How to Spend 14 Days in Egypt

Two weeks in Egypt lets you pair the big pharaonic names with time underwater and a sunrise on a mountain. This route suits travelers who like variety and a medium pace, mixing early starts with lazy beach days. You’ll use Uber and hired drivers in Cairo, an overnight sleeper train to Luxor, and intercity buses across the Eastern Desert and around the Gulf of Suez into Sinai.

Days 1-5: Cairo and the Pyramid Fields

Four nights in Cairo sounds generous until you factor in the traffic. Stay near Giza for the first two so you can walk to the Great Pyramid of Giza as the gates open and see it before the coach groups arrive, then give a full afternoon to the Grand Egyptian Museum, where the Tutankhamun collection now lives. Hire a driver for a day south to the Saqqara Necropolis and the Dahshur Pyramids; the Bent and Red pyramids stand in near-empty desert, and the steep descent inside the Red Pyramid is a cramped, ammonia-tinged thrill. Board the overnight sleeper train on the evening of Day … read more 👉

Two weeks in Egypt lets you pair the big pharaonic names with time underwater and a sunrise on a mountain. This route suits travelers who like variety and a medium pace, mixing early starts with lazy beach days. You’ll use Uber and hired drivers in Cairo, an overnight sleeper train to Luxor, and intercity buses across the Eastern Desert and around the Gulf of Suez into Sinai.

Days 1-5: Cairo and the Pyramid Fields

Four nights in Cairo sounds generous until you factor in the traffic. Stay near Giza for the first two so you can walk to the Great Pyramid of Giza as the gates open and see it before the coach groups arrive, then give a full afternoon to the Grand Egyptian Museum, where the Tutankhamun collection now lives. Hire a driver for a day south to the Saqqara Necropolis and the Dahshur Pyramids; the Bent and Red pyramids stand in near-empty desert, and the steep descent inside the Red Pyramid is a cramped, ammonia-tinged thrill. Board the overnight sleeper train on the evening of Day 5.

Days 6-9: Luxor’s West Bank

Arrive in Luxor after roughly 10 hours on the rails and stay on the West Bank, among sugarcane fields and mud-brick guesthouses, rather than on the busier city side. Rent a bicycle and you’re a short ride from the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut. Cross the river once for Karnak Temple, ideally late afternoon when the sandstone turns orange.

Days 9-10: Hurghada

A bus of 4 to 5 hours over the Eastern Desert brings you to Hurghada. One night is enough here: it’s a practical bridge, a sea swim and a seafood dinner before the long bus ride around the Gulf of Suez to Sinai, which takes 10 hours or more, since the passenger ferry to Sharm El Sheikh is suspended.

Days 10-12: Sharm El Sheikh and Ras Muhammad

Use Sharm El Sheikh for exactly one thing: boat or snorkel day trips into Ras Muhammad National Park at the tip of the peninsula, where the reef walls drop vertically and the fish density is absurd. Skip the resort strip nightlife and save your energy.

Days 12-14: Dahab and Mount Sinai

A 1.5 hour bus takes you to Dahab, low-key and cushion-strewn, with cafés right on the water. On your first night, join a group leaving around 11 p.m. for Mount Sinai; the climb to the 2,285-meter summit takes 2.5 to 3 hours by torchlight, timed for sunrise. Coming down, you’ll pass St. Catherine’s Monastery, open for a short window on most mornings except Fridays and Sundays. Spend your last day snorkeling off the Lighthouse reef before heading back to Sharm’s airport.

For one extra day in Dahab, walk or ride a camel north along the coast to Ras Abu Galum, where Bedouin huts and coral reefs share a bay with no road access.