Travelling to Egypt Advice!!

I noticed that there's an Egyptian community on this forum so I thought you guys might be able to help me.

Me and a few friends are going on holiday to Egypt for a couple of weeks in mid June. So of the cities and attractions I'm visiting are below:

Cairo:
Islamic Cairo - Citadel, Khan El Khallil, Al Azhar Mosque
Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, Egyptian Museum, Horse and Camel riding.

Anything else I shouldn't miss out on in Cairo?

Luxor:
East Bank, Visit Temple of Luxor & other Temples and museums.
Trek around Valley of Kings and Hot Air Balloon Ride, visit Western Valley and Tombs

Anything else I shouldn't miss out on in Luxor?

Alexandria: Daytrip but not sure what are the main attractions here....Help!!

Sinai/Sharm El Sheikh:
Beach and Snorkelling, Scuba Diving
Quad Bikes, football on the beach
Climbing Mount Sinai at Night for Sunrise

Anything else I shouldn't miss out on in Sinai/Sharm El Sheikh

I hear trains don't go to the Sinai Region so what is the best coach service to there, also what are the costs for the above activities.

None of us speak Arabic which I hear maybe a HUGE problem, the only friend that speaks fluent Arabic can't make the trip, I do know I'm going to have to haggle on prices for almost everything.

Anyone know good hotels/hostels in each region also advice in general about Egypt....Thanks!

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 12:41 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

You don't really need to speak Arabic, especially at the main touristy places you're going to. All shop-keepers you'll meet will probably know at least english numbers, if not anything else (often they have a calculator handy to type in the numver). I was really amazed when I went, that even small children were speaking to us in french, spanish and english (granted they didn't realise when they swapped between the three).

Definitely don't miss out on boating on the Nile. Even if it's just a short evening trip, it's such a lovely experience. You can probably do that in Luxor.

I don't know much about costs, because I went on a school trip so it was all taken care of beforehand. Remember that if you have a tour guide for any portion of the trip, tip him as well as paying the required fees. We didn't realise this was so important; we gave a reasonably-sized tip, but it turned out it was expected that we give much more. Try checking that out with other tourists you meet in the hotels and see what they've been tipping, because it changes all the time.

Another thing, when you go to the Valley of the Kings (also if you get a chance, go to the Valley of the Queens! I didn't have time, but I hear it's fantastic) make sure you have cash on you, because you have to pay quite a bit to get into the better tombs.

When you go camel-riding, be careful! Make sure you have it sorted with the camel owner how far he's going to take you before you get on. My friend and I took a camel ride from around the pyramids, and he left us about a kilometre into the desert because we didn't have the cash to pay him to return, even though we'd aleady paid!

Your plan looks amazing though! Have fun! It's such a great place, so different from anywhere I've been before, and the people are so lively and funny. Leave heaps of spare time to explore sidestreets and other things around you, because the thing I hated most about being on a guided tour the whole time was that we didn't have any time to just look around when we found something interesting that wasn't on the timetable. I mean, you'd walk past a sidestreet in Cairo and see donkeys pulling carts around a traditional foodmarket; it'd be fantastic to be able to afford the time to take a look around.

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:56 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Thanks for the advice allie_oop!!!

Just 10 days to go now before we fly out. I'm definitely going to take your advice on the tipping, I don't want to be left embarassed or stranded in the middle of the desert. Also I'm going to take a boat ride on the Nile at sunset in Luxor. I'd like to explore the country as much as possible without being restricted to what they have on the Tour Guide programme and see the actual country and culture.