Alexandria Tour from Cairo

Your WOW Egypt Tours representative and driver will pick you up from your hotel, Cairo International Airport, Giza hotel, or your location in Cairo or Giza. You will be transferred by private modern air-conditioned vehicle with your private Egyptologist guide to begin your Alexandria Tour from Cairo.

Start the road journey from Cairo to Alexandria by private air-conditioned vehicle. Alexandria is located about 220 km / 137 miles northwest of Cairo, and the driving time is usually around 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours each way, depending on road conditions, pickup location, and traffic.

During the transfer, you will travel toward Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. Your guide or representative will assist during the journey and explain the general program before arrival in Alexandria.

Start your Alexandria sightseeing with the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, one of the most important archaeological sites from Roman Alexandria. The catacombs date mainly to the 2nd century AD and were used as an underground burial complex.

The site includes a spiral staircase, burial chambers, rock-cut tombs, and decorated walls that combine Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artistic styles. The catacombs extend through several underground levels, with the main burial areas cut into the rock below the city.

During your visit, your private Egyptologist guide will explain the funerary function of the catacombs, the mixed decoration, and the importance of Alexandria as a multicultural city during the Greco-Roman period, especially after the city was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC.

The Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa give clear context about burial traditions in Roman Alexandria, underground tomb design, and the mixture of ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman religious and artistic elements in the city.

Continue to Pompey's Pillar, one of the most famous Roman monuments in Alexandria. The column was erected in the 3rd century AD during the reign of Emperor Diocletian and stands in the area of the ancient Serapeum.

The column is about 26.85 meters / 88 feet high and was carved from red Aswan granite. During your visit, your guide will explain the history of the Serapeum, the Roman period in Alexandria, and why the column became one of the city’s main surviving ancient landmarks.

Pompey's Pillar gives clear context about Roman Alexandria, monumental architecture, and the ancient Serapeum area. The site also helps explain Alexandria’s importance as a major Mediterranean city during the Greco-Roman period.

Continue to Qaitbay Citadel, located on the eastern harbor of Alexandria. The citadel was built in 1477 AD by Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay as a defensive fortress on the Mediterranean coast.

The citadel stands near the site of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The ancient lighthouse was built during the Ptolemaic period in the 3rd century BC and was one of the most famous landmarks of ancient Alexandria.

During your visit, your guide will explain the military importance of Qaitbay Citadel, its Mamluk-period architecture, and its connection with Alexandria’s ancient harbor and coastal defense history. The citadel gives clear context about Alexandria’s position on the Mediterranean Sea, its eastern harbor, and its role as one of Egypt’s main coastal cities.

Lunch is served at local restaurant.

After lunch, continue to Alexandria Library, also known as Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The modern library was opened in 2002 near the location traditionally associated with the ancient Library of Alexandria, one of the most famous centers of learning in the ancient world.

During your visit, your guide will explain the idea behind the modern library, its connection with the ancient library tradition, and its role as a cultural and research center in Alexandria. The library complex includes large reading halls, exhibitions, cultural spaces, and modern architectural design facing the Mediterranean Sea.

The main reading room covers about 20,000 square meters, and the library was designed to hold millions of books. Bibliotheca Alexandrina gives clear context about Alexandria’s cultural history, the memory of the ancient library, modern research spaces, and the city’s position as one of Egypt’s main Mediterranean cultural centers.

After completing your Alexandria sightseeing visits, return to Cairo by private air-conditioned vehicle. The distance from Alexandria to Cairo is about 220 km / 137 miles, and the return journey usually takes around 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on road conditions and traffic.

After completing your Alexandria Tour from Cairo, you will be transferred back by private air-conditioned vehicle to your hotel, Cairo International Airport, Giza hotel, or your location in Cairo or Giza.