Egypt - Self planned?

I don't have anything to offer but will follow responses here. You are like me and I have not yet visited Egypt because I have not figured out a way to do it safely on my own. I am also not a group-type person and prefer independent travel. And I would not share a room with a random stranger in my own country let alone abroad.

Yes, it can be done on your own.

Share with us what planning you have done, what places you want to go to and how many days you are hoping to spend in Egypt. Is your trip focused on just the main sites or do you intend to go to the Siwa oasis and the White desert?

In 2022, two friends and I traveled with Djed Egypt Travel, a smaller Egypt-based tour company that has its own group of vans and team of drivers and guides. We arranged our own itinerary with them and it was remarkably reasonably priced. Several other folks on this forum have used this company and (to my knowledge) all have reported very favorable experiences. They may take a few days to respond to your initial email but once they were working with me, my experience was that they were very reliable, smart, perceptive and flexible, both in the planning, and once on the ground. There are multiple posts on this forum about them, if you want to read more. I was initially going to do the trip on my own, and Djed was fine with that, but then two friends joined me and so it was just the three of us in the van, with driver and guide.

We did a combination trip in 2024, where we planned everything ourselves but had a Nile cruise in the middle which was booked via a tour company (and included a tour guide to the major sites). If you don't want to do a cruise you can easily do all the planning yourself. There is a train you can take all the way down to Aswan if you don't want to be on a boat. In Cairo it's easy to be independent and hire guides for the places you may want to visit like Giza or Saqqara.

Just for info, our four day Nile cruise only cost $1500 USD for the two of us. That included meals and a guide. So you can definitely do this for a lot less than $10k even if you did decide you want to spend some time on the water.

daisy,
Wow, $10,000.00 sounds way out of line for an Egypt trip. Whatever tour company you are looking at must be a very deluxe one. I know you want to plan the trip yourself, but even if you chose a tour group, you could find a tour of about 12 days, with all interior travel by air when needed (including the Nile cruise, which to us was the most magical part of this bucket list trip) and most meals, a full-time guide, entrances, for under $5000.00, including airfare. I do see you don't want a Nile cruise, so to me the trip should be well within $6000.00.
Perhaps you should check with an independent travel agent, or maybe AAA travel agent, who can plan one for you. I hope you find the help you need. Egypt was my #1 bucket list item my whole life. It took me until I was 75 to get there, but I cherished every minute there and still cherish all my memories as well!
Bonne chance!

P.S. Djed Travel has had really good comments here on the forum. I would check them out.

I have visited Egypt twice (2022 and 2026) as a solo traveler. I am interested in ancient Egypt's history and sites, and my need/desire is to spend a good amount of time at specific archeological sites and museums. I have no interest in shopping, cruising, sunbathing, or fine dining.

What worked for me was to book my own hotels and flights and then hire private guides and drivers for an individualized itinerary, where I specified which monuments I wanted to visit. For my first trip I used three companies, and I really liked Aswan Individual, so I booked with them again in 2026.

As a single, non Arabic speaking, foreign woman, I did not feel comfortable taking public transportation. I had also heard second hand that car services (similar to Uber) can be unreliable, with drivers not showing up after booking. Instead I prebooked drivers through my tour companies. I did not take any spontaneous trips, so that worked out well for me.

I had a wonderful time in Egypt and would love to return.

Here is a Trip Report from a long time Forum contributor that I'd bookmarked for future reference. It may be helpful. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/egypt-5-000-years-in-13-days

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I will look into Djed and the Aswan company.

The problem with private guides is that they're meant for a group of, say, 2 couples who can split the costs. There's usually a driver and an Egyptologist. One person would have to pay more for a private guide than a few people who can split the cost.

The other issue I read about is that the transportation between Luxor and Aswan is limited. I can fly from Cairo to Aswan but getting from Aswan to Luxor (or vice versa) could be a problem.

I don't want to take a Nile River cruise at all, period. Not just cost but I get severely motion sick. I didn't want to go into this because it's my personal and private health problem and people don't understand how sick someone can get. They think the river is placid and it probably is but there's still a rocking motion on water. I don't want to do it, period. Hence my post. Let's not go into the cruise again. It's a dealbreaker for me.

I don't have an itinerary yet hence I don't want to even try to give one. It all depends on finding transportation, tours or guides.

Basically I want to see the usual sites: Giza pyramids, Saqqara, Luxor Valley of the Kings, and Abu Simbel. Whatever else I can see in between that.

I have visited Egypt three times and love the history.

I lived in the Middle East for five. years and understand its more recent history and struggle with terrorist and extremism.
Fortunately, the current leadership of Egypt has largely stabilized the country.

The country still has some risks, it is still a relatively poor country, despite its massive improvement in economic growth in the past 40 years. Security is still important.

