Experience Egypt: Luxor, Aswan, Sinai and the Red Sea

· Cairo & Egypt · JTW Cairo editors

Columns and statues in the Karnak temple complex at Luxor
Columns and statues in the Karnak temple complex at Luxor. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Cairo is the hub of the country, but Egypt offers many other great cities and places to visit. If you are travelling for a sporting event, adding a few days on the Nile or the Red Sea turns a work trip into the journey of a lifetime.

Luxor: the world's greatest open-air museum

Luxor, ancient Thebes, is about an hour's flight or an overnight train from Cairo. On the east bank are the Karnak temple complex, with the vast Amun temple enclosure, and Luxor Temple in the middle of town. On the west bank lie the Valley of the Kings, the royal tombs of the New Kingdom, and the mortuary temples of Hatshepsut and Ramesses III. The Temple of Seti I at Abydos, a day trip north of Luxor, has some of the finest reliefs in Egypt. A hot-air balloon flight over the west bank at sunrise is a classic Luxor experience.

Aswan, Edfu and Abu Simbel

Further south, Aswan is calmer and greener, with feluccas on a river dotted with granite islands. The Temple of Isis at Philae was moved stone by stone to a new island when the Aswan dams were built. Between Luxor and Aswan, the Temple of Horus at Edfu is one of the best-preserved temples in the country. Nile cruises link these sites over three to seven days.

The sanctuary of the Great Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel
The sanctuary of the Great Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Great Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, close to the Sudanese border, is reached by road or a short flight from Aswan. Like Philae, it was relocated in the 1960s to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser.

Sinai

St Catherine's Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai, is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world. Many visitors climb the mountain overnight to watch the sunrise from the summit. Check current travel advice for Sinai before you go, as guidance differs by area.

The Red Sea

  • Ras Mohammed National Park, at the southern tip of Sinai near Sharm el-Sheikh, protects some of the most celebrated coral reefs in the world.
  • The SS Thistlegorm, a British supply ship sunk in 1941, is one of the most famous wreck dives anywhere, with motorcycles and trucks still in its holds. Boats leave from Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada.
  • Hurghada on the mainland coast is a resort town for diving, kitesurfing, and desert jeep and quad-bike expeditions into the Eastern Desert.
The coral reef landscape at Ras Mohammed National Park, at the southern tip of Sinai
The coral reef landscape at Ras Mohammed National Park, at the southern tip of Sinai. Photo: Sovernigo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Red Sea resorts also have a lively nightlife, including hotel casinos open to international guests. Read about them in Red Sea and Sharm el-Sheikh resort casinos.

How to fit it in

Time availableSuggested add-on
2 daysFly to Luxor: east bank one day, west bank the next
4 daysLuxor plus Aswan, or a short Nile cruise
5-7 daysNile cruise with Abu Simbel, or Cairo plus a Red Sea dive break

Back in the capital? See our Cairo visitor guide.