Quick answers
Why Sohag?
The moon's shadow crosses Egypt in a band about 160 miles wide, and the center line, where totality lasts longest, runs about five miles from Sohag. So that's where you'll be on August 2.
It's also well away from the crowds heading to Luxor, so you'll have a dedicated space to settle in and enjoy the build-up together.
How hot is Egypt in August?
Hot – daytime highs of about 104–108°F, with nights around 75–79°F. The days are planned around it, with early starts on the big sightseeing days and slower afternoons, including resort time in Aswan and a free afternoon in Luxor. The eclipse falls around 1 pm, the hottest part of the day, so you'll have shade and plenty of drinking water at the viewing area. Air-conditioning in hotels, the floating hotel, trains and vehicles.
Is this a women-only trip?
Sort of. You'll travel with your Harriet group, but from the sleeper train south on Day 3 until you reach Aswan on Day 8, you'll share the trains and the floating hotel with guests of our sister company, Magnificent Explorers, which welcomes men and women. You'll watch the eclipse and the stars together, too.
Is it safe to travel to Egypt?
It's a fair question. Millions of people visit Egypt every year, and our family of small-group travel brands has been running trips there since 2023, with eight departures in 2026 alone, the last leaving in late November. You'll have your Egyptologist guide at your side from Day 1, with private transportation and a very experienced local team behind you. One solo guest on a recent Egypt trip of ours told us she hadn't expected to feel as safe as she did.
Conditions can change, so we keep you posted. If anything changes, or our local team on the ground tells us something you should know, you'll hear it directly from us. We also recommend checking your own government's travel advice before you book.
Want to talk it through? Book a call with Janie. We talk about this all the time.
How do I know this is the real deal?
With an event this big, it pays to be careful. Before you pay any company for an eclipse trip, check who's behind it and talk to a real person. That goes for us too.
Harriet Adventures is part of Leatherback Travel, the company behind Patch Adventures and our other small-group brands. You can meet our team on our website, then book a call with Janie, who'll walk you through the trip before you pay anything.
When you're ready, book through this page. We'll never ask you to pay into a personal account.
How fit do I need to be?
Level 1. So long as you have a general level of health and fitness, you'll be fine. To enjoy this trip, you'll need to be able to spend time on your feet and regularly walk for one to two hours. Daily activities might include:
- walking on uneven, sandy and rocky ground at temple and tomb sites
- getting on and off trains, vehicles and traditional felucca sailboats, and climbing steep stairs and ramps into tombs
- climbing a short ladder to the upper berth on the overnight sleeper trains, if you're not sleeping on the bottom bunk
All activities are optional, so if you don't feel like one, you can skip it. But it will be impossible to enjoy your trip if you're not able to do a guided walk for a full afternoon. Unfortunately, this trip cannot accommodate people requiring walking aids.
Can I come on my own?
Absolutely. Most Hatties do. Choose a private room, or we'll match you with a roommate.
What will we eat?
Most breakfasts and dinners are included, plus a handful of lunches, including koshary at Abou Tarek in Cairo (a filling mix of rice, lentils, pasta, tomato sauce and crispy onions) and a barbecue on eclipse day. Expect hotel breakfast buffets, Egyptian dishes such as ful (stewed fava beans), ta'ameya (Egyptian falafel), grilled meats and fresh salads, and simple tray meals on the trains.
Vegetarians usually do well in Egypt. Vegan, gluten-free and other specific needs are harder to meet, especially on the trains and in rural Middle Egypt, so choices may be more limited.
What if it's cloudy?
Nobody can promise clear skies. But Upper Egypt in August is one of the driest, sunniest places on Earth, which is a big part of why it's such a good place to watch this eclipse.
What's in the price, and what's extra?
Included: 13 breakfasts, four lunches and 12 dinners; arrival and departure transfers; three train journeys, private transportation and a felucca sail; your private eclipse viewing and celebration; an international astronomer for the eclipse and stargazing; 12 nights of hotels and floating hotel plus two and a half nights on the sleeper train; an English-speaking Egyptologist trip leader.
Up to you: international flights, travel insurance (strongly recommended), visas, extra hotel nights, drinks and tips (about US$25 a day). The Abu Simbel side trip is an optional extra.
Why does an eclipse trip cost more?
A total solar eclipse is anything but a normal time to travel in Egypt. Demand for hotels, boats, trains and guides is extraordinary, and suppliers want substantial payments well in advance. So you're not only paying to travel in Egypt. You're paying to be there for one of the most anticipated celestial events of the century, on a trip built around it.
Do I need a visa?
This trip visits Egypt only.
- United States: eVisa (apply online before you travel) or visa on arrival at Cairo airport, for stays of up to 30 days.
- Canada: eVisa (apply online before you travel) or visa on arrival at Cairo airport, for stays of up to 30 days.
Your passport should be valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date. Entry rules can change, and it's your responsibility to check the official government website for your nationality before booking flights.
What are the payment terms?
To secure your place, a 50% deposit is required when you book. The remaining 50% is due by January 22, 2027, and we'll send you a reminder before then. Payments are non-refundable once made, because we have to make substantial non-refundable payments well in advance to secure your place.
That's why we strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance as soon as you book (make sure your policy gives you cancellation cover for the full amount).
Ask about cancel for any reason cover too, and ask early, as some insurers only offer it soon after your first payment. Check exactly what your policy covers before you rely on it.
If you join after a payment date has passed, we'll let you know the amount needed to bring your booking up to date.
Is the Abu Simbel side trip included?
No, it's an optional extra at US$220 per person, and you can add it when you book, or later on. It's not part of your deposit: you pay for it with your final payment. It's one for the super keen: you'll leave at 4 am for an air-conditioned drive of about four hours each way, and you won't have the place to yourself when you get there. Then you're standing beneath the colossal statues of Ramesses II, cut from the mountainside more than 3,000 years ago and moved block by block to higher ground in the 1960s to save them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. If Abu Simbel has always been on your list, this is your chance.
Happy to skip it? Enjoy a slow morning at your resort in Aswan, then rejoin everyone for Philae in the late afternoon.
What's the sleeper train like?
Newly fitted-out cabins that are compact and practical rather than luxurious, and very much part of the adventure. You'll spend two and a half nights on the Abela sleeper train: Cairo to Sohag (you check in to the floating hotel around 1 am, hence the half), Sohag to Aswan, then Luxor back to Cairo. Each cabin sleeps two, or you'll have one to yourself if you've chosen a private room. Dinner and breakfast are served on board, and the toilets are shared, at the end of each carriage.
What's a Hattie?
Hattie is our nickname for the women who travel with us. It comes from Harriet Chalmers Adams, the real explorer Harriet Adventures is named after. In the early 1900s, when women weren't expected to travel far, she didn't wait for permission and went anyway.
Ready to see Egypt go dark?
One departure, one eclipse. Book your place, or talk it through with Janie first.