Egypt: the 2027 Total Eclipse in Luxor, with Aswan and Cairo

1. Day 1: Arrive in Cairo, stay near the pyramids

   Cairo International Airport to your hotel in Giza

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Meals on your own
   • Stay in Giza
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Cairo International Airport (CAI). We meet you after arrivals and drive you west across the city, about an hour, to a hotel near the Giza plateau and the Grand Egyptian Museum, so tomorrow's 7 am start is minutes from the door rather than an hour in traffic. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide holds a short welcome briefing: how the heat shapes every day of this trip, why we start early and rest at midday, which tickets are already booked, how the eclipse day will run, and what to carry. You also receive your certified eclipse glasses. If you land early, the afternoon is free to sleep off the flight by the pool. Dinner tonight is on you, and your guide can suggest somewhere close by.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Cairo International Airport (CAI)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Certified eclipse glasses for every guest

   Free time: Rest of the day free

   Activity: Any arrival time works on day 1. If your flight lands after the briefing, a driver still meets you and your guide catches you up at breakfast.

2. Day 2: Giza at opening, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Islamic Cairo by night

   Giza plateau, the Grand Egyptian Museum, then al-Muizz Street and Khan el-Khalili

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Giza
   Day 2 details

   In August the plateau is bearable only early, so we are at the Giza gates when they open, which in summer is usually 7 or 8 am (we confirm the hours before you travel). Walk around the Great Pyramid of Khufu, built about 4,500 years ago, drive to the desert viewpoint where the pyramids line up, and finish at the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple of Khafre by about 10. Then we move indoors to the air-conditioned Grand Egyptian Museum for the hottest hours, on a pre-booked entry: the grand staircase of royal statues, the colossal Ramesses II in the atrium, and Tutankhamun's burial treasures shown together. Lunch is at the museum. The afternoon is for rest. At about 7 pm, when Cairenes come out, we drive across the city to walk al-Muizz Street, lined with medieval mosques and madrasas, into the lanes of Khan el-Khalili, and finish with dinner nearby.

   Included

   • Giza pyramid plateau at opening, with the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple of Khafre
   • Panorama viewpoint over the Giza pyramids
   • Grand Egyptian Museum on a pre-booked entry, with your guide
   • Evening walk on al-Muizz Street and through Khan el-Khalili
   • Dinner in Islamic Cairo

   Optional experiences

   • Inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu, on a separate ticket with limited numbers (price shown when you book)

   Easier option: Stay in the van at the panorama point, and skip the evening walk for a quiet dinner at the hotel.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot on the plateau, on sand and uneven stone, then 2 hours in the museum. The evening drive to Islamic Cairo is about an hour each way in traffic.

   

3. Day 3: Fly to Luxor, Luxor Temple at dusk

   Giza to Cairo airport by road, flight to Luxor, then Luxor Temple

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Luxor
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast we drive to Cairo airport and fly south to Luxor, about an hour in the air, landing in time for a late lunch near the hotel on the east bank. Settle in and rest through the afternoon heat; your hotel has a pool for exactly this. At about 5 pm, as the stone cools and the light turns gold, we walk into Luxor Temple, built mostly by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, with its seated colossi, obelisk and the columns of the processional colonnade. Stay as the floodlights come on and look north along the Avenue of Sphinxes, the restored ceremonial road that once ran nearly three kilometres to Karnak. The evening is free on the Corniche, with the West Bank hills across the river where we will watch the eclipse.

   Included

   • Transfer from Giza to Cairo airport
   • Flight from Cairo to Luxor
   • Transfer from Luxor airport to your hotel
   • Luxor Temple at dusk, with your guide

   Free time: Afternoon and late evening free

   Activity: About 1.5 hours on foot at Luxor Temple, on flat paving.

