Africa

Egypt in December

Perfect weather and peak demand, spiking hardest around the holidays. Reserve cruises, guides, and special-entry tombs early.

BestCool and clear, Cairo highs near 68F (20C), Luxor near 75F (24C)

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

The straight answer

December is one of the best months of the year to visit Egypt. Perfect weather and peak demand, spiking hardest around the holidays. Reserve cruises, guides, and special-entry tombs early.

Weather: Cool and clear, Cairo highs near 68F (20C), Luxor near 75F (24C)
Crowds: 5 of 5
Prices: 5 of 5

What December is like in Egypt

December offers perfect weather: Cairo is cool and clear near 68F (20C), and Luxor sits near 75F (24C). Demand is at its peak, and prices spike hardest around the holidays. The pyramids and Valley of the Kings are at their most crowded in the last two weeks of the month.

It suits families with holiday breaks and anyone who wants ideal touring weather for long days outside. Reserve cruises, guides, and special-entry tombs early. If you can travel in early December or in November, you get the same weather with fewer crowds and lower prices.

Make the most of December

What is especially good about Egypt this month.

Crisp, clear touring days

Cool weather makes long days at Karnak, Giza, and the Grand Egyptian Museum comfortable for all ages.

Cairo's cultural season

The Cairo International Film Festival usually runs late in the year, part of a lively season in the capital.

Special-entry tombs

With crowds high, the capped special-entry tickets in the Valley of the Kings give you quieter tombs while groups cycle through the standard ones.

What to pack for December

A warm layer for chilly mornings and nights
Sunglasses and a hat for bright days
Comfortable walking shoes
A small flashlight for tombs

Our timing tip

Travel in the first half of December if you can, before the holiday surge, and book cruises and tomb tickets months ahead.

Book Egypt for December.

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Hotels. Expedia
Hotels in Egypt
Opens a hotel search for Egypt in December, dates filled in. Book early for the best months: the good rooms go first.
Hotels for December
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 December. Popular slots sell out in the best months.
Tours and tickets

What's on in December

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.

Cairo International Film Festival

Usually late in the year

One of the region's oldest film festivals, adding red-carpet energy to the capital's cultural season.

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 December, quick answers

Is December a good time to visit Egypt?

December is one of the best months of the year to visit Egypt. Perfect weather and peak demand, spiking hardest around the holidays. Reserve cruises, guides, and special-entry tombs early.

What is the weather like in Egypt in December?

Cool and clear, Cairo highs near 68F (20C), Luxor near 75F (24C).

Is Egypt crowded in December?

December is peak crowd season in Egypt; expect lines at the headline sights.

What is happening in Egypt in December?

Ramadan in Egypt (dates shift about 11 days earlier each year; check the current window); Cairo International Film Festival (usually late in the year).