Private 6-Days Egypt Tour Package with Nile Cruise by Flights

Ancient Egypt packs a lot into six days. This private package links Cairo’s pyramids and museum, Alexandria’s Greco-Roman sights, and a three-night Nile cruise with Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan, and Abu Simbel. I like the way it combines major sights with practical transport, hotels, domestic flights, meals, and an English-speaking Egyptologist guide. I also like the personal feel: your own group travels by private vehicle, while the cruise provides a more social setting.

The $700 price is attractive for six days of hotels, flights, transfers, a full-board cruise, and a hot air balloon ride. The main concern is flight reliability. Several poor accounts describe promised domestic flights being replaced by long bus journeys or plans changing at short notice, so I would confirm every flight and included activity in writing before paying.

Five things to know before booking

• Cairo and Alexandria come first: You see the Pyramids of Giza, the Egyptian Museum, Kom El-Deka, the catacombs, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and Qaitbay Citadel before flying south.
• The Nile cruise covers three nights: Your ship links Luxor with Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Aswan, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner included on board.
• The hot air balloon requires an early start: You leave before sunrise on Day 4, then continue with the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut’s temple.
• Abu Simbel is a major payoff: The final morning brings a small-group visit to one of Egypt’s most impressive temple sites before your flight back to Cairo.
• Entrance fees and drinks are extra: The low headline price does not include admission tickets or beverages, including water.
• The schedule is demanding: Early departures, flights, road transfers, and multiple guides make this a sightseeing-heavy trip rather than a restful holiday.

What $700 really buys you

At $700 per person, this is priced as an efficient introduction to Egypt rather than a luxury escape. You receive two nights in a four-star Cairo hotel, three nights with full board on a cruise ship, flights departing from and returning to Cairo, airport transfers, private road transport, a driver, lunches, dinners, breakfasts, and a hot air balloon ride.

That bundle has real value. Booking the Cairo hotel, Nile cruise, domestic flights, and transfers separately can be time-consuming. Here, the operator handles the main pieces, and you have agency support during the trip. One particularly positive account praised the 24-hour assistance and the organization across several guides and drivers.

Still, you need to budget beyond the advertised amount. Entrance fees are not included, and neither are drinks or bottled water. The Pyramids, Egyptian Museum, catacombs, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Qaitbay Citadel, Luxor temples, Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s temple, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Abu Simbel all list admission as extra. The exact total depends on the tickets you choose and current local prices, so ask Nice Tours for a current estimate.

You may also pay for optional choices on site. One positive account found it better to pay for each activity separately, especially when choosing a basic package. That approach can work well if you prefer control, but it means the $700 figure is not your final spending limit.

The package holds a 4.2 out of 5 average from 59 ratings. That is a respectable result, but the sharp split in experiences matters more than the average. Several people praised the guides, cruise, drivers, and value. A few serious complaints describe canceled arrangements, substituted bus travel, and a balloon ride that did not happen. I would treat the low price as a good opportunity, not a reason to skip careful confirmation.

Day 1: Giza and the Egyptian Museum

Your first day begins with hotel pickup in Cairo at about 8:00 a.m. The private vehicle takes you to the Pyramids of Giza, where you have around two hours.

The pyramids are the trip’s obvious headline, but the useful part of a guide’s presence is helping you read the site. You can expect time around the great monuments and the wider Giza complex, with the guide explaining how the Egyptian civilization developed and how the pyramids fit into that story. The experience is not only about getting the famous photograph. It is a chance to understand the scale, purpose, and age of the site while you are still fresh.

Two hours sounds generous, but it can pass quickly. Entrance fees are separate, and the package details do not specify which pyramid interiors or added tickets are covered. Ask before arrival if you want to go inside a pyramid or include any special access.

After Giza, you spend about an hour at the Egyptian Museum. This is a useful contrast to the outdoor monuments. The museum places objects from different periods beside one another, helping you follow the growth and changes of Egyptian civilization.

The day ends with a return to your Cairo hotel, where you stay for two nights. Since the schedule is already full, I would keep the evening simple. You will need your energy for Alexandria the next morning.

Day 2: Alexandria’s Greek and Roman layers

Day 2 is a long road outing to Alexandria. The first stop is Kom El-Deka, an area that was once an affluent residential quarter during the Greco-Roman period. It gives you a different view of Egypt from the royal tombs and monumental temples farther south.

