Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili Bazaar

Cairo, Egypt

Take a leisurely private tour of Cairo's most famous sites: the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum and Khan el-Khalili bazaar. With your own private Egyptologist guide to lead the way, you'll see Cairo's most famous attractions in one day. As this is a private tour, you can determine the amount of time you'd like to spend at each site.

Your private tour begins with a fascinating introduction to each of the three Giza pyramids: Cheops, Khafre and Menakaure. You will have free time to enter one of the pyramids (additional cost), though your guide is not permitted to enter with you.

A short drive to the city side of the plateau finds you standing at the feet of the Sphinx, the enigmatic symbol of Egypt. Also in Giza you may visit the Solar Boat Museum (optional), home to the remarkably well preserved funerary boat of Khufu.

Cairo's famous Egyptian Museum houses 165,000 Egyptian artifacts, but the priceless treasures of King Tutankhamun are the highlight. His six gilded coffins dominate the main hall, while his magnificent death mask is the star attraction. Your guide will introduce you to the museum's most important pieces before you have free time to explore at your leisure.

Continuing to Khan el Khalili bazaar, you'll enjoy free time to stroll through the maze of streets and bargain for a souvenir of your trip to Egypt. During the day you will also have the chance to visit a Papyrus Institute to see how the famous artwork is made.

USD $69.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Rodrigo S	March 2012
Passeio muito legal. O guia foi muito simpático e profissional. Foram pontuais e muito eficientes.

Review by: Anju C	January 2012
We just returned from a wonderful trip to Egypt. We had taken a private tour and it was a great experience. The guide was very nice and very knowledgeable. He was fantastic. We would definitely recommend this tour

Review by: Justin B	December 2011
Had to arrange everything one day in advance myself through South Sinai Travel (Viator's affiliate in Egypt), but once that was accomplished, I received excellent service and the driver and guides were extremely accommodating. I was only left wondering whether things would have been cheaper if I'd booked with South Sinai directly, but I'll know that for next time.

Review by: Prafull S	June 2011
Great tour, especially the safety precautions that were taken on our behalf! Our guide today, Khalid, was very knowledgeable about the history of Egypt. While one could not possibly learn a lot about the ancient Egypt in such a short time, he covered all highlights at the museum. Then lunch, and a quick tour of the Bazaar. He correctly held back our temptation of buying anything here. Then he took us to the "Papyrus Institute" to view the art of making and painting papyrus where we purchased genuine papyrus paintings. The last stop was the Pyramids and the Sphinx, where we had wonderful sightseeing, camel and horse-cart rides, picture taking and shopping. Khalid even helped us with bargaining process. We were then taken back to our hotel. Surprising part of this tour was the presence of a suit-and tie-clad man who stayed close to us for most of the tour. Only when he was leaving, did we find out that he was actually a security man provided by the tour company for our protection during crowded parts of the tour! How considerate! We did not even had an opportunity to know his name. Overall, Khalid, and Suleiman were great.

Review by: Elizabeth W	June 2011
Excellent, we had an excellent tour guide and driver as traffic is horrendous in Cairo. It was so easy to book and the tour guide came to our hotel to meet us and he had ID on him. He was very informative, we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The highlight of the trip for me was the Pyramids.

Review by: Beth V	May 2011
tour was good overall. we left our camera on the bus and they returned this to our hotel without hesitation. guide very informative. driver very professional. Only negative is we didn't like being offered " shopping visits to papyrus, perfume museum-shops".

Review by: Gabriele M	May 2011
Great tour. The private guide made all the difference for us, as we could do things at our own pace. Strongly recommended.

Review by: Mark B	April 2011
The Buckley family from Gloucester England had an amazing trip to Cairo, we were extremely fortunate to visit the Egyptian Museum on April 8th, as protests in Tahrir square were heated. Our guide Mohammed was very knowledgeable, polite and good with the children. We would recommend the tour, as we felt safe and well looked after. Thank-you for making our trip most memorable Mohammed and your fellow Egyptians, a shame we couldn't stay longer.

Review by: Michael K	January 2011
Our two guides were exceptional. Well educated, outspoken, informative, humerous, knowing, Glad to know them. We given them a highest ranking.

