 Almost
all classical tours originate in Cairo,
which is always an overnighter. In other words, even if one
plans only to take a Nile
Cruise and nothing else, the tour company will, with
certainty, arrange for a night's stay in Cairo, assuming that
is the first stop in Egypt. There are some other options. A
few flights come into Luxor
to begin cruises, but that is very unusual. Other tourists who
come to Egypt primarily for beach vacations at Hurghada,
El-Gouna or Sharm
el-Sheikh often arrive by charter plane, and may add a
classical tour of some nature to their beach vacation. But
otherwise, for almost all classical tourists (tourists who
come to Egypt primarily to visit the antiquity sites), Cairo
continues to be by far the most common landing point in
Egypt.
I think one could spend years in and just around Cairo
and never see all the sights, and never experience all it's
adventures. Unfortunately, most visitors will not have years
to explore Cairo. In the shortest of tours, they may have only
a day, and even in longer tours, they may have only two or
three, or usually at most four days days in Cairo. Yet Cairo
is full of sites and very prominent tourist attractions.
First, lets take a look at those that are most common to all  Classical
Tours.
The Pyramid
Fields: Giza,
where the Great
Pyramid is located, is obviously visited by just about
every tour that comes to Egypt. I cannot imagine one coming to
Egypt, at least for the first time, and not wishing to see
Giza, where there is also the Great
Sphinx. Also, obviously, one may spend only a few hours
here, frankly, as most tours do, or months. There is a lot
that one can see at Giza, including many private and
interesting tombs. But in reality, for most people, Giza will
take no more than half a day to visit and usually less. In
fact, the second most often visited pyramid field near Cairo
is Saqqara,
where the earliest Egyptian pyramid is located, and which is
frequently combined with a visit to Giza over a complete
morning (or afternoon), which may also include a short visit
to "Memphis",
the remaining ruins of Egypt's ancient capital. At the very
best, some tours could make a day tour of these locations, and
some even may take a day and a half, but if they do, it may
also include Dahshur,
home to  some
of Egypt's evolutionary pyramids. More typically, however,
only a half day will be spent in the pyramid fields, if even
that, and for many tourists, that will be enough.
The Egyptian
Antiquities Museum: The second most frequent, and
certainly one of the most important stops in Cairo
for classical tours is the Egyptian Antiquity Museum,
currently still in the downtown area, but to be moved in the
future. Again, rarely do tours visit the museum for over a
half day at most, and usually only a few hours. People do
complain about this, as many would like to spend a whole day
or more here. There is much to see in this museum, but there
is much to see in Egypt, and usually only a limited time to do
so.
 Islamic
Cairo: Next, almost every tour visits the Khan
el-Khalili, Egypt's famous bazaar. It must almost
certainly be the third most popular spot to visit in Cairo
for standard tours, though there is a twist to this. It is the
third most popular destination in Cairo for tourists because
it is here that guides earn a considerable portion of their
income, receiving commissions from stores that they guide
tourists to. Its not that many people do not wish to visit the
Khan el-Khalili, or that it is not a fun experience, but I
doubt that, without the guide commission factor, it would be
the third most frequently visited site in Cairo among tours.
However, this part of the tour will sometimes, if the tour is
long enough, include other sections of Islamic Cairo. Notably,
this will be the Citadel,
though some tours may even visit a few of the ancient and beautiful
mosques, or even some grand old Islamic homes or one of
the Islamic museums..
 In
the shortest of tours, The Khan
el-Khalili will be the only visit in this area of Cairo,
and the shopping spree may only last an hour or two.
Otherwise, Islamic
Cairo, including at least the Citadel,
will probably end up being a half day tour, but unless there
is a special emphasis on Islamic Antiquities, it will
virtually never take longer than that.