   

4. Day 4: The Valley of the Kings, and a rehearsal for tomorrow

   Luxor across the Nile to the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple and the eclipse site, then back

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Luxor
   Day 4 details

   We leave at about 5:30 am to reach the Valley of the Kings as it opens at 6, ahead of the heat and the coaches. Your ticket covers three royal tombs, chosen on the day from those open, and we add Tutankhamun's tomb, where the young king still lies in his burial chamber. Then Hatshepsut's terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari, set against the cliffs, and the Colossi of Memnon on the way back. Before the midday sun we stop at our eclipse viewing site on the West Bank for a short rehearsal: where the shade and chairs will be, which way to look, when to take your glasses off and how to set a camera or phone. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the West Bank, and we are back by about 1:30. In the evening your guide gives a short talk on what to watch for during totality.

   Included

   • Valley of the Kings at opening: three tombs on the standard ticket
   • Tutankhamun's tomb
   • Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari
   • Colossi of Memnon
   • Rehearsal at the eclipse viewing site
   • Evening eclipse talk with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • Tomb of Seti I or the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens, on separate premium tickets (price shown when you book)

   Easier option: Visit two tombs instead of three and wait in the shade at the visitor centre; take the electric shuttle at Hatshepsut's temple.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: This day is also our buffer: if a flight or bag was delayed, there is still a full day before the eclipse. About 3 hours on foot, with sloping corridors and steps down into the tombs.

5. Day 5: Totality over Luxor

   Luxor to the eclipse viewing site on the West Bank and back

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Luxor
   Day 5 details

   This is the day. After a slow breakfast we cross to the West Bank at about 9:30, early enough to beat eclipse-day traffic, and settle in at our viewing site under shade, with reclining chairs, because at totality the sun is almost straight overhead. The partial phase begins at about 11:40 am: through your glasses, the Moon takes a growing bite out of the Sun. In the last minutes the light turns strange and metallic, the heat eases and shadows sharpen. At about 1 pm totality begins: glasses off, the corona around a black disc, planets in a dark midday sky, and a sunset glow on every horizon. It lasts a little over six minutes, among the longest totality anyone on land will see this century. Lunch is served once the Sun returns, and after the partial phase ends at about 2:25 we drive back to rest. Dinner tonight is together, by the Nile.

   Included

   • Prepared eclipse viewing site on the West Bank with shade, reclining chairs, cold water and toilets
   • Certified eclipse glasses and your guide's call-outs through each phase
   • Lunch at the site
   • Eclipse dinner by the Nile

   Easier option: Spend the partial phases in the air-conditioned van parked at the site, and step out about 15 minutes before totality.

   Free time: Late afternoon free

   Activity: About four hours outdoors in shade, mostly seated, in heat that can pass 40 C. Times are approximate and confirmed for the exact site; drink often and keep your hat on.

6. Day 6: Karnak in the early light

   Luxor: Karnak, then a free afternoon

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Luxor
   Day 6 details

   A slower day after the eclipse. If you have booked the optional balloon, you lift off over the West Bank at sunrise, when the wind and heat allow, and the group meets again at Karnak at about 7:30; everyone else sleeps in a little and joins by van. Karnak is the largest temple complex in Egypt, built and rebuilt over some 2,000 years. Your guide leads you through the Great Hypostyle Hall, a forest of 134 columns, the tallest about 21 metres, while the sun still slants between them, then past the obelisks of Thutmose I and Hatshepsut to the Sacred Lake. We are back at the hotel before the worst of the heat, by about 10:30. The afternoon and evening are free: swim, sleep, or take a horse-drawn carriage along the Corniche once the sun drops.

   Included

   • Karnak temple complex in the early morning, with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • Sunrise hot air balloon over the West Bank, weather and heat permitting (price shown when you book)
   • Luxor Museum in the late afternoon

   Easier option: See the Hypostyle Hall and the obelisks, then wait in the shade of the visitor centre.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 2.5 hours on foot at Karnak, on flat but uneven paving.

