We are staying in Cairo for about 3 nights, then on to Luxor and Aswan for as yet undetermined amount of time. I am in early stages of planning and looking to Fodorites for some experienced advice
1) advice on transportation to Luxor…I am aware it is about a 10 hour drive, but would like to be able to spend a few days along the route to explore. Is it advisable to rent a car and self tour
2) I read where some of you have had a guide in Cairo and different areas. Any links to reputable guides would be appreciated
3) we would like to take a Nile sailing excursion - recommend a sailing company, and should we go out of Cairo or Luxor
4) further to #3…would you suggest we take a sailboat to Aswan from Luxor
Today is only day one of planning our February trip, so I will have many more questions!

In only 2 full days in Cairo, you can see almost nothing.
You will probably have to chose between the city and the pyramid area (Grand Egyptian Museum, pyramids of Gize, Dashur, Saqqarah etc)

"transportation to Luxor… would like to be able to spend a few days along the route to explore"
Define first the places you want to visit and decide then about transport. About everything in the Nile Valley can easily be reached by train.
There is no train to Fayoum Oasis, however.

Most Nile cruises (sailboat or MS) start at either Luxor or Assuan.
Count about 1 week and 2000 USD/pax for a sailbaot cruise from Luxor to Assuan (with guided visits)
There are also boat cruises between Assuan and Abu Simbel.

Thank you neckervd……we are coming back to Cairo at the end of our visit for more days of exploring. We aren't interested in the train; thinking more private car so we can stop at wherever catches our interest. Have you hired a private guide for Cairo a/o Luxor?

From my blog: “Ahmed Gamal, Egypt Tour Guide Extraordinaire,
can be reached by email, [email protected].”

https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/in-egypt-islamic-cairo

Link to all episodes at the bottom of the page (for some reason Fodors isn’t allowing me to paste that one).

My trip was in 2017 so Ahmed may or may not still be available. Certainly worth a try.

Thank you mmePerdu
I have sent Ahmed an email and I can get your episode links to Egypt . Perfect!!

yeah sounds like a fun trip my aunt did almost the same route a few months back

for the drive she said renting a car was kinda stressful traffic rules there are more like suggestions so a private driver was way easier and not that expensive

for guides she used a local guy in cairo she found through her hotel and he was super solid so maybe ask your hotel too they usually know legit people

for the nile sailing most folks do it from luxor my cousin did a felucca from luxor to aswan and loved it super chill and way better than starting from cairo

id plan it that way honestly saves time and stress and you still see all the good stuff

Thanks, yegc4029. We will definitely not be driving ourselves, have found a driver for Luxor to Aswan and are flying Cairo to Luxor, then Aswan back to Cairo. Much less to worry about. Thanks for your tips!