Two Weeks in Egypt – The Ultimate 14 Day Egypt Itinerary

Are you looking to spend two weeks in Egypt but you have no clue where to start? Do you want to see as much of the ancient history in these 14 days as possible and still have enough free time to relax? Do you want to know what to look out for when traveling around Egypt as a woman? Then keep on reading! I am covering all of these topics in my blog post and can’t wait to share my personal experience with you!  

Ever since I was a little kid Egypt has always fascinated me. From it’s mythical history to it’s incredible architecture. Tales of Egypt would keep me mesmerised and made me dream about some day visiting this place for myself! And I can already tell you, the first time that you will gaze upon the pyramids… that very moment will take your breath away!  

There are so many beautiful places spread across Egypt and I can’t wait to show them to you!   In this guide I will give you a detailed itinerary for 2 weeks in Egypt! Plus I also dive deeper in what to expect when you’re travelling through Egypt as a girl or as group of girls.

Two Weeks in Egypt – The Ultimate 14 Day Egypt Itinerary

Giza

(2 days)  

I recommend starting your trip in Giza. This part is located 1 hour driving from the main airport in Caïro and is closest to the pyramids of Giza. Besides the pyramids and the sphinx there isn’t that much more to see and do in Giza. If you are traveling alone as a woman or with a group of women I do not recommend walking around here without a guide.   

After visiting the pyramids me and my friend Katie went for lunch. Afterwards we walked back towards our hotel but were followed by a local man. He kept following us in and out different shops (we were trying to get rid of him) but at one point he even came up to us and said that his friend has a car and would drop us off. Yeah so that did not happen and we made a run for it.  

To do at the airport

• Pick up a local SIM card
• Take out some local money. You’re only able to pay for your Visa in cash.
• It states on websites that you need to have 2 recent passport photos with you. However they never asked for them. But take them with you,  just to be safe
• Get an Uber to your hotel because a taxi will cost you double the money! This is one of the reasons why it’s good to immediately get that local SIM card! 

Where to stay

• Budget option – There are plenty of cheap hostels in Giza. You can find a lot of them here. Some of them will even offer you a view over the pyramids so make sure to keep an eye out for that when you’re booking your accommodation! 
• Luxury option – I stayed at the Marriott Mena House because it offers the most amazing views over the pyramids. Plus the entrance to the sphinx and the pyramids is only 10 minutes walking from here.

What to do

• The Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx – The entrance fee is 160EGP. Although if you want to go inside the pyramids you have to pay extra (360 EGP to enter the Great Pyramid, 100EGP to enter the other ones). You can choose to go on foot (free) or opt for a camel ride, a horse ride or a carriage pulled by a horse that fits 2 people (all cost 100EGP/30 minutes for the outer ring. If they go into the inside area,  for instance when you’re visiting the Sphinx, the price is 150EGP/30 minutes.
  
  Warning! They will try to rip you off!
  If you get approached by so called “Tourist Police” (wearing long blue/brown robes), offering to help you, don’t trust them!
  What they actually show is a driver’s license. And once you get back from your tour they will charge you double the amount that you first agreed upon! Stick to your grounds!
  
  The official tourist police are all wearing white uniforms.
  
  To pose with a camel like I did you have to pay an extra fee. Always agree upon the price from before. Even then they tried to charge us triple the amount of money! I can’t tell you how important it is to stand your ground when it comes to dealing with some of the local men in Egypt. 

• Egyptian Museum – I didn’t have the time to visit it but you can actually see a mummy and the mask of Tutankhamun. The museum itself is located in Caïro and from what I have heard it is absolutely worth the visit. But instead of visiting the museum we chose to add a little more adventure to our 2 week itinerary in Egypt. 

White Desert National Park

(2days)

A trip to the White Desert is a unique experience that I can’t recommend enough! So many people overlook this place but this is the perfect addition if you’re staying for two weeks in Egypt. The National Park is 5 hours driving from Giza and a tour to the White Desert National Park starts at a 2 days – 1 night principle. But if you have the time go for 2 nights. You’ll spend the day exploring all the different types of desert, have dinner by a bonfire and sleep under the starts in the middle of the desert.

Until this day this has been one of the most magical evenings of my life. Oh and they also take you sand boarding!

How to get there

You should most definitely book your tour through Western Desert Tours. They will pick you up with a private car from your hotel in Cairo or Giza and drive you to the Baharya Oasis. Here you will have lunch first and get your overnight back ready to take with you into the desert. All of your other luggage is safely stored here.

