Totally agree....get a package....independant travel is actively discouraged by the police.
Don't necessarily agree with you on that one. My girlfriend and I travelled around Egypt on our own in 2005 and had a fantastic time. I had a cousin Cairo for the first night and the last night but otherwise we were on our own, met quiet a few people along thw way as well. My suggestions
Recommendations:
Cairo - Pyrmaids are obv a must but are under-whelming from up close. Don't bother going in unless you feed the need to be able to say so, there is nothing to see and unless you go into one of the smaller ones you cannot take any pictures. The museum is also a must but a bit mad, be wary you don't stumble over some 5000 year old mummy or statue that are just lying about the place.
Khan-el-Khalia (spelling could be off) is a crazy market in the Islamic part of Cairo, absolutley mad stuff, go for a smoke of the sheisha pipe and some tea and don't forget to haggle like crazy with the locals. My best memory was my girlfriend being chased out of a shop for refusing to lift her offer of 50cent for some hundred euro painting
Lunch at the Hilton and a beer on the roof bar is also a nice thing to do/see. You also get a glimpse of the pyramids over the city which is amazing.
You can get a boat trip for an hour or so on the Nile as well but really we didn't think that you need more than 1-2 days in Cairo.
Aswan - From Cairo you can get the overnight train down to Aswan, buy the tickets a day or two before in the station. We stayed at the hotel on Elephant Island which was class. The Nubian village is right beside it and you can wander around and pick up a tour guide to bring you into the houses etc.
Aswan has a couple of sights, most of which I can't remember the name of, oh yeah the dam, but is most important for its location to Abu Simbel which is mind-blowing. Abs one of the best sites I ever been too. Because it is 3-4 hours from Aswan on a chartered bus there is a convey with police ever other morning that takes you down, it will be the highlight.
Luxor - get the train back up to Luxor and book into a hotel on the Nile. You have the Valley of the Kings and Queens and loads more. Visit the Old Winter Palace hotel for an expensive beer. Take a few days to do it well. Get the train back up to Cairo for one last run around Khan-el-Khelia for all the pressies.