Old, or
Coptic Cairo: In fact, Islamic
Cairo and Coptic Cairo may be combined into a half day
tour. Old, or Coptic Cairo is actually the most ancient part
of the city. The part of Coptic (Christian) Cairo that is most
frequently visited by tourists is located in a fairly defined
area, specifically Fort
Babylon, and consists of some of Egypt's most famous and ancient
churches. Also here is the Coptic Museum. For many western
visitors who are Christians, the several hours that most tours
will spend in this location may not be enough, but for others
it will be.
While Coptic
Cairo is probably the third most frequently visited area
in Cairo, it is
probably also the first of the sites that may not be visited
at all in very short tours.
That's it, for Cairo.
Hardly, but that is what most tours take in. Of course, there
are probably another fifty museums,
some interesting and some not, art galleries, ancient
churches, mosques and other antiquities to be seen, but most
standard tours will not do so. That is a good reason to pick,
perhaps only in the longer ones, a tour that may provide a
"free day" or half day in Cairo. Some will take
advantage of the shopping opportunities with some free time,
while others can see a few special sites.
Obviously there are some other considerations that have to
be pointed out about all this. First of all, time is required
to get from destination to destination in Cairo.
Certainly, if one could go from antiquity to antiquity via
teleportation, much more could be squeezed in, but that is not
the case. A trip from a downtown hotel out to the pyramid
fields will usually require at least 45 minutes, provided
there are no traffic problems. A trip from the Nile
Hilton to the Khan
el-Khalili, not so far away, could also take that long if
there are traffic problems.
There are many other options from Cairo,
such as heading to Alexandria,
which would normally be an add-on, but currently, almost all
tours head south, up river and therefore to Upper Egypt. They
may go directly to Luxor
or Aswan, by way of bus,
train or plane.
The worst possible mode is probably by day bus, followed by
day trains. Both eat up considerable time when one might be
touring, although a day bus, would likely mitigate the time
loss by visiting some temples in route. Nevertheless, by
anything but air, it is a long trip which will take up about
ten hours. This is really not much of a problem with an
overnight train, as one is doing most of the trip during a
period that could not otherwise be used for touring.
There are various reasons that a tour might bypass more
northern Luxor
heading straight to Aswan.
One reason would be to join a Nile
Cruise, but other possibilities might exist. For example,
some tours might come back up to Luxor, and then from there,
take the desert road to Quseir
and then the Red Sea
road to Hurghada
for a short beach stay, before usually flying or driving back
from there to Cairo.
But Cruise ships go up and down the Nile from Aswan
to just above Luxor,
and they must have, or at least would like to have passengers
for both the up river and down river legs. Hence, passengers
may board these cruises either in the south at Aswan for the
down river leg, or in the north at Luxor for the up river leg.
Cruises usually come in four day/three night, five day/four
night, seven day/six night and eight day/seven night packages.
The shorter tours, to four nights, will only range between Luxor
and Aswan, while the
longer cruises will head north from Luxor, usually to Qena,
where they will dock. Bus tours from there will visit various
monuments. Afterwards, the boat will return to Luxor.
 If a cruise is not part of the tour, then, except in the
case of the very shortest tours, a bus will probably be used
to transport tourists between Aswan
and Luxor or Luxor
and Aswan because between these two cities are several
important tourist sites. If, for example, a beach vacation is
planned in Hurghada
or El-Gouna
as an add-on, then the bus may very well stop at some of the
sites north of Luxor before taking the desert road to the
coast.
Nevertheless, most standard tours will end up in Luxor,
which was ancient Thebes,
whether they go directly there from Cairo,
or indirectly through Aswan.
In Luxor, besides visiting the local Bazaar, which up until
now I must say is one of the less pleasant ones due to the
aggressiveness of the merchants, there are basically two
standard tours, plus the Luxor
Museum. People go to the West
Bank to visit mostly a few of the royal tombs in the Valley
of the Kings or Queens,
and some of the mortuary temples, and on the East Bank, there
are the most famous temples of all in  Egypt, that of Karnak
and Luxor.
