When to Visit Egypt: Seasons, Weather and Festivals

The best time to visit Egypt, for most travellers, is between October and April, when the days are warm and dry rather than fierce. From May to September, temperatures in Luxor and Aswan regularly pass 40°C, and sightseeing becomes a matter of very early starts and long breaks in the shade. But Egypt is a long country, more than 1,000 kilometres from the Mediterranean to Lake Nasser, and the right month depends on where you are going, how you handle heat and how much you mind crowds.

This guide takes the seasons region by region, then covers the Nile today, festivals that move from year to year, crowds and what to pack. For how the main sites fit into one trip, our Egypt itinerary guide sets out the route stage by stage.

Egypt’s two seasons

Egypt has a hot desert climate, and for a visitor it has two seasons. The cooler half of the year runs roughly from October to April, with sunny days that are warm in the south even in January, and surprisingly cold nights. The hot half runs from May to September, when Cairo is hot and Upper Egypt, the Nile valley south of Cairo, is very hot. Between March and May the khamsin, a hot, dusty wind off the Sahara, can turn the sky yellow for a day or two at a time.

The heat is dry, which makes it easier to bear. The table shows average daily highs in January, April, July and October. For most people, the best time to visit Egypt is the cooler half of the year.

Figures are long-term averages rounded to the nearest degree, from Weather Spark, Weather2Travel and Climate-Data.org. Individual days can be several degrees hotter or cooler.

Cairo and Giza

Cairo sits at the head of the Nile delta and is milder than the south. Winter days are around 19 to 21°C, pleasant for walking but cool enough in the evening for a jacket, and nights drop to about 10°C. Heavy rain is rare, though a winter storm can bring a wet day. By April, highs are in the high 20s, and from June to August they average about 35°C, with warm nights and plenty of haze and dust.

The Giza plateau has almost no shade, so the pyramids and the Sphinx are best seen in the morning in any season. Cairo’s own sights are easier to manage in the heat: the Grand Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization are indoors and air-conditioned, and the lanes of Old Cairo and the Islamic city are narrow and shaded.

Luxor and Aswan

The Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s West Bank. The Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s West Bank, where the tombs of New Kingdom pharaohs are cut into the hills.

Luxor and Aswan are where the season matters most. Luxor lies about 500 kilometres south of Cairo and Aswan about 700, both in the desert, and most years they record almost no rain. In January, Luxor averages about 22°C by day and Aswan about 23°C, but clear skies bring cold nights of around 6 to 10°C. By April the highs are in the mid 30s, and from June to August they average 40 to 41°C, with nights that stay in the mid 20s.

The great sites of ancient Thebes are mostly in the open. In the Valley of the Kings, the paths between tombs are pale rock that reflects the sun, and the terraced Temple of Hatshepsut stands against a cliff that radiates heat by midday. In winter these visits are comfortable at any hour; in the hot months they are best done at opening time.

Feluccas on the Nile at Aswan. Aswan’s granite islands and Nubian villages are best seen from the water.

Aswan is a little warmer than Luxor all year and more relaxed, with granite islands, Nubian villages and feluccas on the river. An afternoon on the water is a comfortable way to spend the warmest part of the day.

Abu Simbel and Lake Nasser

Abu Simbel is 280 kilometres south of Aswan and close to the Sudanese border. Its climate is much like Aswan’s: averages of about 24°C in January, 35 to 36°C in April and October, and around 40°C from June to August. The temples face east across Lake Nasser, so the façade of the Great Temple, with its four seated statues of Ramesses II, is best lit in the morning.

Most visitors come on a day trip from Aswan, which makes for a long day and a crowded morning at the temples. Staying on the lake, as you do on a Lake Nasser cruise, allows a quieter visit. In winter, evenings and early mornings on deck are cool.

Twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun shines about 60 metres into the Great Temple and lights three of the four statues in the inner sanctuary: Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty and Ramesses himself. Ptah, a god linked with the underworld, stays in shadow. The alignment was recreated when the temples were moved above the rising waters of the lake in the 1960s, a story told in our article on Abu Simbel. The sun festival draws large crowds before dawn, so if you want to see it, plan well ahead.

Alexandria and the Mediterranean coast

Fishing boats in Alexandria’s Eastern Harbour, with the Citadel of Qaitbay, built on the site of the ancient lighthouse.

Alexandria has a Mediterranean climate, unlike the rest of the country. Summer is the most comfortable season here: highs reach only about 30°C in July and August, with a sea breeze, although the humidity is higher than inland. Winter is mild, about 18°C by day, but this is the one part of Egypt with a real rainy season. Most of the year’s rain falls between November and February, often in short, heavy storms, and the sea can be rough.

The coast is also where Egyptians go on holiday, and in summer and over the Eid holidays the Corniche and the beaches west of the city fill with families escaping the heat of Cairo. The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Citadel of Qaitbay are pleasant at any time of year. See our guide to Alexandria for more on the city.

The Nile today

Luxor’s West Bank, where irrigated fields stop abruptly at the desert and the temple ruins at the foot of the Theban hills.

For thousands of years, Egypt’s calendar was set by the Nile flood. Summer rains in the Ethiopian highlands sent a surge of water and silt down the river, which reached Egypt in July and peaked in August and September. The ancient Egyptians named the first season of their year, Akhet, after it.

That pattern ended with the Aswan High Dam, built in the 1960s. The flood is now held back in Lake Nasser, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, and released through the year to suit farming, drinking water and hydroelectric power. The river below Aswan no longer rises and falls with the seasons in the way it once did, so you can take a Nile cruise in any month, and the fields along the banks are green all year. Our article on the birth of the Nile follows the river back to its sources.

