London to Cairo is about five hours direct, and there are seasonal direct flights to Luxor. A UK package sold as a whole should be ATOL protected; a cruise booked directly with an Egyptian operator is not, so pay by credit card. Ten days is comfortable for Cairo and a four-night cruise.
From the UK, Egypt is a 5 to 5.5 hour direct flight with a 1 to 2 hour time difference — closer and easier than most people assume. A complete 10-day trip with a 4-night Nile cruise runs roughly £1,400 to £2,400 per person excluding international flights. The one thing UK travellers should understand before booking is what ATOL protection does and does not cover.
Egypt is one of the few long-haul-feeling destinations that is actually short-haul in practice. You leave Heathrow after breakfast and you are in Luxor for dinner.
| Route | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| London → Luxor | ~5h 25m | Direct with EgyptAir; seasonal charters |
| London → Cairo | ~5h | BA and EgyptAir, several daily |
| UK regional → Hurghada | ~5h 30m | easyJet, TUI — then 4h by road to Luxor |
| Manchester/Birmingham → Cairo | Via LHR or Europe | One stop |
Flying into Luxor directly is the neatest option if the schedule fits your dates — you skip Cairo entirely and board the ship the same day, or better, the day after.
Via Cairo is the more flexible route with far more frequencies, and it lets you build in the Pyramids. Cairo to Luxor or Aswan is about an hour on a domestic flight — see Cairo to Aswan.
Via Hurghada is often the cheapest way into Egypt from UK regional airports, and it works if you are combining the Nile with Red Sea time. Hurghada to Luxor is about four hours by road.
This matters and it is rarely explained properly, so we will be straight about it including where it counts against us.
ATOL protects package holidays that include a flight, sold by a UK-licensed operator. If that operator fails, you are refunded or repatriated. ABTA covers non-flight packages sold by member companies.
Booking direct with an Egyptian operator does not give you ATOL protection. We are based in Egypt, we do not hold a UK ATOL licence, and no Egyptian operator does. That is a real difference and you should factor it in.
What you get instead by booking direct: no UK operator margin on top of the Egyptian net rate, which is typically 25 to 40 percent of the difference, plus a local team on the river rather than a call centre.
What sensible travellers do:
If ATOL matters more to you than price, use a UK operator. That is a legitimate choice and we would rather you made it knowingly.
British passport holders get a $30 tourist visa, either on arrival at a bank kiosk before passport control, or online in advance at visa2egypt.gov.eg. It allows 30 days.
Your passport needs six months’ validity beyond entry and a blank page. Pay the on-arrival fee in US dollars in cash — bring clean notes.
Check the FCDO travel advice for Egypt before booking and again before flying. It also matters for insurance: most policies are void if you travel against FCDO advice. More in visa, money and arrival and is Egypt safe.
The good news for British travellers is that Egypt’s best season lines up with Britain’s worst weather.
| UK holiday | Egypt conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| October half term | 35°C, building crowds | Good |
| Christmas / New Year | 24°C, peak prices | Wonderful, expensive |
| February half term | 25°C, high season | Excellent |
| Easter | 30–35°C, peak pricing | Good, book early |
| May half term | 39°C | Hot but cheap |
| Summer holidays | 41–42°C | Only if heat-tolerant |
February half term is the sweet spot for UK families — genuinely excellent weather, in high season but not peak, and it comes at the point in the British winter when it does the most good.
Outside school holidays, November and March are the two best months of the year. Full detail in best time for a Nile cruise.
Prices below are indicative and depend heavily on the exchange rate, which has moved a lot in recent years. Everything in Egypt is quoted in US dollars, so check the rate near your travel date rather than relying on a figure read months earlier.
| Per person | Roughly |
|---|---|
| 4-night deluxe Nile cruise | £480 – £960 |
| Domestic flights within Egypt | £145 – £235 |
| 3 nights Cairo, mid-range | £265 |
| Tips, drinks, visa, extras | £80 – £175 |
| Land total, 10 days | £1,400 – £2,400 |
UK-to-Egypt return flights typically add £250 to £600 depending on season and airport. Full USD pricing is in how much a Nile cruise costs.
