7 days, 6 nights for two: the Pyramids and Saqqara, the sleeper train to Aswan for Philae, a felucca and a Nubian wedding celebration, then the train back for the Egyptian Museum and a Nile dinner cruise. Includes hotels, the sleeper train, a private guide and entrance fees.
This private 7-day honeymoon pairs the great monuments of Cairo with the slower world of Aswan and Nubia. After a first night in Cairo you spend a day at the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara and Memphis, then board the overnight sleeper train to Aswan in your own compartment. In Aswan you visit Philae and the High Dam, walk in the Botanical Garden on its island and sail by felucca around Elephantine at sunset. The next day you cross to a Nubian village, with its painted houses and clay ovens, and in the evening the village celebrates you with a Nubian-style wedding procession, drums and songs. A free day in Aswan and the night train bring you back to Cairo for the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel, Khan el-Khalili and a dinner cruise on the Nile.
A private guide accompanies your sightseeing, all transfers are in a private air-conditioned vehicle, and both nights on the sleeper train, with dinner and breakfast, are included.
Aswan is the natural choice for a honeymoon on the Nile. It is smaller and quieter than Luxor, the river here is broken by granite islands and sandbanks, and the Nubian culture of the south, with its music, colour and hospitality, gives the town a character of its own. The sleeper train adds a sense of a journey: you go to sleep near the pyramids and wake up beside palm groves and sugar-cane fields in Upper Egypt.
For other ideas see our Egypt honeymoon packages and our guide how to spend your honeymoon in Egypt.
The pace is relaxed in Aswan and full on the two Cairo sightseeing days. The two train nights replace two travel days:
Train times change with the season and the operator's timetable; the exact times are on your tickets. Between the train nights you stay two nights in Aswan, so there is one fully free day and two half-days with time at the hotel. The Cairo sightseeing days involve three to four hours on foot, on sand at Giza and Saqqara and on stone floors in the museum and the Citadel.
Our representative meets you in the arrival hall of Cairo International Airport with a sign bearing your names and walks you to your private air-conditioned vehicle. The drive to your hotel takes 30 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic.
The evening is yours, with a welcome drink at the hotel. Your guide confirms tomorrow's plan: you check out in the morning, as tomorrow night is on the train. No meals are included today.
After a long flight, a quiet dinner at the hotel or a short walk is the best way to start. Hotels on the Nile in central Cairo have terraces with views of the river and the lights of the city; hotels near Giza have views of the pyramids. Before you sleep, pack a small overnight bag for the train: tomorrow your main luggage travels with you in the compartment, and only what you need for the night should be at hand. Overnight in Cairo.
After breakfast and check-out, your guide takes you to the Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, built about 4,500 years ago, and the Great Sphinx, carved from the bedrock of the plateau. The Great Pyramid took around twenty years to build and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. From the panoramic viewpoint you see all three pyramids in a row, a classic spot for photos of the two of you. Below the pyramids, your guide shows you the Valley Temple of Khafre, built of huge granite blocks, where the king's funeral rites began. Going inside the Great Pyramid needs a separate ticket bought at the site, and a short camel ride at the viewpoint is an optional extra.
About 40 minutes south, at Saqqara, you see the Step Pyramid of Djoser, designed by the architect Imhotep around 2650 BC, the earliest large stone building in Egypt. Six stepped levels of limestone rise above a vast walled enclosure, and your guide explains how this first experiment in stone led, within a century, to the smooth-sided pyramids of Giza. Saqqara is wide and much quieter than Giza, a good place to walk slowly. Lunch is at a local restaurant nearby.
Memphis was the capital of Egypt for much of its ancient history. Little of the great city survives above ground, among palm groves and fields, but its open-air museum keeps a colossal limestone statue of Ramses II lying on its back, which you see from a gallery above, and the Alabaster Sphinx. You then return towards Giza, with time for a coffee before the train.
At sunset you transfer to Giza station and board the sleeper train to Aswan. Each compartment has two beds, a washbasin and air conditioning; dinner is served in your compartment, and the attendant makes up the beds for the night. The train leaves the city lights behind within the first hour and runs south along the Nile Valley through the night, stopping at the main towns of Upper Egypt, among them Luxor in the early morning. Overnight on the train.
Breakfast is served on the train. After Luxor, the valley narrows and the first outcrops of granite and sandstone appear near the river. Your guide meets you at Aswan station and takes you to your hotel to drop your bags and rest; if the room is not ready yet, the terrace or garden is a good place to wait with a coffee and a view of the Nile.