I strongly recommend taking a group tour, that will have an armed security guard to protect the group. Renting a car and driving is NOT a good idea. Traffic is terrible and congested. Local drivers are aggressive. Public transport would be a bit crude by western standards and waste a lot of your time.

A Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan or reverse is a very nice way to see southern Egypt. Also, recommend taking a tour that includes Abu Simbel in the far south.

Our last trip to Egypt was about three years ago and we used Gate 1 Travel. I compared six other comparable tour companies including Viking. Gate 1 was 60% of the cost of Viking. Our tour included airfare from JFK to Cairo and internal flights, hotels, most meals, tours, the cruise, transport, admissions, etc. Cost was no where near $10,000. The hotels were five star fantastic top hotels.

At least do your research checking Gate 1 as well as other tour companies. Also, if you plan to do stuff on your own, factor in costly taxis, admissions, etc.

You should know that there are areas of Cairo that tourist should NOT enter. The security of a group tour is important. When I visited Egypt the first time over 40 years ago, an Egyptian friend cautioned me on just taking a taxi. He said only take taxis where the hotel books for your and registers the name of the taxi company and driver. Apparently, some taxis would take tourists out into the desert, rob the tourist and sometimes other crimes.

On the large Nile cruise boats there is virtually not any movement to upset a passenger. The Nile is very, very calm.

If I wanted to avoid rocking motions, I would certainly try to avoid cars, buses and trains in Egypt. Much calmer on the Nile than on an Egyptian highway, and the trains don't have a very good reputation either. A lot safer to travel on a reputable cruise boat on the river also. Egypt has one of the highest road death rates in the world, and frequent rail accidents as well. Not saying don't travel by land, the vast majority of tourists survive their bus or train trips, but something to consider.

I can sympathize with your motion sickness problem. I've had that since I was a young child. However I wouldn't let that stop you from a Nile cruise. Really. Slate wasn't kidding when he said you are more likely to have motion sickness from a car, bus or train, than from a Nile cruise ship. We had a tour in January of this year that did 2 cruises - one on Lake Nasser and one on the Nile. Not once did I feel the slightest rocking or rolling. Just the vibrations from the ships engines. But I did get to experience some of the most incredible scenery I've ever seen. I did bring my usual motion sickness medication (Bonine), but after the first day on the cruise I stopped taking it. I did take it (and was glad I did) for some of the bus trips outside the cities.

daisy,
I won't try to convince you about a cruise, even though I concur with the others. Having a fear of heights, nothing will convince me to go back up the Eiffel Tower or the Leaning Tower of Pisa or get within a yard of the viewpoints at the Grand Canyon. I understand your point.
From forum comments, I would definitely check with Djed Tours. I don't know about cost, but they should be a good option to investigate for land-only-based tours. My preference for a group tour is having the guard with us and also sharing the wonder and joy at seeing sights I have dreamt about for as long as I can remember, and having a well-educated guide to put what I am seeing in a historical and cultural context.
Best of luck in planning your trip! Egypt is a wonderful place to experience!

The problem with private guides is that they're meant for a group of, say, 2 couples who can split the costs. There's usually a driver and an Egyptologist. One person would have to pay more for a private guide than a few people who can split the cost.

Daisy, if you will read NYC Librarians' post above, you can see that she was a female solo traveler who hired a private guide to get her around and even gave you a link to one of them—Aswan-Individual—that she particularly liked. It certainly wouldn't hurt to contact them and see what they would charge and find out exactly what services you can get from them.

Thanks, Mardee.

Daisy, as Mardee mentioned, I traveled alone with a guide and driver. In 2026 the cost for the tour was about $820 total for 6 days of guided tours and transfers between airports and hotels. That amount EXCLUDED 1) admission costs for monuments and museums and 2) tips for the guides and drivers. I tipped about $40 per day. Sure, the cost would have been cheaper if I could have split it with other travelers, but that happens anywhere in the world when you travel solo.

I paid separately for accommodations, domestic flights, and food. I think my total costs were about $4000 for 8 days (I had a couple days down time without touring). That total cost does not include airfare because I used frequent flier points, but I did pay about $200 in flight taxes. This amount was more than I would usually pay for a vacation, BUT it was totally worth it for me to experience the unique sights of Egypt and fairly compensate--I hope--the kind and courteous Egyptian people who served me.

I have no interest in cruises either, and I am not trying to convince you. I will say that, in my experience, I felt safe and supported as a foreign tourist with a guide and driver. There were no armed guards accompanying me, yet I never felt unsafe. Note, however, that my trips did not coincide with heightened tension and violence that is currently happening in the larger geographical area, and of course my past experiences cannot guarantee anyone's safety in the future.

