Egypt Total Eclipse Self-Launched: Cairo, Nile Cruise & Luxor

Land at Cairo International and take a metered white taxi or Uber/Careem to Downtown Cairo (~£5-7, 40-60 min). Check into a mid-range hostel or budget hotel near Tahrir Square — Dahab Hostel or Guardian Guest House are reliable solo-traveller picks. Spend the evening acclimatising: walk Talaat Harb Street, eat koshari at Abou Tarek (~£2), and buy an Egyptian SIM/eSIM (Vodafone or Orange, ~£6 for 20GB) — useful for Uber and translation. Sort out your visa on arrival ($25 USD, ~£20) or in advance via the e-visa portal.

🚌Airport taxi/Uber ~£6

🛏Dahab Hostel or similar budget hotel, Downtown Cairo (~£15/night)

• →Downtown Cairo orientation walk
• →Koshari dinner at Abou Tarek
• →Buy local SIM card

Beat the heat with an early Uber to the Giza Plateau (~£4). Buy your site ticket at the gate (~£6) and add the optional entry inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu (~£8). A local guide for 2-3 hours costs ~£20-25 if shared/solo — book via GetYourGuide or negotiate at the gate; otherwise self-guide with the site map. See the Sphinx from the plateau viewpoint, then grab lunch in Giza before heading to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) by Uber (~£5); allow 3+ hours and book timed tickets online (~£20). Return downtown for dinner in Zamalek.

🚌Uber to Giza and GEM ~£9 total

🛏Dahab Hostel or similar, Downtown Cairo (~£15/night)

• →Great Pyramid of Khufu & Giza Plateau
• →Sphinx viewpoint
• →Grand Egyptian Museum (timed entry)

Morning EgyptAir or Nile Air flight from Cairo to Aswan (~£55-75 one-way booked 4-8 weeks ahead; 20kg baggage). Check into a riverside budget guesthouse or hostel (Bob Marley Guesthouse, Nubian House style, ~£16/night). In the afternoon take a taxi to the High Dam (~£5) and a shared motorboat to Philae Temple (~£8 return + £6 entry). Evening: wander the Aswan Corniche, take a shisha and grilled fish dinner at a Nubian restaurant, and stock up on water and snacks for the cruise.

🚌Domestic flight ~£65; local taxis/boat ~£13

🛏Bob Marley Guesthouse or similar budget guesthouse, Aswan (~£16/night)

• →Flight Cairo–Aswan
• →Aswan High Dam
• →Philae Temple by motorboat
• →Aswan Corniche sunset walk

Optional pre-breakfast minibus convoy to Abu Simbel (~£28-35 return shared bus or ~£40-50 by private car, entry ~£12) — a 3.5-hour drive each way for the two colossal rock-cut temples. Alternatively sleep in and enjoy a felucca sail around Kitchener Island (~£8/hour). Mid-afternoon, board your Nile cruise vessel at Aswan; book a 3-night Aswan–Luxor cruise directly through a local operator or on Booking.com/GetYourGuide (~£220-260 per person in a twin cabin, full board, includes temple stops). Sail overnight toward Kom Ombo.

🚌Shared minibus to Abu Simbel or felucca ~£30

🛏Nile cruise vessel, twin cabin, full board (~£75/night incl. meals)

• →Abu Simbel temples (optional)
• →Felucca sail around Kitchener Island
• →Board Nile cruise vessel

Morning stop at Kom Ombo's twin temple of Sobek and Haroeris, right on the riverbank (~£6 entry; a guide is often included in your cruise package). Sail through the day, watching the desert edge slide past from the sundeck, then pass through Esna Lock — a slow, memorable squeeze-and-drop that's a highlight in itself. Evening on board with dinner included.