Review by: Kerri W	December 2010
Once in a life time trip, my wife and I enjoy every part of this tour. Our guide was excellent full of history his English 100%, also great photographer.Highly Recommend Viator. Cheers 2 Happy Kiwi's!

Review by: Barbara S	November 2010
The arrangements and trip in Cairo were first class! Mr Ahmed Said met with us the day before with the information and tickets, which was very reassuring! The next day our guide - Tamer Malak arrived promptly at 9am with the minibus driver. We were the only ones on this trip so we had a very personalised tour. Tamer gave us all the information at each place we visited, and also gave us an insight into modern Egypt. He was very good company and we had a very memorable day. He also gave us good advice about visiting other places in Cairo and also on how to avoid scams I would certainly recommend Viator for the Cairo trip as we would not have been avble to do all the sights so easily in one day. After such a good experience we will certainly be looking to Viator for tours in other cities abroad. Barbara Stevenson November 2010

Review by: sasprobe	November 2010
A private tour is a great way to see what you want. We were picked up at the hotel and looked after all day. Osama was our guide and he was friendly and knowledgeable, giving us as much time as we wanted at the sights. He was courteous and on time, we never feel rushed. I would recommend this tour and Osama as a guide he was funny too. A must if you visit Cairo. Thank you Osama

Review by: Klaus K	November 2010
Excellent organisation and very knowledgeable tour operators. Pick-up and transportation always on-time and well organised. Sometimes a bit rushed. The places that tour guides take you during or after tours for "shopping" was nothing for us.

Review by: John M	November 2010
Very good tour and the guide was enthusiastic and knowledgable. He was also perceptive about our needs and tailored the tour accordingly. If you are into Egypt, we would strongly recommend it- and we saw Leonardo Di Caprio at the museum!

Review by: jill k	November 2010
Excellent trip, although could do with a stop for lunch. Tour guide fantastic! Egyptian museum you could do with a full day, its very dirty inside and if you go to the toilet, do not give a tip to the girls.

Review by: William D	November 2010
Great day out - however our guide took us to a papyrus "Institute" which was not on the itinerary and clearly designed to support the touts and our guide in making additional revenue. Bought some as my kids were with me - they were expensive and it was pressure sales. This side trip took precious time away from the Egyptian Museum and in truth was a disappointing end to the tour. The rest was good, but a lot to fit in one day. I'll learn to stick to the itinerary next time and not allow the opportunistic guide pull the wool over. Don't stay in Giza BTW, it's a hole.

Review by: Manuel G	November 2010
The itinerary was great (the published itinerary!!) however the guide taking us to unmentioned places like a perfume factory and a papyrus factory which turned out to be tourist rip offs is completely out of line. I hope Viator takes care of this issue or we will no longer use your services. I expect the itinerary to be what is published - NO DEVIATIONS!!

Review by: Peter S	October 2010
The trip was exceptional in all respects. Our guide was most knowledgeable and made the trip only better with his details and information. I would highly recommend Viator to others.

Review by: MARK P	October 2010
This tour was nothing more than a sham shopping trip with side trips to the Pyramids, Sphinx, museum. I would give 0 stars if I could. My guide took me to no less than 5 government-run shops, each with high-pressure salespeople who wouldn't take "No!" for an answer. Traveling alone, at times I felt threatened and found myself buying stuff just to get out of there. When would I ever wear a thobe in the Midwest? And the guide was no help; he got in on selling me stuff. The Guide spent so much time taking me through the shops that I only had 30-minutes at the Museum. This was barely enough time to get to the Tut Exhibit. The Guide made no mention of the Bazaar. The camel ride at the Pyramids was supposed to be the experience of a lifetime. It was priced as such. I made a point of asking The Guide about the price before starting. The Guide said it would be handled after the ride but that he would negotiate a "good price". As his company was recommended by Viator, I trusted him. Big mistake! After the 25-minute ride, The Guide negotiated $140 (USD) for the ride. I shudder to think what he negotiated it from. To add insult to injury, the camel handler demanded a tip as did his manager whom came out of no where. As we departed, I saw the manager hand The Guide a few bills. At the end of the "tour", The Guide asked for his tip as we dropped him somewhere Downtown. Luckily, he settled for a price that was more than I paid Viator ($128). What exactly did I pay for? I certainly didn't sign up for a sham shopping trip and an unscrupulous tour guide. Epic Fail!!!

