You are unlikely to complain about the local weather: it will be warm, about twenty-five degrees, and a cruise on the Nile will save you from overheating. As Izvestia.Ru notes, getting to Luxor and the Aswan Dam by taxi is quite far and, moreover, expensive, so it is better to buy a ticket for a domestic flight to Aswan for $80.
All tourists without exception are taken to the dam. Refusing means offending the entire Egyptian people. In the worst case, they will put you off the bus right there. No need to be upset: catch a taxi and head to Lake Nasser. There, for $40-50 per day, you will find excellent fishing and camping, albeit lacking most of the comforts of civilization.
You can return to the capital from Aswan on a cruise ship, visiting Luxor along the way. Choose your ship carefully: if you suffer from seasickness, a decent main lounge and a talkative bartender with whisky will significantly ease your suffering. A sure sign of a good vessel is the presence of elderly European retirees on board. Practice shows that they are present in sufficient numbers on the ships Monaco and Monte Carlo. In the evenings, the audience is usually entertained with oriental dances performed by not always oriental girls and fortune-telling with tarot cards.
If you don't want a cruise ship, you can sail up (and down) the Nile on a felucca. A four-day cruise on the sailing vessel proudly named Royal Cleopatra for six people will cost $1.125 per person. If desired, you can negotiate and spend the entire journey (from Cairo to Aswan and back) on board.
Luxor is considered more democratic than Cairo, and most local ladies no longer hide under dark robes. This democracy is also expressed in a local version of a red-light district, where all the curious gather in the evening. But the morning is best spent with Luxor's eternal treasures—in the Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple, and Hatshepsut's temple. Instead of a walking tour, it makes sense to book an aerial ride. A hot-air balloon flight usually lasts about an hour and costs 80 pounds sterling for the whole group.
You can also go down the Nile from Cairo by arranging a one-day cruise. Hire a barge or felucca with a talkative skipper who successfully acts as a guide for about 30 dollars. He will give you a ride with the wind (more precisely, he will take you around for a couple of hours) and also persuade you to visit his brother's shop. But you will learn a lot of interesting facts about the country's history, the difficulties of life of an average Egyptian, and local gossip.
Most floating means of transport moor opposite the Four Seasons at Nile Plaza hotel, perhaps the most luxurious in the Egyptian capital. In its bar, a respectable crowd gathers in the evenings, and no one will object if you come down to dinner in evening attire. An evening dress will also be useful for visiting the Cairo Opera.
If you have free time after the cruise, visit the pyramids. The optimal time for a walk to them is morning or evening. And in the middle of the day you can take shelter from the sun in the National Museum of Cairo. There is no point in spending the whole day there; it is like the Hermitage, which cannot be seen in one go. It is better to limit yourself to just the mummies or just the gold of the pharaohs. The lazy ones can view the museum 'from the edge': cat mummies are allowed to be examined completely free of charge. Having saved $10, spend it on evening gatherings at a street cafe with an apple hookah and coffee with cardamom (though some find hibiscus tea with cinnamon much tastier).
Those who have not yet seen the pyramids may be disappointed: in guidebook photos they look more majestic. To avoid this, come to the pyramids in Giza at dawn. Then the air is fresher, there are fewer annoying camel drivers, and the pyramids look more magical than in bright daylight. And if you stay at Le Meridien Pyramids, you can watch the tombs and the mysterious (or just sleepy) Sphinx at any time of day or night. From this hotel to Giza it is a 10-minute walk.
If your strength fails you on the way back, for €5 one of the taxis constantly on duty near the pyramids (as a rule, old European cars) will take you to European civilization. Inside the pyramids themselves, nothing remains except stone sarcophagi. But as a bonus, in the burial chamber you will be awaited by an Egyptian collecting tribute from tourists exhausted by the difficult climb. So that his presence does not seem like pure begging, the Egyptian from time to time reveals the Truth to tourists: 'This is where the pharaoh was buried.'
In this generally nice but peculiar country, you are expected to pay for everything, and if they eventually introduce a fee for breathing Cairo's air, tourists will not be particularly surprised. They will only complain that the air is absolutely poor quality: for years now a cement plant has been operating on the outskirts of the capital, the success of which is expressed in the daily release of two tons of dust into the air. Therefore, Cairo is literally covered with a layer of dust, albeit not historical, under which a city that was beautiful in the recent past is revealed, where you can still find surviving Art Deco buildings of French construction and, of course, mosques.
You must visit the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, which is considered one of the largest mosques in the world, and from the minaret of the Ibn Tulun Mosque there is a fantastically beautiful view of the city devoid of high-rise buildings. For a small fee, you will be allowed inside even during prayer, but the worshippers will not be particularly happy about your appearance.
Most residents of the capital are friendly towards tourists, and they will ask about your affairs at every step, especially if you are a blonde girl. Therefore, girls better not explore the Egyptian capital without a male companion, and in general they should behave and dress more modestly. By the way, in mosques female tourists are usually given long robes, which, of course, are never washed by anyone. Take care of a long skirt and a modest T-shirt in advance.
In the Coptic Quarter, the Christian part of the city, which on some maps is marked as “Old Cairo”, one can sometimes hear proper Russian speech. Strike up a conversation, and you will not find a better guide than the Russian wife of a local resident, and completely free of charge. She will take you to the Church of Saint Sergius, which was built over the cave where the Holy Family hid. By the way, it is best to hire a guide through hotel staff. After starting a confidential conversation, complain about the importunity of street guides. They will take pity on you, and the next morning a young student from Cairo University will be waiting for you, who for a reasonable fee (no more than $50 for half a day) will take you to places tourists usually do not visit, and also tell you what and where to eat.
With him, the street barkers grabbing your hands are not so scary. Then you can head to the Khan el-Khalili bazaar and the streets around it, where you should buy souvenirs. It is better not to go to the camel market; it will leave a depressing impression. The perfume and papyrus museums are also not worth your time. Instead of papyri and embossed plates with pharaohs, look at pieces of bright Egyptian cotton, freshest sweets, or aromatic oils.
To avoid saturating yourself with the East, stay in a European hotel. A double room at the Four Seasons at Nile Plaza and the Four Seasons at the First Residence costs from $250; at Le Meridien Pyramids you can stay for $99. To feel the atmosphere of old Cairo, you should stay at the small Baron Hotel, where a double room costs $20. The ceilings in the room are 8 meters high, and if you are lucky, the room will have stained-glass windows. European tourists love the hotel, and the owner reciprocates: he takes them on excursions in an old Peugeot and gives a briefing on how to behave in the capital. One of the important points of his valuable instructions: if you need help, turn to locals who look like teachers or engineers. Apparently, these are the last citizens who are happy to help and do not demand payment for help.
Hotels of well-known chains are good because they have their own pools and spa centers, which will partly brighten up your evenings in the capital. Usually, all spa centers offer a pharaoh massage with mint, chamomile, and rose oil, a Cleopatra milk bath, and a Bedouin scrub massage with sand from the Sahara. Prices depend on the level of the hotel and the center; on average, each procedure will cost $30-50. Having saved on photos with Bedouins and camels, it is worth spending your money on yourself.