Cairo 7-Day Itinerary: Saqqara, Alexandria and Slow Days

How should you spend 7 days in Cairo?

Arrive gently on day 1, give the Giza plateau day 2 and the Grand Egyptian Museum all of day 3, then drive south to Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur on day 4. Spend day 5 at the Egyptian Museum and Coptic Cairo, day 6 in Alexandria by train, and day 7 in Islamic Cairo.

A week lets Cairo breathe. Instead of pairing the Pyramids and the new museum in one hot day, each gets its own; the older pyramid fields south of the city, which most short trips skip, get a full day with a driver; and one day goes to the Mediterranean in Alexandria. Two hotels work best: Giza for the first nights, an east-bank base for the rest.

All hours and prices come from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, its ticket platform, the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, checked on 16 and 17 October 2026. This is a desk-researched route, not one we have travelled, so check each stop the week you go.

Only three days? Use the faster Cairo 3-day itinerary. To choose the two bases, see where to stay in Cairo, and for dates, best time to visit Cairo.

What does a week in Cairo look like at a glance?

The table sets out each day’s focus, key stops, base and the day-of-week rule that matters. Put day 3 on a Wednesday or Saturday for the Grand Egyptian Museum’s late opening, keep day 6 off a Friday because the Bibliotheca Alexandrina closes, and leave the last afternoon light before your flight.

Day-of-week rules come from the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; hours for the rest are on the ministry’s pages linked in each day below. Moving hotel once, after day 3, costs half a morning but saves several long cross-river drives.

If your week starts on a different weekday, swap days 5 and 7, which have no day-of-week restrictions, to land the museum and Alexandria days where they fit.

How is this week different from the 3-day plan?

It is slower and goes further. The three-day plan squeezes Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum into one day and skips the older pyramid fields; this week gives each its own day, adds Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur, adds Alexandria, and leaves arrival and departure days light enough to absorb delays.

The week also changes where you sleep. Three nights in Giza make dawn at the plateau and a long museum day easy without a cross-city drive, and the move east puts you close to the metro for Tahrir, Coptic Cairo and Islamic Cairo. A shorter trip usually picks one base and pays for it in traffic.

Finally, it builds in choice. Day 6 can become a Luxor overnight if Upper Egypt matters more than the Mediterranean, and days 5 and 7 can trade places around the weekday rules.

Days 1–3: How should you pace arrival, the Pyramids and the museum?

Use day 1 to settle in and see the Nile at sunset. On day 2, be at the plateau for 07:00, go inside the Great Pyramid while it is cool and rest in the afternoon. Give day 3 entirely to the Grand Egyptian Museum, ideally a Wednesday or Saturday when galleries close at 21:00.

The plateau’s EGP 700 area ticket excludes the Great Pyramid, Khafre, Menkaure, the tomb of Meresankh III and the Workers’ Cemetery, which are ticketed separately (MoTA); the Great Pyramid costs EGP 1,000 extra and the ministry lists it from 07:00 (MoTA). The platform gives last entry at 16:00 for the plateau (egymonuments.com). With a full day, add one extra pyramid or tomb rather than all of them.

On day 3, the Grand Egyptian Museum’s ticket site lists galleries open from 09:00, until 18:00 on most days and 21:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with last entry an hour before closing. A visit includes the Tutankhamun galleries and Khufu’s Boats Museum. Break for lunch inside rather than leaving, so you keep your place in the day.

For day 1, Experience Egypt recommends a felucca for sunset or the city lights; agree the price and duration before boarding. Our Pyramids of Giza verdict suggests which interiors repay the extra ticket.

Day 4: How do you visit Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur?

Hire a car and driver for the day and start at Saqqara at 08:00, about 40 km south-west of Cairo, for the Step Pyramid and Old Kingdom tombs. Stop at Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital, then finish at Dahshur’s Red Pyramid. Aim to be back before dark, as the FCDO advises against night driving outside cities.

The ministry dates Saqqara’s Step Pyramid of Djoser to about 2686–2667 BC and describes the site as an open-air museum, with the pyramid of Unas, the Serapeum and the Imhotep Museum. It opens from 08:00 to 16:00; foreign adults pay EGP 600 for the area, or EGP 1,400 for the inclusive ticket, and a car pays EGP 25 (MoTA).

Memphis, near the village of Mit Rahina, was Egypt’s capital in the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom and a centre of the god Ptah; the ministry notes that the Greek name for Egypt derives from its temple’s ancient name, and that Giza, Saqqara and Dahshur all belong to its World Heritage necropolis (MoTA). Check the site museum’s hours on the ticket platform. At Dahshur, the ministry explains that Sneferu, first king of the 4th Dynasty, left his first pyramid there in a broken shape before building the complete Red Pyramid; it opens from 08:00 to 17:00 and costs EGP 200 for foreign adults (MoTA).

The FCDO says road accidents are common and advises against driving outside main cities at night, so leave Dahshur by mid-afternoon in winter. Agree the driver’s price, the stops and waiting time in writing before you set off.

Day 5: How do you spend a slower day at the museums and in Coptic Cairo?

