Tour: https://www.tourradar.com/t/241490
When: January 2026
Why I chose this tour: It is a private and customisable tour, so I changed some aspects to fit with other plans, for example, I was going to Giza and Gem on a different tour, so replaced that with Dashur and NMEC. Prive was also great and big factor in my decision.
Itinerary and Highlights
We arrived early morning on ‘Day 1’, so first day Nile cruise was skipped and we did 4 days of activities:
Day 1: Saqqara, Memphis and Dashur
- Saqarra: Seeing the step pyramid was really interesting to understand where the concept of the pyramid came from and an understanding of how they were eventually created.
- Highlight - Dashur: I didn’t see this on many itineraries but loved this site of the Red pyramid and the bent pyramid - older than the great pyramids, was one of my favourite sites around Cairo. The red pyramid is very impressive and you can go inside for no extra cost, we were the only ones in there! Our guide did say not to bother going all the way in as there is nothing to see but an empty chamber, so we only went half way down, but wish we had just done it all in hindsight! The bent pyramid, shows the progression from the step pyramid to attempted pyramid, then the red is when it was perfected. Such a quiet site with only a handful of people which added to the magic.
- Memphis: A small open air museum where they put any archealogical finds from the area. A huge Ramses statue, and a sphinx. It was interesting to see and worth the stop since it was so close by, but not a stand out destination on its own.
Day 2: Coptic Cairo, Islamic Cairo and National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC)
- Islamic Cairo: Visited Saladin Citidel and the Mosque of Muhamad Ali. Great views over the city from up there, with the pyramids far in the background. The citidel is big, would take a while to walk around, so we only saw part. The mosques are beautiful and some interesting stories about Muhamad Ali trading an obelisk from Luxor with Paris for a clock that sits inside it.
- Highlight - NMEC: A fairly small museum but a great overview of Egyptian history from Ancient Egypt, Greek, Roman, Coptic, Islamic and Nubian history - a great easy way to see the progression. The stand out is absolutely the Royal Mummies hall which housed 20 royal mummies including Ramses II and Tutmose III, fascinating to see these, amazing condition you can really see their features, and when you later see everything they achieved and the visions of immortality that surrounded Ramses II - it really is pretty cool to have seen the mummies. Done in a respectful way (as much as you can), in dark tomb like rooms, no photos allowed and attendants actively making sure people are quiet. This was my favourite museum in Egypt and one my guide says she recommended above all others (except maybe GEM).
- Coptic Cairo: Pedestrian area with the hanging coptic church, Ben Ezra Synagogue, we went inside both walked through the alleyways. If you’re interested in religious history you might like this, my partner is and though this was really interesting as it relates to stories of moses etc, but I would take it or leave it.
Day 3: Alexandria
2.5 hour drive each way, along an easy straight highway for the most part. Left at 7am, there was very little traffic, was back at hotel by around 5.30pm.
- Highlight - Catacombs: Very interesting, really gave me a good insight into how the Greeks and Romans integrated in Egypt with a mix of art that depicts a merge or all 3 cultures - the whole trip was worth it jut for this!
- The Citadel of Qaitbay (site of the old Light House of Alexandria): After all the other history, the 15th century fort was not overly interesting but worth a quick look on the different floors. Views from the walls over the city were really good. The exhibit inside showing the underwater wreckage of the old lighthouse was interesting. The drive along the promande there was also nice.
- Roman Amphitheatre: Got free time to walk around, the amphitheatre, or auditorium that they beleive it was was in good condition, some interesting mosiacs, have seen better Roman ruins, but interesting to see as this is the only one in Egypt and again highlights the immense history of the country.
- Bibliotheca of Alexandria: The modern Museum - it was huge, very interesting exhibits of more modern Egypt, like artists, writers, movie directors - much more than just a museum, was good to see.
**Day 4: Fayoum Oasis + Wadi Al-Hitan (Valley if the Whales)
**
It was a last minute decision to include this, so glad i did and highly recommend this trip. The whole reason for me was the Valley of the Whales, we did also a quick sandboarding session, had some views over the oasis and a super fun 4x4 ride in the desert and virtually up vertical slopes which was crazy!
- Highlight - Wadi Al-Hitan: You watch a video in the center before walking around showing what this would have looked like 40 million years ago when it wa s =a shallow ocean, which really helped you imagine the ocean when you were out there. Some great whale fossils in here too showing whales use to have hands and feet - who knew! But walking around the desert seeing all the whale fossils that still exsist there was really special, like nothing you will see anywhere else. You know when you get this feeling or peace and calmness and like you’re somewhere special, well i definitely go that here. amazing. My partner, who was skeptical about even going since he is more interested in history also love it.
Guides + Driver:
- We had the same guide for the first 2 days around Cairo, she was very knowledgeable about all the different periods of history, was studying architecture too. Very friendly and informative.
- For Alexandria, we met our guide there as she was local, she had a lot of character, also very educated on history and was proud of her city. She was a good laugh and made the day very interesting.
- Both had perfect english. And we got free time at every site to explore after they provided some insights
- For Fayoum we met a local bedouin who was the 4X4 driver more than a guide, and was great at that! Super nice guy and again, free time to explore at all the stops.
- Our driver was the same throughout, from the airport pick up until the end. He was an excellet driver, in a modern comfortable car, super safe, always punctual and very friendly.
Hotel - 3* Pyramids Top Inn
- Knowing this was a 3 star hotel, and the price online was on the lower end, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and knowing star ratings are not really the same as they are in western cultures and set my expectations low. It was a bit rough around the edges, peeling wallpaper, some electricity sockets not useable etc, but it was very clean, the bathroom and shower was great, the beds were comfortable enough. What made this property was the stunning views from our balcony right over the pyramids. I literally laughed out loud when I opened the curtain in the mornin and saw this. You also got daily breakfast of fresh falafels, fouls, egyptian bread, fruit etc (catered vegan for us which was great), on the rooftop terrace which also had amazing views!. The hotel was just one floor in a multi story building with a handful of rooms, the family who ran it were super friendly and helpful.
Overall recommendation:
I found Marko Egypt to be exceptional, very quick with communication, everything well organised throughout. Price to value ratio, excellent. We even got a welcome gift with personalised cartouches - hieroglyphs of our names which we loved! I really recommend visiting these sites in and around Cairo if you can as it really added to our overall trip and this was a great operator to do it with!
If anyone is planning to go to Egypt in and around Cairo and has any questions feel free to let me know!