Egypt??

SheroN

Hey,

I'm thinking about heading to egypt in the summer and was looking for some advice, what i'm looking to do is spend two weeks in the country. A week travelling around seeing the sights and a week relaxing in the sun. Has anyone done this? Any recomendations on resorts, operators etc etc?

Thanks.

silent

done the same 2 years ago - best holiday ever, egypt is great
first week on a boat - gone with budget travel and have been pleasantly surprised by the value. Boat went up and down the nile with one or two trips each day with the tour guide. Let me tell you that this has been the best week. You can relax in the cool breeze on deck, or go into the pool or into the sun and so on
second week was spent in hotels in luxor and cairo - it was good for chilling out but nothing could beat the first week. done some sightseeing as well, there's so much to do
btw, food is excelent in egypt so expect to gain a few pounds
Personally I think I will be going down again in 1-2 years again, on a week cruise again, probably with thomas cook

edit:I recommend the baedeker tour guide with map - very good

SheroN

Thanks for the advice silent...I was in egypt on a day trip years ago (was in cyrpus on holiday and went on a cruise to egypt and the holyland). DIdn't see much really though as we were on a bus most of the time!.

rodney.redneck

let me know your plans for the trrip

i posed a similar question about 2-3 weeks ago and got one or two responses, so do an "egypt" search in this forum.

hope to visit egypt myself this summer, funds permitting.

comet

Was there last year, its an amazing country, best holiday I have had. I back-packed so didn't do the cruise thing but did snorkel in the red sea. Its an easy country to get around. Slight annoyance is all the touts and scammers be prepared for them. "Where u from?" every 100 meters in Cairo as they spin some story about having a brother in Dublin. Yeah right!! Luxor is bad too. Vast majority of Egyptians are very friendly and nice. Like other Muslim countries it is extremely safe in terms of personal security. Key sights
Cairo: Pyramids, Museum, Pyramids of Giza. I recommend also checking out the pyramids of Dashur and Saqara not too far outside Cairo
Luxor: Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, The West Bank which has the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens

You will probably travel to the red sea from Luxor, Hurghada is popular.

Further south if you make it that far you have the nice city of Aswan. Between Luxor and Aswan are the temples Edfu and Esna. Further south from Aswan is the mighty temple of Abu Simbel

rodney.redneck

comet,

whats the best/cheapest option for flights to egypt from ireland. can only travel in july or august and havent come across any flights for less than €600. any recommendations

comet

You should be able to get it a good bit cheaper than that. Check out www.go4less.ie I picked a random 2 weeks in August and its giving a cheapest fare on Malev for €301 excluding taxes. Are you a student ? I'm not sure if you need to have an ISIC card to avail of these fares or not.

rodney.redneck

checked out those flights, works out at €389 when you add in taxes, which is pretty good. im working now but only 25 so i still think im eligible as it is also for people under 26.

i reckon i will start planning the trip now that i know i can get reasonably cheap flights. usually when i go on backpacking trips i like to stay in campsites or hostels. i like to see a bit of the country im visiting but i also like to relax and experience the social side of things, particularly the last week. it being a muslim country i wouldnt imagine there are too many places to go for a few pints, although I heard it is more relaxed along the red sea, which is somewhere i intend to kick back and relax.

any other important things to know before backpacking in egypt.
i must get the lonely planet but it always useful to talk to people who have already been.

comet

Drink is not that hard to come by. There aren't any pubs but they serve in most of the restaurants. The 2 local big beers are Stella and Saqarra, the later being much nicer i thought. Egypt is a very cheap country. You can get a single room with shower for around 8 euro. Depending on how much time you have you may want to go to the backpacker chillout place Dahab (good snorkelling/diving) but you've got to cross the red sea for that, nice place though. If you need more info PM me your email.