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Our Travel Editors’ Dream Vacations
Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been obsessed with ancient Egypt. When I was seven or eight years old, my best friend next door got a hieroglyphic stamp kit and we covered the walls of her house in “messages.” Needless to say, as an adult, the country has always been incredibly high on my travel bucket list. I’m also aware, however, of some of the overtourism issues around Cairo’s Great Pyramids and the archaeological sites around Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.
This is why when I visit Egypt, I want to be sure to do it in a way that isn’t supporting cheap-as-can-be, unregulated tourism. That makes one of my dream trips a luxury journey through Egypt, ideally accompanied by a knowledgeable Egyptologist – since, yes, Egyptologist was one of my dream jobs as a kid.
Fortunately, Egypt is a relatively affordable country to visit, and even high-end trips can be somewhat affordable. If time and money were no object, I’d book a trip with the Archaeological Institute of America, which offers a 19-day trip with multiple researcher guides, lodging in five-star hotels, and multiple behind-the-scenes excursions. But at nearly $17,000 per person, it’s above my current budget.
Photo: Intrepid Travel
Fortunately, Intrepid Travel, known for affordable group travel, also offers “Tailor Made” tours. And one such available custom tour is through Egypt, accompanied by a local historian and Egypt expert. Intrepid’s premium, two-week “in depth” Egypt tours are $7,500 a person, and that’s the most expensive offering, so I’m fairly confident a private tour would still be less than $17,000.
To get the scoop on how private tours are different, I reached out to Intrepid to ask about some of the access gained by traveling with a local historian on a private tour – and the answer did not disappoint. Booking a custom tour can include activities like private tours of the Sphinx and Great Pyramids before they open to the public, archaeologist-led tours of King Tut’s tomb, and personalized visits (i.e. not a group tour swarming with loud-talkers) of Gebel al-Silsila, an archaeological site where new discoveries have been regularly made since 2012. I’m also extremely excited to one day see the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It opened in late November 2025 and is the largest museum dedicated to ancient Egypt in the entire world. It also has the complete collection of artifacts from King Tut’s tomb on display, making it a must-see for any wannabe Egyptologist like myself.
The team also suggested adding a few nights on board a dahabiya, or traditional Nile riverboat, arriving in Luxor at night when the famous temple is illuminated. That way, I’d be able to wake up and watch the sun rise over the desert and distant mountains that house the famous Valley of the Kings and Temple of Hatshepsut. For an Egyptology nerd, it doesn’t get much better than that. I’m also a big scuba diver, so I’d probably add on a few days (or a week — it’s a dream vacation, after all) on the Red Sea, either on a liveaboard scuba diving trip or at one of the area’s trendy land-based beach resorts.
My Dream Egypt Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive in Cairo, Egypt
- Day 2: Early access private tour of Pyramids and Sphinx, docent-led tour of brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum, dinner cruise
- Day 3: Fly to Aswan, tour of Philae Temple, high tea at historic hotel
- Day 4: Fly to Abu Simbel, guided tour of Abu Simbel temples, board dahabiya
- Day 5: Sail the Nile, visit Kom Ombo Temple and Gebel al-Silsila
- Day 6: Sail to and tour Edfu Temple, sail to Luxor
- Day 7: Full day tour of Luxor
- Day 8: Sunrise hot-air balloon ride, private tours of Valley of the Kings/Temple of Hatshepsut, local shared dinner
- Day 9: Return to Cairo, private tours of Memphis, Saqqara, and Wahti Tomb, market/artisan visits
- Day 10: Transfer to Red Sea resort
- Day 11-15: Red Sea diving/cruising
- Day 16: Fly home
