Egypt now the Grand Egyptian Museum has opened
The biggest archaeological museum in the world opened beside the pyramids in November 2025, and it changes how you plan Cairo. A ten-day route, with the booking that sells out.
onesim team
For fifty years the Tutankhamun collection was crammed into a pink building on Tahrir Square, half of it in storage. In November 2025 the Grand Egyptian Museum opened fully, two kilometres from the pyramids, and for the first time the whole of it — more than five thousand objects — is on display in one place.
If your mental image of a trip to Egypt predates that, it needs updating. This is the new centre of gravity.
Book the museum before anything else
- Tickets are online only, at visit-gem.com.
- A non-resident adult pays about LE1700; students and children about LE850.
- There are eight entry slots a day and you choose one when you book.
- In peak season, October to April, the good slots go days or weeks ahead.
Give it half a day minimum. The building itself — the grand staircase of statues leading up to a window that frames the pyramids — is worth an hour before you reach the galleries. The Khufu boat, sealed in a pit beside the Great Pyramid for four and a half thousand years, is in its own hall.
A ten-day route
| Nights | Where | Getting there |
|---|---|---|
3 | Cairo — Giza, the museum, Islamic Cairo | — |
1 | Overnight train or short flight to Aswan | Sleeper train or a 1 h 30 flight |
1 | Aswan — Philae, the Nubian village, a felucca | — |
3 | Nile cruise, Aswan to Luxor | Three nights is standard |
2 | Luxor — Karnak, the Valley of the Kings | — |
Cruising from Aswan to Luxor rather than the other way round is the better direction: you go with the current, and the temples get progressively bigger rather than smaller.
In Luxor, do the west bank early — the Valley of the Kings is a furnace by ten. Tickets cover three tombs; Tutankhamun's and Seti I's are extra and Seti I's is the extraordinary one. Karnak deserves a late afternoon when the columns throw shadows.
If you have more days: Abu Simbel, three hours south of Aswan by road or a short flight, is the single most impressive thing in the country and a very long day.
Choosing a boat
"Nile cruise" covers three quite different things, and the choice matters more than the itinerary, which is essentially the same for everyone.
| Type | What it is | Suits |
|---|---|---|
Cruise ship | 60–150 cabins, pool, buffet, a guide and a fixed schedule | First trips, families, anyone who wants air conditioning and certainty |
Dahabiya | A small sailing boat, 6–12 cabins, moors at villages the big ships pass | Slower, quieter, more expensive per night, and the one people rave about |
Felucca | An open sailing boat, sleeping on deck, no facilities | One or two nights, young travellers, and only in cool months |
Whatever you book, check what is actually included: most fares cover the cabin and meals but not the site entry fees, the guide's tips, or drinks — and those three together add a meaningful amount to a three-night trip.
The ships moor side by side at Luxor and Aswan and you walk across other boats to reach the shore. That is normal and it is not a sign that something has gone wrong.
Money and the everyday
Egypt is inexpensive for foreign visitors and the currency has moved a great deal in recent years — check the rate before you go rather than trusting a figure in an article.
Baksheesh is the thing that surprises people. Small tips are the social fabric: the man who shows you a corner of a tomb, the one who steadies the camel, the bathroom attendant. Carry a stack of small notes and treat it as a normal, priced part of the day rather than an imposition. Around 10% in restaurants on top.
The sales pressure at Giza and Luxor is heavy and persistent. A firm la, shukran without stopping, and not accepting anything placed in your hand, covers most of it. Agree camel and carriage prices in writing on a phone screen before you get on, including the ride back.
When to go
October to April is the season: 20–28°C and pleasant. December and January are the peak and the coldest nights. May to September is 40°C and up in Luxor and Aswan, which is genuinely dangerous in the middle of the day — and correspondingly cheap, if you keep to mornings and evenings.
Ramadan shifts everything to after sunset and is a lovely time to be in Cairo if you plan around it.
Before you fly
- An e-visa or visa on arrival, checked for your nationality on the official site
- GEM tickets booked for a specific slot
- Cash in small notes for baksheesh
- A hat, sunglasses and far more water than feels reasonable
- Modest clothing for mosques; women should carry a scarf
