How Much Does a Trip to Egypt Actually Cost?

Egypt can be genuinely affordable or genuinely luxurious, and the honest answer to "how much will this cost" depends entirely on which end of that range you're aiming for. Here's roughly how the numbers break down.

Three Rough Tiers

Budget travel — hostels or basic hotels, local food, public transport — runs somewhere around $35 to $55 a day, not including international flights. Mid-range travel, with comfortable three- or four-star hotels, private transport for day tours, and a mix of local and touristy restaurants, lands closer to $80 to $150 a day. Luxury travel, with five-star hotels, private guides throughout, and premium Nile cruise cabins, starts around $300 a day and climbs from there.

Where the Big Costs Sit

Accommodation is the widest range of any category — a basic double room can run $10 to $40 a night, while five-star Nile-view or desert-lodge properties run $250 to $600 or more. A multi-night cruise between Luxor and Aswan follows a similar spread: standard cruise cabins on a 3- or 4-night sailing often run somewhere in the $150 to $250 range per person, while a luxury dahabiya sailing or a high-end cabin can run into the high hundreds or beyond, per night.

A Sample Ten-Day Trip

A well-paced ten-day mid-range trip covering Cairo, Giza, and a Luxor-to-Aswan cruise typically lands somewhere between $2,500 and $4,000 per person, including domestic flights or trains, guided touring, and most meals — excluding the international flight to Egypt itself.