Visiting Egypt in April means spring break crowds, two Easters and the last comfortable weeks before the summer heat

Two Easters and a picnic: the April holiday calendar in Egypt

Most months in Egypt have one story. April has three, and they land on top of each other. First comes Western Easter, which falls in April more often than not. It is not an Egyptian holiday, but it is the week American families with school age kids travel and Europeans arrive for their own break.

Then comes Coptic Easter, the one Egypt's own Christians keep. The Coptic Orthodox Church calculates Easter on the older Julian calendar, so it usually falls one to five weeks after the Western date. Holy Week ends with a midnight liturgy on Saturday night that fills every church in the country.

The morning after Coptic Easter is Sham el Nessim, a public holiday for everyone regardless of faith. The dates of all three move every year, so we check them against your travel window before we build the itinerary.

Sham el Nessim, the Monday the whole country goes outside

The name means "smelling the breeze." Sham el Nessim is a spring festival that Egyptians will tell you goes back to the harvest season of the pharaohs, and the way it is kept today is wonderfully unchanged. Families get up early, pack a picnic and head for any patch of green or stretch of river they can find.

The food is the point. Feseekh, a salted and fermented gray mullet with a smell you notice from the next block, is the dish the day is famous for. Around it come smoked herring, hard boiled eggs dyed in bright colors, green onions eaten whole, lettuce and lupini beans by the bag. Try the herring and the eggs; leave the feseekh to the experts unless you have a strong stomach.

On the ground it is simple. Al Azhar Park, the zoo, the Corniche in Cairo and Alexandria, the Nile islands and the grass around the Giza plateau fill with Egyptians having the best day of their spring. The pyramids stay open and feel unusually joyful, with more local families than tour groups. Visit Giza early, then let your guide take you where ordinary Egyptians spend the day.

How hot Egypt gets in April, region by region

April is the month the country changes gear. The first week can still feel like a perfect spring day in the American South; the last week is the doorstep of summer, especially south of Cairo. These are typical ranges, not a forecast, and a khamsin wind can push any of them higher for a day or two.

Cairo, Giza and Saqqara

Afternoons open the month in the high 70s to low 80s Fahrenheit (about 26 to 28 Celsius) and close it in the upper 80s (around 30 to 31 C). Nights are lovely, in the low 60s F (about 16 to 18 C). Mornings at the pyramids are comfortable all month; early afternoons start to bite in the last ten days.

Luxor and Aswan

Luxor sits in the low 90s F (around 33 to 34 C) early in the month and reaches the mid to upper 90s (36 to 37 C) by the end. Aswan runs a couple of degrees hotter and can touch 100 F (38 C) on a bad afternoon. The good news is the dawn: mornings start in the low to mid 60s F (17 to 19 C), dry and still. An April trip to Upper Egypt is built around those first four hours of daylight.

The Red Sea coast

Hurghada, El Gouna and Sharm el Sheikh hold in the low to mid 80s F (28 to 30 C) by day with a steady breeze off the water, and evenings around 68 F (20 C) that call for a light layer at dinner. The sea has warmed into the low to mid 70s F (22 to 24 C).

The Western Desert and Alexandria

The White Desert and the oases are still doable in the first half of April, with warm days and mild nights. By the last week the daytime heat makes the long drives a chore, and we stop recommending overnight camping until the fall. Alexandria goes the other way: the Mediterranean keeps it in the low to mid 70s F (22 to 24 C) all month, a refreshing day trip from Cairo.

Why the west bank of Luxor has to be done at dawn in April

The Valley of the Kings is a limestone bowl with no shade, no breeze and walls that store the sun's heat. In April, by eleven the rock is radiating, the tomb corridors are stuffy with body heat, and the walk between entrances is a slog. Here is the morning we run for every April group instead.

1. Optional balloon flight first. The balloons launch before sunrise and land shortly after it, and April mornings are usually calm enough. Our guide to the hot air balloon over Luxor explains how the morning works.
2. Be at the Valley of the Kings when the gate opens. Your guide already has the tickets, and you walk into the first tomb while the buses are still parking in Luxor.
3. Three tombs in the first hour, including at least one of the extra ticket tombs if painted ceilings matter to you. Which ones are open rotates; our guide to the Valley of the Kings tickets and tombs explains how to choose on the day.
4. Hatshepsut's temple by nine. It is built against a cliff that faces the morning sun and becomes an oven by mid morning.
5. Medinet Habu or the Colossi of Memnon before eleven, then back across the river to the ship or the hotel for lunch and a swim.

Karnak and Luxor Temple, on the east bank, have columns and shade and suit a late afternoon visit, ideally from around four when the sandstone turns gold. That split is the whole secret to loving Luxor in April.

