Africa

Egypt in August

Same as July. If this is your window, cruise the Nile in air conditioning, tour at first light, and never at 1pm.

Think twiceExtreme south, Luxor highs near 106F (41C)

Giza pyramids, Egypt — EgyptPhoto: Ricardo Liberato, CC BY-SA 2.0

The straight answer

August is a month to think twice about visiting Egypt. Same as July. If this is your window, cruise the Nile in air conditioning, tour at first light, and never at 1pm.

Weather: Extreme south, Luxor highs near 106F (41C)
Crowds: 2 of 5
Prices: 1 of 5

What August is like in Egypt

August is just like July: Luxor sits near 106F (41C), Cairo stays around 95F (35C), and the south is extreme by midday. Crowds and prices remain low. All the sites are open, often with early summer hours, but afternoons are for resting.

This is an avoid month for most visitors. If August is your only window, cruise the Nile with air conditioning, tour at first light, and never at 1pm. Families should give the Red Sea a bigger share of the trip, since the coast's breezes make the heat far easier. For better conditions, aim for October or November.

Make the most of August

What is especially good about Egypt this month.

Sunrise at Giza

Arriving at opening gives you the pyramids in the cooler early light with very few people around.

Grand Egyptian Museum

An indoor day at the vast new museum beside the Giza plateau is a good way to spend a hot afternoon.

Snorkeling the Red Sea

The reefs are warm and clear, and the coast's breezes make it much easier going than the Nile Valley.

What to pack for August

A cooling towel and wide-brim hat
Plenty of sunscreen
Electrolyte packets
Light swimwear and a rash guard for sun on the water

Our timing tip

In August, book a cruise with morning temple stops and a shaded pool, and keep lunch and the early afternoon for the boat's cool lounge.

Book Egypt for August.

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Hotels. Expedia
Hotels in Egypt
Opens a hotel search for Egypt in August, dates filled in. Book early for the best months: the good rooms go first.
Hotels for August
Vacation rentals. Vrbo
Vacation rentals in Egypt
Whole homes, condos and villas. Usually the better deal for families and groups, with a kitchen and room to spread out.
Rentals on Vrbo
Tours and tickets. Expedia
Tours and tickets in Egypt
Timed-entry tickets, day trips and guided tours in Egypt for August. Popular slots sell out in the best months.
Tours and tickets

What's on in August

Ramadan in Egypt

Dates shift about 11 days earlier each year; check the current window

Sites stay open, often with shortened hours, and tourist restaurants and hotels serve through the day, while many local eateries close until sunset. Evenings are the reward: lantern-lit streets, festive iftar energy, and late, lively nights, especially in Cairo.

Things to do in Egypt

Full guide

The pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx

Arrive at opening to beat both the heat and the buses. Entering a pyramid is a separate ticket and a hot, tight crawl; the panorama viewpoint at the plateau's edge is the classic photo.

Official site ↗Tickets and tours →

Grand Egyptian Museum

The vast new museum beside the Giza plateau, built to showcase the Tutankhamun collection and tens of thousands of artifacts. Pair it with the pyramids across a full day.

Official site ↗Tickets and tours →

Valley of the Kings, Luxor

The standard ticket covers a rotating selection of three tombs; the special-ticket tombs, when open, are worth the extra. Go at opening, the tombs hold heat by midday.

Tickets and tours →

Karnak and Luxor temples

Karnak's hypostyle hall is ancient Egypt at maximum scale; Luxor Temple glows after dark and stays open into the evening, the best two hours of a hot day.

Tickets and tours →

A Nile cruise or felucca sail

Three to four nights between Luxor and Aswan hits Edfu and Kom Ombo en route. Cruises run year-round; in summer, the boat's air conditioning becomes the strategy.

Tickets and tours →

Abu Simbel

Ramses II's colossal cliff temples near the Sudanese border, moved block by block above the rising lake in the 1960s. Most visitors fly or convoy from Aswan at dawn. Twice a year, in late February and late October, the rising sun reaches the inner sanctuary.

Tickets and tours →

Beat the crowds

Be at the gates at opening time everywhere: the pyramids, the Valley of the Kings, and Abu Simbel are transformed at 6am to 8am, both for crowds and for heat, and the tour-bus wave lands mid morning.
Skip the December and January crush by traveling in October, November, February, or March: the weather is nearly identical and the tomb queues are not.
Buy the special-entry tickets where they exist, in the Valley of the Kings especially: they cost more, cap numbers, and put you in quieter tombs while the crowds cycle through the standard three.
Do Luxor Temple and the bazaars at night: both are open late, gorgeously lit, and far cooler, which frees your dawn hours for the sites that close in the afternoon.

Know before you go

Egypt's monuments have no off-season: the pyramids, temples, and tombs open every day of the year, shifting to earlier or shorter hours in summer and during Ramadan. The season question is heat and crowds, not access.
Summer strategy is a real system, not a hardship: major sites open by 6am to 7am, and the working pattern is monuments at dawn, air conditioning or the pool from late morning, and bazaars or illuminated temples after sunset. Luxor and Aswan midday from June through August is for napping, not touring.
During Ramadan, expect somewhat shortened site and museum hours, many local restaurants closed until sunset (hotels and tourist restaurants stay open), reduced alcohol availability outside hotels, and wonderful festive evenings. Dates shift about 11 days earlier each year.
Tombs rotate: the Valley of the Kings keeps a changing subset open to manage humidity damage, so the exact tombs you see depend on the current rotation, and headline tombs sometimes close for conservation. Treat any specific tomb as a hope, not a promise.

Egypt in August, quick answers

Is August a good time to visit Egypt?

August is a month to think twice about visiting Egypt. Same as July. If this is your window, cruise the Nile in air conditioning, tour at first light, and never at 1pm.

What is the weather like in Egypt in August?

Extreme south, Luxor highs near 106F (41C).

Is Egypt crowded in August?

August is one of the quieter months in Egypt; most sights can be done without long waits.

What is happening in Egypt in August?

Ramadan in Egypt (dates shift about 11 days earlier each year; check the current window).