Cairo from Alexandria – Two Days of Pyramids, Mummies & the Nile

28–29 October 2025

We’d never been to Egypt, and this overnight call into Alexandria was one of the most anticipated stops of our cruise. Although the ship docked three hours from Cairo, the overnight stay allowed two full days to explore Egypt’s ancient wonders without rushing back to the port.

We booked privately with Alexandria City Travel, who provided excellent communication in the months leading up to our tour. Our itinerary changed several times—mainly due to the delayed opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)—but the company handled each adjustment smoothly.   If I did this again, I would look at the various Tours by Locals options.   

The Final Itinerary

October 28
06:30 Pickup at Alexandria Port
07:00 Depart for Cairo
10:00 Visit the Giza Pyramids
12:30 National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (Koshary lunch in van while en route to museum)
15:30 Drive to the hotel and check in
18:35 Meet the guide and walk to the Nile dinner cruise
21:00 Return to the hotel

October 29
06:30 Breakfast
07:45 Check out
08:00 Drive to Saqqara
11:30 Planned visit to Carpet School (we skipped this)
13:30 Papyrus gallery & bazaar
14:30 Lunch
16:00 Drive back to Alexandria
18:30 Estimated arrival back at the ship

We skipped the Carpet School—essentially a brief demo followed by a long sales pitch—and ended up returning to the ship earlier. When booking tours in Egypt, expect these optional “shopping experiences.” I would make your desires clear about whether you want shopping experiences when you first start discussing your tour. Keep in mind that these are never explicitly advertised as a shopping experience. Still, whenever you see a school or demonstration mentioned, you can rest assured it is just a shopping stop.

Our original plan included the brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum, but its opening was postponed (again) until November 1. The substitute, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, turned out to be a worthwhile alternative, especially for its Royal Mummies Hall.

The drive to Cairo was about 3 hours over good roads with little traffic

DAY ONE – Alexandria to Giza, The Sphinx & A Nile Dinner Cruise

Clearing Immigration & Joining the Convoy

The Volendam arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, around 6:00 AM on October 28, 2025. Egyptian immigration officials boarded a couple of days ago in Heraklion. They processed our passports while at sea en route to Alexandria. With that out of the way, all we needed to do to clear immigration on arrival was to show our Visa Stamp as we left the ship.

Our group of 7 met at 6:30 and passed through the terminal quickly. Egyptian customs officials x-rayed our bags upon entering the terminal.

Outside, we met our guide, Mohammed (“Mo”), and our driver Hameed. A representative from the tour company met us in the van and collected the remaining tour balance in cash (USD)

Independent tour vehicles must leave the port in police-organized convoys. For us, that meant 45 minutes inching forward while officials checked each vehicle. By 7:25 AM, the two buses and our van from Alexandria City Tours finally rolled out toward Cairo, escorted by police. We were on the road for almost three hours getting to Cairo without any rest stops.

Entering the Giza Plateau

We reached Giza around 9:45 AM, and our van passed through a security checkpoint where a few bags, including mine, were selected at random for security screening.

Next was the Giza Visitor Center (“new gate”). The visitor center has restrooms and a few exhibits. It is the staging point for the shuttle buses that take people inside the pyramid zone. There was airport-style security screening for visitors entering the visitor center.

Entrance to the Visitor Center

Small vehicles with fewer than 25 passengers generally cannot drive freely within the pyramid zone. For smaller tours, everyone must leave their vans at the visitor center and use the shuttle buses. To avoid this, Alexandria City Travel transferred the seven of us to one of their larger buses for the internal circuit.

If you book a small-group tour, ask how you’ll get around once inside the plateau. Some operators use golf carts; others transfer you to larger buses; others have you use the shuttle buses. Some operators may have access to special permits and can enter with their smaller vans– but be sure to understand how this will work in your particular case.

Panoramic Viewpoint & Optional Camel Ride

Our first major stop was the panoramic viewpoint—the iconic angle showing all three major pyramids aligned across the desert. This is the best viewpoint for photos and camel rides; there are two other viewpoints, but they probably aren’t worth the extra time it would take to visit. You can research the views online and decide for yourself if you want to schedule extra view stops.

Our guide, Mo, arranged optional camel rides for $10 USD per person. We paid Mo directly, and he coordinated with Sammi, the camel handler. The ride lasted about 10–15 minutes, and everyone in our group who wanted to ride was tethered together. We tipped Sammi $1 each. My camel’s name was Charlie Brown. Sammi used our phones to take pictures of us, and he did a pretty good job. Be cautious if you take a camel ride that is not arranged by your guide.

We spent about forty minutes here—plenty of time for pictures and the camel ride.

Great Pyramid, Khafre & The Sphinx

Next, we stopped at the parking area between the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Khafre. With only about 30 minutes here, it felt rushed, but we managed to walk over and touch the stones of the Great Pyramid.