Like the Egyptian
Antiquities Museum in Cairo,
Luxor is another of
those places in Egypt were people frequently tell us they
wished to have more time. However, this is really not the case
for most people. It is very easy on the West
Bank to get "tombed out". After about three
tombs maximum, most people tire of them. The same can be said
for temples. Hence, most tours will spend no more than a half
day on the West bank, and in fact, even the longest tours will
spend no more than two half days on the West Bank.
Particularly in the summer, it is a hot, exhausting effort,
and the better tours with a little extra time will very
frequently provide the second half of the day free, where
those with more energy may explore other parts of Luxor while
others cool down. Doubtless, such tours will visit the Colossi
of Memnon on the way in, though this takes about fifteen
minutes tops. Almost all tours will also visit the Temple
of Hatshepsut, spending no more than a half hour to an
hour at that site. They will also visit two or three royal
tombs as well, but which ones they visit can vary. If it is
open, they will often visit the Tomb
of Nefertari, but the others are a toss up. These tombs
will usually only take a short time to visit, though there is
some amount of walking between them, and may sometimes require
a short wait before being able to enter, if many tours are on
the West Bank at the same time. Otherwise, the standard tours
may virtually do only a drive by of other monuments, such as
the Ramesseum.
By the way, most tours  to the West Bank will attempt to get an
early start, in order to beat the heat, but also, if the tour
is very short, so that the East Bank Temples can be visited in
the afternoon. Of course, every variation is possible, and
some tours may spend considerable time on the West Bank,
visiting even a few private tombs.
Likewise, visiting the East Bank Temples is also rarely
more than a half day tour, or at most a full day, which may
and should also include the Luxor
Museum if the tour has enough time. If a half day tour, it
will usually be a long half day, as these are very large monuments
that usually require at least a few hours each even to make a cursory
visit. This is actually somewhat sad to me. The Karnak
Temple Complex is one of the largest religious centers ever
built (if not the largest), and consists of any number of
individual temples and temple complexes. I would personally
rank it as the most important historical
monument in Egypt.
Again, assuming we are beginning the southern leg of the
tour in Luxor rather
than Aswan, after
visiting Luxor, a typical tour will head further south.
However, if the tour includes some of the archaeological sites
north of Luxor, then before heading south, the tour will head
north, usually  for
no more than a day tour if by bus, or an overnight if by Nile
Cruiser. Frequently, however, unless the tour is fairly
long, these sites north of Luxor will be a tour add-on, and
might include Abydos
and/or Dendera,
as well as other sites.
Whether by boat or bus, a standard classical tour of any
length will probably make stops at several sites between Luxor
and Aswan. Very
short tours may take a flight between the two, completely
missing these, but most will stop at the temples of Edfu
and Kom Ombo,
and may also stop at Esna.
Of these, Kom Ombo will probably take the shortest time to
tour, but neither should take over about an hour and a half,
if even that. Both are interesting temples with some
particular features that make them very worthwhile.
 Bus
Tours between Luxor
and Aswan will
almost certainly make this leg of the tour in one day. Short Nile
Cruises will overnight between Luxor and Aswan, and longer
Nile Cruises may overnight twice between the two cities.
Many of the standard archaeological sites in Aswan
could be visited in a single day, though that would be
difficult and since one must usually overnight at Aswan
anyway, they are split into two days. The most prominent site,
Philae Temple,
is actually south of Aswan, and since one must pass the High
Dam, it too will be a part of the itinerary. Philae and
the High Ham usually take up a half day tour. A few of the
other possible stops (ancient) in Aswan include the Nubian
Museum, the Unfinished
Obelisk and quarries and Elephantine
Island. One or more of these may make up the other half of
the day that includes Philae, while the others, in tours of a
reasonable length, will be included the next day. Of these,
the longest visit will usually be to Elephantine Island, while
others will be fairly brief tours. Hence, there will
frequently be a little time to rest  and
relax before the trip back to Cairo.