Review by: Rana M	October 2010
We were a little surprised at how much shopping was packed into this trip. It was like every time we turned around, we were being escorted to another "government approved" shop where there was always no pressure, but you suddenly had a shadow following you around. The actual sites that we were interested in seeing on this tour we great and we were able to take some really great photos. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and always easy to find after we finished wondering on our own.

Review by: Mark john B	October 2010
very nice female guide. we really enjoyed her company

Review by: Stanley S	September 2010
Nice day.

Review by: Graeme V	September 2010
Overall this was an excellent day out. I can't imagine how else we would have seen so much in our one day in Cairo. Best features: 1) It's a private tour, so you can go at your own pace. My husband got Pharoah's Revenge and we were able to stop regularly for him and skipped the bazaar at the end of the day. 2) You see all of the best sights and even the stores they take you to are interesting and part of Egypt. The perfume stores was nice and cool and you get a free drink. The papyrus institute really interesting and you can watch them make papyrus. Worst aspects: 1) Your tour guide makes his money from commissions. We got suckered on the camel ride after our tour guide assured us of a great deal from the "government backed camel operators". $150 for 20 minutes on a camel is ABSURD!!! 2) You're not getting an expert like they say. I asked two simple questions and the tour guide answered both of them wrong. They are only trained to make their speeches and don't know much about Egypt outside of that. I am only annoyed about that because he answered them like he knew what he was talking about and he wasn't even close. Recommendations: Be firm about how you want to spend your day. If you want to leave a shop, tell them and they have to take you. You'll want the extra time at the museum, which we were rushed through, but we insisted on more time and got it. Also, go to the bazaar. They will try to take you to somewhere else where they get commission, but the bazaar is the famous place to see.

Review by: Anonymous	August 2010
We were met at our hotel in Giza and driven, by an excellent driver in a very comfortable and cool! minibus, into Cairo. We were given lots of interesting information on the way and then introduced to our guide at the Egyptian Museum. Fatin was brilliant. The perfect balance of interesting information and freedom to explore on our own. We always knew where she was if we wanted to ask anything but she did not intrude at all. The trip to the Pyramids and the Sphynx was similarly well managed. We asked to do things slightly differently and they were pleased to accommodate our requests. Thank you to all of you.

Review by: Lara S	August 2010
Our day in Cairo was wonderful, thanks in large part to our guide and the great service and assistance we received. Our guide, Mahmoud, was excellent! He and our driver, Michel. We were picked up early from our hotel, and after the tour representative coordinated paperwork with the tourism police at the hotel, we headed out. Mahmoud provided great commentary in excellent English, and was personable as well, even joking about aliens at the pyramids. He offered to take us to four different shops in Cairo, all authorized by the country tourism ministry, and we chose to go to the papyrus institute. Calling it an "institute" is pretty generous, but they had some nice things, and if you are interested in buying authentic papyrus their prices are reasonable. Mahmoud did not pressure us to buy, or to go to any other shops. We ate at a cafe in the bazaar that he frequents, and had very good falafel he highly recommended we steer clear of meat!. He clued us in on the rules of the bazaar which made navigating the streets much easier. Throughout the day he would take photos of us, and also worked hard to give us as much time as we wanted in each place, never rushing us. Overall I am very glad we chose to go through Viator.com for our trip, and couldn't have asked for a better guide. If possible, request Mahmoud for this tour!

Review by: Anonymous	August 2010
I had this tour booked for myself only. We started at the pyramids and the Sphinx. I felt a little rushed at first, but I insisted that I have more time seeing as I was the only one on the tour. We then took a "side trip" to a perfumed oil sales shop and a papyrus place. I don't remember seeing either of those stops on the tour list. I declined to buy anything from either place. I also skipped out on the Khan el Khalili Bazaar part of it because I wasn't in the mood for more shopping. Glad I did because the place is a dump. The Egyptian museum was cool, but the guids "tour explanations" were shallow at best and she basically left me alone to wander the place. After you've seen King Tut's things you've seen it all really. Statue after statue, mummy after mummy, broken pottery..etc. The plus side was having the tour to myself and being picked up at my hotel without having to navigate public transportation. The minus was feeling rushed and the side trips - I'm sure the guids would have got a cut off the proceeds.

Review by: renato b, United States of America	July 2010
Awesome sight.Guide knew his stuff.

