3 Days Tour Package to Siwa Oasis from Cairo

Your detailed trip plan

A suggested sequence — every flight, hotel and day can be changed.

• 1Destinations
• 4Transport

1. 06 Nov

   Cairo

   Stay from
   

   • Egypt
   • 2 nights

   Cairo, one of the largest cities in both Africa and the Middle East, is the capital of Egypt. Cairo has been a centre of great importance to many civilisations, cultures and religions. From Pharaonic and Greco-Roman to Ottoman and European, and passing by Jewish, Christian, and Islamic, each of its identities has left a strong imprint on Cairo, thus making it one of the most fascinating cities in the world. The Giza Plateau, that includes the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, is the only remaining monuments of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the country's most famous tourist attraction. The sheer mass of the pyramids is awe inspiring. Islamic Cairo, the centre of historic Cairo, is best done on foot. Located east of downtown, it is full of charming little mosques and water fountains. The most important sites to visit are the Citadel, Mohamed Ali Mosque, Khan el Khalili, the main bazaar, some historic mosques and displays of medieval architecture, as well as some of Cairo's Turkish baths or Hammams. No visit to Cairo is complete without seeing the Egyptian Museum. Exotic atmosphere, chaotic traffic, thousands of minarets, noise, charming people, Cairo is a fascinating city. Few cities in the world surpass Cairo in number of monuments or architectural styles. Cairo is not an ordinary city, Cairo is a whole world.
2. 06 Nov

   3 Days Tour Package to Siwa Oasis from Cairo

   Guided tour
   

   • days 1–3

   Day 1: Cairo to El Alamein and on to Siwa Oasis (Light Lunch; D)

   Your Siwa adventure begins with an early pick-up from your hotel in Cairo or Giza at 05:00 am - an early start, so it's worth arranging a breakfast box from your hotel the night before. The drive west covers 259 km to El Alamein, roughly three hours on the road with a coffee break along the way, arriving at El Alamein around 08:30. This coastal town played a pivotal role in the Second World War, when the Axis powers sought to dominate Egypt and cut Britain's sea routes to its colonial empire; the fighting here began in 1940 with the Italian invasion via Libya. You'll have time to explore the small El Alamein Museum, built in 1965 from battlefield debris and filled with uniforms, weapons, flags and photographs, before continuing to the El Alamein War Cemetery, designed by Sir Herbert Worthington, where thousands of Commonwealth soldiers are honored. The German War Memorial and the elegant white marble Italian Memorial, the largest structure at El Alamein, are also visited along the way. A light lunch is served en route as you continue toward Siwa Oasis. As the day winds down, enjoy the sunset at Fatnas Lake, a small island on Birket Siwa reached on foot or by bike, where views of Gebel Bayda and Hamra frame the water beautifully. Dinner is served at a restaurant in Siwa before you retire to the Ghaliet Ecolodge, a unique spa lodge built among palm trees near the Amoun Temple, for an amazing first night in Siwa.

   
   

   Day 2: Siwa Oasis Sightseeing and Desert Camping (B, L, D)

   After breakfast at the hotel, pick-up at 07:00 am kicks off a full day discovering Siwa's highlights. The morning starts at the Temple of the Oracle, also known as the Alexander the Great Temple, where Alexander the Great is believed to have sought confirmation that he was the son of Zeus after his long desert journey to Siwa Oasis. Next comes a stop at the salty lake, where the hyper-saline water - similar in properties to Jordan's Dead Sea - lets you float effortlessly; care is needed to keep the water out of your eyes, and a bottle of mineral water for rinsing off afterward is recommended. Around 11:00, the tour continues to Cleopatra's Bath, the legendary spring where Cleopatra herself is said to have swum, followed by the Temple of Umm Ubaydah (Amun Temple), built by the pharaoh Nectanebo of the 30th Dynasty just 200 meters from the Temple of the Oracle. A Siwan lunch awaits at Abdo restaurant around midday, before the adventure shifts to the Great Sand Sea by 4x4 jeep, home to some of Egypt's best sandboarding dunes. The day closes with a visit to the hot and cold springs of Bir Waheed, traditional Bedouin tea at sunset, and a barbecue dinner under the stars at your desert camp (a hotel stay in Siwa can be arranged instead if preferred).

   
   

   Day 3: Shali Fortress, Gebel Al-Mawta and the Return to Cairo (B, L)

   Breakfast at the camp at 07:00 sets you up for the drive back into Siwa Oasis to visit the Shali Fortress, a maze of mud-brick buildings built on a hill in the 13th century that served as the heart of Siwan life for nearly 800 years, reinforced with the region's abundant salt deposits. From there, the tour continues to the Mountain of the Dead (Gebel Al-Mawta), a conical hill just north of Shali riddled with tombs from the twenty-sixth Dynasty, Ptolemaic and Roman periods - the Si Amun Tomb, with its exquisite painting of the goddess Nut, is considered the finest of the group. The long drive back to Cairo passes through Marsa Matrouh, Egypt's Mediterranean coastal town known for its white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters, where legend holds that Cleopatra once bathed. Lunch is served here at Magdy restaurant, a seafood specialist, before the final stretch back to the capital, with arrival in Cairo expected around 20:00, bringing this immersive desert journey to a close.

   
   

   B = Breakfast | L = Lunch | D = Dinner