There is one winter exception. For several weeks each year, around January, Egypt’s irrigation ministry reduces the water released from Aswan and drains the irrigation canals in turn so they can be cleaned and repaired. The river runs lower during this winter closure period, and the authorities work to keep the navigation channel open for boats.

Festivals and holidays

Lanterns for sale in Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Lanterns like these, called fanous, are hung in streets and homes during Ramadan.

Egypt’s festivals follow three calendars: the Islamic lunar calendar, the Coptic Christian calendar and the ordinary civil one. Most of the big ones move from year to year, so check the dates for your trip before you book.

Ramadan. In Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. The Islamic calendar is lunar and about 11 days shorter than the solar year, so Ramadan starts about 11 days earlier each year, and its exact start depends on the sighting of the new moon. Sites and museums stay open, sometimes with shorter hours, and hotels and tourist restaurants serve food as usual. Afternoons are quiet. After sunset, when families break the fast with iftar, the streets fill and stay lively late into the night. Visitors are welcome, as long as they are discreet about eating and drinking in public during the day.

Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice, follows about ten weeks later. Both are public holidays lasting several days, when many Egyptians travel. Popular sites, trains and the coast are busy, and some offices and shops close.

Coptic Christmas, 7 January. Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians, the country’s largest Christian community, celebrate Christmas on 7 January, a national public holiday. Churches hold long services on the evening of 6 January, including those of Old Cairo, where Coptic tradition places a stop on the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt.

Sham el-Nessim. This spring festival falls on the Monday after Coptic Easter, so its date changes each year, and Egyptians of every faith celebrate it. Families picnic in parks and along the Nile, eating salted fish called feseekh, green onions and coloured eggs. The festival is widely believed to go back to ancient Egypt, and its name may come from Shemu, the ancient harvest season, though its origins are not well documented.

The Abu Simbel sun festival, 22 February and 22 October. The two mornings when sunlight reaches the Great Temple’s sanctuary (see Abu Simbel above) are the busiest of the year there.

Crowds, peak season and the best time to visit Egypt

The cooler months are also the busiest. December and January are the peak, especially over Christmas and New Year, and Easter is busy too. Prices are highest then, and Giza, the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Abu Simbel can be crowded from mid-morning. October, November, March and April are warmer in the south but often a little quieter. From May to September, Luxor and Aswan are at their quietest and cheapest, while Alexandria and the coast fill with Egyptian holidaymakers.

In any season, timing within the day matters as much as the month. The first hour after opening and the last before closing are usually the calmest, and the light is better then too.

What to pack for heat and sun

Even in winter, the sun in Upper Egypt is strong, and there is little shade at most sites. Pack:

• a wide-brimmed hat, good sunglasses and a high-factor sunscreen;
• loose, lightweight clothes in cotton or linen, including long sleeves and long trousers or skirts, which keep the sun off better than shorts and are respectful at mosques and churches;
• a light scarf, useful against dust and wind, and for women to cover their hair at mosques;
• comfortable, closed walking shoes with a good grip for uneven ground, sand and stone steps into tombs;
• a refillable water bottle, and drink more than you think you need, since dry heat dries you out without you noticing;
• a warm layer and a light jacket from November to February, for early starts, evenings on deck and air-conditioned coaches and museums.

Our practical questions about Egypt cover visas, currency and other things to know before you go.

How our Egypt tour is paced

The columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. On our tour we arrive at sunrise, before the heat and the crowds.

Our Ancient History & Culture of Egypt tour is an 18-day journey from Cairo to Cairo for mature travellers, in a small group of up to 16, and solo travellers are welcome. Several of the big open-air visits are timed for early morning or evening, and the cruises give time to rest on board.

In Luxor, we visit Luxor Temple in the evening light on the day we arrive, and go to the Valley of the Kings in the morning. Another day starts with an early breakfast so we can be at Karnak Temple at sunrise, when the stone is cool and the Great Hypostyle Hall is at its quietest. On the Nile cruise, lunch is often on board while the boat sails, and in Aswan we spend an afternoon sailing a felucca around Elephantine Island. At Abu Simbel we spend the night on board the boat, and the Lake Nasser cruise sails north past Kasr Ibrim, Amada and Wadi el-Seboua to Kalabsha.

In Cairo we visit the Grand Egyptian Museum, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Old Cairo and the Citadel, and spend a day at Saqqara and Giza with a qualified Egyptologist. After the cruises, we fly from Aswan to Cairo and spend two days in Alexandria before a farewell dinner back in Cairo. The tour is graded Level 2 (moderate), with three to five hours of activity a day and walking of up to 8 kilometres on uneven ground. For the stories behind the sites, see our history of Egypt.

Practical questions

What is the best time to visit Egypt?

October to April, and especially November to February, is the most comfortable time for sightseeing in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, with daytime highs of about 20 to 28°C. December and January are the busiest months. If you are only going to Alexandria and the coast, summer is pleasant there.

Is Egypt too hot to visit in summer?

For most sightseeing, yes. From June to August, Luxor and Aswan average 40°C or more and the sites are mostly in the open. It is possible with very early starts and long midday breaks, and the sites are quieter, but most people enjoy the cooler months far more. Alexandria is much milder in summer, at around 30°C.

Does it rain in Egypt?

Very little. Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel record almost no rain in most years. Cairo has a few wet days in winter, and Alexandria has a short rainy season from about November to February.

Is Ramadan a good time to visit Egypt?

It can be. Sites stay open, hotels serve meals as usual, days are quieter and the evenings are festive. Plan around the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the month, when many Egyptians travel, and check the expected dates for your year.