Cairo & Alexandria

A private meeting in the arrivals hall at Cairo International — your name, not a group sign — then a car to the hotel. We choose Nile-side or Zamalek for the view and a calmer evening, not for a checklist of monuments.

The rest of the day is deliberately empty. If you land in daylight, a first walk along the river is enough; if you land late, we protect your sleep. There is no temple on arrival day.

We confirm tomorrow’s start time the same evening, including how early Giza needs to be in summer. Bottled water is in the car from the first transfer.

The Giza plateau first, while the air is still reasonable: Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure, the Sphinx, and a viewpoint that is not the coach park. Your Egyptologist sets the pace — this is not a race around the perimeter fence.

A pyramid interior remains your choice. In the afternoon we drive south to Saqqara and the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the Old Kingdom before the tourist postcard. If time and energy allow, a noble’s tomb adds colour that Giza no longer has.

Lunch is included. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. The evening is free: rest, or an optional Sound & Light on another night if you want the plateau after dark.

Morning in the Grand Egyptian Museum — a collection that needs hours, not a corridor dash. Tutankhamun, the royal boats, and the galleries you actually care about, chosen with your Egyptologist rather than every hall in sequence.

Afternoon in historic Cairo: the Citadel of Saladin and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali. Shoulders and knees covered inside. Khan el-Khalili is optional if you want the souk; it is easy to skip if you have had enough stone and people.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. The evening is free. Drink bottled water; Cairo’s tap water is not for visitors.

A private drive to the Mediterranean — about three hours each way, with a stop as needed. This is a change of air, not a second Cairo: sea light, wind on the Corniche, a slower city.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina sits on the ancient library’s site — a modern building that still deserves an hour inside. Then Qaitbay citadel, built where the Pharos, one of the Wonders, once stood. Seafood lunch if you wish. The catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa are optional if energy remains.

We return to Cairo the same evening unless you have asked for a night by the sea. Bring a light jacket; the Corniche is cooler than Giza even in spring.

Breakfast at the hotel, then a private transfer to Cairo International timed to your flight, not to a group departure. We stay with you until check-in when connections are tight.

If you are continuing — Luxor, a Nile cruise, the Red Sea, or a quieter Fayoum day — we connect the same car and the same briefing. Arrival-day rest is behind you; today is only logistics.

Keep passport, visa approval and insurance certificate in your cabin bag. Egypt’s airports are orderly but slow at peak hours.