Itineraries for Your Trip to Cairo
2 Days in Cairo for First Timers
I first visited Cairo on a 24-hour flight layover, but that was all it took for me to be smitten. It was the colors that did it: Cairo’s faded sepia and ocher buildings all wreathed in a yellow, dusty veil of light. And as these painterly cityscapes parted to reveal a string of ancient wonders—the Giza Pyramids being the highpoints—it was enough to win me over, many times over. If you’re lucky enough to visit Cairo, plan your time well: Its often-chaotic traffic and long list of sights, combined with a ticking clock, makes methodical diarizing essential. Here are my tips for making the best use of two days in this captivating city.
If you only have time for one thing, make it the awe-inspiring Giza Pyramids.
Cairo is at its hottest between noon and 5pm, so schedule your sightseeing to start early and ease after lunch.
Head for the Giza Pyramids and Egyptian Museum first: Seeing these Cairo heavyweights means you can relax later knowing you’ve already covered the essentials. Private door-to-door tours are the most time-efficient way to visit; you’ll avoid dealing with cabs and Giza guides, and have an Egyptologist driver-guide on hand to chart the story of the tombs, tell tales of the Sphinx, and introduce you to the museum’s treasures, including Tutankhamun’s regalia.
This afternoon, switch your gaze to Old Cairo (Misr Al-Qadima) with its history-steeped mosques, streets, and churches. Maximize your time with a guided private tour that means you won’t get lost and will learn more about the sights than if you were going it alone. Most tours cover a selection-box of attractions, from Coptic Cairo’s Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa) and Ben Ezra Synagogue to Islamic Cairo’s, Citadel and Sultan Hassan Mosque, giving you a balanced snapshot of the city.
Conclude your day with a cruise along the iconic Nile River—it’s an ideal way to wind down and see Cairo from a different perspective. Choose from various Nile dinner cruises to enjoy a buffet and live shows as you sail the river, or opt for a sunset felucca sailboat ride to watch the sun fade over its waters. Both options usually come with handy hotel transfers.
Today is perfect for perusing Cairo’s older antiquities. Check out the Saqqara (Sakkara) and Dahshur pyramid fields, and the archaeological site of Memphis—all located on the city’s outskirts and best visited on private excursions. Highlights include Saqqara’s Step Pyramid, the world’s oldest intact stone edifice; Dahshur’s Bent Pyramid; and Memphis’ Colossus of Ramses II. Some tours include Giza, letting you cover anything you missed at the Giza Plateau first time round.
If you’ve taken a morning Saqqara-Dahshur tour, ring the changes this afternoon. Zoom across the Giza Plateau sands on a thrilling all-terrain vehicle (ATV) excursion or enjoy a souvenir-shopping spree at Cairo’s Khan El-Khalili bazaar, bagging everything from trinkets to papyrus art to take home. Opting for a private, guided shopping foray means you’ll benefit from transfers and a guide to help you navigate and haggle.
Return to Cairo’s greatest wonders—the Giza Pyramids—this evening to see them in a fresh new light. Book a ticket-and-transport package to the Giza sound and light show, a light-and-audio extravaganza that charts the story of these UNESCO–listed tombs, with the Sphinx providing narration. Alternatively, take a last, lingering look at Cairo on a nighttime illumination tour, which includes dinner and absorbing the glittering city panoramas from the Cairo Tower.