To go inside the Great Pyramid, you must arrange it in advance and purchase a separate ticket.

Back in our bus, we continued to our 3rd stop – The Great Sphinx. Most visitors only access the upper viewing terrace, which is quite crowded. However, there is a lower VIP area directly in front of the Sphinx that offers far better views. This must be arranged separately and costs extra (possibly $2000 USD per group). I wasn’t aware this was an option until we were already here and noticed people on the lower terrace.

There are two restaurants inside the Pyramid Area – Khafu and 9 Pyramid Lounge. If planning this again, I would opt to have lunch at one of these venues and then visit the Sphinx afterwards. I would put off visiting the GEM until the afternoon of day 2, after Saqqara, and skip all the carpet shops and Papyrus shops.

Koshary in the Van — A Word of Caution

After we left the pyramid area, we returned to our smaller van. Mo served bowls of koshary, Egypt’s national comfort food, that they picked up from a local fast-food place while we were visiting the pyramids. While delicious, a few people in our group fell ill a couple of days later, and the koshary may have been the cause (though impossible to confirm).

Tip: Request something grilled instead of koshary. The Koshary was tasty, but it was at high risk for contamination.

Koshary – Popular Egyptian fast food

National Museum of Egyptian Civilization

Since the GEM was still closed, we visited the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. After security, Mo handed out headsets and led us through the chronological galleries. The highlight was the Royal Mummies Hall, located on a lower level. Guides are not allowed inside, and photography is forbidden.

We made a quick stop at the gift shop for keychains and then headed to our hotel.

Check-In: Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence

Alexandria City Travel had pre-arranged our check-in and handed us our room keys in the van. Some in our group had Nile views; we had a city view. The hotel was excellent, as expected from the Four Seasons.

Evening: Dinner Cruise on the Nile

We met our group at 6:30 PM and walked a short block to the dinner cruise. The boat carried around 100 passengers and offered window seating, a buffet dinner, wine, and live entertainment—saxophone, violin, belly dancer, and whirling dervish.

Belly Dancer

We drifted past the illuminated Nile Fountain during dinner. We returned to the hotel at 9:30 PM—a perfect end to a very long day.   If I did this again, I would pass on the Nile Cruise and get more rest in the hotel or have a dinner in a restaraunt.

Nile Fountain

DAY TWO – Saqqara, Teti’s Pyramid & Return to Alexandria

Breakfast at the Four Seasons

The breakfast buffet was outstanding—fresh pastries, fruits, meats, cheeses, and eggs made to order. We met our group at 8:15 and drove south to Saqqara.

Saqqara: The World’s First Pyramid

We arrived shortly after 9:00 AM.

Our first stop was the Step Pyramid of Djoser, built around 2650 BC and considered the world’s oldest monumental stone structure. After a short introduction from Mo, we had about an hour to walk around independently.

Mo explaining the history of the step pyramid

Next, we visited the Pyramid of Teti, where visitors can descend a low, narrow, 60-yard corridor to reach the burial chamber. I went down, and I had to walk stooped over for about 60 yards with a space to stand up straight about halfway down. Judy decided to stay at the top. When you got to the burial chamber, you could see the Pyramid Texts carved into the walls.

Papyrus Demonstration & Bazaar

Our schedule originally included both a Carpet School and a papyrus gallery. We skipped the Carpet School but did visit the Merit Center for a short papyrus-making demonstration followed by a shopping stop. The papyrus demonstration was interesting, but we didn’t buy anything and only spent a few minutes looking around. The upstairs bazaar carried mostly jewelry and décor—not the T-shirts or inexpensive souvenirs we were hoping for.

Tip: Buy small souvenirs when you see them at the major sites throughout the day. The promised “better selection” in the bazaar often isn’t what you expect.

Lunch at Andrea El Mariouteya – New Giza

Lunch was at Andrea El Mariouteya, a long-standing restaurant with outdoor grills and women baking fresh bread in dome ovens. Our meal included mezze, hummus, warm pita, fries, and grilled meats. Simple and tasty.

Bread baking demonstration at our lunch stop

Return to Alexandria

We departed Cairo around 2:00 PM. Traffic entering Alexandria was heavy, and we reached the port around 4:30 PM. After saying goodbye to our guide and driver, we were back on the ship around 4:45

With a bit of time before dinner, we walked back off the ship to browse vendor stalls on the dock—ironically offering a better selection of inexpensive souvenirs than the bazaar earlier. We picked up a few keychains, a scarf, and a silver necklace set (with a bonus magnet thrown in).

After dinner in the main dining room, we ended the night at Charley Blue’s lively World Stage show — a perfect finale to two unforgettable days in Egypt.

Charley Blue

This is an interactive map.  Click on the markers for more information.   The location of the ship in Alexandria is one of the markers