Seven days is the shortest honest version of Egypt: two ancient capitals, the river that connects them, and the temples strung along it as far south as Abu Simbel.
The week is built so that the balloon falls on day four, once you already know what you are looking at. By then you have stood under the Sphinx, seen Tutankhamun’s treasure in the Grand Egyptian Museum, and walked Luxor Temple — so when the necropolis opens up beneath the basket at sunrise, it reads as a map rather than a view.
Hotels, cruise boat and Abu Simbel travel (road or air) are confirmed with you when you book.
Itinerary
Day 1 — Cairo
- Arrival and transfer
- Nile dinner cruise
Day 2 — Cairo
- Giza Pyramids
- The Great Sphinx
- Grand Egyptian Museum
Day 3 — Cairo to Luxor
- Flight to Luxor
- Luxor Temple
Day 4 — Luxor
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SunriseHot air balloon flight The centrepiece of the week
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Valley of the Kings
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Temple of Hatshepsut
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Colossi of Memnon
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Karnak Temple
Day 5 — Nile cruise
- Board and sail Luxor to Edfu
- Edfu Temple
Day 6 — Kom Ombo and Aswan
- Kom Ombo Temple
- Sail to Aswan
Day 7 — Aswan
- Philae Temple
- Abu Simbel
- Departure
What’s included
- All internal transfers and the Cairo–Luxor flight
- Sunrise hot air balloon flight over Luxor
- Giza Pyramids, Sphinx and the Grand Egyptian Museum
- Nile dinner cruise in Cairo
- Luxor Temple, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut
- Nile cruise cabin with full board
- Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae
- Abu Simbel
- Egyptologist guide throughout
- Entrance tickets to the listed sites
- Flight certificate
Questions about this tour
Hotel pickup is usually between 4:00 and 4:30 AM, and the balloon lifts off right at sunrise — roughly 5:30 AM in summer and 6:30 AM in winter. Exact times shift with the season, so we confirm your pickup the evening before your flight.
The flight itself lasts 35 to 45 minutes in the air. Allow around 3 to 3.5 hours door to door, including hotel pickup, the safety briefing, inflation, the flight, the landing celebration and the drive back to your hotel or Nile cruise.
Prices start at $65 per person for the standard sunrise flight, $125 for the balloon-plus-Luxor-tour package and $180 for the premium small-basket experience. Booking direct with us includes hotel transfers, insurance, a flight certificate and refreshments, with no booking fee.
Yes. Every flight is operated under the regulations of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority by licensed commercial balloon pilots, with fully insured passengers, modern equipment inspected before each flight, and a strict no-fly rule whenever wind or visibility falls outside safe limits.
Wear comfortable closed shoes, long trousers and a light jacket or fleece — early mornings in Luxor are cool even in summer, and layers come off once the sun rises. Bring a hat, sunglasses and your camera; the basket has room for it.
October to April offers the most comfortable temperatures and the highest number of flyable mornings. Balloons fly year round in Luxor, and summer flights take off earlier when the air is coolest and calmest.
