What to do on a Cairo layover

Every plan below starts and ends at Cairo International Airport (CAI). No train reaches the airport, so each one is a car ride, by Uber, airport limousine or taxi. The times in town allow about 75 minutes from landing to sitting in a car, our estimates for the drive (45 minutes to Khan el-Khalili, 50 to the Egyptian Museum and the Citadel, 70 to the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, and an hour back from town or 80 minutes from Giza), and 90 minutes at the airport before departure, with your onward boarding pass. Nobody publishes drive times in Cairo, so in the weekday afternoon rush, about 3 to 8pm, leave 30 minutes earlier than the plan says.

First make sure you can leave the airport: most Western passports buy a visa on arrival, for about US$30 to US$36. Every sight below is open every day. Tickets are priced in Egyptian pounds: at the Central Bank of Egypt’s rate on 9 November 2026, about EGP 54 to the US dollar, the EGP 700 Pyramids ticket comes to about US$13 and the EGP 550 museum ticket about US$10.

6 to 7 hours: Al-Muizz Street and Khan el-Khalili

You’ll have about 1.5 hours in town on a 6-hour layover and about 2.5 on a 7-hour one.

Al-Muizz Street and Khan el-Khalili

The closest of Cairo’s great sights to the airport: a medieval street of mosques, madrasas and grand houses, with the city’s old bazaar beside it. It suits a first look at Cairo on the shortest layover worth leaving the airport for.

1. Take an Uber or airport limousine to Al-Hussein Square, at the edge of Khan el-Khalili: about 45 minutes.
2. Walk Al-Muizz Street for about half an hour. It’s free on foot, and one EGP 220 ticket lets you inside its main monuments, such as the Qalawun complex and Sultan Barquq’s mosque.
3. Spend about an hour in Khan el-Khalili, a maze of lanes selling lamps, brassware, textiles and souvenirs.
4. Take an Uber or taxi back, leaving 2.5 hours before your flight, or 3 hours on a weekday afternoon.

Opening hours. The street is open to walk at any time, and its monuments from 9am to 5pm. You reach it about 2 hours after landing, so to go inside, land between about 7am and 2:30pm. The bazaar keeps no official hours: on our estimate most shops open from mid-morning, so a landing before about 7:30am gets you there before many shutters are up.

Pick your day. On a Friday morning the bazaar wakes late and the mosques pause for midday prayer, so it’s the slowest time to go. The drive back is hardest on weekday afternoons.

Bags. Bring hand luggage only: the airport lists no left luggage, and the lanes are narrow and crowded.

7 to 8 hours: the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids

You’ll have about 2.5 hours in town for the Egyptian Museum on a 7-hour layover, or a little over 2 hours at the Pyramids on a 7.5-hour one.

The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir

Egypt’s original museum of antiquities, in its pink building on Tahrir Square, with galleries of statues, coffins and treasures from ancient Egypt. Tutankhamun’s treasures and the royal mummies have moved to newer museums, but this one is closer to the airport, sells its tickets at the door, and suits a museum lover on a 7-hour layover.

1. Take an Uber or airport limousine to Tahrir Square: about 50 minutes.
2. Spend about 2 hours in the Egyptian Museum: EGP 550, and EGP 75 more for the audio tour.
3. Take an Uber or taxi back, leaving 2.5 hours before your flight.

Opening hours. Every day, 9am to 5pm, with last tickets at 4pm. In Ramadan, expected from 8 February to 8 March 2027, it closes at 4pm and sells its last tickets at 3pm. You reach the door about 2 hours 5 minutes after landing, so a landing before about 6:55am means waiting for it to open; to have 2 full hours inside, land by about 1pm.

Bags. Bags bigger than 40 by 40 cm go in the cloakroom.

The Pyramids with a driver

The three Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, on the far side of the city from the airport. It suits anyone who’d rather see the one sight Cairo is famous for than several smaller ones.

1. Take an Uber or an airport limousine to the Giza Plateau, about 70 minutes, and agree that the driver waits for you.
2. Spend about 2 hours on the plateau: the Great Pyramid, the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, and the Sphinx. The area ticket is EGP 700, plus EGP 25 for a car or taxi to drive in.
3. Ride back to the airport, leaving 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight.

Opening hours. Every day, 8am to 4pm. You reach the gate about 2 hours 25 minutes after landing, so to have 2 hours there, land by about 11:30am.

Going inside. The area ticket covers the plateau, not the inside of the pyramids. Entering the Great Pyramid costs EGP 1,000 more; its passages are narrow and steep, and on a short layover the time is better spent outside.

The heat. The plateau has little shade. Bring water and a hat, and on a summer day go as early as your landing allows.

