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Karnak Temple entrance with sphinx statues

Issue · The Calendar ·

The dates that change which Egypt you're booking.

The Nile fleet fills months before Christmas and runs half-empty in July. The Pyramids are 10°C at dawn in January and 35°C at dawn in July. A six-minute total eclipse passes directly over Luxor in August 2027. These are the windows the Cairo desk plans around. Each entry states what works and when we'd steer you to a different month.

Five entries in this issue

Contents.

  1. 01

    Dec 23 → Jan 2

    Christmas & New Year On The Nile

    Christmas Day aboard a Nile ship at the end of the world's oldest river. Boxing Day at the Pyramids in 20°C sunshine. New Year's Eve fireworks over Karnak. The festive fortnight half our UK clients book by May for the December coming.

    Peak season · Book early

  2. 02

    2 August 2027

    The 2027 Total Solar Eclipse

    Six minutes twenty-three of totality directly over Luxor, the longest land totality of the 21st century. The 1st-to-3rd August hotel allocation is the bottleneck. Worth registering interest now.

    Once-in-a-century · Register interest

  3. 03

    Easter Holidays · Spring

    Easter In Egypt

    Lighter on coach groups. Perfect April weather. Sham El-Nessim – the Egyptian spring picnic the whole country celebrates the Monday after Coptic Easter. The underrated shoulder fortnight we book most for British families.

    Late March 2027 or early May 2027 · Western or Coptic Easter

  4. 04

    Jul → Aug · School Holidays

    Summer Holidays – honestly

    Luxor runs 46°C in August. Red Sea snorkelling, Cairo at sunrise and sunset, Alexandria for the Mediterranean breeze. What a British summer Egypt holiday actually looks like when school holidays leave no choice.

    Low season · A different Egypt

  5. 05

    Oct / Feb · 1 week

    Half-Term In Egypt

    A week of British half-term: Cairo, the Pyramids, a four-night Nile cruise, children back at the school gates Monday morning. The shortest Egypt holiday that doesn't feel rushed.

    Book a year ahead for October half-term

Carved hieroglyphs on a Karnak wall

Egypt's calendar is its own thing. The wall above is at Karnak, three thousand years older than ours.

Travel window not on this list?

Drop Suhaila a note with your window. A proper reply comes back within a day.

Month, length, who's travelling. The note that comes back will be a yes, a not-quite, or a 'shift it a fortnight and the whole trip changes.'

Ask the Cairo desk