Egypt · North Africa
Giza at first light, a Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, Red Sea islands if you want a beach, and a Berber oasis. Our Egypt tour packages from India give each its own time.
Why Egypt, the IKOU way
Most people who come to us about Egypt are picturing the pyramids. We make sure you see them properly, early and before the crowds, then take you further: a Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor past three thousand years of temples, Red Sea islands if you want to end on a beach and, if you have the days, Siwa, a Berber oasis with its own language, warm springs and a night sky thick with stars.
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Egypt, the IKOU way
Our Egypt Nile cruise package sails from Aswan down to Luxor: one cabin, and the temples come to you.
Where you'll go
Pyramids, Tutankhamun, old Cairo.
Fly into Cairo from India.
Where the Nile cruise begins.
Short flight from Cairo
Karnak by day, pharaohs' tombs.
Cruise downriver from Aswan
A Berber oasis of palms and springs.
Long road via Marsa Matruh
The IKOU route
Not every place needs to be rushed.
Same Egypt.
Different moods.
A more meaningful way
to see it.
Map: derivative of Location map Egypt.svg by Hubert Smietanka (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).
01
Capital u{b7} Pyramids
The Giza pyramids and Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum's Tutankhamun collection, and Khan el-Khalili's lantern-lit lanes.
2-3 nights, the easiest place to start
Explore this part02
The Nile u{b7} Nubia
Philae temple on its Nile island, a felucca sail at sunset, and Abu Simbel's temples of Ramesses II, about 300km further south.
Where the Nile cruise begins
Explore this part03
Ancient Thebes u{b7} Temples
Karnak's temple complex by day, the Valley of the Kings' painted tombs, and Hatshepsut's temple across the river.
A full day on each riverbank
Explore this part04
Western Desert u{b7} Berber
A Berber oasis of palm groves and salt lakes: Shali fortress at sunset, the Oracle of Amun, and the Great Sand Sea beyond.
A long road trip, worth the detour
Explore this partA journey through different moods
A sample journey
Cairo, then a Nile cruise from Aswan down to Luxor: one cabin, no daily packing.
Land in Cairo, an easy transfer and a quiet first evening by the Nile.
Giza plateau and the Sphinx in the cool of the morning, then the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Islamic Cairo and the Citadel, koshari for lunch, dusk in Khan el-Khalili.
Philae and a felucca at sunset, then an early run south to Abu Simbel's temples.
Days on deck as the cruise drifts downriver, palms and villages sliding past.
Luxor's temples and the royal tombs; then fly home via Cairo, or go on to the Red Sea.
For a beach and island stay at the end. Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are linked by air; there is no ferry.
Leave the cruise at Luxor and drive east across the desert to Hurghada, then a first swim.
A boat out to Giftun island and its coral gardens: snorkel, swim, lunch on the water.
A flight over to Sharm el-Sheikh, then an unhurried evening along Naama Bay.
A boat day in Ras Mohammed National Park, snorkelling its reefs; divers go deeper.
A slow morning by the sea, then fly home via Cairo.
Its own trip, or added before or after the Nile route.
A long road day from Cairo to Marsa Matruh, with a night beside the Mediterranean.
The desert road south to Siwa's palm groves, sunset from Shali's mud-brick walls.
The temple Alexander the Great came to consult, then a swim in Cleopatra's spring.
A 4x4 out to the dunes and the salt lakes, back for a night under the desert stars.
Tea among the palms, then the long road back to Cairo.
Samples to show the rhythm of each route, not fixed packages. Combine two, or shape any of them your way.
Good to know
Yes. Indian passport holders can apply for a 30-day tourist e-visa on Egypt's official portal, visa2egypt.gov.eg, at least 7 days before departure. A visa on arrival is only open to Indians in narrow cases, such as holding a valid, used US, UK or Schengen visa, so we always arrange the e-visa in advance rather than leave it to the airport. Entry rules change: we check the official portal before you fly.
October to April, when days are cooler for the pyramids, the temples and the desert; November to March is the most comfortable of all. Summers in Luxor and Aswan are very hot, and spring can bring sandstorms. If you want to see the sun reach the inner sanctuary at Abu Simbel, it happens on 22 February and 22 October.
Short EgyptAir flights link Cairo with Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel, and a sleeper train runs overnight from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan. Between Aswan and Luxor the river is the road: a Nile cruise, or a traditional dahabiya sailing boat. Siwa is a long drive west via Marsa Matruh. The currency is the Egyptian pound (EGP); keep small notes for tips, as they are always in short supply.
Yes, as an option at the end. From Luxor it is about four to five hours by road east to Hurghada on the Red Sea, where boats go out to Giftun island and its coral gardens. Across the water in Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh has Naama Bay and the reefs of Ras Mohammed National Park, with Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine's Monastery as a day trip. The Hurghada to Sharm ferry is not running, so we link the two by a domestic flight, or you choose one coast.
Koshari is the national dish: rice, pasta and brown lentils under chickpeas, tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and crisp fried onions, sold at specialist shops all over Cairo. Ful medames, slow-cooked fava beans with bread, is the classic breakfast, and feteer is a flaky layered pastry, sweet or savoury. We build a koshari lunch into your Cairo day.
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