| Duration | 15 days / 14 nights |
| Route | Cairo – White Desert – Luxor – Aswan – Abu Simbel |
| Tour Type | Private Grand Tour |
| Accommodation | 4-star hotels + 2 desert camp nights + 4 nights on a dahabiya |
| Price | From 2,500 USD per person |
| Destinations | Giza – Saqqara – White Desert – Karnak – Valley of the Kings – Edfu – Philae – Abu Simbel |
Plan Your 15 Day Egypt Tour →
Fully customisable — tell us your dates and we adjust the days.
Overview
Two weeks is the point at which Egypt stops being a list of monuments and becomes a country. This private 15 day egypt tour covers three things most itineraries make you choose between: the pharaonic sites, the Western Desert, and a slow sail down the Nile — ending with a night in Abu Simbel village rather than a dash there and back.
The 15 day egypt tour runs Cairo, White Desert, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel. Fifteen days sounds long until you count what is in it, and then the surprise is how unhurried it is: one major site a morning, and enough hotel nights in each place that you never repack twice in a day.
What Makes This 15 Day Egypt Tour Different
Most two-week itineraries are the same seven-day trip with padding. This 15 day egypt tour is not. This one has three genuinely different chapters.
Days one to four are Cairo, at a Cairo pace: Saqqara and Memphis, Giza and the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Citadel, Coptic Cairo and Khan el-Khalili. Four nights in one hotel, one site a morning.
Days five to seven go west, and this is the part almost nobody books: Bahariya Oasis, Crystal Mountain, the Black Desert, and two nights camping among the chalk formations of the White Desert. No hotel, no settlement within a hundred kilometres, and a sky that ruins ordinary night skies for you afterwards.
Days eight to twelve are the Nile: Karnak and Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut, then four nights sailing to Aswan on a traditional dahabiya with stops at El Kab, Edfu, Gebel el-Silsila and Kom Ombo — small sites the big ships cannot moor at.
Days thirteen and fourteen close it: Philae and the High Dam at Aswan, then south to Abu Simbel for the night. Staying over is the difference between ninety minutes in a crowd and having the four colossi at sunset and again at sunrise.
Shorter versions of each chapter: the 2 day Cairo trip, the 3 day White Desert camping tour, the 3 night Nile cruise, and the Abu Simbel overnight tour. Travelling with children? See our 11 day Egypt family tour. Everything else is in Egypt Tour Packages.
Good to Know Before You Go
October to April is the window for the 15 day egypt tour. The desert camping leg is the constraint: from June to August the daytime heat makes it genuinely unpleasant, and we would rather move your dates than sell you a bad week. Between December and February the desert nights get close to freezing — winter sleeping bags are provided, but bring a fleece.
Fitness demands are low. There is no trekking on this 15 day egypt tour; the walking is what any temple visit involves, and we have run it comfortably for travellers in their seventies and eighties. The two desert nights are the only rough part of the accommodation, and they are the part people talk about afterwards.
The itinerary is fully adjustable before booking. Want more Cairo and less desert, or the balloon over Luxor added, or to finish in Cairo rather than Aswan? Say so and we rebuild it. For entry rules and site information see Egypt’s official monuments portal; Giza, Thebes and the Nubian monuments are all UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 15 day Egypt tour too long?
Not for this route. A seven-day trip covers Cairo and a short cruise. Fifteen adds the Western Desert, a proper four-night sail and a night at Abu Simbel — three things a short trip has to leave out.
Can the days be adjusted?
Yes, before booking. This is a private departure, so the balance between Cairo, desert and river is yours to set. Tell us what you care about most.
Is the desert camping comfortable?
It is simple and well equipped: dome tents, thick mattresses, blankets and winter sleeping bags, a toilet tent and meals cooked at camp. There is no shower until the hot spring stop in Bahariya. We are honest about this because it is the one part of the trip people should decide on knowingly.
What fitness level does it need?
Low. No trekking, no long climbs. We have run it for guests from their twenties to their eighties.
What is included in the price?
All accommodation with meals as listed, private transport throughout including the 4x4, licensed Egyptologist guides at every site, every entrance fee in the itinerary, and 24/7 support.
What is not included?
International and domestic flights, the Egypt entry visa, drinks, the optional Luxor balloon and gratuities.
When is the best time to go?
October to April. The desert leg is what sets the season; the rest of the route works year-round.
How do I book?
Contact us with your dates and party size. We confirm availability and send a quote with no obligation.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Giza panorama by kallerna (CC BY-SA 3.0); White Desert by Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0); dahabiya by Fatma Hasham (CC BY-SA 4.0); Karnak by Tsyganov Sergey (CC0); Abu Simbel by Arian Zwegers (CC BY 2.0).
