11 days, 10 nights over Christmas: Giza and Coptic Cairo, a 4x4 night in the White Desert, a flight to Aswan for Philae, Edfu and Luxor by road, then 2 nights in Hurghada. Includes hotels and the desert camp, flights, an Egyptologist and entrance fees.
This private 11-day tour is for travelers who want more than temples from their Christmas holiday in Egypt. After a day at Giza and in Coptic Cairo, you drive out to the Western Desert for a night in a camp among the chalk formations of the White Desert, return to Cairo, and fly south to Aswan. From there you travel north by road to Luxor, stopping at the Temple of Horus at Edfu, spend two days on the East and West Banks, and cross the Eastern Desert to Hurghada for two nights on the Red Sea. A short flight brings you back to Cairo for your last night.
The sites on the route are the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, the Hanging Church and Abu Serga in Coptic Cairo, Bahariya Oasis, the Black Desert, Crystal Mountain and the White Desert, the High Dam and Philae in Aswan, Edfu, the Luxor Museum, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. A licensed Egyptologist guides the sightseeing days in Cairo, Aswan and Luxor, a desert crew runs the 4x4 trip, and the domestic flights Cairo to Aswan and Hurghada to Cairo are included.
Christmas Day, 25 December 2026, is a Friday. Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 7 January, which in 2027 is a Thursday and a public holiday. The tour runs any day you choose in the Christmas and New Year season. For example, arriving on Saturday 19 December puts the desert night on 21 December, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Luxor, Boxing Day on the way to the Red Sea, and the flight home on 29 December. Many hotels serve a Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner, and some charge it as a compulsory supplement; we tell you when we quote. If you want to attend a church service, tell us and we plan the day around it. Our guide on how to celebrate Christmas in Egypt has more ideas.
It is a weaker fit if you want Abu Simbel, Karnak or a Nile cruise, which are not on this route, or if a night in a simple camp is not for you. See our other Christmas tours in Egypt, or ask for a tailor-made trip.
The pace is active in the first eight days and relaxed at the end. Five days include longer travel:
Day 10 is a short flight from Hurghada to Cairo, about one hour.
Our representative meets you in the arrival hall of Cairo International Airport, holding a sign with your name, and walks you to your private air-conditioned vehicle. The drive to the hotel takes 30 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic and on where your hotel is.
At check-in you receive a welcome drink, and your tour leader goes through the plan with you: what to pack for the night in the desert on Day 3, the flight to Aswan on Day 5 and the road days that follow.
No meals are included today. Keep the evening light: Day 2 starts after breakfast with the pyramids.
After breakfast your Egyptologist meets you at the hotel and you drive to the Giza Plateau. The three main pyramids were built for the Fourth Dynasty kings Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren) and Menkaure (Mycerinus) about 4,500 years ago; the Great Pyramid of Khufu is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. From the panoramic viewpoint you see all three together, then walk down to the Great Sphinx, carved from the bedrock with the body of a lion and the head of a king. Going inside the Great Pyramid needs a separate ticket bought at the site.
The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, opened in 1902, still holds one of the great collections of ancient Egypt: royal statues from the Old Kingdom such as the seated statue of Khafre, the painted statues of Rahotep and Nofret, and the treasures of the royal tombs of Tanis. Tutankhamun's collection has moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza, which can replace this visit on request.
Lunch is at a local restaurant. In the afternoon you visit Old Cairo, the Coptic quarter built around the Roman fortress of Babylon. The Hanging Church takes its name from its position over the fortress gatehouse. The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Abu Serga, stands over the crypt where, by tradition, the Holy Family rested during their flight into Egypt; it is a moving visit in the Christmas season. Shoulders and knees should be covered in both. You are back at the hotel in the late afternoon.
After an early breakfast you check out, leaving your main luggage at the hotel if you like, and drive west into the Western Desert, about 370 km and 4 hours 30 minutes, to Bawiti, the main village of Bahariya Oasis. Lunch is served in the oasis, among palm groves and gardens watered by springs.
Your desert crew takes you on by 4x4. South of the oasis you cross the Black Desert, where hills of sand are capped with dark volcanic stone, stop at Crystal Mountain, a ridge of quartz crystals, and look down on the Agabat valley with its golden cliffs. About two hours from Bahariya you reach the White Desert National Park, where wind has carved the chalk into white towers, mushrooms and shapes that look like animals.
You watch the sunset over the white formations, then set up camp in a sheltered spot. The crew cooks dinner over the fire, usually grilled chicken, rice and vegetables, with tea afterwards. You sleep in a tent or under the open sky, with mattresses, blankets and sleeping bags provided. Small desert foxes, fennecs, sometimes come close to the camp at night.
Wake early for the sunrise, when the chalk turns pink and gold, and have breakfast at the camp.
The 4x4 takes you back north through the desert, stopping at the formations you passed in the dark, to Bahariya Oasis. In the oasis you stop at one of its natural springs, where warm water from deep underground runs into pools used to water the gardens; there is time to put your feet in or, if you like, to swim. Lunch is in the oasis.
Your private vehicle drives you back to Cairo, about 4 hours 30 minutes, and you check in for the night. The evening is free to rest.
After an early breakfast you check out and transfer to Cairo airport for the domestic flight to Aswan, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Your guide meets you on arrival.
The High Dam, completed in 1970, ended the yearly Nile flood, gave Egypt much of its electricity and created Lake Nasser, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. From the top you see the lake on one side and the river on the other. Lunch is at a local restaurant.