It should be pointed out that any particular tour may
include some site visits that others may, or may not, have as
add-ons, but many tours have add-ons. They basically come in
two flavors, consisting of long and short add-ons. Long
add-ons are frequently referred to as extensions, but we might
further delaminate them between components tours and real
extensions. For example, some tour companies may, for example,
have a Cairo tour,
to which, a southern tour may be added as a component or
perhaps a tour of the Sinai as a further component. In other words,
these are very large add-ons that basically change the whole
nature of a tour. We might more think of extensions as day
tours, though they may in fact require an overnight stay.
Examples would include an Alexandria
extension, which might include an overnight stay in
Alexandria, or might not. Another very common extension would
be to Abu
Simbel, almost always from Luxor
or Aswan. This is
usually a day tour. By the way, one of our favorite add-on is
to Ain Sukhna
on the Red Sea
just below Suez.
This is a quick trip from Cairo, where hotels such as those at
 Stella
di Mare (its really become one of my favorite places on
the Red Sea),
including the PlanHotel
and Swiss
Inn, are very reasonable and at the same time, luxurious,
and from there, further extensions can be made to visit the Suez
Canal and the newly renovated St.
Antony's Monastery, one of the oldest in the world (and
also St.
Paul's).
However, both Alexandria
and Abu
Simbel can both become more than a day tour, actually
becoming more of an extension or component. At one time, there
was very little to see in Alexandria, and it was relatively
rare for tourists to visit the city. However, with more and
more sites available in the delta, with the monasteries,
particularly at Wadi
El-Natron, and with more and more sightseeing available in
Alexandria itself, it is possible to make a much longer tour
north of Cairo than
simply a day trip, and this is becoming more common. Likewise,
there are  Nubian
temples between Aswan
and Abu Simbel, and some add-ons include a full blown tour of
these along the way to Abu Simbel, making it more of an
extension as well. Many other extensions are available, but
common ones include tours into the Western
Desert to the Oasis, to the Fayoum
and two various sites in the Eastern
Desert.
Short add-ons are somewhat different. Frequently, they are
half day tours available to those who don't want to rest when
given the chance. For example, very short tours may have, as a
standard part of their itinerary, a half day tour of the West
Bank at Luxor
followed by a free afternoon for rest or other activities. If
so, they may offer the tourists, for an additional fee, a tour
of the East Bank. At Aswan,
a short add-on might be a visit to Saint
Simeon monastery by camel. In Cairo,
there can be any number of short tours lasting no more than a
half day if even that, to various museums and other
areas.
A View of St. Simeon Monastery
Actually, add-ons need not necessarily be arranged with the
tour company providing the primary classical tour, and they
need not, of course, be to typical classical tour sites. For
example, most hotels will provide various short tours, as well
as companies such as Misr
Travel. An afternoon's  Felucca ride might be arranged with
the owner of a boat, for example, though these more typically
last for less than an hour.
A final note about Classical Tours. Egyptian tours are more
than sightseeing, hotels, guides and how to get from location
to location. There is also the evening, and one must carefully
examine that part of the tour as well. Some tours offer
extensive entertainment, while others call it quits after the
last tour session of the day. While Nile
Cruisers almost always have nightly entertainment, this is
not necessarily a standard practice outside of cruises, and
there is a lot that can be done. In fact, it is even a fine
idea to inquire about lunches times while on tour. Some
companies will, as even part of a regular tour, provide a Dinner
Cruise in Cairo,
or a lunch at the Saqqara Country Club. Others will offer
lunch at well known restaurants, or evening visits to
nightclubs, and don't forget about the wonderful Sound and
Light Shows at various major monuments in the evening. This
too, plays a part in the fun of a tour, and it is good to get
the details.
See Also:
Articles Relating Specifically to Classical Tours
Nile Cruises
Other Important Articles Related to Egyptian Tours
Other Basic Information
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