Next comes the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, with about an hour for the visit. This underground complex is known for its mixture of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman elements. The site is one of the strongest reasons to include Alexandria in a short Egypt program, since it shows how cultures met and changed one another over time.

The catacombs require a separate admission ticket. Conditions underground may not suit every person, and the tour information does not provide details about stairs or interior access, so ask the operator if that is important for your group.

After lunch at a local restaurant, you visit the Bibliotheca Alexandrina for about an hour. This modern library recalls Alexandria’s ancient reputation as a center of learning, but it is a contemporary institution rather than the original ancient library. The stop works best if you want some cultural context alongside monuments and tombs.

Your final Alexandria sight is Qaitbay Citadel, a 15th-century defensive fortress beside the sea. The setting adds variety after the underground catacombs and indoor library. You then return by road to Cairo.

This is a packed day. The itinerary gives each place roughly an hour, so you get a clear introduction rather than a slow, detailed visit. I would choose this day for breadth. If your priority is relaxed pacing, Alexandria may feel like too much after Cairo.

Day 3: Flying to Luxor and boarding the Nile ship

Day 3 shifts the trip from Cairo to Upper Egypt. After your flight, you head to Luxor’s East Bank for Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, with about three hours assigned to the temple visits.

Karnak rewards time and explanation. Its vast religious complex is made up of courts, columns, sanctuaries, and monuments built and added to across many generations. A strong Egyptologist can help you make sense of the layout instead of leaving you with a blur of giant stones.

Luxor Temple offers a different experience. It is closely tied to the city and its ceremonial life, and seeing it after Karnak lets you compare two major East Bank sites in one outing. The details of ticket choices are not included in the package price, so check what you will pay at the entrance.

After the temples, you take a felucca ride on the Nile before going to the cruise ship. This is a welcome change of pace. The sailing is shorter and more open than the main cruise, giving you time to look at the river without another temple timetable immediately in front of you.

You spend the next three nights on the ship. Full-board accommodation includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but drinks are extra. The cruise is useful because it turns several long transfers into one moving base. It also gives the schedule a clear rhythm: visit a site, return to the ship, eat, and continue along the river.

Day 4: Ballooning above Luxor and the West Bank

The hot air balloon ride starts early, before sunrise. This is one of the trip’s most memorable ideas, but it is not a lie-in day. The itinerary says you wake early, fly over Luxor, land, and then meet your guide for the West Bank visits.

The balloon offers a broad view of Luxor from above, including the relationship between the river, the city, and the ancient sites. Weather and operating conditions can affect balloon flights, so ask for confirmation the evening before and make sure the activity is clearly included in your booking.

The Valley of the Kings follows, with about an hour listed for the visit. The valley is about royal burial places rather than pyramids, and your guide can explain why the tombs were placed there. Entry arrangements may limit which tombs you see, so ask which tickets are part of your plan.

You then visit the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, with about two hours for the West Bank program. Hatshepsut’s temple has a strong architectural presence, while the Colossi make a quick but useful stop on the route.

The schedule is demanding because the balloon begins so early and the morning continues through several major sites. One highly positive account described the Luxor guide Christine as enthusiastic and especially effective throughout this day. Guide quality can shape your experience here, so ask whether a named guide is confirmed or assigned according to availability.

You return to the ship for dinner. That evening is likely to feel less like free time and more like a necessary recovery period.

Day 5: Edfu, Kom Ombo, and life aboard ship

After breakfast, you travel by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus at Edfu. The ride is part of the transfer arrangement, and the temple visit lasts about an hour.

Edfu is one of the most complete temple sites on the route. The guide’s explanation is especially useful because the carvings and rooms can feel repetitive without a clear sense of how the temple worked. After the visit, you return to the ship for a buffet lunch while sailing onward.

In the afternoon, you visit Kom Ombo. Its unusual design and shared dedication make it different from the other temples on the cruise route. You return to the boat for dinner afterward.

This is the day when the cruise structure makes the most sense. You visit two important sites without packing and unpacking again, and meals are waiting back on board. At the same time, the one-hour visit at each temple is short. You will get the main story and major views, but not an exhaustive study.

