Alexandria is a genuinely good city to spend a port call in, which is more than most cruise itineraries realise. The Roman quarter, the catacombs and the citadel are all within a few kilometres of the terminal. And at the same time, Alexandria sits about three hours from Cairo, which means the pyramids are entirely reachable in a day.

So the real question at Alexandria is not "can we reach Cairo" but "should we". For some ships that is the only question worth asking. For others, staying in the city is the better call.

How far is Cairo from Alexandria?

About 3 hours by road, 220 kilometres, on the desert highway. It is a comfortable drive on a good day and a slow one in traffic. We plan the return backwards from your all-aboard time, which is the part that matters. It is entirely feasible, and tens of thousands of cruise passengers do it every season.

Stay in Alexandria: the half-day option

If your ship is only in port for a morning, do not spend the call in a vehicle. The Alexandria city tour takes about six hours and covers the ground that actually matters:

  • Kom El Shoqafa, the Roman catacombs cut from living rock beside a temple of Serapis, where Greek funerary decoration and Egyptian burial customs meet in the same galleries
  • Pompey's Pillar, a single block of red granite quarried at Aswan and raised in 298 AD in honour of the emperor Diocletian
  • The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the modern library raised as a memorial to the ancient one that once held hundreds of thousands of scrolls
  • Qaitbay Citadel, the fifteenth-century fortress built on the foundations of the ancient Lighthouse, itself one of the seven wonders of the ancient world

You are back at the terminal with a whole afternoon free. If you want more context on the city itself, our Alexandria travel guide is written for people spending real time here rather than six hours.

Go to Cairo: the day trip

Leave early, reach Giza around 10:30, and you have the middle of the day on the plateau, the afternoon in the Egyptian Museum, and time for Khan El Khalili before turning back. This is the Cairo day trip from Alexandria Port.

If you would rather add Saqqara to the same day, the Giza and Saqqara trip from Alexandria trades the bazaar for the older pyramid. Either way, read our Giza pyramids guide before you go, particularly the section on ticket types and timing.

The evening departure from Alexandria

Our pyramids and Nile cruise trip from Alexandria collects you at about 21:00, puts you in a hotel in Cairo, and puts you on the Giza Plateau at dawn. The payoff is the empty plateau in early light, which is a completely different experience from arriving at midday. Book it on your first night with a free day afterwards.

Overnight in Cairo, back to Alexandria

Overnight removes the double three-hour drive and lets you see the pyramids twice: once in daylight, and again from the plateau in the evening for the Sound and Light show. The second day brings you back down the coast to the Roman sites before returning you to the terminal. See the overnight Cairo and Alexandria tour.

The show runs seasonally, so confirm the date for your call when you book rather than assuming.

Alexandria, then Port Said

If your ship calls at Alexandria and then Port Said, you can do something unusual: a full day in Cairo, a night in a Cairo hotel, and Memphis, Saqqara and the museum in the middle. You are brought back to the ship in Port Said. This is the two-day Cairo tour returning to Port Said, and it is the most comprehensive Egypt you can fit into a two-port call.

How to choose

  • Four to six hours in port: stay in Alexandria. Do not drive.
  • A full day in port, first call: Cairo and the pyramids.
  • Two nights in port: the overnight tour, with the Sound and Light show
  • Alexandria and Port Said calls: the two-day Cairo tour, finishing in Port Said

Send us your port times and we will tell you honestly which one works, including telling you when the answer is "stay on the ship and walk around Alexandria".