At Philae, the reliefs show Isis, her husband Osiris and their son Horus, and the temple was one of the last places in Egypt where the old gods were worshipped, into the 6th century AD. Your guide also shows you the small kiosk of Trajan by the water, one of the most photographed buildings in Aswan.
Before sunset you board a felucca, the traditional Nile sailboat, and sail around Elephantine Island and the granite rocks of the cataract as the light falls. A felucca has no engine; it moves with the wind and the skill of its captain, so the route depends on the breeze on the day. You pass the ruins on Elephantine, the old frontier town of ancient Egypt, and the Aga Khan's mausoleum on the hill of the west bank. Lunch and dinner are included. Overnight in Aswan.
After breakfast a boat takes you along the Nile, past the islands of the cataract, to a Nubian village on the west bank. The Nubians lived for thousands of years in the valley south of Aswan, until the High Dam flooded their land in the 1960s; the villages near Aswan keep their language, music and architecture. The boat ride takes about 45 minutes and passes small islands, sandbanks with birds, and the golden dunes that reach the river on the west bank.
You walk through lanes of houses painted blue, yellow and pink, decorated with motifs of camels and crocodiles, and see bread baked in clay ovens. A Nubian family welcomes you with tea, and lunch is served in the village: bread, stews, rice and vegetables cooked in the Nubian way. After lunch there is time to rest in the shade, try henna painting or walk to the riverbank. Your guide explains the customs of a traditional Nubian wedding, which once lasted for days, so that you know what to expect in the evening.
As the sun sets, the village holds a wedding procession in Nubian style for the two of you, with tambourines, drums and songs, villagers in colourful dress and dancing in a circle around the couple. The evening ends with cold karkadeh, the hibiscus drink of Nubian hospitality, before the boat takes you back to your hotel.
The celebration is a cultural event, not a legal ceremony. It usually lasts about an hour. Light, bright clothes suit the occasion, and the villagers may dress you in Nubian scarves for the procession. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included today. Overnight in Aswan.
After breakfast the day is yours. Walk the Corniche, sit in a café by the river, or browse the Aswan souk for spices, Nubian scarves and baskets. Optional visits, at extra cost, include the Nubian Museum, an excellent introduction to the history of Nubia, or the Unfinished Obelisk. A private felucca to Kitchener's Island or a camel ride to the Monastery of St Simeon on the west bank are other easy ways to spend a few hours.
Check-out is usually around noon. Your hotel can keep your luggage, and a late check-out, if you want the room until the train, is at extra cost and depends on the hotel. The afternoon light on the river is soft and warm, a good time for a last walk along the Corniche.
Our driver takes you to Aswan station for the sleeper train to Cairo. Dinner is served in your compartment, and the train runs through the night along the Nile. Overnight on the train.
Breakfast is on the train before you reach Giza early in the morning. Your guide meets you and takes you first to your hotel to leave your bags. The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, opened in 1902, holds statues and objects from every period of ancient Egypt, such as the statue of Khafre and the painted statues of Rahotep and Nofret. Tutankhamun's treasures and the royal mummies have moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, which can be added at extra cost.
After lunch at a local restaurant you visit the Citadel of Salah el-Din and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, whose domes and minarets crown the Cairo skyline. You end the afternoon in Khan el-Khalili, a market since the late 14th century, with its lanes of lamps, silver and spices.
Your last evening is on a dinner cruise on the Nile, with Cairo lit up on both banks, oriental music, a tanoura dancer and a belly-dance show. The cruise lasts about two hours, and our driver takes you back to your hotel afterwards. If your flight home is early tomorrow, settle the pickup time with your guide tonight. Overnight in Cairo.
After breakfast, our representative drives you to Cairo International Airport and helps you with check-in. Airlines usually ask you to be there three hours before an international flight. This is the end of your honeymoon in Egypt.
If your flight leaves in the evening, the morning can be used for a visit at extra cost: the Grand Egyptian Museum, with the Tutankhamun galleries, or the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, with the Royal Mummies Hall. Ask when you book, so that a vehicle, a guide and a late check-out can be arranged.
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Children pay less, see the children policy below. Christmas, New Year and Easter dates add 25%. Prices are per person in US dollars.
October to April is the best time for a honeymoon on this route. From December to February days are around 18 to 22 °C in Cairo and 23 to 26 °C in Aswan, with sunny days and cool evenings on the felucca. From May to September Aswan is among the hottest places in Egypt, often above 40 °C, and visits move to the early morning and evening. Christmas, New Year and Easter are the busiest weeks; the sleeper train sells out first, so book early.
