Egypt's Seasons at a Glance

Best overall

October to April. Cairo and Luxor range from 20°C to 28°C, you can be out in the Nile Valley all day, and the Red Sea is warm while the land stays bearable.

High season: October, November, February and March

The best weather, and the highest prices apart from Christmas. Sites fill up from 9am, so start early.

December and January

Cool, clear and great for photos. Luxor mornings fall to 8°C — pack a fleece for the balloon. Between 20 December and 6 January prices climb steeply, and a Nile cruise can cost 40% more.

April and May

April is the last comfortable month in Upper Egypt. In March and April, watch for the khamaseen: a sandy south wind that sometimes blows for a day or two and reduces visibility.

Summer: June to September

Luxor and Aswan reach 40–45°C, so you start at 6am and stop by 11am. Cairo is easier, in the high 30s.

The Red Sea is at its best: Sharm and Hurghada are hot, the water is 30°C, and the resorts are designed for it. Prices bottom out and the temples are close to empty.

Two dates to plan around

22 February and 22 October — sunlight reaches the back of the sanctuary at Abu Simbel and lights the statues there. Rooms sell out a year in advance.

Ramadan — about eleven days earlier each year. Sites close a little earlier and many restaurants shut in daytime, but hotels serve as normal and the evenings are something special.

The sea through the year

The Red Sea never falls below 22°C and reaches 30°C in August. You can snorkel without a wetsuit all year; from January to March a 3mm shorty is comfortable.