A short motorboat ride takes you to Philae Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis. The temple was moved stone by stone to Agilkia Island in the 1970s, in a UNESCO campaign, to save it from the water between the old and new dams. Its reliefs tell the story of Isis, Osiris and their son Horus. Read more about visiting Philae.
You check in at your Aswan hotel by the Nile. The evening is free; a felucca sail at sunset is an optional extra.
After breakfast you check out and drive north with your guide along the Nile, about 1 hour 30 minutes to Edfu, past sugar-cane fields and villages.
Edfu's Temple of Horus, built between 237 and 57 BC, is the most complete temple in Egypt: its pylon, roofed halls and granite shrine still stand much as they were built. The walls tell the story of the battle between Horus and Seth, which your guide reads with you, and two granite falcons guard the entrance.
Lunch is at a restaurant on the way, and the drive continues about two hours to Luxor, where you check in for two nights. The evening is free.
After breakfast you visit the Luxor Museum on the corniche, opened in 1975. It is small and well lit, and its pieces are chosen with care: statues of the New Kingdom, objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun, and the statues found buried in the court of Luxor Temple in 1989, the Luxor cache.
Lunch is at a local restaurant, followed by a rest at the hotel.
Luxor Temple, built mainly under Amenhotep III and Ramses II, stands in the centre of town. Colossal statues of Ramses II guard its pylon; one of the two obelisks at its entrance remains, while the other has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836. The Avenue of Sphinxes, about 2.7 km long, links it to Karnak. In the late afternoon the stone turns gold, and the temple is lit after dark. See our guide to what to see on the East Bank.
After an early breakfast you check out and cross to the West Bank. The Valley of the Kings holds more than 60 tombs cut into the hills for the pharaohs of the New Kingdom. The standard ticket opens three tombs among those open on the day; the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramses VI need a separate ticket bought at the site. A sunrise hot-air balloon flight over the West Bank is an optional extra for this morning.
At Deir el-Bahari, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut rises in three terraces against the cliffs; she ruled as pharaoh for about two decades, and the reliefs record her expedition to the land of Punt. On the way back you stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two seated statues of Amenhotep III, each about 18 metres tall.
After lunch at a local restaurant, your private vehicle takes you north to Qena, then east across the Eastern Desert to the Red Sea coast and on to Hurghada, about four hours with a short stop on the way. You check in at your beach hotel in the evening, for two nights on full board.
The day is yours, with breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel. After eight busy days, many travelers spend it on the beach or by the pool. If you would like to see the reefs, these are the usual options, all at extra cost and bookable through us or at your hotel:
Our guide to the best beaches in Hurghada for snorkelling helps you choose. In the evening, the promenade of Hurghada Marina has cafés by the water.
The sea is around 23 °C in late December: a wetsuit makes snorkelling more comfortable. Coral should not be touched or stood on.
Breakfast is at the hotel, and the transfer to Hurghada airport is timed to your flight. The flight to Cairo takes about one hour; our representative meets you on arrival and drives you to your hotel for the last night.
The rest of the day is free. A few easy options, all optional and at extra cost:
If your flight home is early tomorrow, settle the departure time with our representative tonight.
After breakfast, our representative drives you to Cairo International Airport in time for your international flight and helps you as far as the check-in area; airlines usually ask you to be at the airport three hours before departure, and in the holiday weeks it is worth allowing more. This is the end of the tour.
Comfortable, well located
More space and better ships
Our highest level
Children pay less, see the children policy below. Christmas, New Year and Easter dates add 25%. Prices are per person in US dollars.
December weather suits this route well. Days are around 20 to 22 °C in Cairo and 23 to 25 °C in Aswan and Luxor. In the Western Desert the days are mild, but nights in December and January can drop close to freezing, so the camp gives you blankets and sleeping bags and you bring warm layers. Hurghada has air temperatures around 22 to 24 °C and sea water around 23 °C in late December: fine for snorkelling, a little fresh for long swims. The weeks from 20 December to early January are the busiest of the year, so book as soon as your dates are fixed.
Read more about the White Desert and Bahariya Oasis before you go.
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, so check them before you book your flights. Your passport should be valid for at least six months from the day you arrive; carry it on the desert trip, as there are police checkpoints on the oasis road. The visa is not included in the tour price.
The currency is the Egyptian pound. Cards are accepted in hotels and larger shops, but not in the oases or the camp, so take cash for the desert days and small notes for markets and toilets at some sites. Tips are not included in the price; the tipping guide in the travel policies below gives the usual amounts, including for the desert crew. How much you give is 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: International airfare; Entry visa to Egypt; Tips and personal gratuities; Drinks with meals (unless stated); This tour price applies exclusively to the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
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.
It runs on the dates you choose in the Christmas and New Year season. Christmas Day 2026 is Friday 25 December and Coptic Christmas is Thursday 7 January 2027. Arriving on 19 December, for example, puts Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Luxor and the flight home on 29 December.
It is a simple camp set up by the desert crew in a sheltered spot among the formations: tents or open-air beds with mattresses, blankets and sleeping bags, dinner cooked over the fire and a shared camp toilet. There is no electricity or running water. December nights can be close to freezing, so bring warm layers.
By road from Cairo to Bahariya and back (about 4 hours 30 minutes each way), by 4x4 in the desert, by air from Cairo to Aswan (about 1 hour 20 minutes), by road from Aswan to Luxor via Edfu and from Luxor to Hurghada (about four hours), and by air from Hurghada to Cairo (about one hour). Both flights are included.
No. The Luxor days cover the Luxor Museum, Luxor Temple and the West Bank. Karnak can be added on Day 7, and Abu Simbel from Aswan with an extra night; ask us for a tailor-made version.
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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