The guide
How to choose a Cairo layover tour that gets you back in time: tour types, 2026 price bands, what is included, where to book, the questions to ask and the return-cutoff rule that should drive everything.
The honest layover maths for Cairo: how much of your connection you really get, when you can leave the airport, Egypt's free 96-hour transit visa, what happens to your bags and when EgyptAir pays for a hotel.
Which airlines use Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at Cairo, how confident anyone can be about it, how to confirm yours, and how long it really takes to move between terminals by people mover, airbridge or bus.
Everything about Cairo International Airport in one place: which terminal you are in, the arrival sequence and visa booths, getting into the city, departure-day security, layovers, sleep pods and lounges.
Five days, two cities: the pyramids, the GEM and medieval Cairo first, then two unhurried nights in Alexandria, with 2026 train fares for foreigners and what to skip.
Five days in Cairo with children, hour by hour: one big sight each morning, pools and parks in the afternoon, real 2026 family ticket costs, and what to swap for toddlers and teenagers.
Fourteen days with a change of gear in the middle: five days in Cairo, six on the Nile including Abu Simbel, then the Red Sea, the White Desert or Siwa.
The best-balanced Egypt trip: four days in Cairo, a four-night Luxor to Aswan cruise, and Abu Simbel at the end. With an honest account of what a Nile cruise is like.
A week that runs one way south: three days in Cairo, two in Luxor, two in Aswan, flying home from Aswan. With the sleeper-train decision settled and 2026 costs.
The fifth day is the choice: Alexandria on the Mediterranean, Fayoum and the Valley of the Whales, or a deliberately slow day in Cairo itself. All three compared honestly.