What to do

As I already said you’ll visit incredible landscapes and have the experience of a lifetime. If there is any activity that you have to add to your 14 day Egypt itinerary it’s this one!

Aswan

(2 days)

How to get there

• By train – You can take the night train from the train station in Giza to Aswan.  Don’t expect anything fancy :). We did have a twin with a bunk bed. Make sure to pick up some food before you get on the train. Because the food they serve didn’t look all too fresh. Not sure if this was because we went with the vegetarian option or not.

Where to stay

• Budget option – The Pyramisa Isis Island Hotel is located on a separate island. Just make sure that when you confirm your booking the price is not listed as “for Egyptians only”.
• Luxury option – Sofitel Legend Old Cataract. It’s one of the most famous hotels in Egypt together with the Winter Palace in Luxor.

What to do

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is one of the most amazing temples that you’ll visit during these two weeks in Egypt. These massive rock temples are located close to the border with Sudan and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Do you want to know something crazy? In 1968 the entire complex was relocated and moved onto a hill. Otherwise the entire complex would have been flooded.

Even that it’s a 4 hour drive to reach Abu Simbel (one way) you have to add this temple complex to your two week Egypt itinerary! Prices vary from 300EGP to 600EGP per person depending on your transportation. You can choose between a shared bus or a private transfer.

Usually there are two different departure times but all of this depends on how many people actually want to go. You can not just give a specific time slot to a private driver cause because of the proximity to Sudan part of the journey is accompanied by an armed convoy. To be fair I didn’t notice much of this cause I was sound a sleep in the back of the bus.

Nubian village

Ask one of the local boat owners to take you. Agree on a price before you leave. It is around 100EGP per half hour for 2 people.

Once you arrive, you should prepare to get hassled by young kids as soon as you set foot on land. But the village itself is beautiful and very colourful. So if you’re into photography you should definitely check it out! Do know that it’s mostly one shop next to the other and everyone wants you to buy something and will sometimes even run after you. There are several crocodile farms which you can visit at an additional cost.

Temple of Philae

If I had to choose one temple as my absolute favourite out of my entire 2 week itinerary in Egypt, then this is it. The temple of Philae is located on a small island in the middle of the Nile right outside of Aswan.

The easiest way to reach the temple is to take a taxi from Aswan and at the river bank you search for a boat transfer (the total price shouldn’t be more than 150 EGP for 2 people.

Entrance fee – 100EGP

Opening hours – 7am – 4/5 pm (depending on the season)

Luxor

(3 days)

How to get there

• By train – It’s the same train that took you from Cairo to Aswan.
• By ship – Take a 4 days/3 nights Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor
  • Tip 1: All of the meals are included and are usually in buffet style. For drinks you pay extra (alcoholic beverages are expensive compared to everything else).
  • Tip 2: You can visit all the temples on your own and you’re not obligated to book these tours with the cruise company.
  • Tip 3: There are plenty of cruise ships, we booked ours very last minute and were able to get 50% off!
  • Tip 4: The Steigenberger Legacy leaves every friday from Aswan, embarkation starts at 12AM from this location.

What to do

Kom Ombo Temple

The Kom Ombo temple is unique in it’s design because it is dedicated to two Gods and not just one. The Southern part of the temple is dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile God, while the Northern part of the temple is dedicated to Horus, the falcon God.

After admiring the temple make sure to pay a visit to the crocodile museum which is right next door.

The Kom Ombo temple is only a short walking distance from the ship (around 5 minutes) and the Crocodile Museum is included in the ticket price.

Entrance fee – 100 EGP

Temple of Edfu

The Temple of Edfu is dedicated to the falcon God, Horus. Horus was one of the most important Gods in ancient Egypt. His most important roles were that of God of kingship and God of the sky. The Temple of Edfu is one of the best preserved shrines in entire Egypt.

Entrance fee – 100 EGP

Luxor Temple

Luxor temple is another one of my favourites in this 14 day Egypt itinerary. The temple is located right next to the Sofitel Winter Palace in het heart of Luxor. Once you enter the site you’ll be greeted by the most amazing and impressive statues. And did you know that one of the obelisks is now standing on the Place de la Concorde in France? It stands there on a pedestal that recounts the special machineray that whas used to transport the obelisk from Luxor to Paris.

Entrance fee – 100 EGP

Karnak Temple

The temple of Karnak is one of the most frequently visited ones in entire Egypt. And holy moly it did not disappoint! I felt even smaller than I usually do when I was standing in between these giant columns. Karnak Temple is one of the biggest temples in the entire world. The only one doing better is Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Having seen both of them I can concur, these are landmarks that you have to see at least once in your life!.

