a 4-day/3-night Aswan–Luxor sailing direct through a local agent or booking site: budget-friendly mid-range boats run roughly £230–300 full board for a shared twin, and the price falls if you take a cabin on a less glamorous but perfectly comfortable 3–4 star vessel. Alternatively a 2-night felucca with meals is around £80 if you'd rather sail than motor.

🚌Shared minibus to Abu Simbel (~£15); cruise boarding

🛏Nile cruise cabin, full board (cost in activities/transport totals)

• →Abu Simbel Temples (Ramses II & Nefertari)
• →Kom Ombo Temple en route

The cruise typically calls at Kom Ombo (~£5) and Edfu's Temple of Horus (~£8), reached by horse-drawn caleche from the dock (£2). Sail on toward Luxor through the afternoon — the top deck is the whole point. On arrival in Luxor, stay on board overnight and head out for the Karnak Sound and Light Show (~£16 booked direct at the gate) or simply wander Luxor Temple, which is beautifully lit and open late (~£6).

🚌Included in cruise schedule

🛏Nile cruise cabin, full board

• →Kom Ombo Temple
• →Edfu Temple (Temple of Horus)
• →Karnak Sound and Light Show
• →Luxor Temple in the evening

Book a balloon flight independently through GetYourGuide or a local Luxor operator (~£75–95 including hotel pickup at 4–5am) — the same sunrise flight the tour includes, at a third of the packaged cost. After landing, hire a bike or shared taxi to the West Bank: Valley of the Kings ticket covers three tombs (~£14, plus £4 for Tutankhamun's tomb), Temple of Hatshepsut (~£6) and the Colossi of Memnon (free). Return to Karnak Temple Complex in the afternoon (~£8). Overnight in a Luxor west-bank guesthouse after the cruise disembarks (~£12).

🚌Balloon pickup included; shared taxi/bike on West Bank (~£6)

🛏Luxor west-bank guesthouse (~£12)

• →Sunrise hot air balloon flight
• →Valley of the Kings
• →Temple of Hatshepsut
• →Colossi of Memnon
• →Karnak Temple Complex

Take the morning train from Luxor to Cairo (or fly if you're short on time — EgyptAir/Nile Air one-way from ~£40) and connect to Alexandria by air-conditioned train (~£6, 2h15). Stay near Raml Station in a budget hotel (~£14). Afternoon: the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (~£5), Pompey's Pillar (~£4) and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (~£4). Finish with fish at a Greek-Taverna-style spot in Anfushi or a cheap falafel in the backstreets of Mansheya.

🚌Luxor–Cairo train or flight (~£25) plus Cairo–Alexandria train (~£6)

🛏Budget hotel near Raml Station (~£14)

• →Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
• →Pompey's Pillar
• →Bibliotheca Alexandrina

From Cairo (or direct from Alexandria via Cairo), take a bus or shared taxi south to Fayoum (~£4, 2h) and base at a budget eco-lodge or homestay in Tunis village (~£18). Hire a local 4x4 driver for the afternoon loop: Lake Qarun, Wadi El Rayan waterfalls, the Magic Lake, and the Forest of Fossils protected area (shared vehicle ~£25–35 per person, site fees ~£6). Ask the driver to stop for sandboarding on the dunes (~£3 board hire) — the optional extra the tour offers. Sunset over the desert then dinner at the lodge (~£6).

🚌Bus/shared taxi Cairo–Fayoum (~£4) and shared 4x4 (~£22)

🛏Tunis village guesthouse or eco-lodge (~£18)

• →Lake Qarun
• →Wadi El Rayan waterfalls
• →Desert safari and dunes
• →Magic Lake
• →Forest of Fossils
• →Sandboarding (optional)

Bus back to Cairo (~£4), leaving buffer time for city traffic. If your flight is late, drop bags at the hotel and use the hours for the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, a final koshari lunch, or the Coptic quarter and Hanging Church. Airport transfer by Careem/Uber (~£6). This itinerary is self-launched, so keep one spare day in your plans if your international flight is tight. Note the Egyptian e-visa (~£20) is required before arrival for most nationalities.

🚌Fayoum–Cairo bus (~£4) plus airport transfer (~£6)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Khan el-Khalili bazaar
• →Final Cairo sightseeing as time allows