World Destinations
Egypt & Nile River Cruises — Pyramids, Luxor & Aswan, Planned Free
The Pyramids of Giza, a Nile River cruise between Luxor and Aswan, and the temples of the pharaohs — planned with no service fee.
Egypt is one of the great bucket-list trips, and it's one you really don't want to improvise — the order of Cairo, the Nile cruise, and the temples, plus the internal flights and the right guide, is the whole game. I plan it at no fee. I'm Stacey Haines, an independent travel agent with Castle Dreams Travel; the tour operators and cruise lines pay my commission, so expert Egypt planning costs you nothing extra.
A classic Egypt trip has two halves: Cairo, for the Pyramids and the great museums, and then a Nile River cruise upstream through the temple towns between Luxor and Aswan. Sequenced well, it's one seamless journey rather than a scramble of flights and transfers.
A Nile River Cruise
The Nile cruise is the heart of the trip. Most sailings run between Luxor and Aswan over three to seven nights — you unpack once while the temples, villages, and desert come to you, and traditional felucca sailboats drift alongside.
It's the most relaxed and scenic way to see Upper Egypt, and the cooler sailing season runs roughly October through April. I match the boat, the route, and the length of the cruise to your travel style and dates — with no planning fee.
The Pyramids & Cairo
A trip to Egypt starts at Giza: the three Pyramids and the Great Sphinx on the edge of the city, the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. Nearby, the Grand Egyptian Museum gathers the treasures of the pharaohs, including the full Tutankhamun collection, and the lanes of the Khan el-Khalili bazaar give you the living city.
Day trips to Saqqara's Step Pyramid and ancient Memphis round out the Cairo side of the trip before you head south to the Nile.
The Temples: Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo & Aswan
Luxor alone is extraordinary — the vast columns of Karnak and Luxor Temple on the east bank, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's temple on the west. Sailing south, the cruise stops at the Temple of Horus at Edfu and the riverside double temple of Kom Ombo, and reaches Aswan for the island Temple of Philae and the High Dam.
From Aswan, many travelers add the colossal rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel — something I can build into your itinerary.
Planning an Egypt Trip
Most travelers need a visa for Egypt — an e-visa is available online — and a passport valid well beyond your travel dates; I confirm the exact documents for your trip and share my Passport & Travel Documents guide. The best time to go is the cooler October-to-April window.
Egypt is almost always done with a guide and a reputable tour operator, and every bit of that planning — the cruise, the flights, the hotels, and the guiding — is free when you book through me.
Ocean, river, and expedition cruises on every major line — planned by an agent who sails constantly, from first cruises to seamless back-to-back itineraries.
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