New Year in Cairo: Two Days by Plane from Hurghada

Short answer: if your New Year holiday on the Red Sea can spare two days, spend them on Cairo rather than squeezing it into one. A single day by plane covers the Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum. Two days add what the day trip has to leave out — Saqqara's Step Pyramid, the pyramids of Dahshur, the Citadel above the city, Coptic Cairo and the bazaar — and they let you sleep in Cairo instead of spending eighteen hours on the move. In the holiday week, when every flight is full and the city is busy, that extra margin is worth more than usual.

The flights that frame the trip

All our two-day Cairo routes start on the same morning flights as the day trips and come home on the evening flights. For the New Year week, checked on 22 October 2026:

• 28 December: Air Cairo SM173, Hurghada 08:00 → Cairo 09:00. Evening return SM174, 19:50 → 20:55.
• 29 and 30 December: EgyptAir MS43, 05:00 → 06:00, or MS45, 07:55 → 09:05. Evening return MS48, 19:35 → 20:35.
• 31 December: confirmed when you book.

Hotel pickup is about two hours before departure. On a two-day trip the outbound and return flights are on different days, so mixing them is normal: out on the 29th at 05:00, back on the 30th at 19:35, for example. Seats on these flights are what sells out first in the holiday week, which is why we buy the tickets as soon as you book.

The routes compared

All of them are private, with an Egyptologist guide, entrance fees and lunches included. The two-day Cairo routes leave the hotel night to you: you choose a hotel in Cairo from three to five stars and book it, or ask us to suggest one near the route.

Why two days work better in this particular week

The early start stops hurting. On a day trip, the 05:00 flight means a 03:00 pickup and a night that ends after 21:30. Over two days the same flight is a long first day followed by a hotel bed and a breakfast, rather than a drive home in the dark.

Traffic stops deciding the plan. Cairo's holiday traffic can turn a thirty-minute transfer into an hour. On a day trip that hour comes out of the museum; over two days it comes out of nobody's plans.

The sites that make Cairo special fit in. Saqqara is where the pyramid begins: Djoser's Step Pyramid, the first monumental stone building, and the Serapeum with its granite bull sarcophagi. Dahshur has the Bent Pyramid, where the builders changed the angle halfway up, and the Red Pyramid, the first true one. Seeing them before Giza is how the story makes sense. None of it fits in one day.

New Year's Eve in Cairo

If your two days include the night of 31 December, think about it before you book. The city is busy, hotels near the centre and the Pyramids charge holiday rates and fill early, and restaurants with any kind of New Year programme want reservations. Book the hotel at the same time as the trip. We do not arrange New Year dinners or parties; if you want one, book it directly with your hotel.

Booking rules that matter at New Year

• Book as early as you can. The fare is fixed when we buy the ticket, and that happens when you book. In late November and December both price and choice get worse each week.
• Names exactly as in the passport. Every traveller, every name, the passport's spelling and order.
• Know the change rules. EgyptAir corrects spelling only and does not move a ticket to another person. Air Cairo allows one name change for a fee plus any fare difference, at least 24 hours before departure.
• Bring the passport you entered Egypt on. Domestic check-in asks for it.
• Book the Cairo hotel early, and send us its name so the guide collects you there on day two.

Only one day?

Then fly, do Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, and come back the same evening. Our guide to Cairo by plane from Hurghada over New Year has the day-trip version, hour by hour.

FAQ

Is the hotel in Cairo included?

No. On the two-day Cairo routes you choose and pay for your own hotel, three to five stars, so you can stay exactly where you want. Flights, guide, entrance fees and lunches are included.

Can we fly out on the 05:00 flight and back on the 19:35 the next day?

Yes, on 29 and 30 December those combine naturally, subject to seats.

Is checked baggage included?

Plan on a small bag. Pack for one night; the flights are short and so is the stay.

Can children come?

Yes. Children under five travel free on the ground arrangements and five- to eleven-year-olds at half price, but airline seat rules apply to the flights, so ask us for an exact quote for your family.