8 to 10 hours: museums, the bazaar and the Citadel

You’ll have about 3 to 5.5 hours in town, depending on how far you drive.

The Egyptian Museum and Khan el-Khalili

The museum, then the bazaar: the classic first day in Cairo, fitted into a layover. It suits a first-time visitor with a long daytime connection.

1. Take an Uber or airport limousine to Tahrir Square: about 50 minutes.
2. Spend about 2 hours in the Egyptian Museum, EGP 550.
3. Take a taxi or Uber to Khan el-Khalili: about 20 minutes, on our estimate.
4. Spend an hour in the bazaar and along Al-Muizz Street.
5. Head back to the airport, leaving 2.5 hours before your flight.

Opening hours. The museum is open 9am to 5pm, with last tickets at 4pm. The bazaar comes alive from mid-morning, on our estimate, so the museum first suits a morning landing, and on a Friday it gives the bazaar time to open.

The Grand Egyptian Museum

The new museum beside the Pyramids, open since November 2025, with Tutankhamun’s galleries, the Grand Staircase and Khufu’s boats under one roof. It suits a museum lover, or anyone who’d rather see Tutankhamun’s treasures than the plateau.

1. Book a timed ticket on the museum’s official ticket site before you land, with an entry slot about 2 hours 30 minutes after landing. The slot is when you go in; you can stay as long as you like.
2. Take an Uber or airport limousine to the museum: about 70 minutes. By car, it’s Gate 2, off El Remayah Square.
3. Spend about 2.5 hours inside: the Tutankhamun Galleries, the Main Galleries, the Grand Hall, the Grand Staircase and Khufu’s Boats Museum.
4. Ride back to the airport, leaving 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight.

Tickets. Every ticket is booked online for an entry time, and some slots sell out, so book as soon as you know your landing time. The price depends on your nationality and age and is shown when you book.

Opening hours. The galleries are open every day from 9am to 6pm, and until 9pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with last entry an hour before closing. To have 2.5 hours inside, land by about 1pm, or by about 4pm on a Wednesday or Saturday.

Bags. Lockers are free, and bags bigger than 40 by 40 cm must go in them.

The Citadel and Islamic Cairo

Saladin’s hilltop fortress and the Muhammad Ali Mosque, the two great mosques at its foot, then Al-Muizz Street. It suits anyone who likes architecture, on a long daytime layover.

1. Take an Uber or airport limousine to the Citadel of Saladin, about 50 minutes, and spend about 90 minutes there. The EGP 550 ticket includes the Muhammad Ali Mosque.
2. Walk down, about 10 minutes, to the Sultan Hassan and Al-Rifai mosques, side by side. One EGP 220 ticket covers both; give them about an hour.
3. Take a taxi to Al-Muizz Street, about 15 minutes on our estimate, and walk it for an hour.
4. Head back to the airport, leaving 2.5 hours before your flight.

Opening hours. The Citadel is open every day 8am to 5pm, and the two mosques 9am to 5pm. You reach the mosques about 3 hours 45 minutes after landing, so to have an hour there, land by about noon. Al-Muizz Street’s monuments also close at 5pm and you reach the street about 5 hours after landing, so to go inside them too, land by about 11am.

Dress and Fridays. Cover your shoulders and knees for the mosques, and carry a scarf in case women are asked to cover their hair. On a Friday, check at the door around midday prayer.

10 hours and over: the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum

You’ll have nearly 5 hours in town on a 10-hour layover and nearly 7 on a 12-hour one.

The Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum

Cairo’s two biggest sights, about 15 minutes apart by car on our estimate. It suits a long daytime layover, and a first visit.

1. Book the museum online before you land, for an entry slot about 4 hours 40 minutes after landing.
2. Take an Uber or airport limousine to the Giza Plateau, about 70 minutes, and spend 2 hours there: EGP 700, plus EGP 25 for the car.
3. Drive on to the Grand Egyptian Museum, about 15 minutes, and spend about 2.5 hours inside.
4. Ride back to the airport, leaving 2 hours 50 minutes before your flight.

Opening hours. The plateau is open 8am to 4pm and the museum’s galleries 9am to 6pm. To fit both, land by about 10:45am. Landing later, pick one: on a Wednesday or Saturday, when the museum stays open until 9pm, the museum alone still suits an afternoon landing.

Ready-made. This is the pair most layover tours from the airport cover, if you’d rather leave the driving and tickets to someone else (below).

Tours from the airport

Tour companies run layover tours that meet you in arrivals and bring you back, so you don’t deal with drivers, tickets or timing. Add about 2 hours 45 minutes to a tour’s length for the border on the way out and 90 minutes at the airport on the way back.