Karnak Temple is located only a short taxi ride away (don’t forget to agree on a price from before!).

I think the ideal time to visit Karnak Temple is sunrise. We however went during sunset and it was insanely busy! We still managed to get some amazing photos but the pressure was on for sure. Especially when you find a cool location and framing but people tend to see what you’re doing and you’re wearing a certain outfit. So often you’re mistaken for a professional and well, they all want to do the same :p.

If I could choose one place in entire Egypt to visit again it would be this one. Looking back I feel like I wasn’t able to capture it’s grandeur.

Entrance fee – 120 EGP

Colossi of Memnon

Visit these when you’re returning from the Valley of the Kings

Entrance fee – Free

Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings is the place where all of the former pharaohs are buried. Once you enter the tombs I can guarantee that you’ll be amazed by how well the colours are still preserved. Because these tombs are underground they remain untouched by outside elements and will teleport you straight back to a time of pharaohs and hieroglyphs.

Make sure you arrive at 6am if you want to enjoy this place, otherwise it will be super crowded. The last tickets for the day are sold at 4pm. For me personally my experience at Valley of the Kings wasn’t that good.

The first time we arrived we bought the ticket and went up. Once we arrived at the second entry they told me I couldn’t take my camera with me inside. This was only possible at an extra fee of 300 EGP and I could only obtain the ticket at the official entrance. We had lost so much valuable time but of course for me having good photos was really important. But by the time we were back at the ticket office hundreds and hundreds of tourists had entered.

I explained all of this to the cashier and asked if it was possible to come back tomorrow morning. They hadn’t pinched our ticket yet so this was in fact possible. But they were really persistent and said we would have to pay the entire fee again.

In retrospect this place is absolutely worth the visit but to me it really felt as if they were trying to get every penny possible wherever and whenever they could.

Entrance fees

General entrance ticket (including 3 tombs of your choice): 160 EGP

Photography ticket (for camera): 300 EGP

Ticket for the little train: 4 EGP

Additional tickets Rameses 5th & Rameses 6th: 90EGP

Tutankhamun: 200EGP (the mask is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo!)

Seti 1st: 1000EGP

Valley of the Queens

This is the site where in ancient Egypt the wives of the pharaohs were buried. The pharaohs themselves, as mentioned before, were buried at the Valley of the Kings.

Entrance fee – 80 EGP

Hurghada

(4 days)

How to get there

• By car – It’s a 5 hour drive and for 2 person the price should be around 800 EGP

Tip – Bring water and a snack with you cause the driver stopped at one point and there was only one shop and they charged us 4 times the original price!

• By plane – There is no direct flight from Luxor to Hurghada. You’ll always have to fly through Cairo which is expensive and a waste of time.

Where to stay

Stay at the Baron Palace, which isn’t cheap but after all of that travelling you may reward yourself a little and get fully relaxed!

What to do

• Go snorkling or scuba diving!
• Work on your tan
• Get a relaxing massage

That’s it for my guide on 2 weeks in Egypt. I hope this 14 day itinerary will help you to plan the holiday of your dreams! If you have any more questions make sure to scroll down below or simply drop them in the comment section!

Most Asked Questions

Is Egypt a safe country to travel to?

Yes it is! Although I wouldn’t recommend it as a female solo travel country.
I was travelling with another girl and I can’t count the amount of times some guy tried to pull something. My friend has darker hair and at one point she even went running on her own and wasn’t bothered by anyone. Unfortunately blonde hair sticks out like a sore thumb and I got propositioned almost every 2 meters. And then followed until the end of the street.  

How should I dress as a woman traveling in Egypt?

Dress modestly! This means covering up your shoulders and wear knee-length dresses or pants. I heard stories that foreign women sometimes even wear a Niqab. Just so that the men would leave them alone.  

Can I drink from the tap water?

No, don’t do that.  

Where to go for food & drinks?

The falafel and dolma are absolutely delicious (best I have tasted so far!) I tried to stick to vegetables and rice as much as possible.

Is it advised to rent a car in Egypt?

I would not rent a car in Egypt. Because traffic is absolutely crazy and there is a lot of criminality on the road.  

Do I need to exchange money?

Yes, the local currency is Egyptian Pound (EGP). A lot of places accept Credit Card but we paid in cash a lot of times.  

How is the WiFi?

It depends on where you are staying but I strongly advise you to buy a local SIM card at the airport as soon as you land. This way you don’t depend on WIFI to have data.  

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