Saqqara
All five listings
Every tour on this page reaches Saqqara and its Step Pyramid, spelled Sakkara on three of the five listings. It is the one fixed point of the southern day.
Saqqara & Dahshur
Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur: the older pyramids, and the 5 tours that reach them
South of the Giza plateau stand the pyramids that came first. Saqqara has the Step Pyramid, which the listings call the world’s first pyramid and the oldest stone building in all of Egypt. Dahshur has the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, described as the oldest smooth-sided Egyptian pyramid. Between them lie the ruins of Memphis, the ancient capital. Five tours on this site go there, from $54 to $103, and this page sets out exactly which of the three each one reaches.
The southern sites at a glance
- Tours that go south of Giza
- 5 of 18out of eighteen listings on this site
- Lowest fare
- $543 hours, rated 4.8 across 766 reviews
- Most reviewed
- $723,622 reviews at 4.7
- Our pick
- $1037 hours, Dahshur and Sakkara and Giza
- Saqqara
- The Step Pyramidthe oldest stone building in all of Egypt
- Dahshur
- The Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramidthe oldest smooth Egyptian pyramid
- Memphis
- The ancient capitalruins of Egypt’s historic capital city
- Cancellation
- Free cancellationshown on the booking page for these tours
Quick answer
The short answer. Book $103. It is the only listing here that reaches all three pyramid fields in one seven-hour private day: the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, the Step Pyramid at Sakkara, and the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx at Giza, with hotel pickup and drop-off in an air-conditioned vehicle. If you want the most reviewed option instead, $72 is eight hours with an Egyptologist and 3,622 reviews at 4.7, covering Giza, the Sphinx, Saqqara and Memphis.
The order they were built
Why the pyramids south of Giza come first
The plateau at Giza is where the photographs come from, but it is not where the story starts. The listings on this site are unusually clear about the sequence. The Step Pyramid at Saqqara is described as the first Egyptian pyramid and the oldest stone building in all of Egypt. Dahshur, further south, holds what one listing calls the oldest smooth Egyptian pyramid — the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, where the straight-sided shape that Giza made famous first appears. Giza comes after both.
That is the entire argument for spending a day down here. Seeing Saqqara, then Dahshur, then Giza puts three stages of the same idea in front of you in the order they happened: a stepped stack of stone, a smooth-sided experiment, and then the finished thing at Giza that is still one of the Seven Wonders of the World. $103 is the listing built around exactly that run, and it describes itself in those words.
Memphis is the fourth piece and a different kind of stop. It was the capital, and what is there now are the ruins of that city — Memphis Ancient Capital, as the listing for $72 puts it, the ruins of Egypt’s historic capital city. It is a shorter stop than the pyramid fields and it is usually slotted between Saqqara and the road back, which is why four of the five listings here include it almost as a matter of course.
One note on spelling before the tables below, because it confuses people at the booking stage: the operators write the same place as both Saqqara and Sakkara. $72 uses one spelling and $60 uses the other, and they are describing the same site with the same Step Pyramid on it. Do not read the two spellings as two different destinations.
Every trip, current fare
Every tour that goes south of Giza, current fare
The five listings that reach Saqqara, Memphis or Dahshur, by fare. Three of them add the Giza plateau to the same day.
| Tour | Length | Price | What is included | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sakkara, Memphis & Dahshur (Pyramid & Felucca Options)Giza, Memphis, Sakkara, Dahshur | 3 h | $54 | Giza, Memphis, Sakkara, Dahshur | $18.00 | 4.8 · 766 |
| Pyramids, Sakkara & Memphis Tour with LunchGiza, the Sphinx and Sakkara | 8 h | $60 | Giza, the Sphinx and Sakkara | $7.50 | 4.5 · 2,621 |
| Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Saqqara & Memphis TourSaqqara, Memphis, Giza and Sphinx | 8 h | $72 | Saqqara, Memphis, Giza and Sphinx | $9.00 | 4.7 · 3,622 |
| Sakkara, Memphis & Dahshur Pyramids TripSakkara, Memphis and Dahshur | 5 h | $83 | Sakkara, Memphis and Dahshur | $16.60 | 4.6 · 504 |
| Giza Pyramids, Sakkara & Dahshur All-Inclusive TourDahshur, Saqqara and Giza | 7 h | $103 | Dahshur, Saqqara and Giza | $14.71 | 4.5 · 397 |
All five
Every tour to Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur, and what separates them
The short one. $54 is three hours and the most flexible listing on this page: Sakkara, Memphis and Dahshur, with the choice of one site, two, or all four, shared or private, in any language, plus add-ons that can include the Giza Pyramids, a camel or horse ride, lunch and a felucca sail on the Nile at the end. It is rated 4.8 across 766 reviews, the highest rating of the five. Read its options carefully, because what you pay depends on which of them you take.