Review by: Rachael J, United Kingdom	July 2010
From start to finish this tour was fantastic! Our driver, Mustafa, was brilliant... weaving in and out of the Cairo traffic which we couldn't believe was so busy!, and our guide, Mohamed, was brilliant too. He was so passionate about Egypt's history that it rubbed off on us as well. We were a little apprehensive at the bazaar as it's so busy, but we navigated it fine. We learnt so much and are so glad that we booked through Viator. Thanks!

Review by: LUIS HUMBERTO R, United States of America	July 2010
EXCELENT. YOUR GUIDE IS THE BEST. SHE IS VERY POLITE, SMART, SHE LOVES HER COUNTRY AND VERY FRIENDLY WITH THE KIDS. SHE IS A GREAT PERSON. THE BEST OF THE BEST.

Review by: Jeff G, United States of America	July 2010
A must if you're going to be in Egypt andor in Cairo! Our guide was VERY nice, courteous, and knowledgeable. The Pyramids are truly amazing! Keep in mind if you are expecting to see the inside of the pyramids there is an extra ticketcharge but NOT worth it, since there are NO hyroglyphs or treasures whatsoever instide these! We also did camel riding along the sands of the Great Pyramids extra cost, but well worth it! You really need some serious time at the Egyptian Museum! It is quite large. The Khalili Bazaar is a fun place, but be sure to bargain for your items. Most will sell for 75-80 off their first price so don't feel you HAVE to buy it, get the price you want or walk away. You'll find your item again just 10 feet away at the next seller!

Review by: Noeleen R, Australia	July 2010
Was an excellent tour. we had our own personal guide and he was very good.You should do the camel ride at the pyramids it was so much fun.

Review by: Lloyd G, Australia	July 2010
Our tour to Giza pyramids was first class. It was a private tour, just the two of us and our guide and driver. While we expected the mandatory tours of the guide's friendly retailers and factories etc., one sales person in the perfume factory did get under our skin and on reflection we should have walked out without buying and just give our guide an extra in his tip. These tour guides operate on a very small retainer and rely on good tips and commissions from the retailers they take their tourists. Overall a great experience and being a private tour we were able to pick and choose where we went and how long we spent there.

Review by: Anonymous	July 2010
Awesome sight.Guide knew his stuff.

Review by: Anonymous	July 2010
Disappointed with the quality of the guide. Not sure if this was Viator's direction or his personal agenda, but he spent most of the time trying to get us to purchase other services, i.e. camel ride at pyramids or take us to government shops rather than offer more extensive tour of the Egyptian museum and the bazaar. He did an express trip through the Tut exhibit, telling us we must hurry to the papryus institute, which turned out to be a government shop that did an mini demonstration but tried to sell us Egptian art on papryus. He also discouraged us from going to the bazaar, and took us to an "essence" shop and a government linen shop. At the essence shop we wasted 2 hours on a demo and was pressured to make a purchase. The linen shop was very commercial with products from other countries. I think we went to the latter so that he could make a personal purchase. We never got to the bazaar and a restaurant I requested, instead he took us to a take-a-way which was not very sanitary and was dumpy, although our 2 pitas were tasty. I felt he could have imparted more local information as we rode through Cairo, rather than talking with the driver. All in all, he was fair as a guide. While he might be knowledgeable, he certainly had another agenda for us that day. We certainly did not get a good feel for Cairo and would probably never return to Egypt. The pick up and drop off was timely and we were grateful for that.

Review by: NAZAKAT A, United Kingdom	June 2010
Much better than a group tour was just me & partner in a AC'd car with driver who took us door to door everywhere & a tour guide who gave us the flexibilty to make the trip ours. Would book again! Sal & Naz UK.

Review by: Stephen P	June 2010
The Tour Guide was very knowledgeable, very friendly and helpful and spoke excellent English. They were very accommodating and provided a comfortable car for the tour. This is a private one-on-one tour with your Guide so the attention is very individualized, you are not just another face in the crowd. Well worth the price!!! Be aware that in Egypt Tips are expected by everyone for nearly everything. This tour provided a separate tour guide and driver for the day tour, so the price of a tour package can be considerably higher than the purchase price. I would recommend this company, but request a Tour Guide that can also drive to save money on Tips. Also be aware that Lunch or dinner does NOT include ANYTHING to drink. All drinks including water are extra and quite pricey. 11.00 plus tip for 1 beer and 1 cup of instant coffee, all drinks WaterBeerSoda are the same price. This has nothing to do with your Tour Company however, it All meal packages regardless of tour company seem to work this way. Also, some activities like Entrance inside the pyramids is extra and must be paid for when you get to the pyramids. Research well before you go or you may be surprised how more the trip cost than you plan for based on published prices. Compared to other vacation and tourist destinations around the world, Egypt is quite expensive. But again this has nothing to do with the Tour Company.