This is the pattern UK travel is built around and it is worth knowing even if you came here for the temples.
Charter and low-cost airlines fly UK regional airports straight into Hurghada and Marsa Alam at fares well below scheduled Cairo routes. Hurghada is about four hours by road from Luxor, Marsa Alam about five.
So the sequence that works and that almost nobody books deliberately: fly into Hurghada, transfer to Luxor, sail to Aswan, fly Aswan back to Hurghada or take the road, then finish with four or five days on the coast before flying home from the same airport you arrived at.
You get the Nile and a beach week on one charter fare, and you avoid Cairo entirely if the Pyramids are not the priority. The trade is that you skip Giza, which for a first visit is a real loss — this shape suits returning visitors better than first-timers.
Because the flight is only five hours, UK travellers can do Egypt properly in less time than Americans or Australians need.
Seven days works from the UK in a way it does not from further afield — you lose almost nothing to travel. Cairo and a short cruise, or Luxor-based with a 3-night sailing.
Ten days is the sweet spot. Three nights Cairo, a 4-night cruise, a day in Aswan, Abu Simbel. Our 10 Days Egypt Highlights is that shape.
Two weeks lets you add the Red Sea, which pairs naturally with UK charter flights into Hurghada.
Full range on our packages page, or the whole overview in our Nile cruise guide. Send us your dates and we will quote in dollars with a sterling estimate alongside.
About 5 hours to Cairo and 5 hours 25 minutes to Luxor direct from London. Regional UK airports mostly connect via London or fly direct to Hurghada.
Yes — $30, either on arrival at the airport or online in advance. It allows 30 days. Passport needs six months’ validity.
Only if you book a flight-inclusive package from a UK-licensed operator. Booking direct with an Egyptian company is not ATOL protected — pay by credit card for Section 75 cover and take insurance with supplier failure protection.
Egypt is UTC+2 — one hour ahead in British summer time, two hours ahead in winter.
November and March overall. February half term is the best school holiday option — excellent weather, high season but not peak.
Roughly £1,400 to £2,400 per person for ten days including the cruise, Cairo and internal flights, plus £250 to £600 for international flights.
Yes, EgyptAir flies London to Luxor direct in about 5 hours 25 minutes, and seasonal charters operate. Frequencies vary, so check your dates.
US dollars for tipping and larger payments, plus Egyptian pounds for small purchases. Sterling is accepted less readily and at a worse rate.
Send us your dates and a rough budget — a specialist replies with three ships across categories, live availability and a written price. No online payment.
Get 3 options Browse all ships
Written by
Magdy Fattouh
38 guides published on this site
Magdy Fattouh is a Cairo University history graduate and the writer behind the guides on this site. Over 13 years he has researched and written about Egypt's history, its monuments and how to travel to them — from the pharaohs and the temples to month-by-month planning, ship comparisons and day-by-day itineraries. He speaks English and Arabic, and reviews every guide here for accuracy before it is published.
Read more by Magdy Fattouh →
Planning
Egypt looks different in every season. Here's exactly what to expect — weather, crowds, prices, and the local events worth timing your trip around.
Planning
Ten to seventeen hours depending on your coast, and a seven to ten hour time shift. Why twelve days beats seven, how to sequence Cairo, and what Thanksgiving…
Planning
Thirteen to twenty hours with one stop, and a seven to ten hour time shift. March break lands in one of the two best months on the Nile…
No account, no payment, no obligation. Tell us the basics and a named specialist does the rest.
We value your privacy
We use essential cookies to make this site work. With your permission we also use Google Analytics cookies to understand how the site is used, so we can improve it. We never use cookies for advertising. Cookie Policy
