Budget
How much does a trip to Egypt cost?
A private trip to Egypt with Egypt Travel Planner costs from €1,195 per person for 5 days in Cairo and from €2,195 to €2,995 per person for 10 to 15 days with a 3-night Nile cruise, sharing a double room. On top of that come your international flights, the e-visa (about USD 30), tips, travel insurance, dinners and a few optional tickets. For two people on a 10-day private trip from the UK, a realistic all-in budget is roughly €6,000 to €7,250; from North America or Australia the flights add more. This guide takes the budget apart line by line and explains honestly why a European tour operator prices differently from a local agency in Cairo.
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Tour from-prices: €1,195 (5 days Cairo), €2,195 (10 days), €2,495 (12 days), €2,895 (14 days) and €2,995 (15 days) per person sharing a double room.
Not included: international flights, e-visa, tips, travel insurance, dinners in the hotels, drinks on the cruise and a few optional tickets.
Prices are in euro; every trip is calculated individually, and card payment and bank transfer details follow with the proposal.
What our six tours cost
Our example tours are private tours with your own English-speaking Egyptologist and driver; the from-prices are per person sharing a double room (as of October 2026). Historic Cairo, 5 days in Cairo, Giza and Saqqara, from €1,195. Egypt Highlights, 10 days along Cairo, Aswan, Luxor and the Red Sea with a 3-night Nile cruise, from €2,195. Classic Egypt, 12 days with Alexandria and Abu Simbel added, from €2,495. Adventurous Egypt, 14 days with the Bahariya Oasis and the White Desert, from €2,895. Complete Egypt, 15 days with five nights on the Red Sea, from €2,995. And your ideal Egypt trip, fully tailor-made, on request. Every trip is calculated individually, so the from-price is the starting point of the conversation, not a fixed rate.
What is included in those prices
Hotels with breakfast (boutique or luxury hotels of 4 to 5 stars), private transport and all transfers including the airports, a private English-speaking Egyptologist on all excursions and the entrance fees according to the programme. On the four Nile routes the domestic flight from Cairo to Aswan and a 3-night Nile cruise with full board, excluding drinks, are included as well, and lunch on the excursion days in Cairo. Your complete trip is covered by VZR Garant and the Dutch Calamity Fund.
What is not included
International flights, the visa, tips, travel insurance, personal expenses, drinks on the cruise ship and dinners in the hotels. We leave these out deliberately: flights depend entirely on where you fly from, the visa is personal, tips depend on the service you receive, and most travellers prefer to choose where they eat in the evening. The sections below put a figure on each of them so that you can complete the budget yourself.
Optional tickets you pay on the spot
A few visits are always a separate ticket, whichever operator you travel with. In the Valley of the Kings the standard ticket gives access to three painted royal tombs; the tombs of Tutankhamun (KV62), Seti I (KV17) and Ramesses V and VI (KV9) are paid separately. Going inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is a separate ticket too. These tickets are priced in Egyptian pounds for foreign visitors, from a few hundred to a couple of thousand pounds each, and the amounts change regularly, so check them at the ticket office or on the official booking site before you decide. Ask your Egyptologist on the day which tombs are open.
The e-visa
Visitors from the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the EU need a visa for Egypt. The single-entry tourist e-visa costs about USD 30 per person, or USD 65 for multiple entries; the official portal (visa2egypt.gov.eg) showed these amounts at our check on 6 November 2026 and shows the current fee when you pay. You apply online at least seven days before departure, and your passport must be valid for at least six months on arrival. A standard tourist visa is valid for 30 days from entry. Everything about documents is in our Egypt visa guide.
Tipping: what to set aside
Tipping, baksheesh, is a fixed part of income in Egyptian service jobs, and it is not included in our prices so that you decide yourself, based on the service. The usual amounts: €10 to €20 per day per traveller for your private Egyptologist, €5 to €10 per day per traveller for your driver, about €1 to €2 for hotel staff who carry luggage or clean your room, and around 10% in restaurants where service is not included. For a 10-day trip, reckon on roughly €300 to €500 for two, which also covers hotel staff and restaurants. Euros are appreciated almost everywhere; for small amounts, Egyptian pounds are more practical. You receive a practical overview with guideline amounts with your travel documents; read more in tipping in Egypt.
International flights to Cairo from the US, UK, Canada and Australia
Flights are the biggest variable in your budget and the one we leave to you, because they depend entirely on where you fly from. We checked economy return fares to Cairo on airline websites and fare comparison sites on 6 November 2026; treat the figures as indicative ranges, not quotes. From New York, non-stop with EgyptAir in about ten hours or with one stop via Europe or the Gulf, most fares lie between USD 600 and 1,000, with peak summer dates up to about USD 1,500 and last-minute fares higher still. From London, low-cost airlines sell returns from around £150, while full-service airlines such as EgyptAir are typically £400 to £600; the flight takes about five hours. From Toronto, fares with Air Canada start around CAD 1,450, Gulf carriers around CAD 2,000, and connecting fares on comparison sites run from about CAD 1,000. From Sydney there is no non-stop flight; returns via the Gulf or Istanbul range from about AUD 1,600 to 3,000. On several routes September and October were reported as the cheaper months.
