Egypt Itinerary Advice - 3 Weeks

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katherinemw
katherinemw

Based on replies to a previous post I've put together a rough outline for an ~3 week trip to Egypt, tentatively scheduled for next November (seems like the perfect month - fall is supposed to be best, plus Nov. is warm enough for overnighting on a felucca without being too hot in daytime). I'm female, mid-20s and will be travelling alone. I'm interested in history as well as in impressive natural areas. I'd like to get other people's input on the itinerary, and advice on some points (especially on arranging tours to sights that can't be easily accessed independently).

  • Cairo (5 days): 1 day for Giza, 1 day for Islamic Cairo, 1 day for Coptic Cairo and the Egyptian Museum, 1 day for a day tour to Saqqara & Dahshur, and 1 day for a day tour to Wadi al-Hitain (Whale Valley) and the areas around it. (What's the easiest way to go about organizing day tours?) These would be split between the start and end of my trip. It seems like doing Giza the day before taking the night train to Aswan, leaving bags at the Giza train station's left-luggage while seeing the pyramids, and then getting the train from the Giza station would be convenient - does this seem like it would work?

I'd actually prefer not to be spending as much time in Cairo (based on descriptions - loads of traffic, busy, noisy, incredibly polluted air, loads of touts and scams, and I tend to get lost very easily in cities that don't have signs in the Latin alphabet) but it's a good base for day trips so it added up to five days. Islamic Cairo could potentially be dropped if getting there and back seems too difficult. How challenging of a place is Cairo?

  • Aswan (~4 days): 1 day for a day tour to Abu Simbel, 1 day for a day tour to Philae and the High Dam, 1 day for Elephantine Island and the Botanical Gardens (and possible the monastery on the West Bank), and 1 day to see the souq, the Nubia Museum and the Unfinished Obelisk and just wander around town. This may be a little too much time, but I hear that the night train sometimes gets in later that scheduled and some of the felucca tours leave in the afternoon, so it could turn out being closer to 3-3 1/2 days in reality.

The main question for this section is how difficult it is to arrange day tours to Philae and Abu Simbel if you're on your own, and approximately what they cost. Also, how much does it cost to fly to Abu Simbel and back in a day, and is it worth it? I've checked the Egypt Air website and it looks very expensive (over $250 just for the Aswan-Abu Simbel round-trip flight). On the other hand, eight hour on a bus there and back is a lot to just see one temple.

  • Felucca trip (2-4 days). What's the easiest way to arrange (ahead of time) a reliable felucca trip with a good operator? I don't trust my negotiating skills if I'm just negotiating with the boat captains directly and trying to figure out which ones are good. Are there some good tour companies that do felucca tours which can be pre-booked?

  • Luxor (4 days, or 3 1/2 if I'm expecting the felucca to arrive in Luxor midday). Three days to see the major sights of Luxor (East Bank: Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, Luxor Museum; West Bank: Ramesseum, Tombs of the Nobles, Valley of the Kings, Deir al-Bahri, Medinat Habu, possibly Workers' Village.) One day for a day tour (are there any by boat rather than bus?) to Abydos and Dendara. Again, how challenging is it to join a good-quality day tour if you're on your own? And how does one go about finding a good tour to some of the sights in Luxor (I want flexibility for some days, but have been advised that a guide is valuable for Karnak)? From the guidebooks and people's accounts its seems like it's difficult to sort out the good-quality guides from the touts.

  • Western Desert. I would want to get a tour for this that started in Luxor and dropped me in Cairo (or, less preferably, in Bahariya Oasis, where I could get a bus back to Cairo). Probably around 3-4 days, with the first day driving Luxor to Dakhla and seeing some of the sights around Kharga Oasis, the second day seeing Al-Qasr and heading into the White Desert for camping, the third day in the Black and White Desert, and the fourth in Bahariya and driving back to Cairo. Does anyone know of any good companies that do trips along these lines?

It adds up to 19-21 days, depending on the length of the felucca trip. How does this sound for a fairly comprehensive Egypt trip (I've already been to Sinai, and I can't scuba dive, so am skipping Sinai and Red Sea)? Is it too overloaded with ancient sites, and if so which ones should I drop? If you had to pick the top 5 ancient sites in Egypt (specific ones - e.g., "Karnak Temple", not "Luxor in general"), what would they be? Which historic sites are better if seen with a guide, and which are good to do on your own with a guidebook?

Thanks for any advice and comments.

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jonzy85
jonzy85

Hi,
I travelled through Egypt alone last January.
Your time in Cairo seems fine. I didn't do any tours, but there are plenty available through the various hostels. It is easy enough to get out to Giza yourself. If you really want to get to Saqqara and Dashur, you could probably combine this with a tour to Giza. Cairo is pretty hectic, but I enjoyed it. If you aren't a city person, I can imagine it might be a bit much. The metro is a great service for certain parts of the city.

Tours to Abu Simbel can be organised through the hotels. There isn't any great budget options in Aswan from my experience. The tours start at about 3.30 a.m. so that you arrive at Abu Simbel early enough before it gets too hot. You can combine the tour with Philae, Unfinished Obelisk etc.

Felucca trips can also be arranged through the hotels or else by yourself with the "captains" down by the river. They won't be shy about offering you trips. A lot will depend on if you are lucky enough to meet up with someone else who wants to do a similar trip. You won't be able to go all the way to Luxor. I did one to Kom Ombo which was 2 nights. This was plenty. There is the crocodile temple in Kom Ombo which is worth visiting too. You can get a train from Kom Ombo to Luxor easy enough.

I didn't do any tours in Luxor. For the West Bank the best bet is to hire a bicycle to get around. You would want at least 2 days for the West Bank in my opinion. Karnak was possibly the most impressive ancient sight I saw in Egypt, maybe after Abu Simbel.

Black & White deserts are going to be difficult and expensive to organise on your own. I had rang a couple of tour operators, but it was way out of my budget, can't remember the price, sorry. An alternative would be to go to Siwa, an oasis in the north west. This is a really special place. You can get there and back easy enough on an overnight bus from Cairo.

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superbunny1
superbunny1

Giza pyramids and etc will only take a half day at most without rushing it. As for Saqqara and Dashur I'd take the whole day as your also see Memphis on the way. Saqqara really does need more time as there is more than just king Zoser's pyramid but tombs of nobles that are defiantly worth your time, some of the best picture depictions of every day life at the time and in very good condition. I'd then go to Dashur after lunch and see the Red pyramid, you can go inside and it's better than the great pyramid at Giza and take a look at the bent pyramid. Ask to drive up to the bent pyramid as they often only let you see it from a distance. You will start to see the real Egypt on your way out there and back.

SB

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