Hurghada Sightseeing Excursions

This subcategory exhibits all trips, excursions, and tours related to history and culture. Indeed, it includes this activity of sightseeing and exploring the secrets of the past. These sightseeing excursions start from Hurghada and head mainly to Egypt’s sites and monuments. Specifically, these tours go to these monuments built during the Ancient and Roman periods. You cannot miss seeing the pyramids in Cairo or the numerous temples in Luxor! It is time to do this history-based activity while staying in Hurghada! It is the gate to all the historical monuments and attractions in Egypt.

Top-Rated Attractions & Places to Visit in Egypt

Home of the ancient Pharaohs, Egypt is a destination full of dazzling temples and tombs that wow all who visit. It’s not all historical treasures and tourist attractions, though. With vast tracts of the desert for 4WD adventures, the Red Sea’s world-class coral reefs and wrecks for divers, and cruising on the famed Nile River, there are plenty of things to do in Egypt for all types of travellers.

Beach lovers head to the Sinai or the Red Sea Coast to soak up the sun, while archaeology fans will have a field day in Luxor.

Cairo is the megalopolis that can’t be beaten for city slickers, while Siwa Oasis and the southern town of Aswan offer a slice of the slow pace of the countryside.

With so much to see and do, Egypt offers visitors a chance to create itineraries that combine culture, adventure, and relaxation all on one trip.

Plan your sightseeing with our list of Egypt’s top attractions and places.

Pyramids of Giza

The last surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza, is one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks.

Having awed travellers down through the ages, these tombs of the Pharaohs Cheops (Khufu), Chephren (Khafre), and Mycerinus (Menkaure), guarded by the enigmatic Sphinx, are usually top of most visitor’s lists of tourist attractions to see at in Egypt and often the first sight they head to after landing.

Today, sitting on the desert edge of Cairo’s sprawl, these megalithic memorials to dead pharaohs are still as wondrous a sight as they ever were and an undeniable highlight of any Egypt trip.

Luxor’s Temples & Tombs

Famed for the Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple, and the Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut, the Nile-side town of Luxor in Upper Egypt has a glut of tourist attractions.

This is ancient Thebes, the power base of the New Kingdom pharaohs, and home to more sights than most can see on one visit.

Luxor’s east bank is home to the modern city, with its vibrant souq; the two temples of Karnak and Luxor; and the museum. The west bank’s lush farmland and barren cliffs are where the vast majority of Luxor’s tourist attractions sit, with so many tombs and temple sights that it has been called the biggest open-air museum in the world.

Spend a few days here exploring the colourful wall art of the tombs and gazing in awe at the colossal columns in the temples. You’ll see why Luxor continues to fascinate historians and archaeologists.

Aswan

Egypt’s most tranquil town is Aswan, set upon the winding curves of the Nile. Backed by orange-hued dunes, this is the perfect place to stop and unwind for a few days and soak up the chilled-out atmosphere.

Take the river ferry across to Elephantine Island and stroll the colourful streets of the Nubian villages. Then ride a camel to the desert monastery of St. Simeon on Aswan’s east bank. Afterwards, relax in one of the riverboat restaurants while watching the lateen-sailed feluccas drift past.

Make sure to jump aboard a felucca at sunset to sail around Aswan’s islands. This is, by far, Aswan’s most popular activity and the most relaxing way to take in the local sights.

There are plenty of historic sites here and numerous temples nearby, including Philae Temple on its island, but one of Aswan’s most popular things to do is simply kicking back and watching the river life go by.

Abu Simbel

Even in a country adorned with temples, Abu Simbel is something special. This is Ramses II’s great temple, adorned with colossal statuary standing guard outside and with an interior sumptuously decorated with wall paintings.

Justly famous for its megalithic proportions, Abu Simbel is also known for the incredible engineering feat by UNESCO in the 1960s, which saw the entire temple move from its original setting to save it from disappearing under the rising water of the Aswan Dam.

Today, exploring Abu Simbel is just as much about admiring the triumph of this international effort to save the temple complex as it is about gaping in wonder at Ramses II’s awe-inspiring building works.

Islamic Cairo

The atmospheric, narrow lanes of the capital’s Islamic Cairo district are full of mosques, madrassas (Islamic schools of learning), and monuments dating from the Fatimid to the Mameluke eras.

This is where you’ll find the labyrinth shopping souq of Khan el-Khalili, where coppersmiths and artisans still have their tiny workshops, and stalls are laden with ceramics, textiles, spice, and perfume.

Surrounding the market is a muddle of roads, home to some of the most beautiful preserved architecture of the old Islamic empires.