The full days with Giza in them. $72 is the most reviewed tour on this page: eight hours covering the world’s first pyramid at Saqqara, the ruins of Memphis, the Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Valley Temple, with an expert Egyptologist. 3,622 reviews at 4.7. $60 is the same eight-hour shape with lunch written into the fare and all transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle, ending at Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt; it carries 2,621 reviews at 4.5 and photographs taken by your guide.
The private southern trip. $83 is five hours and stays south: Sakkara, Memphis and the Dahshur pyramids, privately, with private air-conditioned transfers and professional photographs. It is the only listing of the five that leaves Giza out entirely, which makes it the right booking if you have already had your day at the plateau and want the older sites on their own terms. Rated 4.6 across 504 reviews.
The one that does all three fields. $103 is seven hours, private and guided, and its description is the clearest on this page: the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, the Step Pyramid at Sakkara, then the Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx of Giza, travelling in air-conditioned comfort with hotel pickup and drop-off. It is the highest fare here at $103 and rated 4.5 across 397 reviews. It is also the only listing that gets you the full sequence in a single booking.
Which sites
How many of the five tours reach each site
The five listings do not cover the same ground, and the gaps are the point. Here is how often each of the four sites appears.
Memphis
Four of five
In $72, $60, $83 and $54. Short stop, ancient capital, usually taken alongside Saqqara.
Giza
Four of five
Included in $72, $60 and $103, and available as an add-on on $54. Only $83 leaves it out.
Dahshur
Three of five
The Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid appear in $103, $83 and $54. If Dahshur is why you are coming, those are your three.
Stop by stop
What the southern day looks like from the hotel door
Assembled from the five listings. Operators run the loop in different orders; the pieces are the same.
| Stop | Roughly | What is there | Which tours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your hotelCairo or Giza | Morning | Hotel pickup and drop-off in an air-conditioned vehicle | All five |
| Saqqarathe Step Pyramid | A main stop | The first Egyptian pyramid, and the oldest stone building in all of Egypt | All five |
| Memphisthe ancient capital | Shorter stop | The ruins of Egypt’s historic capital city | $72, $60, $83, $54 |
| Dahshurthe Bent and Red Pyramids | A main stop | The oldest smooth Egyptian pyramid, and the shape Giza inherited | $103, $83, $54 |
| Gizathe plateau | Afternoon | The Great Pyramid, the Great Sphinx and, on one listing, the Valley Temple | $72, $60, $103 |
| Lunchwhere stated | Midday | Written into the fare on one listing, an option on another | $60, $54 |
| A felucca on the Nilethe VIP option | End of the day | A sail to finish the day, offered as an option rather than included | $54 |
| Back to your hotelthe same vehicle | Evening | Which is why these bookings run 3, 5, 7 or 8 hours | All five |
Book direct
Four ways to reach the older pyramids
The private day that takes all three pyramid fields, the most reviewed full day, the five-hour private southern trip, and the flexible three-hour option with the felucca.