Plan my April Luxor days with dawn starts

The Red Sea in April: the best balance of the year

Ask our guides which month they would pick for the coast and most say April. The water has lost the winter chill that makes January snorkeling a wetsuit affair, but the air has not yet reached the July level where you retreat indoors from noon to five.

Visibility on the reefs is generally excellent in spring, the wind keeps the kitesurfing lagoons at El Gouna and Dahab busy without keeping boats in port, and after the first week the evenings are warm enough to eat outside without a jacket. A short wetsuit is still nice for long snorkeling sessions early in the month; by the last week most people go without.

Hurghada and El Gouna are the natural fit after a cruise ending in Luxor, a few hours by road across the mountains. Sharm el Sheikh and Dahab suit divers and anyone who wants to add Mount Sinai. We compare the two coasts in Hurghada or Sharm el Sheikh; the short answer for April is Hurghada for families, Sharm for divers. If your dates overlap Western Easter, book the beach portion as early as the cruise.

How crowded is Egypt in April, and how it compares with December

April is the tail end of high season, and it behaves like two different months. The first half, with spring break and Western Easter, is as busy as any week in winter: ships sail full and the good guides are spoken for. The second half loosens week by week as the heat rises and families go home. By the last days of April you are already in the calmer rhythm we describe in our guide to high and low season in Egypt.

People often weigh April against December, the other end of the season, so here is the comparison as we see it.

If you want the temples comfortable at any hour of the day, December wins, and our guide to visiting Egypt in December makes that case. If you want the sea, the picnic holiday and long light without the year end crowds, April is the smarter choice. For the whole year in one view, start with our guide to the best time to visit Egypt.

Khamsin days and Ramadan, the two April wildcards

Every honest April guide has to mention the khamsin. It is a hot, dry wind out of the Sahara that blows in spring, named for the roughly fifty days after Coptic Easter when it is most likely. On a khamsin day the sky turns the color of weak tea, the temperature jumps and fine dust gets into everything. Most Aprils bring two or three such days, rarely more than one at a time.

What changes for you: balloon flights are cancelled, open sites are unpleasant for a few hours, and contact lens wearers suffer. Nile ships keep sailing, tombs are unaffected, museums become the obvious plan. We watch the forecast and swap days around when we see one coming.

The second wildcard is Ramadan. The Islamic calendar moves about eleven days earlier each year on the Western calendar, so in some years the holy month touches April and in most years it does not. If your dates coincide with it, expect a different daily rhythm rather than closures: monuments open as usual but sometimes close earlier, restaurants outside hotels are quiet by day and wonderful after sunset, and Cairo's evenings turn into a street festival. Nile cruises run normally.

A ten day April itinerary built around the heat

This is the shape we recommend most often for April, adapted from our standard ten day Egypt itinerary. Cairo comes first while the capital is still mild, Upper Egypt runs on early starts, and the coast closes the trip where afternoon heat is a feature rather than a problem.

1. Days one to three, Cairo and Giza. Pyramids and the Sphinx at opening time, then Saqqara. A museum day for the treasures of Tutankhamun. A third morning in Islamic and Coptic Cairo, especially moving during Coptic Holy Week.
2. Day four, fly to Aswan. Philae in the late afternoon light, then a felucca at sunset when the day has cooled.
3. Day five, Abu Simbel before the heat. Leave Aswan very early, see the temples in the morning, and be back on the ship for lunch as it sails north.
4. Days six and seven, the cruise. Kom Ombo and Edfu early or late in the day, with the hottest hours on the sundeck under the awning or in the pool.
5. Day eight, Luxor at dawn. The west bank morning described above, Karnak at four, Luxor Temple after dark when it is lit.
6. Days nine and ten, the Red Sea. Road transfer to Hurghada or El Gouna, then two days of reef, beach and a very late breakfast.

With twelve days you can add Alexandria or a third day on the coast. With seven you drop the Red Sea and fly back from Luxor.

What to pack for Egypt in April

April packing is easier than winter packing because you are not dressing for cold nights, but the sun and the dust deserve respect. Our general what to pack for Egypt list covers the essentials for any month; these are the April specific additions.

• A wide brimmed hat that stays on in wind, not a baseball cap.
• Loose, long sleeved shirts in light colors, which protect better than sunscreen alone and suit mosques and churches.
• Closed toe walking shoes with grip for the tomb ramps, plus sandals for the ship and the beach.
• One light sweater for dawn on deck, the balloon basket and over cooled restaurants. You will not need a real jacket.
• A buff or scarf you can pull over your nose and mouth on a khamsin day, and eyeglasses instead of contacts for the same reason.
• A refillable bottle. Dehydration sneaks up in dry heat because you do not feel yourself sweating.

Leave the heavy layers at home, and pack modest clothing if you would like to step inside a church during Coptic Easter.

Check my April dates against the holidays

Frequently asked questions