A worked example: 10 days for two
Take Egypt Highlights, 10 days with Cairo, the flight to Aswan, a 3-night Nile cruise, Luxor and two nights on the Red Sea, for a couple flying from London in the from-price hotel category. The tour costs 2 × €2,195 = €4,390. For flights we assume €700 to €1,400 for two: £300 to £600 per person with a full-service airline, converted roughly to euro; a low-cost airline can bring that down. The e-visa is about €55 for two. For tips we take €300 to €500. For the optional tickets we assume about €100 for two (Tutankhamun and the inside of the Great Pyramid), and for nine dinners with drinks €300 to €600 as a planning figure, depending on where you eat. Travel insurance varies by country and age; we put in €100 to €200 for two. That gives a total of roughly €6,000 to €7,250 for two, or €3,000 to €3,625 per person, excluding souvenirs and upgrades. From New York, replace the flight line with roughly €1,100 to €1,800 for two; from Toronto with €1,300 to €2,600; from Sydney with €1,900 to €3,500. The table below sets it out.
What pushes the price up or down
Season: around Christmas, New Year and the school holidays the Nile cruises in particular cost more than in summer. Hotel level: the from-prices assume boutique or luxury hotels of 4 to 5 stars, and distinctly luxurious addresses cost more. Boat: a classic 3-night cruise is included; a dahabiya, a traditional sailing boat with six to ten cabins, usually starts at around double the price of such a cruise; see dahabiya Nile cruise. Duration: every extra night, domestic flight or excursion counts. Party size: friends or families who share the car and the Egyptologist usually pay less per person than a couple. And travelling in May, June or September, outside the high season, is usually cheaper, at the cost of heat in Luxor and Aswan.
Why a European tour operator costs more than a local Cairo agency
An honest answer: yes, a local agency in Cairo, or organising everything yourself, will usually be cheaper than a trip with us, and if price is your only criterion that is the way to go. What you pay for with us is different. Your complete trip is covered by VZR Garant and the Dutch Calamity Fund: VZR Garant protects the money you have paid and your journey home if the operator becomes insolvent, and the Calamity Fund covers you if a calamity disrupts your trip. You contract with a company registered in the Netherlands, Origins Travel Group V.O.F. in Amsterdam, under European consumer law, with one fixed contact who replies within one working day, before, during and after the trip. We work with a fixed local partner in Egypt whose guides are certified Egyptologists, and we only include hotels, boats and excursions we are prepared to put our name to. We price everything in advance, including entrance fees per programme, so the surprises on the spot are limited to the few optional tickets and tips. A local agency can be excellent, but your money goes abroad up front, your legal position if something goes wrong is weaker, and the quality of the guide is often only clear on the day. That difference is what the higher price buys.
Prices in euro, and how you pay
All our prices are in euro, per person sharing a double room, and every trip is calculated individually. You receive a proposal with hotels and price, which we adjust until it fits; nothing is booked before you agree. Card payment and bank transfer details follow with the proposal. Because the trip is priced in euro, travellers from the US, UK, Canada or Australia pay the equivalent at the exchange rate on the day, so read the from-prices on this page as euro amounts. Want a proposal for your dates? Start with our tailor-made Egypt tours or ask Lars directly via the enquiry form.
Worked example
Ten days in Egypt for two: the budget line by line
Egypt Highlights for a couple flying from London, in the from-price hotel category. Flight, dinner and insurance lines are assumptions you replace with your own figures.
| Cost line | For two people | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt Highlights, 10 days, from-price | €4,390 | 2 × €2,195, sharing a double room, as of October 2026 |
| International flights London to Cairo | €700 to €1,400 | Full-service economy return, £300 to £600 per person, converted roughly; low-cost airlines can be cheaper |
| E-visa | about €55 | 2 × USD 30, single entry |
| Tips | €300 to €500 | Egyptologist €10 to €20 and driver €5 to €10 per day per traveller, plus hotel staff and restaurants |
| Optional tickets | about €100 | Tutankhamun and the inside of the Great Pyramid for two, based on 2026 ticket prices |
| Dinners and drinks | €300 to €600 | Nine evenings; planning figure, depends on where you eat |
| Travel insurance | €100 to €200 | Varies by country and age; cover with repatriation recommended |
| Total for two | about €6,000 to €7,250 | €3,000 to €3,625 per person, excluding souvenirs and upgrades |
From New York, replace the flight line with roughly €1,100 to €1,800 for two; from Toronto with €1,300 to €2,600; from Sydney with €1,900 to €3,500 (economy return fares researched 6 November 2026, converted roughly).
