Six in-depth city ultimate-guides plus a complete directory of Egypt's tourist cities, 2026 attraction entry fees, and a 5-step framework to plan your trip — written by Cairo-based locals who've lived these cities.
Welcome to Egypt's most complete travel-guide library — six in-depth city ultimate-guides covering Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, Sharm El-Sheikh and Sinai, alongside a directory of every tourist city, an attractions matrix with 2026 entry fees, and a trip-planning framework we've refined across 10,000+ custom trips since 2012.
These guides are the read-first library: start with one of our city guides below, cross-reference the attractions matrix and the full Egypt-by-month planner, pick your anchor cities, then jump into itinerary builders or where-to-stay decisions with the context already in your head.
If you want it planned FOR you, skip ahead to our free trip planner or customise a tour — WhatsApp +20 100 213 5997 and we'll get back within 24 hours with a 2–3 city itinerary mapped to your dates and budget.
Each guide runs 2,500-4,000 words and covers: when to go, how many nights, top attractions with entry fees, best neighbourhoods to stay, typical daily budget, and the 1-2 day-trips worth doing.
Every Egypt trip starts here. Giza Pyramids, Grand Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili bazaar, Coptic churches — 90% of first-timers spend their first 3 nights in Cairo.
Local fact: Home of the new Grand Egyptian Museum (opened November 2023) — largest archaeological museum in the world.
Open full guide →Luxor holds ~33% of the world's known ancient monuments. East Bank = temples of the living; West Bank = tombs of the dead. Essential for anyone who came for pharaonic history.
Local fact: Karnak Temple complex covers 200 acres — second-largest religious site ever built.
Open full guide →Egypt's Nubian south. Calmer than Luxor, with Abu Simbel (3-hour drive or 45-min flight), Philae Temple on its island, and sunset feluccas past Elephantine Island.
Local fact: Abu Simbel was relocated 65m uphill in 1968 to escape flooding from the Aswan High Dam.
Open full guide →Egypt's Greco-Roman second city. Most skip it, which is a mistake — Qaitbay fortress on the old Lighthouse site, the catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, and the modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina library are world-class.
Local fact: Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE; home of the original Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse (one of the Seven Wonders).
Open full guide →Egypt's flagship Red Sea resort. Ras Mohammed National Park reef is world top-5 for shore diving. Direct-flight airport means you can combine with Cairo in a 10-day trip.
Local fact: Sharm's Tiran Strait is on the migration route for whale sharks (August-October).
Open full guide →The peninsula between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba. Dahab for budget-chic diving, St. Catherine's Monastery (6th century, UNESCO), Mt. Sinai sunrise hike, Colored Canyon.
Local fact: St. Catherine's Monastery is the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world (548-565 CE).
Open full guide →The complete list ranked by tourist relevance. Six cities have their own full guides above; the rest are one-to-two-night extensions or day-trips from a main hub.
| City | Region | Why you'd go | Must-see |
|---|---|---|---|
Cairo Nile Valley |
Cairo Governorate | Capital · pyramids · museums | Giza Pyramids, GEM, Khan el-Khalili |
Giza Nile Valley |
Giza Governorate | Pyramids plateau | Great Pyramid, Sphinx, Solar Boat at GEM |
Alexandria Mediterranean |
Alexandria Gov. | Greco-Roman heritage | Qaitbay, Bibliotheca, Catacombs |
Luxor Upper Egypt |
Luxor Governorate | Ancient Thebes · temples | Karnak, Valley of Kings, Luxor Temple |
Aswan Upper Egypt |
Aswan Governorate | Nubian south · High Dam | Philae, Abu Simbel, felucca ride |
Sharm El-Sheikh South Sinai |
South Sinai Gov. | Red Sea flagship resort | Ras Mohammed, Naama Bay diving |
Hurghada Red Sea |
Red Sea Governorate | All-inclusive reef town | Giftun Islands, submarine tours |
Dahab South Sinai |
South Sinai Gov. | Backpacker dive haven | Blue Hole, Canyon, Lighthouse reef |
Marsa Alam Red Sea |
Red Sea Governorate | Untouched reef & dugong | Elphinstone Reef, Wadi el-Gemal NP |
El Gouna Red Sea |
Red Sea Governorate | Lagoon resort · yacht scene | Lagoon golf, kite surfing |
Siwa Western Desert |
Matrouh Governorate | Oracle oasis · Berber culture | Cleopatra's Bath, Salt Lakes, Shali fortress |
Port Said Suez Canal |
Port Said Gov. | Suez Canal gateway | Canal museum, seafront architecture |
Taba North Sinai |
South Sinai Gov. | Four-country view | Taba Heights, Colored Canyon |
Minya Middle Egypt |
Minya Governorate | Beni Hasan tombs · Tell el-Amarna | Akhenaten's capital ruins |
Fayoum Middle Egypt |
Fayoum Governorate | Oasis · Wadi el-Hitan (UNESCO) | Whale Valley, Magic Lake |
Aswan's Abu Simbel Far South |
Aswan Governorate | Ramesses II colossi | Twice-yearly sun alignment (Feb 22 / Oct 22) |
The non-negotiable attraction at each city, plus what else is worth your time. Entry fees verified for 2026 — Giza Pyramids 700 EGP, Karnak 450 EGP, Abu Simbel 600 EGP.
