Egypt — where to go and when
4 destinations covered
Egypt enters this site through Cairo, which is a city of the living long before it is a gateway to the dead. A metropolis counted in the millions, a river that organises everything, medieval lanes still working as workshops, Coptic churches, Ottoman mosques, and on the western edge a plateau of pyramids that the suburbs now reach. For a traveller counting every euro, the country is close to unbeatable on paper: our index puts costs dramatically below French levels, so food, transport and entry fees all shrink at once. The catch is not money but friction. Cairo is loud, dense and negotiated rather than signposted; crossing a road is a skill, and every service comes with a conversation attached. Travellers who find that exhausting will have a hard week. Those who accept it get one of the deepest historical stacks anywhere, at a price that lets them stay long enough to actually read it.
When to go
Avoid high summer and the calendar opens up. Our figures give Cairo a long comfortable stretch covering January, March, April, October, November and December, because July climbs to 36.3 °C by day and sightseeing on an exposed plateau stops being reasonable. Even the coldest month still reaches 19.2 °C, so winter here means pleasant days and cool nights rather than cold. Rain is close to irrelevant: 7 rainy days a year and 16.7 mm of annual rainfall. Shade, water and an early start matter far more than any raincoat.
The places we cover, side by side
| Place | Favourable months | Warmest month, avg. high (°C) | Coldest month, avg. high (°C) | Rainy days a year (≥ 1 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aswan | January, February, December | 43.6 | 25.0 | 1 |
| Sharm El Sheikh | January, February, March, November, December | 39.6 | 23.1 | 2 |
| Cairo | January, March, April, October, November, December | 36.3 | 19.2 | 7 |
| Luxor | January, February, March, December | 42.0 | 23.8 | 0 |
Figures measured at the weather station nearest each place, then averaged over the warmest and the coldest months of the year — not over a fixed calendar season. Each destination page carries its own month-by-month table, its station and its sample size.
Getting around
An underground network crosses Cairo and is by far the quickest way through traffic that otherwise sets its own timetable; it has carriages reserved for women. Above ground, ride-hailing and metered taxis are cheap by European standards. For the Nile valley, sleeper trains and domestic flights both run south towards Luxor and Aswan, the train being slower and far less expensive. The main airport lies 16 km from the centre, with a second field 35 km out.
Budget
Country price level compared with France : −82 %
Price index for restaurants and hotels, France = 1000, from European purchasing power parities. It is a country average: it says nothing about one hotel in particular.
Destinations in Egypt
AswanAswan marks the end of navigable Egypt, where the Nile splits around granite islands and the desert closes in on both banks. It is smaller and slower than…
Sharm El SheikhSharm El Sheikh occupies the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, where the Gulf of Aqaba opens into the Red Sea. It is a purpose-built resort town strung…
CairoCairo is not a pretty city and does not try to be. It is enormous, loud, dusty and continuously awake, and the pyramids sit at the edge of…
LuxorLuxor occupies both banks of the Nile in Upper Egypt, where the valley narrows between desert cliffs. The east bank holds the living town and two enormous temple…Frequently asked questions
How many days should Cairo get?
Three full days is the honest minimum: one for the pyramid plateau and its museum, one for Islamic Cairo and the bazaar quarter, one for Coptic Cairo and the riverside. A fourth lets you slow down or reach Saqqara and Dahshur, which are older, quieter and, for many visitors, more affecting than the famous plateau itself.
Is Egypt genuinely cheap for a traveller?
Yes, and by a very wide margin on our cost index. Meals, local transport and entry tickets all sit far below French levels, which means a longer trip for the same budget. The exceptions are imported goods, international flights and anything sold at a monument gate. Agreeing a price before a service begins is normal practice, not rudeness.
Updated on 12 September 2026