🚌Nile cruise vessel

🛏Nile cruise vessel, twin cabin, full board (~£75/night incl. meals)

• →Kom Ombo Temple
• →Sundeck sailing
• →Esna Lock transit

Early stop at Edfu Temple, the best-preserved temple in Egypt, reached by horse carriage or short walk from the dock (~£6 entry). Sail on to Luxor, arriving late afternoon. If your cruise ends here, transfer to a West Bank or Luxor-town budget hotel (~£18/night). Evening: walk Luxor Corniche and have dinner at a local eatery near the Luxor Temple floodlit at night (free to view from outside).

🚌Nile cruise vessel / short taxi

🛏Nile cruise vessel, or Luxor budget hotel (~£18/night)

• →Edfu Temple of Horus
• →Sail to Luxor
• →Luxor Temple by night (exterior)

Time this day to the eclipse path: totality crosses the Luxor–Edfu stretch of the Nile. In the morning visit the Valley of the Kings (~£12 entry incl. 3 tombs; Tutankhamun's tomb extra ~£8) and the Temple of Hatshepsut (~£6), with a local Egyptologist guide booked via GetYourGuide (~£30-40 for a half-day West Bank tour). If you're on a cruise, the boat typically moors in the path of totality for a deck viewing party — otherwise join one of the public viewing events or find a rooftop in Luxor with a clear western horizon. Bring ISO-certified eclipse glasses (~£4). Afternoon: Funtasia Project Centre visit on the West Bank if open (~£5 donation) to meet students and hear about the community education initiative. Evening free.

🚌West Bank taxi/felucca ~£8

🛏Luxor budget hotel or cruise vessel (~£18-75/night)

• →Valley of the Kings
• →Temple of Hatshepsut
• →Solar eclipse viewing
• →Funtasia Project Centre (West Bank community visit)

Early start to Karnak Temple (~£8 entry) before the crowds and heat — the hypostyle hall alone is worth the ticket. Then take a shared microbus or taxi north to Dendera (~£10-14 return, 1 hour each way) to see the beautifully preserved Temple of Hathor with its painted ceilings (~£6). Back in Luxor, visit Luxor Temple in the golden hour (~£8). Sunset felucca sail on the Nile (~£8) is the perfect close; dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the river.

🚌Shared microbus/taxi to Dendera ~£12

🛏Luxor budget hotel (~£18/night)

• →Karnak Temple
• →Dendera Temple of Hathor
• →Luxor Temple
• →Sunset felucca

Slow morning — optional hot air balloon over the West Bank (~£70-90, book locally a day ahead) or a lazy breakfast by the Nile. Afternoon EgyptAir flight Luxor–Cairo (~£45-60). Check back into a Downtown Cairo hostel, then spend the evening at Khan el-Khalili bazaar: shop for lanterns and spices, sip mint tea at El Fishawy cafe (~£2), and visit the Ibn Tulun Mosque beforehand if time allows (~£2 entry, one of Cairo's oldest mosques).

🚌Domestic flight ~£52; airport transfers ~£8

🛏Dahab Hostel or similar, Downtown Cairo (~£15/night)

• →Optional hot air balloon
• →Flight Luxor–Cairo
• →Ibn Tulun Mosque
• →Khan el-Khalili bazaar

Use the day for everything you missed: the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir (~£8) if you want the Tutankhamun collection, a wander through Coptic Cairo's Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue (free/donation), and a walk along Al-Muizz Street through Islamic Cairo's medieval gates. Book a street-food tour via GetYourGuide (~£30) if you want a guided tasting of ful, ta'meya and hawawshi. Farewell dinner at a rooftop restaurant with a view of the Citadel (~£12).

🚌Ubers around Cairo ~£8

🛏Dahab Hostel or similar, Downtown Cairo (~£15/night)

• →Egyptian Museum (Tahrir)
• →Coptic Cairo churches
• →Al-Muizz Street walk
• →Optional street food tour

Late breakfast, last-minute souvenir shopping at the bazaar or a supermarket run for cheap dates and spices, then Uber to Cairo International (~£6) for your flight home. Build in 3 hours before an international departure — Cairo traffic and airport security are slow.

🚌Uber to airport ~£6

🛏—

• →Souvenir shopping
• →Departure transfer