Our daughter who is in her mid 20’s has a lot of international travel under her belt, both solo and with friends, and they always put together their own travel. Egypt is on her “to see” list. However, all her friends that have been to Egypt strongly caution her that if she travels to Egypt to do so with a tour operator, and this advice was dispensed prior to heightened travel concerns.

I also suffer from severe motion sickness (both car sick and sea sick), but I have found pharmaceuticals (meclazine and zofran) prescribed by my doctor help tremendously. As others have noted, I am much less susceptible to motion sickness in a river than open water.

I am much less susceptible to motion sickness in a river than open
water.

Not Egypt, but on another river cruise my wife was fine when the river boat was moving but got motion sickness when it was docked overnight.

Oh…the rocking of the boat when docked or anchored. Very valid point and that will definitely initiate a terrible motion sickness event. UGH!

NYCLibrarian, I really like your ideas and I'm going to look into the Aswan company. Did you have a driver to drive you between Luxor and Aswan?

Most tours do include the river cruise. I haven't found any without the cruise. The $10,000 tour that I mentioned is actually only around $7000 for the tour. This is a small group tour (small group tours are usually more costly) and it includes airfare so I don't think this price is totally out of line. The problem is the single supplement is $3300. So yes, $10,000 for a single person to take this tour. I've seen single supplements for other tours of over $2000. The single supplement is the problem.

The problem for me with a river cruise besides the motion sickness is that it's not what I want to spend my time doing. I don't want to be cooped up on a boat. I don't enjoy evening dining and entertainment. It's also a slow ride and not the fastest way to get between Luxor and Aswan. You can drive between the 2 places in about 3 hrs I believe. The boat is 4 nights.

I will be looking at Djed and the Aswan company. I found another company which does day tours from either Luxor or Cairo which might work for me in Cairo.

No, I don't plan on driving or renting a car.

I just had a look at the Aswan Individuals company and I think this is perfect for me. Djed might work well too.

Some of the tour companies offering private day tours base the price of the tour on 4 people. So a private day tour that's listed as $100 is actually $100 per person. For one person it would be $400.

daisy,
Gate 1 Travel has a sale for single travel that you should check. It ends today.
https://www.gate1travel.com/featured-specials?Brand=GATE1

Waived Single Supplements

Solo travel is the perfect balance of connection and independence! Join fellow travelers for guided experiences, enjoy time to explore at your own pace, and wind down at night in the comfort of your own room!
For a limited time we'll waive the single supplement fee when you book an escorted tour or river cruise using promo code FSSTAW.

Double Room for Single Use: Solo guests are accommodated in standard double rooms for their own private use at every hotel.

Book by May 15, 2026 to take advantage of this offer.
9 Day Tour of Egypt w/ 4 Day Nile Cruise & Air
9 Day Classic Egypt with 4 Day Nile Cruise
From Cairo to Aswan see the world's greatest ancient civilizations - $3529* from $2699* with code: DLEGT830
Promotions not valid on existing reservations

Lead Price Travel Dates: Nov 16 '26 | Jan 11, Feb 8 '27
Promo Valid for Departures: Sep 2026 - May 2027

The Deal Includes
Round trip flights New York-Cairo, Cairo-New York
All intra-flights: Cairo-Aswan & Luxor-Cairo
7 nights First Class accommodations
3 nights Cairo
4 nights Nile Cruise on the MS Mayfair
Hotel taxes, fees & service charges
Hotel & cruise porterage
All transfers
18 meals: 8 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 6 dinners
Sightseeing per itinerary in modern air-conditioned motor coach
Services of English-speaking tour manager throughout
Entrance fees per itinerary
Tips for porters, wait staff & local guides on included services

Daisy and NYC Librarian, Egypt was on my list of places to visit a couple of years ago, and then for one reason or another, I wound up canceling it. I think it's mostly because I was worried about what a tour would be like. I've never been on a group tour, and I'm still not sure I would like it.

NYC librarian, your post has given me some great ideas, and I'm hanging on to this thread and saving the information you posted.

Daisy, you've certainly put it into my head that I could do this on my own. In 2027, I'm heading to Uzbekistan, and originally was going to book a tour, but the more I look at it, the more I'm inclined to do it on my own as well.

So thank you both for your posts here. They have inspired me to put this back on my future trip list and start checking it out.

I traveled with my family independently in Egypt in Dec/Jan of 2010/2011. We spent 2-3 days in Cairo exploring the city, markets, churches (Coptic) and the pyramids. Then flew to Luxor and explored the right and left banks and visited some of the key sites like Karnak and the Valley of the Kings etc.

Next, went to a travel agency and arranged for a private transport to take us to Aswan while stopping at Edfu, Esna, and Kom Ombo. We ended up sharing this with a British couple and since it was just transport without a guide wasn't too expensive but I don't remember what we paid.

