When to Go to Egypt: Weather, Crowds and Prices Month by Month

If you only read one line

Go between October and April. Days in Cairo and Luxor run from 20°C to 28°C, you can walk the Nile Valley sites from morning to evening, and the Red Sea is warm enough for swimming without the land being unbearable.

What makes a month "best" for you depends on your priority — cost, crowds, heat or water temperature — and they rarely line up.

The year, month by month

October. Our pick. Around 30°C in Cairo, 34°C in Luxor, 28°C in the sea. Summer visitors have left, Christmas prices have not started, and everything is open.

November. Nearly as good. Cairo 26°C, Luxor 30°C — ideal for walking around temples. Prices creep up in the final week.

December. Clear and cool: Cairo 20°C, and properly cold in the desert at night. From 20 December to 6 January prices jump; a Nile cruise that fortnight can cost 40% more.

January. The coldest month, and the best light for photographs. Luxor mornings are about 8°C, so take a fleece for the balloon. Aswan stays mild at 23°C.

February. Excellent weather, and on the 22nd the sun lines up with the inner sanctuary at Abu Simbel — worth planning a trip around if you can find a room.

March. Warm, and busy. Look out for the khamaseen, a southern wind full of sand that can blow for a day or two and cut visibility. It is uncommon, but it happens.

April. Your last comfortable month before the heat arrives. Easter and Sham El Nessim raise prices for about two weeks.

May to September. Luxor and Aswan reach 40°C to 45°C, so sightseeing starts at 6am and ends by 11am. Cairo is easier, in the high 30s. This is the Red Sea's season: Sharm and Hurghada are hot, but the water is 30°C and the resorts are made for it. Prices are at their lowest and the sites nearly empty — if you can take the heat, Luxor in June is a quiet, very different place.

Travelling in Ramadan

Ramadan comes about eleven days earlier every year. Sites and museums stay open with slightly shorter hours, and many restaurants shut during the day. Evenings after the fast breaks are wonderful, and hotels run as normal. Nothing about it should stop you coming — just plan where lunch will be.

Our advice

For the monuments: October, November, February or March. For the Red Sea: whenever you like — the water never falls below 22°C. For the lowest prices: June to September, if you can live with the heat.