7. Day 7: Edfu and Kom Ombo on the road to Aswan

   Luxor to Edfu, then Kom Ombo, then Aswan

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Aswan
   Day 7 details

   We leave Luxor at about 6:30 am and drive south up the Nile valley, past sugar cane fields and mud-brick villages, with your guide talking you through what we pass. After about 1.75 hours we reach Edfu, where the Temple of Horus, built between 237 and 57 BC, still has its roof, its towering pylon and its dark inner sanctuary; we are there before the heat builds. Another hour south, Kom Ombo stands on a bend of the river with a rare double plan, one half for Sobek the crocodile god and the other for Haroeris, a form of Horus. The small Crocodile Museum next door shows mummified crocodiles found nearby. Lunch is a sit-down meal near Kom Ombo, and we reach Aswan, a further hour south, by about 2 pm. The rest of the day is free on the Corniche.

   Included

   • Temple of Horus, Edfu
   • Temple of Kom Ombo and the Crocodile Museum
   • Drive from Luxor to Aswan with your guide

   Easier option: See the courtyard and hypostyle hall at each temple, then wait in the air-conditioned van.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 3.5 hours of driving in three stretches, broken by two temples and lunch. About 1 hour on foot at each temple.

   

8. Day 8: Abu Simbel at first light, a felucca at sunset

   Aswan to Abu Simbel and back by road, then a felucca on the Nile

   • Drive about 7 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Aswan
   Day 8 details

   The longest day, and the one exception to our four-hour driving rule: Abu Simbel is 280 km south of Aswan, about 3.5 hours each way, and in August the only sensible time to be there is early. We leave at 4 am with breakfast boxes, watch the sun come up over the Western Desert, stop halfway each way for a break, and reach the temples by about 7:30. The four seated colossi of Ramesses II, each about 20 metres high, front the Great Temple, and next door the smaller temple honours Queen Nefertari and Hathor. Both were cut into the cliff about 3,200 years ago and moved to higher ground in the 1960s before Lake Nasser rose. After two hours on site we drive back for a late lunch in Aswan and a rest. At about 5:30 pm a felucca sails us around Elephantine Island, then farewell dinner.

   Included

   • The Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Temple of Nefertari at Abu Simbel, with your guide
   • Drive from Aswan to Abu Simbel and back
   • Felucca sail around Elephantine Island at sunset
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Fly from Aswan to Abu Simbel and back instead of driving, where flights operate (price shown when you book)

   Easier option: Skip Abu Simbel, sleep in and spend a free day in Aswan, then join the felucca at sunset.

   Free time: Mid afternoon free

   Activity: About 7 hours in the vehicle in two halves, each broken by a rest stop. About 1.5 hours on foot at the temples, mostly on flat paving.

   

9. Day 9: Philae at opening, fly to Cairo

   Aswan to Philae by boat, then a flight from Aswan to Cairo

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   One last early start. A short drive takes us to the landing above the old Aswan dam, and a small motorboat crosses to Agilkia Island as Philae opens, at about 7 am. The Temple of Isis stood on a nearby island until the old dam left it flooded for much of each year; in a UNESCO rescue finished in 1980 it was cut into blocks and rebuilt here, stone by stone. Walk the colonnade and the first pylon while the island is still quiet and the light is soft on the water. We are back at the hotel by about 9:30 for a late breakfast and time to pack, then we take you to Aswan airport for the flight to Cairo, about an hour and a half. Your guide sees you through to your connection at Cairo International Airport. Book flights home leaving after about 7 pm.

   Included

   • Boat to Philae and the Temple of Isis at opening, with your guide
   • Flight from Aswan to Cairo
   • Transfer at Cairo International Airport (CAI)

   Free time: Late morning free to pack

   Activity: About 1.5 hours on foot at Philae. If you are staying on in Cairo, we can book a hotel for you.

Wildlife and weather: August is the hottest month in Upper Egypt, with afternoons above 40 C, which is why every visit starts early. It is also one of the clearest: cloud is rare over Luxor in summer, though dust haze can soften the sky. Balloon flights depend on wind and heat and may not fly.

• Giza2 nights
• Luxor4 nights
• Aswan2 nights