Cairo CAI: 6 Hours, 30 Min to the City
Egyptian Museum in 4 hours: 3,000 years of pharaohs, koshary downstairs, impossible scale. CAI is worth leaving the terminal.
Getting from the airport
CAI to city center: 30 minutes by metro (Line 3). Trains run every 10 minutes. Service runs 05:30 to 01:00. Skip the taxi unless your connection is under 5 hours.
What to do in Cairo
The stops worth making: Pyramids of Giza, Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili, Nile cruise. Rated above 4.4: El- Tahrir Square (4.6), Khan el-Khalili (4.4), People of Egypt Walkway (4.5), The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (4.7), The Egyptian Museum in Cairo (4.5). You do not need the full tourist circuit. Pick two and commit.
Visa and entry
Cairo is US passports get visa on arrival. Check the embassy site before booking. The border process at CAI is standard — budget 30 minutes.
How long do you need
The minimum useful layover is 6 hours. That gives you 30 minutes in each direction plus about 210 minutes on the ground. Up to 24 hours is a proper overnight.