Short Egypt Tours 4 to 6 Days

You can see a great deal of Egypt in four to six days if the trip is planned around flights rather than long drives. A short break typically combines Cairo and Giza with either Luxor or a three- or four-night Nile cruise, and a domestic flight saves a day each way. All of the trips below are private, with your own English-speaking guide, and most depart daily.

Compare the short tours we run, see what fits in four, five and six days, and choose between a city break, a Cairo and Luxor combination or a cruise.

Short Egypt Tours Compared

Prices are the starting rates on each tour page and vary with season, hotels and room type.

What Fits in a Short Trip

Four days: Cairo and Giza, or Cairo and Luxor

Four days is enough for the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Saqqara and Old Cairo. If you would rather see a temple city too, a four-day trip can pair two days in Cairo with a flight to Luxor for Karnak, Luxor Temple and the West Bank.

Five days: add Abu Simbel or more Luxor

With a fifth day you can reach Aswan and Abu Simbel, or slow down in Luxor with an early hot air balloon flight. Abu Simbel is about 3 to 3.5 hours each way by road from Aswan, or a short flight; see our Abu Simbel tours.

Six days: the classic route

Six days covers Cairo, Luxor and Aswan at a steadier pace. If you have a day or two more, a three-night cruise from Aswan to Luxor turns the trip into a seven-day tour and adds Edfu and Kom Ombo on the way.

Just a cruise

If you are already in Egypt, a three-night or four-night Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan is a short trip in itself, with sightseeing included.

Tips for Making a Short Trip Work

• Fly between Cairo and Upper Egypt. The flight takes a little over an hour and saves a full day compared with the train.
• Arrive the night before your first tour. International flights often land late, and a rested first morning matters on a short trip.
• Start early. The big sites are quieter and cooler in the first hours after opening, which your guide will plan around.
• Use a stopover. On a long layover in Cairo, our Cairo airport stopover tour fits the Pyramids into a single day.

Need More Time?

If you can stretch to a week or more, see our 7-day and 10-day tours, or our sample 7, 10 and 14-day itineraries. We can also build a tailor-made short break around your flights.