Take the morning at the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, with the EGP 75 audio tour if you want a guide in your ear. After lunch, ride Line 1 from Sadat to Mar Girgis for the Coptic Museum and the Hanging Church, and finish at the civilisation museum, whose evening session runs from 18:00 to 21:00.

The Egyptian Museum, inaugurated in 1902, charges foreign adults EGP 550 (MoTA) and admits visitors until 16:00 (egymonuments.com). Cairo Metro lists Sadat for Tahrir and Mar Girgis for Coptic Cairo (Cairo Metro), where the Coptic Museum, founded in 1910, charges EGP 280 and closes its ticket window at 16:00 (MoTA).

The Hanging Church, built over the ruins of a Roman fort, opens from 09:00 to 16:00 (MoTA). The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization charges EGP 550, opens from 09:00 to 17:00 and adds an evening session from 18:00 to 21:00; the ticket platform lists that session on Fridays, so swap this day with day 7 if a Friday falls nearby.

Day 6: Is Alexandria worth a day trip from Cairo?

Yes, for a change of air and a different layer of history. Take an air-conditioned train, which Experience Egypt says can be reserved up to seven days ahead, and see the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Qaitbay Fort. Avoid Fridays, when the library is closed. If Upper Egypt appeals more, fly to Luxor instead.

Experience Egypt recommends Egypt’s air-conditioned trains for travel between Cairo and Alexandria and says seats can be reserved up to seven days in advance; it also notes that ride-hailing apps are widely used in Alexandria. The FCDO notes that there have been fatal train collisions and derailments in Egypt, so keep valuables and passports on you.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina opens its visits, museums and planetarium from 09:30 to 17:00 Sunday to Thursday and from 10:00 to 14:00 on Saturdays, and closes on Fridays; it houses four museums, including antiquities and manuscripts. Qaitbay Fort, built in 1477–1479 over the ruins of Alexandria’s lighthouse, opens from 09:00 to 20:00 and costs EGP 200 for foreign adults (MoTA).

The Luxor alternative: Experience Egypt says a 60-minute domestic flight reaches most of the country. Turn days 6 and 7 into a Luxor overnight and use our Luxor 3-day itinerary for the order of sites, then fly home from Cairo the next day.

Day 7: How do you finish in Islamic Cairo before flying?

Start at the Citadel when it opens, at 08:00 in winter or 09:00 in summer, then walk down to Sultan Hasan and al-Rifa’i. Spend the afternoon on al-Muizz Street and in Khan el-Khalili, and leave the airport run for the evening with a generous margin for traffic.

Foreign adults pay EGP 550 at the Citadel, which the ministry dates to Salah al-Din’s order of 1176 (MoTA); the platform lists last entry at 16:00 (egymonuments.com). Sultan Hasan, commissioned in 1356–1362, opens from 09:00 to 17:00 and its EGP 220 ticket includes al-Rifa’i (MoTA).

Al-Muizz Street runs between Bab al-Futuh and Bab Zuwayla, with twenty-nine monuments and an EGP 220 area ticket valid from 09:00 to 17:00 (MoTA). Cover shoulders and legs and carry a headscarf for mosques (Experience Egypt).

If your flight leaves early on day 8, move to Heliopolis for the last night; our where to stay in Cairo guide explains the airport-side options.

What will tickets cost over the week, and what should you book?

Core tickets for this week come to about EGP 4,070 for a foreign adult, before the Grand Egyptian Museum and any pyramid interiors. Book the museum on its official site, the driver for day 4 a few days ahead, and Alexandria train seats within the seven-day window. Keep everything refundable where possible.

Prices are adult foreign-visitor rates from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the ticket platform. We found no price for the Memphis open-air museum on the ministry’s page, so check it on the platform. Platform tickets are dated and non-refundable (egymonuments.com FAQ), so buy them once each day is fixed.

Tour marketplaces list Saqqara and Dahshur day trips with a driver, Alexandria day tours and Islamic Cairo walks. Compare which entry tickets are included, the pick-up time and cancellation terms; see our comparison of GetYourGuide, Viator and Klook.

How do season, Ramadan and safety advice affect a Cairo week?

November to March suits the long outdoor days at Giza, Saqqara and Dahshur; from June to September, start at opening and rest at midday. Ramadan, expected from February 2027, brings earlier last entry. The FCDO has no area warning for Cairo but reports regional tensions since July 2026, so check its advice before travel.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority’s averages run from 19.0°C highs in January to 34.8°C in July (EMA via WMO). Saqqara and Dahshur have even less shade than Giza, so in summer move day 4 to the earliest possible start. In Ramadan the platform brings Giza’s last entry to 15:30 and the Egyptian Museum’s to 15:00 (egymonuments.com), and the metro runs until 02:00 (Cairo Metro).

The FCDO’s Egypt page, updated on 4 August 2026, reports strikes and retaliatory attacks across the region since 8 July and calls the situation unpredictable. Its area warnings cover North Sinai, the Libyan border and much of the Western Desert, with listed exceptions (FCDO). It also asks visitors to avoid gatherings and to report crime to the tourist police on 126 (FCDO).

For the month-by-month picture, read best time to visit Cairo; for visas, Egypt visa on arrival; and for budgets, the Cairo destination guide.