Concerns trip to Egypt
Hey, what´s up?We are a couple of guys travelling to Egypt for Christmas time, 11-12 days, our idea is to travel on our own, as we will surely run out of time, do you recommend us to get on the Nile cruise or Assuan cruise? I heard so many things about them....a cruise will probably take us like 4 days and we also want to visit Sharm el Sheik for diving, Cairo and both White and Black desert, so is it worthier renting a car instead and drive around the country?? which cruise is better in your opinion??
Too many things to see and too few time...
Thanks for your ideas.
Sincerely,
www.elmundodeazcarate.com
1
Your question is too subjective for us to be much help.I would not take any kind of a cruise because they do not interest me, but that doesn't mean you might not enjoy a cruise. Likewise, I would not rent a car and drive in Egypt due to the traffic and driving habits of people who live there, but you might live somewhere where similar driving habits would make driving in Egypt much easier.
If it were me I'd stick to public transportation and seeing Egypt from the land.
Good luck.
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Give any cruise a miss. (Unless you bump into Penelope Cruz, in which case go for it!)You have too little time ot sit on a cruise for a couple of days. If you have 11 days only, then you do not have time to relax on a cruise sipping orange juice for several lazy afternoons in the sun, if you want to see these other places. Take a nile felluca ride for an hour instead (haggle first! Many all, in my experiences" target="_newWindow">http://i.e. virtually all, in my experiences Egyptians will take you for every pound they can. And then some!).
Don't hire a car unless you want to give your family a nice life-insurance payout. Traffic is very hectic for the non Egyptian. Easier to take an air conditioned train or bus, and usually, just as easy.
Dahab is better than Sharm El Sheik in my opinion. But if you only get to Sharm and not Dahab then don't stress, they are both good for diving.
3
We skipped the cruise to pack more into our Egyptian experience, and travelled everywhere by public transportation. If you are two young guys, you will probably like Dahab a lot more than Sharm--it's more laid-back and a back packer's haven (think 'young' vs. Eastern European tour buses).4
Thank you guys for the answers, I might change the itinerary and skip the cruise, what I eventually thought was to move down visiting all the relevant highlights and take a flight in Aswan to Cairo on day 10th before departing back home.Thank your for your answers, I appreciate your time.
www.elmundodeazcarate.com
5
I can recommend you an itinerary:If you will fly to Cairo then you go Cairo Aswan then back to Cairo and form Cairo you go to White and balck desert then back to Cairo then you can do it to Sharm
Dont take the cruise as you can finish Aswan in just 2 nights and take the train to Cairo the plane will cost you so much more and will take a lot of time to go in advance to the airport etc...
Let me know if you want a detailed itinerary i can do it for u :)
THanks
6
Thanks Daccord,I appreciate your work! my plan was Cairo - Sharm el sheik - back to Cairo and then black & white desert and from Dakhla oasis to Luxor and down til Abu simbel, I am planning to do this in 11-12 days, probably in a rush but this is everything I have. Do you have any other interesting thing I can´t miss?? I know I am missing Siwa, can´t divert otherwise it will take me longer...
Do you know how much are the flights from Aswan to Cairo please? flight companies??
If you have something better let me know please.
Thanks a lot
Jaime
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Jaime,Of course forget about Siwa i go there a lot but it's like 12 hours form Cairo ...
But you know white and black desert is also far from Dakhla Oasis couple of hours ...
I would still recommend Cairo white and black then back to Cairo and take train to Aswan from there to abu simbel at the end luxor then travel from luxor by flight to Cairo
the internal fligths are only done through Egyptair.com
Please book in advance for cheaper rates...
but cairo sharm el sheikh it's 3 days ?
then white desert 2 days ?
so the rest 5 days are just for luxor and Aswan that's my suggestion
Of course forget about the cruise idea i can make your Aswan luxor plan so that you will see almost everything ...
THanks
Karim Kassem
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I disagree with the not taking a cruise - I found it was a fantastic way to take in a lot of sites easily, whilst also having some down time to relax and enjoy the scenery along the Nile, as well as seeing small villages along the way dotted along the banks. It certainly wasn't about lazing about, a lot of the time was spent on the go, hopping off in different places to go and explore some more fascinating sites. We were also able to get off the boat in each town we stopped in to wander around the local markets / area in general. We were able to day trip the main sights in Cairo from Luxor, as well as day-tripping to the Red Sea, where we were able to see the beautiful beaches, and go snorkelling. I am going back a few years, but for me that really was the easiest way to pack in many things in this fabulous place.9
Thank you guys for the answers!I don´t have the detailed itinerary yet! I will figure it very soon, one thing is sure Sassy, I will skip the cruise because I only have 12 days and I´d rather spend some of those in the desert, Oasis Dakhla and diving at the red sea, I´ll probably rent a car and drive all the way down...
Thanks once again for your answers.
Jaime
10
I'd like to latch on to this post...I've got 13 days in Egypt next month and have already been to Cairo, Luxor, and Dahab. This time I'm flying straight to Aswan for Abu Simbel and to arrange a Nile cruise to Luxor from where I'm hoping to loop through the desert to Cairo for my flight.
Is 13 days enough time? What's an expected wait time for a cruise departing Aswan?
Cheers.
Jon
And by 'looping through' I mean stopping off here and there for a desert tour, not just passing through all the oasis towns by bus.
Edited by: JonMW
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Yes, given your stated travel objectives 13 days is fine.Cruises from Aswan leave on different days and for different durations. My advice is to go to the docks (all the cruise ships are lined up along the Nile. You can't miss them.) and look for a boat or two that meet your criteria. I've seen some that look absolutely nasty and others that look pretty nice. It will be easy to appraoch a representative of the ship, get a tour and book. You may have to wait a couple days for that particular boat (or it may be leaving that afternoon), but you'll have enough options that you should be fine.
Good luck.
12
Does anyone know any kind of guide driver in Cairo city??We want to hire a guide guy with a car (like a taxi) and stroll around Cairo for 3 or 4 days cause public transportation is chaotic.
I will appreciate any reference.
Thanks a lot
www.elmundodeazcarate.com
