Alexandria Day Trip from Cairo

Your guide collects you from your Cairo hotel early, typically around 7:00 AM, for the roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive north to the Mediterranean coast — the trade-off for fitting Alexandria into a single day from Cairo.

The morning opens with Pompey's Pillar, a soaring red granite column raised near the end of the 4th century in honor of Emperor Diocletian, standing close to the site of the ancient Serapeum. From there you'll continue to the Catacombs of Kom El-Shoqafa, a three-level underground Roman cemetery cut into the rock, where Egyptian burial customs meet Greek and Roman design.

After lunch at a local restaurant, the afternoon covers Qaitbay Citadel, a 15th-century fortress built on the ancient site of the Pharos Lighthouse, and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the striking modern library built in tribute to the city's legendary ancient one. Your guide then drives you back to Cairo, timing the return for a late-evening arrival at your hotel. Travelers building a longer Cairo stay often pair this with Gentoura's other Cairo day tours, such as the Giza Pyramids and Grand Egyptian Museum Day Tour.