Practical
E-visa
About USD 30 per person for a single-entry tourist e-visa (USD 65 for multiple entries), applied for online at least seven days before departure; the official portal showed these amounts at our check on 6 November 2026. More in our Egypt visa guide.
Tips
€10 to €20 per day per traveller for your Egyptologist and €5 to €10 per day per traveller for your driver; about €1 to €2 for hotel staff and 10% in restaurants where service is not included. Details in tipping in Egypt.
Flights
Economy return fares to Cairo researched on 6 November 2026: roughly USD 600 to 1,000 from New York, £150 to £600 from London, CAD 1,000 to 2,000 from Toronto and AUD 1,600 to 3,000 from Sydney, depending on season and airline.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a 10-day trip to Egypt cost?
From €2,195 per person sharing a double room with us, for Egypt Highlights with Cairo, a 3-night Nile cruise, Luxor and the Red Sea, excluding international flights, visa and tips. For two people, all-in including flights from London, tips, visa, dinners and insurance, reckon on roughly €6,000 to €7,250.
How much does two weeks in Egypt cost?
From €2,895 per person for 14 days (Adventurous Egypt, with the White Desert) and from €2,995 per person for 15 days (Complete Egypt, with five nights on the Red Sea), sharing a double room and excluding international flights, visa and tips. For two that is from €5,790 or €5,990 for the tour alone.
Is Egypt an expensive country to visit?
The trip itself is where the money goes: hotels, the Nile cruise, domestic flights and a private Egyptologist and driver. Day-to-day costs on the spot are modest in comparison: a few optional tickets, tips of roughly €15 to €30 per person per excursion day for Egyptologist and driver together, and dinners and drinks. International flights are the largest variable and depend on where you fly from.
How much are flights to Egypt?
Based on economy return fares we checked on 6 November 2026: roughly USD 600 to 1,000 from New York, £150 to £600 from London, CAD 1,000 to 2,000 from Toronto and AUD 1,600 to 3,000 from Sydney, depending on season, airline and how far ahead you book. Peak dates and last-minute fares can be well above these ranges.
How much is the visa for Egypt?
About USD 30 per person for a single-entry tourist e-visa and USD 65 for multiple entries, the amounts the official portal showed at our check on 6 November 2026. The portal shows the current fee at checkout. Apply online at least seven days before departure, with a passport valid for at least six months on arrival.
How much should I tip in Egypt?
€10 to €20 per day per traveller for your Egyptologist, €5 to €10 per day per traveller for your driver, about €1 to €2 for hotel staff and around 10% in restaurants where service is not included. Tipping is customary but never compulsory; give when you are happy with the service.
Why are you more expensive than a local agency in Cairo?
Because you buy protection and one point of contact as well as the trip: your complete trip is covered by VZR Garant and the Dutch Calamity Fund, you contract with a company registered in the Netherlands under European consumer law, and Lars Janssen remains your single contact before, during and after the trip. A local agency or a self-organised trip is usually cheaper; if price is your only criterion, that is the honest advice.
Can I pay in US dollars or pounds?
Our prices are in euro, and that is the currency of the invoice. Card payment and bank transfer details follow with the proposal; your bank or card provider converts at the exchange rate on the day.
Is the from-price per person or per couple?
Per person, sharing a double room. For a couple, multiply by two: Egypt Highlights at from €2,195 per person is from €4,390 for two. Travelling alone, with friends or as a family changes the calculation; every trip is priced individually.
What do I pay on the spot?
Tips, the few optional tickets (inside the Great Pyramid; the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramesses V and VI), drinks on board the cruise, dinners in the hotels and personal expenses such as souvenirs. Everything else in the programme, including entrance fees, transfers and your Egyptologist, is paid in advance.
Read on
How to plan a trip to Egypt
Route, season, duration, budget and the choices that shape your trip, in the order you should make them.
Tailor-made Egypt tours
A private route through Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and the Nile, built around your wishes and your pace.
Tipping in Egypt
How much to tip your guide, driver, hotel staff and on a Nile cruise, and whether to use euros, dollars or pounds.
Dahabiya Nile cruise
Small and quiet on the Nile: the stylish alternative to the classic cruise ship between Luxor and Aswan.
Egypt Highlights (10 days)
Private tour through Cairo, Luxor and Aswan with the great sights of ancient Egypt.
Talk to us about your Egypt trip
Tell us what you are looking for. We will think along on route, duration, hotels, guides and budget, with no obligation.
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