# Cairo and Luxor?



## ValHam (Mar 21, 2022)

Wow - Planning a trip to Egypt and don't know where to start - I want to book day tours from Cairo Hotel and day tours from Luxor Hotel?  Any recommendations on private tour guides or tour company?  Any hotel recommendations?  Would 5 days in Cairo and 5 days in Luxor be enough time.  Would you recommend I visit other cities as well.  Thanks


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## chellej (Mar 22, 2022)

DS was deployed to Eygpt 3 years ago.  At that time they were not allowed to go to Cairo (terrorist reasons)  He was allowed to go to Sharm El-Sheikh and his  GF flew over and spent a week.  It is a resort area, nice beaches, snorkeling etc.   I will ask him for recommendations.


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## ScoopKona (Mar 22, 2022)

I lived in Egypt for a year in the 1990s.

The world wonders haven't changed. But everything else has. Even back then, before the "easy access internet" and "translations at your fingertips," I wouldn't recommend taking a tour. Egypt is definitely a place you want to see at your own pace -- not someone else's. You can easily hire a driver to take you to what you want to see. And it will likely work out for around the same price as a tour. A decent guidebook and a means of Point A to B (I used their bus system) is just as good. These sites have been extensively written about. The only real question is "what do we want to see?"

Just the Egyptian Museum is going to take a day for a normal person and multiple days for a nerd. Pyramids? How many would you like to see? There are dozens. It's interesting to start with Saqqara and progress through the centuries of pyramid building, which culminated with the Great Pyramid of Cheops.

Luxor, for anyone of even modest physical ability, is a bicycle destination. You can rent a bike and visit everything you want to see. And the ride is pleasant. And you don't need to worry about the weather. Even when it's hot (which is most of the time), you don't even feel it.

And again, you're on your own pace. The Temple of Hapshetsut is the most interesting building humans have created. And it's my second-favorite place in the whole of Egypt. And many tours skip it, or give you half an hour in their quest to cram everything into one day.

And my favorite place in Egypt? The Sinai -- some of the best snorkeling in the world. No SCUBA gear needed. The reef is *right there* and gorgeous. I lived in Dahab -- but any Red Sea town will do.


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## ValHam (Mar 22, 2022)

Should I go to Hurghuda from Luxor for the Red Sea?  I agree - I do not want to be rushed.  Can I get a private tour of the museum in Cairo outside the museum?  I also want a private guide.  No way do I want to be rushed.  Thanks kindly


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## ScoopKona (Mar 22, 2022)

ValHam said:


> Should I go to Hurghuda from Luxor for the Red Sea?  I agree - I do not want to be rushed.  Can I get a private tour of the museum in Cairo outside the museum?  I also want a private guide.  No way do I want to be rushed.  Thanks kindly



Anywhere on the Sinai will be fine. You will likely want to see St. Catherine's monastery at Mount Sinai (burning bush, moses' well, steps up Mt. Sinai) -- that's assuming the monks are taking visitors. They were a grumpy lot when I lived there.

Private tours are easy to arrange -- but finding the combination of "local knowledge, reliable transportation, not scammy, easy communication" can be difficult. If they want to take you to their relative the papyrus dealer, avoid. My guess is that you could find someone on Facebook and arrange most of this in advance. 

I always just followed another tour, discreetly -- if it was a good one. Best of all worlds that way.


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## samara64 (Mar 25, 2022)

@ValHam

If I were you, I would wait until they open the $3 Billion Grand Egyptian Museum next to the Pyramids.

I just came back from an 18 days trip where we visited the newly opened "Mummies of the kings museum" and they said this is nothing compared to the grand museum with windows overlooking at the pyramids. All the  monuments in the current museum in Tahrir Square will be moved over to the new one and presented nicely. It will take a week to just run through the new museum.

The old Egyptian museum in Tahrir Square is old and in my view is not worth it as you have tons of monuments sitting there but not presented right. You can hire a tour guide in the entrance or they will approach you which they did in 2019 and he will go through the exhibits including king TUTs.

I rented a car for about $500 from expedia/sixth but you need to know how to drive there. For me, I am used to this as I drove in almost all continents and in very rough places. I would put it a hair harder then Turkey. Uber/Karim works perfect and cheap too.

We visited lots of old churches and monasteries from 4th century as well as the newly built cathedral of the "Birth of Christ" in the new capital that is being built and should open this year.

Also best way to visit Luxor and Aswan is by taking a 3 or 4 days Nile Cruse. It is about $400 per person including flight from Cairo, food and transportation. It starts in Aswan or Luxor and ends in Luxor or Aswan. You fly to one city and fly out from the other back.

Had an amazing trip and lots of GREAT food. I have to say also it is getting expensive from we last visited in 2019 but this is going on everywhere including Seattle.

I will try to add some pics when I get around it.