Many nationalities can buy a tourist visa on arrival at Cairo airport or apply for an e-visa in advance on Egypt's official portal, visa2egypt.gov.eg. The rules and the fee depend on your passport. Your passport should be valid for at least six months from the day you arrive, and you need it to board the sleeper train.
The currency is the Egyptian pound. Cards are accepted in most hotels; carry cash for the souk, the Nubian village, the felucca crew and drinks on the train. Tips are not included; the tipping guide in the travel policies below gives the usual amounts.
The sleeper train is a simple, comfortable way to travel, not a luxury train. Each compartment is private for the two of you, with two berths that the attendant makes up after dinner, a small washbasin, a reading light and air conditioning. Meals are served on a tray in the compartment. Drinks are sold on board, and the restaurant or lounge car, when there is one, is a good place for an evening tea. Keep a small bag with toiletries, a change of clothes, medicines and a light layer at hand, as the air conditioning can be cool. Earplugs and an eye mask help light sleepers.
Tell us your wedding date when you book, and we can let the hotels on the route know that you are on honeymoon. What a hotel offers in return, such as a room upgrade or a cake, is at its discretion and cannot be guaranteed. If you would like to add something of your own, such as flowers in the room, a private dinner by the river in Aswan or a photographer for the Nubian celebration, ask us and we quote it separately.
Nubian villages are living communities, not museums. Ask before photographing people, especially women and older villagers. Shoulders and knees covered are polite in the village. Many families keep baby crocodiles or sell crafts and henna painting to visitors; buying is entirely your choice.
All prices are per person in US dollars. The price changes with the season (winter 1 October to 30 April, summer 1 May to 30 September), the accommodation level and the size of the group. Christmas, New Year and Easter dates add 25%. Your quote lists the final price and everything it covers. After the deposit, changes to your itinerary cost US$25 per request, plus any third-party fees.
A deposit of 30% of the total tour cost confirms your booking. We send you a secure payment link for the deposit; the balance is paid in cash or by card on arrival in Egypt, unless your written offer gives another date. We never ask for card details by email, chat or WhatsApp. We confirm every booking by email.
No-show travelers are charged 100%. During peak events in Egypt, hotels and Nile cruises do not refund deposits. Groups of more than 10 people may have different terms.
Add each child and their age in the enquiry form so the quote is exact.
Optional visits, such as a hot air balloon ride in Luxor, a Sound and Light show or a felucca ride, are not in the price. Tell us which ones you want and we add them to your quote with their cost.
Not included in the price: Egypt entry visa (we can help with it on arrival); International flights; Personal expenses; Tips; Entrance tickets to sites not in the itinerary; Drinks with meals and on the train.
Tipping is customary in Egypt and is not included in the price. A usual amount for a private tour is US$8 to 10 per person per day for your guide, US$4 to 5 for your driver and US$5 to 8 per person per day for the crew on a Nile cruise. Your guide can advise you on the day.
Each compartment has two beds (one above the other), a small washbasin, air conditioning and a door that locks. Dinner and breakfast are served in the compartment, and toilets are at the end of each car. It is simple but comfortable, and a memorable way to travel along the Nile.
The village organizes a procession and party in the style of a Nubian wedding, with drums, tambourines, traditional songs and dancing, in your honour. It is a celebration, not a legal or religious ceremony.
Yes. The train passes through Luxor, so a night or two there can be added on the way back, or a short Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor can replace the return train journey. The price changes with the plan.
Yes, Cairo to Aswan is about 1 hour 20 minutes by air. Flying adds two hotel nights in place of the train nights and changes the price; tell us when you enquire.
Independent reviews on the platforms travelers already trust.
Amazing Egyptian vacation! We did an 11 day private tour of Cairo, cruise on the Nile between Aswan and Luxor and a 4 day stay in Hurghada. The guided tours were very interesting, with extremely knowledgeable guides, attentive and helpful.
Egypt package to the Pyramids of Giza and Saqqara was a fascinating journey through Egypt's ancient past ,guide knowledge, the majesty of the pyramids, and the historical depth of Saqqara made this tour truly enriching!
our honeymoon to Egypt ,Giza and Saqqara was a magical escape into history The pyramids looming in the distance, the quiet serenity of the desert, and the ancient wonders of Saqqara created moments that will be with me forever!
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