This is the same sequence we use with every single custom-trip client. It prevents over-scheduling, backtracking, and the "we only had a day for Cairo" regret.
7 days = Cairo + Nile cruise. 10 days = add Red Sea or Abu Simbel. 14 days = add Alexandria and/or Siwa/Sinai. Pick total nights FIRST — everything else follows.
Cairo is non-negotiable on a first trip. Second anchor is Luxor OR a Nile cruise (Luxor↔Aswan). Third anchor is either Aswan (history-deep), Sharm/Hurghada (beach), or Alexandria (heritage).
Open the city guides for your anchor cities below. Each covers: when to go, how many nights, top attractions, best neighbourhood to stay, typical budget, and the 1-2 day-trips worth doing.
Fly Cairo → Luxor (1h flight), train/flight Luxor → Aswan (3h train or 40min flight), fly Aswan → Cairo (1.5h). Never backtrack. If beach: tack it onto the END so you decompress.
Domestic EgyptAir flights or first-class sleeper train. Private English-speaking Egyptologist guide for Cairo + Luxor is the single biggest ROI decision — avoid taxi-touts, understand what you're looking at, skip the lines.
Egypt's tourist geography breaks into 4 regions. Good trips stay inside 1-2 of them; great trips blend 2-3.
Egypt's tourism spine. ~90% of first-time visitors spend all their time here. Cairo for monuments + modern life, Luxor for open-air antiquity, Aswan for Nubian calm and Abu Simbel. Combine by domestic flight (EgyptAir) or overnight sleeper train.
Egypt's Riviera on the African coast. Direct flights from Europe, all-inclusive resorts, reefs accessible by boat or shore, winter sun November-April. Combine with 3 nights Cairo pre-or-post.
The triangular peninsula between Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba. Sharm for resort diving, Dahab for boho diving, St. Catherine's Monastery + Mt. Sinai for religious pilgrimage. Own airport at Sharm.
Egypt's north coast. Alexandria is the main stop — Greco-Roman heritage, Corniche sea-wall, Bibliotheca library. Easy 2.5-hour drive or high-speed train from Cairo. Marsa Matrouh for summer beaches.
312 verified reviews across Google, TripAdvisor, and Viator. 4.9/5 average — travellers who used these guides to plan.
I'd read a dozen Egypt blogs and was more confused after each one. Mai's Cairo and Luxor guides on this page are the clearest thing online — she sequenced the pyramids, GEM, and Islamic Cairo in a way that meant we never backtracked.
I had no plans to see Alexandria — Magdy's guide convinced me to add a day-trip via high-speed train. Qaitbay fortress, the catacombs, and seafood on the Corniche were the best surprise of the whole trip.
Maro's Sharm + Sinai guide is gold for families. She broke out which hotels were actually family-friendly (not just marketed as), exactly when to dive vs snorkel, and the St. Catherine day-trip logistics. Zero stress once we landed.
Printed Sara's Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan ultimate guides before the trip. They read like a workbook — we crossed off attractions as we went and the per-city "best neighbourhood to stay" advice was spot on.
Maria pushed us hard to add Abu Simbel via 4am flight from Aswan. Her Aswan guide gave us the why — the sun alignment, the relocation history, the sheer scale. Best decision of the trip by a mile.
What I loved about these guides is they tell you when to SKIP things. Jessey's Luxor guide was clear about which tombs are worth the extra ticket (Seti I yes, Ramses VI yes) and which to pass. Saved us money and queue time.
Pulled from 16 months of search console data and 312 post-trip surveys. Tap any question to expand.
I\'ve personally walked every site in these six city guides — some of them hundreds of times. After 13+ years planning trips for over 2,400 travellers, what you see on this page is what I actually tell guests when they ask me where to start. Prices, timings, and "which city goes with which" are all field-tested, not copied from other websites. If you want a guide built around your exact dates and travel style, open our trip planner or WhatsApp me directly at +20 100 213 5997.
Tell us your dates, party size, and travel style. We\'ll come back within 24 hours with a 2–3 city itinerary, hotel picks, transport, and a price — no sales pressure, no templated brochure.