Tour Overview
This private day trip takes you by car from Cairo to Alexandria, the Mediterranean city founded by Alexander the Great. You visit the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, Pompey's Pillar and the Qaitbay Citadel, stop for a seafood lunch, and finish at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the modern library built in memory of the ancient one. A private Egyptologist guide, air-conditioned car, entrance fees and lunch are included, with pickup at your hotel in Cairo or Giza.
Tour Highlights
- Go down a spiral staircase into the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, a Roman-era tomb where Egyptian gods appear in Roman dress and armor.
- Stand beside Pompey's Pillar, a single granite column about 25 meters tall, raised in honor of the Roman emperor Diocletian at the end of the 3rd century.
- Walk the ramparts of the Qaitbay Citadel, a 15th-century fort built on the spot where the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria once stood.
- Have a seafood lunch in a city known across Egypt for its fish, included in the price, before the last visit of the day.
- Visit the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a striking modern library by the sea that honors the great library of the ancient world and houses museums and exhibitions.
Tour Route
Is a day trip from Cairo to Alexandria worth it?
Yes, if you want to see a different side of Egypt. Alexandria was a Greek and Roman capital for centuries, and its sights tell that story rather than the story of the pharaohs. A day trip covers the main monuments well, though it is a long day with a good part of it on the road.
What you will not find here are giant temples or pyramids. Much of ancient Alexandria now lies under the modern city, or under the water of its harbor. The pleasure is in the mix: a Roman tomb, a Mamluk fort, a modern library and fresh seafood, all in one day by the Mediterranean.
What is special about the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa?
They are the largest Roman-era burial site in Egypt and one of the best examples of Egyptian and Roman art blended together. In the main tomb, Anubis and other Egyptian gods are shown in Roman armor and dress, while Greek and Egyptian symbols decorate the same walls.
The catacombs were found by chance in 1900, when a donkey cart broke through the ground. Shoqafa means 'potsherds' in Arabic, after the broken pottery that once covered the hill. Going down the stair, you leave the noise of the city behind very quickly.
What was the Lighthouse of Alexandria?
The Pharos lighthouse was built under the first Ptolemies in the 3rd century BC and was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It guided ships into the harbor for well over a thousand years before earthquakes brought it down. The Qaitbay Citadel now stands on its site.
Is the Alexandria trip too long for one day?
It is a full day, and a good share of it is spent in the car. Most travelers find it manageable because the car is private, the seats are comfortable, and you set the pace with your guide. If you would rather travel more slowly, contact us before booking and we will talk through the options.
What else can you combine with Alexandria?
If you are based in Luxor, the 2-day Cairo and Alexandria tour from Luxor flies you north and adds the pyramids and museums. From Cairo, the Wadi El Natrun monasteries trip uses the same desert road, and our Cairo day tours page lists every other option.
Tour Itinerary
A full day: the drive north to the coast, three historic sites, a seafood lunch, and the library before you head back to Cairo.
Your private Egyptologist guide and driver collect you from your hotel in the morning in an air-conditioned car, and you head north to the Mediterranean coast. On the way, your guide tells you how Alexander founded the city in 331 BC and how it became the capital of the Ptolemies, the dynasty of Cleopatra.
Kom El Shoqafa was cut into the rock around the 2nd century AD for a wealthy family and later used for many more burials. A spiral stair leads down several levels to the main tomb, where Egyptian scenes are carved in a Roman style. Your guide also shows you the Hall of Caracalla, linked by legend to a massacre ordered by that emperor.
The name is a medieval mistake: the column has nothing to do with Pompey. It was raised for Diocletian around 297 AD, after he ended a siege of the city and, the story goes, sent grain to its hungry people. It stands on the hill of the old Serapeum, the great temple of the god Serapis.
Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay built this fortress in 1477 at the tip of the old island of Pharos, on the ruins of the ancient lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Stones from the fallen lighthouse went into its walls. From the ramparts you look out over the Eastern Harbor and the open sea.
Lunch is at a seafood restaurant in Alexandria and is included in the price. Fish and seafood are at the heart of the city's cooking, so this is the place to try them. It is also a good time to rest your feet before the last visit of the day.
Opened in 2002, the library stands near the site of the ancient Library of Alexandria, the greatest center of learning in the ancient world. Its tilted round roof faces the sea, and its granite outer wall is carved with letters from scripts around the world. Inside are reading halls, museums and displays of manuscripts and rare books.
From the library your driver takes you back to your hotel in Cairo or Giza. The guide, the car, lunch, mineral water and entrance fees are all covered, so you only need cash for tips and any extras outside the program.
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.
The trip starts at your hotel in downtown Cairo or the Giza area. Your guide and driver pick you up in a private air-conditioned car in the morning and bring you back to the same hotel in the evening. Pickup from other areas is possible for an extra charge, so tell us your address when you book.
The price includes hotel pickup and return, all transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle, a private Egyptologist guide, a seafood lunch at a local restaurant in Alexandria, entrance fees for the sites listed, mineral water in the car, and all taxes and service charges. Tips and extras outside the program are not included.
It is a private tour: the car and the guide are only for you and the people you book with. Because the cost of the vehicle and guide is shared within your group, the price per person goes down as the group gets bigger. Prices also change by season, from {price} per person.
Because the tour is private, there is some room for flexibility. If you would like more time at one site and less at another, tell your guide on the day. For bigger changes, such as a different site or a meal without seafood, let us know when you book so we can plan ahead.
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.