The oldest smooth Egyptian pyramid397 reviews
7 hGiza Pyramids, Sakkara & Dahshur All-Inclusive Tour
★ 4.5 · 397 reviews
- Seven hours, Dahshur, Saqqara and Giza
- The oldest smooth Egyptian pyramid
- Departs from Cairo
- Free cancellation
$103$14.71 / hour
Check availability→ 
Guided by an Egyptologist3,622 reviews
8 hPyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Saqqara & Memphis Tour
★ 4.7 · 3,622 reviews
- Eight hours, Saqqara, Memphis, Giza and Sphinx
- Guided by an Egyptologist
- Departs from Cairo
- Free cancellation
$72$9.00 / hour
Check availability→ 
Private trip, day long504 reviews
5 hSakkara, Memphis & Dahshur Pyramids Trip
★ 4.6 · 504 reviews
- Five hours, Sakkara, Memphis and Dahshur
- Private trip, day long
- Departs from Cairo
- Free cancellation
$83$16.60 / hour
Check availability→ 
Felucca sail on the Nile766 reviews
3 hSakkara, Memphis & Dahshur (Pyramid & Felucca Options)
★ 4.8 · 766 reviews
- Three hours, Giza, Memphis, Sakkara, Dahshur
- Felucca sail on the Nile
- Departs from Cairo
- Free cancellation
$54$18.00 / hour
Check availability→ Mistakes
Six mistakes people make booking the southern sites
Every one of these comes straight out of the five listings above.
- 1. Reading Saqqara and Sakkara as two places
They are one site with one Step Pyramid. $72 and $60 spell it differently and go to the same place.
- 2. Assuming Dahshur is included because Saqqara is
Only three listings reach Dahshur: $103, $83 and $54.
- 3. Booking three hours and expecting all four sites
$54 is built on choosing one, two or all four. What you pick decides both the length and the fare.
- 4. Expecting Giza on every southern tour
$83 stays south and does not go to the plateau at all. On $54 the Giza Pyramids are an add-on.
- 5. Treating lunch as standard
It is in the fare on $60 and an option on $54. The other three listings do not name it.
- 6. Doing the southern sites and the plateau in four hours
The listings that do both run seven or eight hours. Saqqara and Dahshur are a drive out of the city, and that drive is part of what you are booking.
Checklist
Five things to confirm before you pay
The five listings differ more than their titles suggest, so it is worth a minute.
- Which of the four sites are in your fare
Saqqara on all five, Memphis on four, Giza on four, Dahshur on three.
- Whether the tour is private or shared
$83 and $103 are private; $54 offers both.
- How long the day is booked for
Three hours at $54, five at $83, seven at $103, eight at $72 and $60.
- Whether an Egyptologist guides it
Named in $72. At sites this old, the guide is doing most of the work.
- Free cancellation
Shown on the booking page for these tours.
Ready to book? $103 is the seven-hour private day that reaches Dahshur, Sakkara and Giza in the order they were built, with hotel pickup and drop-off. The most reviewed option is $72 — eight hours with an Egyptologist and 3,622 reviews at 4.7. If a museum matters more to you than the older pyramid fields, that day has its own page.
See the pyramids and museum day→Common questions
Common questions about Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur
How much does a Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur tour cost?
The five listings here run from $54 for a three-hour trip you assemble yourself, up to $103 for the seven-hour private day that adds Giza. The most reviewed option, $72, sits at eight hours with an Egyptologist.
Is Saqqara worth visiting if I have already seen Giza?
It is the older site, and that is the reason to go. The listings describe the Step Pyramid at Saqqara as the first Egyptian pyramid and the oldest stone building in all of Egypt, which makes it the beginning of the sequence that ends at the Great Pyramid. $83 is the five-hour private trip built for people who have already had their day at the plateau.
What is at Dahshur?
The Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, named in the listing for $103, which also calls Dahshur the site of the oldest smooth Egyptian pyramid. Three of the five tours here reach it: $103, $83 and $54.
Can I see Saqqara, Memphis, Dahshur and Giza in one day?
Yes, on $103, which runs seven hours privately and takes in the Dahshur pyramids, the Step Pyramid at Sakkara and the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx of Giza. $72 and $60 do Saqqara, Memphis and Giza across eight hours.
Why do the tours spell it Saqqara and Sakkara?
Because the operators transliterate the name differently. $72 writes Saqqara, $60, $83 and $103 write Sakkara, and all four go to the same site with the same Step Pyramid.
Which tour to the older pyramids has the best reviews?
$72 carries 3,622 reviews at 4.7 and $60 carries 2,621 at 4.5 — the two best evidenced here. The highest rating belongs to $54 at 4.8 across 766 reviews.
Go deeper
More on guided tours to the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx from Cairo
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