adminIf you're planning a week in Egypt but don't want to spend every single day rushing around on excursions, this is exactly how we spent our seven nights.
We wanted a bit of everything from this holiday – plenty of time relaxing around the pool and enjoying our all-inclusive hotel, but also the chance to actually get out and experience Egypt.
During the week, we flew to Cairo for the day, visited the Pyramids and Sphinx, spent a day exploring Eden Island and snorkelling, tried different restaurants and, of course, had plenty of much-needed pool days in between.
Here's exactly what our seven-night Egypt itinerary looked like.
Thursday 13th – Arriving in Egypt
We landed in Egypt at around 7pm, and our transfer from the airport to the hotel took approximately 25–30 minutes.
After arriving at the hotel, checking in and getting settled into our room, we were able to grab a late dinner.
Then it was pretty much time for bed ready for our first proper day in Egypt!
Friday 14th – Exploring the Hotel & Our First Pool Day
We purposely hadn't planned anything for our first full day.
Instead, we spent the morning exploring the hotel, figuring out where everything was and getting familiar with the resort.
After that, it was officially time to start the holiday properly!
We spent the afternoon sunbathing, relaxing and enjoying our first proper day in the Egyptian sunshine.
Having a completely free first day was definitely a good decision – especially considering what we had planned for the following morning...
Saturday 15th – Cairo by Plane
This was the BIG day of the holiday.
Our pick-up from the hotel was at an eye-watering 3:50am for our day trip to Cairo by plane.
It was a very early start, but thankfully our hotel offered an on-the-go breakfast bag, so we could grab something to eat before leaving.
We flew to Cairo and spent the day visiting some of Egypt's most iconic sights, including the Pyramids, Great Sphinx of Giza and The Grand Egyptian Museum, alongside several other stops throughout the day.
We also visited a papyrus-making shop and a perfume and scent shop, added a horse and carriage ride at the Pyramids and took a cruise along the River Nile.
It was an incredibly long day, but absolutely worth it.
We finally arrived back at our hotel at around 10:50pm – almost 19 hours after we'd left!
I've written a separate post all about our Cairo trip, including everything we did, our experience with the tour guide and whether I'd recommend flying to Cairo for the day.
Sunday 16th – Pool Day, Pink Pool Party & Makai Tukai
After getting back from Cairo at almost 11pm the night before, Sunday was very much needed as a more relaxed day!
We spent loads of time around the pool, sunbathing and enjoying the hotel without having to be anywhere at a ridiculous time.
In the afternoon, there was a pink-themed pool party, where guests from our hotel and the sister hotel came together.
It was such a fun way to spend the afternoon and definitely made what we'd planned as a chilled pool day feel a little more exciting.
That evening, we got ready and headed over to the sister hotel for our 7pm reservation at Makai Tukai.
We also took some time to walk outside the hotel and have a little look around the surrounding area.
It ended up being the perfect day after such a full-on trip to Cairo – plenty of pool time, a really fun afternoon and then dinner somewhere different in the evening.
Monday 17th – Sunrise, Pool Day & Pomodoro
We started Monday with an early wake-up to watch the sunrise over the sea and it was absolutely spectacular.
Definitely worth dragging ourselves out of bed for!
Afterwards, we had another proper holiday day, spending most of our time around the pool, sunbathing and relaxing.
After a full day in the sun, we got ready for our 7pm reservation at Pomodoro.
It was a simple day, but honestly one of those perfect all-inclusive holiday days – an incredible sunrise, plenty of pool time and good food to finish it off.
Tuesday 18th – Eden Island Boat Trip & Snorkelling
Tuesday was another excursion day, with our boat trip starting at 8am.
Our first stop was Eden Island, where we had plenty of time to swim, relax and enjoy the island.
We also had a professional photoshoot while we were there, which was such a lovely extra and meant we came away with some amazing photos from the day.
After Eden Island, we headed back out on the boat and stopped at two different diving and snorkelling spots.
We chose to snorkel at both stops, and this ended up being one of my favourite experiences of the trip.
I'm not the most confident swimmer, so I was a little nervous about snorkelling in deeper water.
One of the guides was absolutely amazing and swam alongside us with a life ring for us to hold onto. It meant I could still properly snorkel and see everything underwater while having the reassurance of both the ring and the guide right there with us.
If you're not a particularly confident swimmer either, this made such a difference.
I didn't feel like I had to miss out on the experience just because I wasn't comfortable swimming completely independently in the open water.
Dinner was included on the boat, so we could eat onboard as part of the trip before eventually heading back to the hotel.
Once we were back at the hotel, we got ready for our 7pm reservation at Oscar, which was a lovely way to finish such a busy day.