Tour	Length	Layover you need	Price
Pyramids and museum layover tour with airport transfer (opens in a new tab)	7 hours	About 10 hours	Live price on GetYourGuide
Karnak (EgyptAir) Cairo city tour, to Khan el-Khalili	3 hours	At least 6 hours on our sums	US$55 for one person, US$40 each for two, US$35 each for 3 or 4, US$30 each for 5 or more

GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) and Viator (opens in a new tab) list more layover tours, private and shared. Check where the driver meets you, whether the price is for you or the group, and what happens if your flight lands late.

Karnak’s tour is run by EgyptAir’s travel company and gives you free time in the bazaar. It publishes no start times, minimum layover or meeting point, so contact Karnak before you fly and don’t plan around it until it confirms.

Overnight: rest at the airport, then the Pyramids

For a night landing and a flight from about 12:50pm: rest first, then be at the Pyramids when the gates open.

Rest at the airport, then the Pyramids at opening

1. Rest at the airport. A lounge past passport control costs US$50 for up to 3 hours, or takes Priority Pass. For longer, or a bed, you need a visa: Le Meridien is at Terminal 3, and EgyptAir may give its passengers a free room.
2. Leave the airport by about 7am, before the morning traffic builds: about an hour to Giza, on our estimate.
3. Be at the Giza Plateau when it opens at 8am, and spend 2 hours there.
4. Leave by about 10am, and you’re back at the airport by about 11:20am.

So your flight should leave after about 12:50pm, and later is more comfortable. The shortest layover this fits is about 11 hours, landing around 2am.

24 hours

A full day and a night: time for both halves of Cairo, ancient and medieval, with a hotel bed between them.

• Arriving in the morning: take the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum plan, sleep at Le Meridien or a hotel in Heliopolis, near the airport, and spend the next morning on the Citadel or the Egyptian Museum and the bazaar.
• Arriving in the evening: sleep first, then take the Pyramids and museum plan the next day, leaving Giza in time for your flight.
• Flying EgyptAir? On one ticket, ask at the transfer desk about its free hotel, and at its Transit Office about the free transit visa it announced in 2023 for stays of 8 to 96 hours. Carry the money for a visa on arrival in case.

A visa on arrival covers up to 30 days, so the length of the stop makes no difference to the paperwork.

Rest at the airport

Cairo’s airport has no rooms past passport control, so the lounges are the only place to rest airside. Le Meridien and the nearby hotels are outside the airport’s border, so you need a visa to use them. At the airport covers rooms, lounges and Fast Track.

Airport lounges

The airport’s First and Business lounges let anyone in for up to 3 hours for US$50, paid at the desk in cash, in US dollars or Egyptian pounds. Priority Pass, LoungeKey, Lounge Club, Lounge Pass, Diners Club and DragonPass holders get in on their card, and premium passengers on their ticket; a Mastercard or American Express gets you in only if it is one of certain cards issued in the Middle East. The E-lounge, past departure passport control on the left, next to the airport museum, is for holders of Mastercard and Priority cards. The airport doesn’t say which terminal each lounge is in, so ask at your airline’s desk.

Le Meridien Cairo Airport and nearby hotels

Le Meridien Cairo Airport is at Terminal 3, outside passport control. The airport’s hotel list also names the Radisson Blu, Novotel Cairo Airport and Hilton Cairo Heliopolis, a short taxi ride away in and around Heliopolis, and The Gabriel, Heliopolis Towers and Le Passage Cairo. None publishes a day rate, so ask the hotel for a room by the day before you pay for a night, and book once you know your visa is sorted.

EgyptAir’s free transit hotel

On one EgyptAir ticket between two international flights, with a connection of 8 hours or more in economy, or 6 in business or in economy booking class Y or B (your airline can tell you yours), EgyptAir may give you a hotel room, meals and transport for up to 24 hours. It’s offered only when no earlier connection was available, not on separate tickets or fares discounted by half or more, and only if the transfer desk has rooms. Ask at the EgyptAir transfer desk as soon as you land. The room doesn’t get you into Egypt: you still need a visa.

Tips that make a Cairo layover easier

• Carry US dollars for the visa, at least US$30 in clean notes, and Egyptian pounds for everything else. The arrivals halls have cash machines and exchange desks, before and after passport control.
• Set up an eSIM before you fly. Uber, maps and booking the ride back all need data.
• Book the Grand Egyptian Museum before you land: entry slots can sell out.
• Settle the fare first. Use Uber or a limousine from the kerb, or agree the price before you get into a taxi without a meter, and turn down drivers who approach you in the arrivals hall.
• Leave on time. The drive back is the part you can’t control. On a weekday afternoon, leave 30 minutes earlier than you think.
• Keep valuables out of sight in the bazaar and in crowds.
• Dress for the mosques: shoulders and knees covered, and a scarf to hand.