Sam


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## Jodyv (Mar 26, 2022)

I've used "Get your Guide" for a number of day trips in several locations.  (Several in Mexico....one in England...) I've had great experiences.  I've also used Airbnb experiences.  I've never been disappointed.  How exciting planning this trip!!


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## ValHam (Mar 27, 2022)

Your trip sounds amazing.  I was thinking of flying to Luxor for 5 nights.  Perhaps it is better to take the cruise.  The new museum - wow - wonder when it is going to be finished.


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## bizaro86 (Mar 27, 2022)

samara64 said:


> I rented a car for about $500 from expedia/sixth but you need to know how to drive there. For me, I am used to this as I drove in almost all continents and in very rough places. I would put it a hair harder then Turkey. Uber/Karim works perfect and cheap too.



How did you deal with the bahksheesh stops? Just pay and go on your way?


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## samara64 (Mar 27, 2022)

Never stopped in one of these. Not sure when you get to pay these. Or do you mean when you park your car and someone cleans the glass. Had to do that 2 or 3 times.
Also in restaurants and hotels. Yes, but it has nothing to do with cars unless there is a valet parking.


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## bizaro86 (Mar 27, 2022)

samara64 said:


> Never stopped in one of these. Not sure when you get to pay these. Or do you mean when you park your car and someone cleans the glass. Had to do that 2 or 3 times.
> Also in restaurants and hotels. Yes, but it has nothing to do with cars unless there is a valet parking.



Interesting. Last time I was in Egypt the taxi cabs I was in got stopped multiple times per trip to pay a small amount of money. Sometimes by armed police, sometimes by men with a log or something else blocking the road. 

This was in the last year under Mubarak so maybe things have improved.

We also had to pay bribes at customs to get our passports back, and at the baggage claim to get our luggage.


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## samara64 (Mar 27, 2022)

That is very interesting.

I visited Egypt in 2009 before the revolution and I saw the fees the taxi drivers had to pay. Was a corrupt system under Mubarak.

Things have improved a lot (would say 180 degrees) but also got expensive. Gas used to be $0.50 cent a gallon now it is $1.75. Everything else like food is 4-5 times as expensive. Over 3,000 KM of 4 lane hwys were done in the past 4 years. All have tolls but is worth it. GPS used to work fine but with so many new roads, it is no longer updated so I followed the signs and it was always faster. When we were flying back, GPS kept telling us to turn in an old HWY. There was a sign saying Airport which I followed. It was a brand new HWY not on the GPS that got us straight to airport in 12 min so GPS is not your friend for now but hopefully soon.

Also a new high speed rail that connects east to west (Ain-sokna to Aleman) and north to south (Cairo to Aswan) within 2-3 hours. You can see the construction sites allover the country for it. So hopefully in 2 years or so after all these projects are done, things will be much better and tourists can move much easier.


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## bizaro86 (Mar 27, 2022)

samara64 said:


> Also a new high speed rail that connects east to west (Ain-sokna to Aleman) and north to south (Cairo to Aswan) within 2-3 hours. You can see the construction sites allover the country for it. So hopefully in 2 years or so after all these projects are done, things will be much better and tourists can move much easier.



I'm glad to hear things have improved in Egypt since we were there. The amount of corruption was a real turn off (and having an armed government official demand money for the return of my passport was quite scary). I'd like to take my kids in a few more years.

High speed rail would be nice! I really like trains, although the only one in Africa I've taken was from Nairobi to Mombasa. Even in first class the smell was overpowering, as none of the toilets on the overnight train ride were functioning properly.


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## samara64 (Mar 28, 2022)

bizaro86 said:


> having an armed government official demand money for the return of my passport was quite scary. I'd like to take my kids in a few more years.



Just curios, where did this happen. Airport, hotel, street. Honestly, I would not have paid and raised hell. Happened to me in Mexico and I refused and got my stuff back.


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## bizaro86 (Mar 28, 2022)

samara64 said:


> Just curios, where did this happen. Airport, hotel, street. Honestly, I would not have paid and raised hell. Happened to me in Mexico and I refused and got my stuff back.



Cairo International Airport, customs desk for transfer passengers. We were connecting to Luxor. Everyone else from our flight was in the direct arrivals hall, so we were the only non-staff members in the room. Arguing seemed like a poor risk-reward to me.


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## samara64 (Apr 10, 2022)

just noticed your question:



ValHam said:


> Your trip sounds amazing.  I was thinking of flying to Luxor for 5 nights.  Perhaps it is better to take the cruise.  The new museum - wow - wonder when it is going to be finished.




Here is more info on it:









						Why You Should Visit Egypt In 2022
					

With new and improved hotels and long-awaited cultural sites finally making their debuts, 2022 is a big year for Egypt.




					www.forbes.com
				




Maybe 2023 is a better year. Hopefully COVID is out.


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