Between Eden Island, the photoshoot, swimming and getting to snorkel at two different spots, this was easily one of the most memorable days of our holiday.
Wednesday 19th – 42°C, Pool Time & Pomodoro
Wednesday was officially the hottest day of our holiday, with temperatures reaching highs of around 42°C!
Safe to say, this was not the day for doing too much.
We had a very pool-heavy day, spending plenty of time cooling off in the water, relaxing in the shade and making sure we had lots of cold drinks throughout the day.
With the heat being so intense, we were very glad we'd left this day free rather than booking another excursion.
It gave us the chance to properly slow down and enjoy the hotel on our final full day.
That evening, we headed back to Pomodoro for our 7pm reservation.
We'd already eaten there earlier in the week and enjoyed it so much that we were more than happy to go back for our final evening.
It was a very chilled final full day – exactly what we needed in 42-degree heat!
Thursday 20th – One Last Morning in the Sun & Home Time
And just like that, it was our final day in Egypt!
With our transfer not until 4:55pm, we still had plenty of time to enjoy the hotel rather than feeling like the holiday was over as soon as we woke up.
We spent the morning relaxing on the sunbeds and soaking up the last bit of Egyptian sunshine before heading back up to our room to shower, change and get ready for travelling home.
Once we were ready, we spent the rest of our time relaxing in the shade around the hotel bars with some drinks before it was finally time to leave.
Our transfer picked us up at 4:55pm, ready for our 8pm flight home.
Having a later flight was actually really nice because we still got to enjoy a good chunk of our final day.
It felt like we managed to squeeze every last bit out of the holiday before heading to the airport!
Our 7-Night Egypt Itinerary at a Glance
Thursday: Arrived in Egypt and late dinner
Friday: Explored the hotel and pool day
Saturday: Cairo by plane
Sunday: Pool day, pink pool party and Makai Tukai
Monday: Sunrise, pool day and Pomodoro
Tuesday: Eden Island, snorkelling and Oscar
Wednesday: Pool day and Pomodoro
Thursday: Final morning in the sun and flight home
Was Seven Nights in Egypt Enough?
For this trip, I genuinely think we got the balance pretty spot on.
We wanted to see more of Egypt rather than spending the entire week inside the resort, but we also didn't want to book excursions every single day and come home feeling like we needed another holiday to recover!
Having our bigger excursion days broken up with pool days worked perfectly.
Our Cairo trip alone lasted almost 19 hours, so having absolutely nothing planned for the following morning was VERY appreciated.
The same went for our Eden Island boat trip. We had a full day out swimming and snorkelling, followed by a completely free day where temperatures happened to reach around 42°C – so we were very glad we'd left some flexibility in our plans.
For us, two big excursions during a seven-night stay felt like the sweet spot.
We still got to experience some incredible parts of Egypt, from standing in front of the Pyramids to snorkelling in the sea, without sacrificing the relaxing all-inclusive holiday we'd booked.
What Would We Do With More Time in Egypt?
Although I think we fitted a lot into our seven nights without making the holiday feel too busy, there were definitely a few more experiences I would have loved to do if we'd had longer in Egypt.
The biggest one would be a trip to Luxor. We chose Cairo as our big sightseeing trip this time, but if we'd had more days, Luxor would definitely have been next on my list.
I also really wanted to do a desert buggy tour. It would have been something completely different from our Cairo and boat trips and is definitely one I'd look at booking if we returned.
Another experience I'd love to do is a hot air balloon ride. Because we travelled during the heat of summer, these weren't running while we were there, but they're something I'd absolutely consider if we visited Egypt during the cooler months.
So, if I were planning a longer Egypt trip, my extra wish list would definitely include Luxor, a desert buggy experience and a hot air balloon ride.
Seven nights was enough for the type of holiday we wanted this time, but there's still plenty more of Egypt I'd love to come back and experience.
Would I Recommend This Itinerary?
Definitely.
If you're someone who wants a mixture of adventure and relaxation, I'd plan your Egypt holiday in a similar way.
Rather than booking excursions on consecutive days, leave at least one pool or hotel day between the bigger trips where possible.
It gives you time to recover, actually enjoy the resort you've paid for and leaves some flexibility if you're tired or the weather is particularly hot.
Some of my favourite memories from the holiday weren't necessarily the biggest planned activities either.
Watching the sunrise over the sea, spending the afternoon at a pink pool party, snorkelling despite not being a confident swimmer and simply sitting around the pool with a cold drink are all part of what made the week so good.
We managed to see some bucket-list sights, have a couple of amazing excursions and still come home feeling like we'd actually been on holiday.
And for seven nights in Egypt, I don't think we could've asked for a much better balance.