There is a wealth of history here to explore. Visit Al-Azhar Mosque and the dazzling Sultan Hassan Mosque, and climb up to the roof of the ancient medieval gate of Bab Zuweila for the best minaret-speckled panoramas across the district.

South Sinai

Egypt’s South Sinai region, on the Sinai Peninsula, offers a beach for every type of traveller.

Sharm el-Sheikh is a European-style resort town packed full of luxury hotels, international restaurants, and bags of entertainment options. A favourite with Europeans on winter-sun vacations, many resorts here cater to families on one- or two-week sun-and-sand breaks.

Dahab is a low-key beach town with a budget-traveller heart, which is just as much about desert excursions and adventures as the sea. It’s mainly known for its cheap dive-package deals and lagoon beach area, where windsurfing and kitesurfing are the top activity.

Up the coast, between the port town of Nuweiba and the border town of Taba, are the bamboo hut retreats that offer complete get-away-from-it-all respites from life and back-to-basics beach life.

Saqqara

Everyone’s heard of Giza’s Pyramids, but they’re not Egypt’s only pyramids. Day-tripping distance from Cairo, Saqqara is a vast cemetery of tombs and pyramids utilised during every era of Pharaonic rule.

It’s best known for its Old Kingdom Step Pyramid, which shows how the architects of Ancient Egypt finally advanced their engineering knowledge to create a proper pyramid shape.

There’s much more to see beyond the Step Pyramid, though, with some of the surrounding tombs, such as the Mastaba of Ti, showcasing some of the finest tomb paintings you’ll see in the country.

Nearby, the pyramid site of Dahshur is home to the Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid, which should be included in any Saqqara visit.

Egyptian Museum

A treasure trove of the Pharaonic world, Cairo’s Egyptian Museum is one of the world’s significant museum collections. The faded pink mansion in downtown Cairo is home to many exhibits.

It’s a higgledy-piggledy place, with little labelling on offer and chronological order severely lacking. Instead, every corner you turn here is home to some beautiful ancient art or sculpture, which would be the highlight of any other museum.

The museum’s star collection is the golden treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Travellers should note that the Egyptian Museum’s swag of riches is being transferred to the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, near the pyramids, which is tentatively due to open (after years of delays) in November 2022.

The GEM will finally provide this world-class collection with a worthy showcase. The entirety of Tutankhamun’s treasures, which have been stored for years, will eventually be entirely on display.

White Desert

Egypt’s kookiest natural wonder is White Desert National Park, out in the Western Desert, just south of Bahariya Oasis. Here, surreally shaped chalk pinnacles and huge boulders loom over the desert plateau, creating a scene that looks like icebergs have found themselves stranded amid a landscape of sand.

This highly scenic environment looks like something out of a science fiction movie. It is a favourite destination for 4WD desert trips and overnight camping, both easiest organised in Bahariya Oasis.

For desert fans and adventurers, this is the ultimate weird playground, while anybody who’s had their fill of temples and tombs will enjoy this spectacular natural scenery.

Alexandria

Alexandria has a history that not many others can match.

Founded by Alexander the Great, home of Cleopatra, and a razzmatazz renegade city of the Mediterranean for much of its life, this seafront city has an appealing days-gone-by atmosphere that can’t be beaten.

Although today, there are few historical remnants of its illustrious past left to see, Alexandria’s long seafront Corniche road leading to its fort (sitting on the site where its famous ancient lighthouse once sat) remains a favourite summer destination to capture cooling sea breezes for Egyptians and foreign visitors alike.

Underwater archaeological projects here have imbued Alexandria’s museums with exciting exhibits. The modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a contemporary interpretation of Alexandria’s famed ancient library, and the handful of historical sights in town include an atmospheric catacombs site.

Abydos Temple

The Temple of Osiris in Abydos is one of Ancient Egypt’s most fascinating artistic treasures.

The temple, begun by Seti I, sits amid a vast necropolis site where archaeological excavations are ongoing. There are various other temple remnants to see here, but for most visitors, the Temple of Osiris is the main reason to visit.

Its hypostyle halls, graced by papyrus-headed columns, contain some of the finest relief work in Egypt, with various scenes portraying the pharaoh and the gods of Ancient Egypt.

As the temple lies north of Luxor, it isn’t on the main Nile cruise ship route, so it receives much fewer visitors than the temple sites in Luxor itself and the Nile-side temples to the south. This means you are often lucky enough to wander through the temple’s halls with only a few other visitors.

Siwa Oasis

Sitting in isolation in the western corner of the Western Desert, Siwa is the tranquil tonic to the hustle of Egypt’s cities. This gorgeous little oasis, surrounded by date palm plantations and numerous hot-water springs, is one of the Western Desert’s most picturesque spots.