Review by: DeAnna A	June 2010
The guide was rude and pushy. We were lead to believe that we would be able to control how long we stayed at each place but that was not the case. Our guide was more interested in taking us to expensive shops where he would receive commission on anything we bought instead of showing us the sights and bargains in Egypt.

Review by: Francyne K, United States of America	May 2010
This tour was great. We weren't really comfortable touring Egpyt by ourselves so this was the best option. Our guide Nana really made the trip. She was was informative, educated and a joy to be around. She helped us with any questions we had whether it was about Egypt, the sites or even their culture. If we wanted to buy something--she would either buy it for us to get us a good price or even help us negotiate. She even made suggestionsto help make the most out of the tour and our stay. We couldn't have asked for anything better. I would recommend this tour but especially our tour guide. She really made our vacation the trip of a lifetime! I have already recommended viator to some of my clients.

Review by: Anonymous, Netherlands	May 2010
It was just perfect

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	May 2010
The guide was excellent. Everything about the trip was amazing.

Review by: Courtney T, United States of America	May 2010
Excellent guide & driver. Tour was WELL worth the money spent.

Review by: Arlin F, Canada	May 2010
This was a truly magnificent part of our trip. Our guide was incredible and really wanted to ensure that we enjoyed our day. We had a children with us from the ages of 4 through 12 and each one of them enjoyed the trip. I would recommend breaking up the trip for kids under 10 as the heat and boredom took over after a while. Also we were able to tailor our tour to accommodate the kids which was truly important to us.

Review by: Heather H	May 2010
This tour was great. We weren't really comfortable touring Egpyt by ourselves so this was the best option. Our guide Nana really made the trip. She was was informative, educated and a joy to be around. She helped us with any questions we had whether it was about Egypt, the sites or even their culture. If we wanted to buy something--she would either buy it for us to get us a good price or even help us negotiate. She even made suggestionsto help make the most out of the tour and our stay. We couldn't have asked for anything better. I would recommend this tour but especially our tour guide. She really made our vacation the trip of a lifetime! I have already recommended viator to some of my clients.

Review by: Gillian W, United Kingdom	April 2010
Absolutely fantastic, trip of a lifetime. Our guide was exceptional. We had the same driver throughout our stay, we could not have picked better ourselves. As for our main contact, he was a diamond.

Review by: Paul H, United Kingdom	April 2010
Friendly knoweldgable guide who gave us as much time as we wanted at the sights. He was courteous and on time. We had a limited time in Cairo and this was a perfect way of seeing all that we wanted to without having to fit in with the time constraints imposed by going with a larger group from the hotel.

Review by: Atif K, Canada	March 2010
Saw more of Cairo Giza in one day than we could have possibly imagined. The tour was very informative, very well organized, and the guides were really nice people! Highly recommended!

Review by: Ian M, Australia	March 2010
A private tour is a great way to see what you want. Picked up at hotel and looked after all day. Didn't have to detour via heaps of hotels to pick others up and waste time. Very knowledgeable and wise re what not to do.

Review by: Scott P, United States of America	March 2010
Great tour! Tour guide was very informative and I didn't feel rushed at all even though there was so much to do! Another great experience from Viator!

Review by: Anonymous, Canada	March 2010
Thank you so much for sending the review. I have been meaning to email to ask about our guide's name. Our day tour was incredible and your guide was the reason for it. Not only was she knowledgeable and friendly, but she made you feel not pressured at every step of the way. All 5 of us girls agree that she was the best part of the tour and our trip to Egypt. Thank-you!!

Review by: Terrell M, United States of America	February 2010
Tour guide was insightful, fun and flexible to my preferences throughout the day. They included several bonus stops at my leisurepreference and I felt very well taken care of all day. Great job!