One account gave special praise to Gabriel, an Egyptologist who guided the Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Aswan portion. The trip uses different guides in different places, so your experience may depend on who is assigned that day.

Day 6: Abu Simbel and the journey back to Cairo

The final day starts early with a small-group visit to the Abu Simbel Temple Complex. The scheduled visit lasts about two hours, followed by a return to the ship to collect your luggage.

Abu Simbel is a powerful final stop. Its monumental temples make a strong impression even after several days of pyramids and temples, and the location gives the last morning a sense of occasion. The small-group format differs from the private portions of the trip, so do not assume that every moment of Day 6 will be exclusive to your party.

After collecting your luggage, you transfer to Aswan Airport for the flight back to Cairo. A driver meets you outside Cairo airport and returns you to your hotel.

This final transfer depends heavily on the flight operating as planned. Several serious complaints describe domestic flights being replaced with bus travel, including journeys of eight to eighteen hours. Those reports conflict with the advertised flight-inclusive format, but they are too serious to ignore. Before departure, ask for the airline, flight numbers, baggage arrangements, and a clear explanation of what happens if a flight is canceled.

Guides, vehicles, and the private format

The trip includes private transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle, a driver, and a professional English-speaking Egyptologist. Your group alone takes part in the private tour portions, which gives you more flexibility than a large coach tour.

That does not mean the entire six days are private. The Abu Simbel outing is described as small-group, and the cruise naturally places you among other passengers. The horse-drawn carriage at Edfu and felucca ride are also shared-style activities unless the operator confirms otherwise.

Named staff praised in the feedback include Shaimaa in Alexandria, Christine in Luxor, and Gabriel around Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Aswan. Marena and Verena are also credited with helping organize or support trips. These names suggest that local staff can make a major difference, but they do not guarantee that one particular person will lead your booking.

The best guides do more than recite dates. They point out small details, explain why a temple was built, and help you see the connection between separate sites. One account valued Gabriel’s attention to small but important details, while another praised Shaimaa for being caring as well as well informed.

Who should choose this Egypt package?

I would recommend this tour to you if you want to see the main ancient sites in a short time and prefer having transport arranged. It suits first-time visitors who want Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, the Nile, and Abu Simbel without planning every connection themselves.

It also suits people who like full days. You will leave early more than once, spend long periods in vehicles, and move quickly between major sights. The cruise gives you some breathing room, but this is not a slow holiday.

I would be cautious if you need guaranteed downtime, dislike early mornings, or want a fully private experience from start to finish. I would also avoid booking without written confirmation of the flights and balloon ride, especially if your schedule or onward travel depends on them.

The cancellation terms are friendly before the deadline: cancel at least 24 hours before the local start time for a full refund. Inside that 24-hour window, the payment is not refunded, and changes are not accepted.

Should you book it?

I would book this package only after confirming the operational details in writing. The sightseeing plan is excellent for six days, the private transport is useful, the Nile cruise saves time, and the price is strong for the number of services included.

The decision comes down to your tolerance for a fast pace and your confidence in the flight arrangements. If Nice Tours confirms the Cairo to Luxor and Aswan to Cairo flights, the balloon ride, hotel names, cruise ship, and entrance-fee costs, this can be a very efficient introduction to Egypt. If the operator cannot confirm those points clearly, choose a more dependable arrangement, even if it costs more.

FAQ

How long is the tour?

The tour lasts approximately six days.

Where does the tour begin?

The tour begins in Cairo, with hotel pickup offered at about 8:00 a.m.

Is the tour private?

The main tour is private, with only your group participating. The Abu Simbel visit is described as a small-group tour, and the cruise is shared with other passengers.

Are flights included?

Yes. The package includes flight tickets for the departure and return to Cairo. Because some serious complaints describe flights being replaced by bus travel, confirm the flight details with Nice Tours before departure.

How many nights are spent in Cairo?

You receive two nights of accommodation at a four-star hotel in Cairo.

How many nights are spent on the Nile cruise?

The package includes three nights of full-board accommodation aboard a cruise ship.

Is the hot air balloon ride included?

Yes. A hot air balloon ride over Luxor is included, although it takes place very early on Day 4.

Are entrance fees included?

No. Entrance fees are excluded and must be paid separately.

Are meals included?

Breakfast is included for all six days. The package also includes five lunches and three dinners. Drinks, including water, are not included.