After a couple of days in Aswan including visiting lake Nasser and Abu Simbel, we flew back to Cairo and then home.

Since you are an independent traveler, as long you have a thick skin and don't get fazed by the touts, you will be fine. I would look to fly the long distances if the cost is not too high and you should be able to arrange transport (not a tour) to get you between Luxor and Aswan. Good luck.

Mardee, you absolutely can travel around Egypt independently! It's really not difficult at all. Tho personally I wouldn't miss out on the Nile cruise (unless you have a reason you don't want to be on a boat)- some of my favourite parts of the trip where sitting on the top deck watching the shore go by.

Mardee and Daisy, I hope you both get to Egypt someday! I would like to return in a couple years to see different tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The Egyptian government rotates which tombs are open in any given year, partly I think for conservation. I would certainly revisit some sights, but it would also be great to add something new.

Daisy, my tour operator in 2022 arranged a car, driver, and guide for me for the trip from Luxor down to Aswan. We stopped at several temples along the way. It was a one way trip for me because I stayed in Aswan after that to visit local sites plus Abu Simbel.

A couple notes:

1) A tour guide is great not just to give you insight on the monuments you visit but also to buffer you from touts and vendors who hassle you. As a solo woman traveler, I think that protection was worth even more to me than the information I gleaned from the guides' spiels.

2) Aswan Individual offers a good price for their tours, but you will need to pay the total in cash, USD preferred because Egyptian pounds unfortunately are so devalued. If you worked with a large tour operator like Gate 1, I imagine they would give you the option to pay with a credit card, which might be appealing to some travelers.

3) I had a problem with one of my guides in Cairo: I had a different, and inferior, guide subbed in at the last minute on day 2, when I should have had my original guide from day 1 continue with me. I complained to Aswan Individual, and they were apologetic, which I appreciated. They also told me that all guides are independent contractors, and in Cairo, Aswan Individual worked with a local "dispatcher" to hire the guides. The upshot is that, in my opinion, your tour operator cannot guarantee which local guide works with you. I would ask for a trained Egyptologist if it is important to you to gain a deeper understanding of ancient Egyptian civilization. Perhaps on a package tour you will have the same guide the whole way through?

I know you don't want to pay for a cruise you won't use, but I would consider buying the on sale Gate 1 tour that has a short cruise and leaving the tour when they do the cruise.

Mardee, you absolutely can travel around Egypt independently! It's really not difficult at all. Tho personally I wouldn't miss out on the Nile cruise (unless you have a reason you don't want to be on a boat)- some of my favourite parts of the trip where sitting on the top deck watching the shore go by.

Thanks, Cat, and no, I love boats! I would love to do the Nile cruise, and that was part of the OAT tour that I originally signed up for and then wound up canceling. Definitely something to think about.

I hear you on the single supplement. I’m not sure which companies you have looked at. As an example, these tours don’t have a Nile Cruise and while the single supplement is pricey, it doesn’t make the tour $10,000.

https://www.gadventures.com/trips/discover-egypt/DPRNG/

https://www.exodustravels.com/ca/trips/egypt-holidays/culture/highlights-of-egypt/aer#overview

Exodus currently has a special waiving the single supplement altogether, but it is only if you travel in 2026.

Current Travel Advisory for Egypt
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 2 Travel Advisory for Egypt, which advises travelers to exercise increased caution. This advisory is in place due to several risks, including:
Terrorism: There is a risk of terrorist violence, particularly in the Northern and Middle Sinai Peninsula.
Crime: Common crimes include purse snatching and pickpocketing, especially in tourist areas.
Health Concerns: Travelers should be aware of health risks and follow local health guidelines.

For sure stay away from the Sinai.

Traveling alone as a female you should be careful where you travel and only use know reliable people or businesses.
A dozen years or more ago, hundreds of Christian Churches were burned by terrorists. This was under another President, but remember that Egypt is NOT Europe.

Thanks everyone, there's a lot of information to digest here, it will take me some time to get through all of these ideas.

KB, I'll take a look at the 2 companies you mentioned. These might work but I can't travel in 2026.

I may have given the wrong idea that cost is a big issue but that's not exactly true. It's not cost but value. I don't want to pay for things I don't want to do.

No, I wouldn't book a major tour and then leave the tour group when they go on the Nile River cruise. That would leave me alone in Luxor or wherever they embark on the cruise at which point I would need to find guides for the rest of the trip.

As far as traveling solo--I assure you I don't intend on traveling ALONE all over Egypt. "Solo" in this case means not going with a big tour group but planning my own trip using day tours and private transfers.

As far as the State department rating Egypt Level 2, there are many European countries rated a Level 2, actually France is Level 2.