Tour Overview
This private 2-day trip from Cairo covers Upper Egypt's two great temple cities in one go. You fly to Luxor for the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and Karnak, then take the first-class train south to Aswan for a night in a 5-star hotel. Day two brings the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple before your flight back to Cairo.
Tour Highlights
- See Luxor and Aswan on one short trip, flying in to Luxor and out of Aswan so you never retrace your route.
- Visit the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's terraced temple on Luxor's West Bank on the morning of day one.
- Walk through Karnak's Great Hypostyle Hall after lunch at a Nile-view restaurant, then ride the first-class train along the Nile to Aswan.
- Stand beside the Unfinished Obelisk, a granite giant still lying in its quarry, which shows how the ancient Egyptians cut stone.
- Take a boat to Philae Temple, the island sanctuary of Isis that was moved stone by stone to Agilkia Island to save it from the water.
Tour Route
Can you see Luxor and Aswan in 2 days from Cairo?
Yes, if you are happy with a full first day. You fly to Luxor, see the West Bank and Karnak, and take the train to Aswan the same evening. Day two covers Aswan's main sights before a flight to Cairo. You see the highlights of both cities, not every temple.
How does this trip differ from the other 2-day trips from Cairo?
The 2-day Luxor trip stays in Luxor and adds Luxor Temple and the Karnak light show. The 2-day Aswan and Abu Simbel trip skips Luxor for Abu Simbel. This one is the only trip that covers both Luxor and Aswan city, joined by a train ride along the Nile.
If Abu Simbel matters more to you than Philae and the High Dam, look at the 2-day Luxor and Abu Simbel trip instead, which runs the same cities in the other direction.
What is Philae Temple and why was it moved?
Philae was the main temple of Isis, the mother goddess, built mostly by the Ptolemies and Roman emperors on an island south of Aswan. After the first Aswan dam, it stood half underwater for much of each year, so in the 1970s it was taken apart and rebuilt on nearby Agilkia Island.
What else can you do in Luxor and Aswan?
With an extra night in the south, our Aswan day tours add a felucca on the Nile or the private Abu Simbel temples tour. In Luxor, the Luxor East Bank tour covers Luxor Temple, which this trip leaves out.
Tour Itinerary
Day one is the longer one, with a flight, four Luxor sites and an evening train; day two is a shorter Aswan loop before you fly back.
We pick you up from your hotel in Cairo or Giza and take you to the airport for the flight to Luxor. At Luxor Airport your private Egyptologist guide meets you with an air-conditioned car, and you head across the river to the West Bank.
Under a pyramid-shaped peak, the kings of the New Kingdom were buried in tombs cut far into the rock, safe, they hoped, from robbers. Some 63 tombs are known, from Tutankhamun's to those of Seti I and the Ramesside kings, and your ticket opens a set of them.
Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari climbs in three terraces against the cliffs and was dedicated to Amun-Ra. Nearby, the Colossi of Memnon are two seated statues of Amenhotep III, nearly 18 meters high, the last large remains of his temple.
Lunch is served at a restaurant overlooking the Nile and is included. It is the main break of the day, between the West Bank in the morning and Karnak in the afternoon, and a chance to sit in the shade, try Egyptian dishes and ask your guide questions.
Kings added to Karnak for more than 2,000 years, from the Middle Kingdom to the Ptolemies, making it one of the largest religious complexes ever built. Your guide takes you through the Great Hypostyle Hall, the pylons and the Avenue of Sphinxes.
At the end of the day we drop you at Luxor station for the first-class train south. The line runs beside the Nile through farmland and small towns. In Aswan a driver meets you at the station and takes you to your 5-star hotel for the night.
After breakfast your guide collects you from the hotel. The first stop is the High Dam, finished in the late 1960s, which ended the yearly Nile flood, created Lake Nasser and still produces a large share of Egypt's electricity. Your guide explains how the dam changed life along the river.
In the granite quarries you see the Unfinished Obelisk, about 42 meters long, abandoned when it cracked. Then a short boat ride takes you to Philae, the temple of Isis built mainly under the Ptolemies and moved to Agilkia Island when the dams raised the water.
Lunch is at a local restaurant in Aswan and is included. Afterward you transfer to Aswan Airport for the flight to Cairo, where a driver meets you and takes you back to your hotel in Cairo or Giza, with Upper Egypt's two great cities seen in two days.
What's Included
What the tour price covers, and what to plan for separately.
Paid
★
Your
Own
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about this tour. For anything else, message us on WhatsApp — we reply fast.
It starts at your hotel in Cairo or Giza, where we pick you up for the flight to Luxor. Pickup from downtown Cairo and the Giza area is included; other areas can be arranged for an extra charge. The trip ends with a drop-off at your Cairo hotel after the flight from Aswan.
The price covers a flight from Cairo to Luxor, a first-class train ticket from Luxor to Aswan, one night in a 5-star Aswan hotel with breakfast, a flight from Aswan to Cairo, a private Egyptologist guide, air-conditioned transfers, two lunches, entrance fees to all sites in the program, and taxes.
Yes. Your guide is private to you and your companions. The per-person price falls as your group grows, because the guide, car and room costs are shared, and it changes by season, mainly because domestic airfares and hotel rates rise in the winter months and over Christmas and New Year.
Keep your passport and a small overnight bag with you, since you go straight from Karnak to the station. First-class seats are reserved and air-conditioned. The ride follows the Nile, so a window seat is worth asking for, and a snack or water for the journey is a good idea.
Yes. Avicon Travel is a Class "A" travel agency licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism under License No. 1962 and registered since 2010. Our office and team are in Karnak, Luxor, so the guides, drivers and cars on this tour are our own local team, not a booking desk abroad.