Siwa town is centred around the ruins of a vast mud-brick citadel known as the Fortress of Shali, which dominates the view. At the same time, various temple remnants, including the Temple of the Oracle, where Alexander the Great is said to have come to receive advice, are scattered throughout the wider oasis area.

This is a top spot to wind down and go slow for a few days and an excellent base to plan adventures into the surrounding desert.

St. Catherine’s Monastery

One of the oldest monasteries in the world, St. Catherine’s, stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, amid the desert mountains of the Sinai Peninsula, where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments.

This desert monastery is home to an incredible collection of religious iconography, art, and manuscripts (some of which can be seen in the on-site museum) and the burning bush.

For most visitors, a trip to St. Catherine’s also involves a hike up Mount Sinai to see sunrise or sunset. Take the camel path for the easy route, or climb the famous Steps of Repentance for better views.

Coptic Cairo

The Cairo district, known as Coptic Cairo, is one of the most important Christian sites in the country.

Originally the Fortress of Babylon, dating back to the Achaemenid Empire’s conquest of Egypt in 525 BCE, this district is home to Cairo’s oldest surviving church, synagogue, and mosque, as well as the excellent Coptic Museum, which holds the world’s most extensive collection of Coptic Christian art and antiquities.

A section of the Fortress of Babylon’s walls, which were repaired and expanded under Roman rule, is also still standing and is the entrance into the district.

Make sure to visit the Hanging Church, which holds a fine collection of icons and is built half over the Roman-era water wheel (hence the church’s name). Then thread your way down the narrow alley to the Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus. According to local tradition, it was built atop where the Holy Family with the infant Jesus lived in the refuge after fleeing King Herod.

Nearby, the Ben Ezra Synagogue is famous for being where the Geniza documents cache was discovered.

A short walk away is the Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-As, built by the Arab Muslim army commander (and later, the first governor of Egypt) after conquering Egypt.

Destination of Sightseeing Tours from Hurghada

For pleasure, tourists have an excellent opportunity to do various sightseeing activities and history-related trips. You can comfortably travel to the country’s widely-spread tombs, temples, and pyramids. Landious Travel organises sightseeing excursions in Hurghada to tourist destinations nationwide.

These history-related tours head to different historical destinations all over Egypt. They reach all the Egyptian governorates in the south of Egypt and three central governorates in the north.

Luxor Tours from Hurghada

Nevertheless, the primary impressions of tourists await in the legendary Luxor – where Egyptian civilisation flourished. The excursion plan, as a rule, includes a visit to the ancient Egyptian monuments, a descent along the Nile and tasting local dishes.

For luck, Hurghada lies close to the country’s southern cities. Also, it is not that far from the northern ones. This unique location of Hurghada makes it easy to do sightseeing tours to the south of Egyptian cities. For example, you can travel to Qena, Sohag, Luxor, and Aswan in the south. Qena is the nearest city where tourists can wander in these impressive temples of Dendera.

In the meantime, Hurghada is far 280 kilometres from the famous city of Luxor. There are numerous historical attractions in Luxor – Karnak temples and Luxor temple on the eastern bank of the Nile River. Across the Nile lie the monuments, temples and tombs of Luxor Necropolis. This necropolis combines the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. It is an open-air museum where you can see these vast temples and mysterious tombs. Besides, tourists can reach Aswan from Hurghada.

Cairo Tours from Hurghada

Cairo is the second most popular location. The path to the state’s capital is not short – the cities are 500 kilometres from each other, but every minute on the way is worth visiting the largest city on the African continent. Excursions to Cairo from Hurghada start at night. The average travel time is 5-6 hours, depending on the distance of the hotel.

Cairo is called the City of a Thousand Minarets; you will see some of the city’s most beautiful and outstanding mosques on your trip. One of the most coveted attractions is the Egyptian National Museum, which contains unique artefacts belonging to one of the world’s most developed and mysterious civilisations. In the second part of the program, the bus stops Giza, where the world-famous pyramids have been motionless for hundreds of years.

The location of Hurghada makes it possible to trip to Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria in the north of Egypt. In this subsection, you can find the ten best coach trips to Cairo from Hurghada.

List of sightseeing trips in Hurghada

For luck, we provide you with a long list of sightseeing tours. In this list, you can find the trip you dreamed about it. Of course, you can discover the fantastic Ancient world monuments in Egypt. All you need to do is that you  pick up your preferred trip from the following historical excursions we exhibit:

Note, please, that this section counts for the grouped tours from Hurghada. To get information about the rest of the programs, you should check the individual excursions from Hurghada!