Egypt is not as expensive or dangerous as you might think, especially after the 2014 crisis. Since then, tourism has fallen sharply so prices have dropped as well. This is a guide so you plan your next trip to this amazing country.
Famous Giza Pyramids
1
Best time to Visit?
Karnak Temple, Luxor
Egypt can be visited all year round but I would recommend avoiding summer months that can be really hot, especially south (Luxor and Aswan). Best time to visit is from September to April but expect big crowds on December and January since those are the tourist months.
I visited Egypt on May/June and it was extremely hot. Some days at Luxor where 48ºC so I wouldn´t imagine visiting on July/August.
2
What to visit? – How much time to Spend?
The time you should spent will depend on the places you want to visit. What to do in each city:
Cairo: A must since you will probably arrive to it´s international airport (Minimum 5 Days).
- Giza Pyramids
- Egyptian Museum
- Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar
- Old Cairo
Luxor: Small city on the side of the Nile river that will surprise you with the amount of close distance temples that you can visit (Minimum 5 days).
- Karnak Temple
- Valley of the Kings
- Hot Air Baloon
- Luxor Temple
Western Desert: Surprising rock formations and dunes are just part of the scenery where time seems to have stopped (Minimum 3 Days).
- White Desert
- Siwa Oasis
Aswan: Located in the southest region it´s known for being a strategic and commercial gateaway since ancient times (Minimum 5 Days)
- Ruins of Abu
- Elephantine Island
Dahab: Small town on Sinai Peninsula. Known for it´s diving on the Red Sea. Really popular for backpackers (Minimum 3 Days)
- Dive in the Red Sea
- ATV or Camel Safaris
*Nile River Cruise: Add 3-4 Days
3
How much does it cost?
Hot Air Baloon, Luxor
How much you spend will depend on your budget but you can really do everything on a really low cost. What you should consider:
- Accomodation (Hostel and Cheap Hotel): $5 – $15 USD
- Cheap Lunch and Dinner: $3 – $5 USD
- Bus (Cairo – Dahab): $15 USD
- Seating Train (Cairo – Luxor): $15 USD. Egyptian National Railways
- Entrance Fees: $15 USD Average. For detail list here
- Fan Dives: $25 USD
- ATV Excursion: $15 USD
- Camel Safari: $30 USD
- Hot Air Baloon: $30 USD
- Visa on Arrival: $25 USD
4
How do you get around?
El Cairo Metro Map
If you want to save money you must go around by yourself. It´s not as hard as you may think and whenever you need help, you can find someone that can help you
Cairo Metro
With just 3 lines it´s very easy to use and will let you access most parts of the city without any problems. It uses a metro card or a ticket that can be bought at each station and it cost 1 EGP for each journey. Metro stations and directions are written in Arab and English.
Train
The main line cross the country form Alexandria in the North side of the country to Aswan in the south. You have 1st and 2nd class tickets for sleeper trains. They will try to force you to buy this type of train saying it´s for security reasons. Day train or sitting train it´s mainly used by locals. You can ask a hostel or agency to buy it for you or you can buy the ticket on board and pay a small fee. Sleeper trains are really comfortable but day trains are ok and better if you want to travel on a budget.
Bus
You can find from shitty ones to some modern ones with even advance booking. A common and cheap way of transport inside Egypt. There are also smaller 14 seat buses called microbuses that cover the same routes and departure when full.
Taxi
Cheap compared to other countries but still one of the most expensive ways to move around. Always ask for taximeter since some drivers will ant to take advantage of tourist. 5 kms trip should cost around $13 EGP and 10 kms trip should cost around $22 EGP
Getting to Giza Pyramids
You can take metro line 2 to El-Giza Station and then take a taxi for the next 6.5 kms. You should pay the driver around $15 EGP. The other option is taking a public bus route 355 or 357 from city center for $2 EGP to the pyramids.
Getting from Airport to Cairo Center
You can reach Heliopolis by taxi and then take metro on line 2. Line extention to reach airport is under construction. The cheapest way is taking a bus from terminal 3 that cost $1.5 EGP
5
Where do you sleep?
Finding cheap places around Egypt is really easy. Hostels are not so popular as in other places but still cheap hotels are cheaper than hostels in other countries. You won´t find youth party hostels around Egypt but it doesn´t matter because you are not going there to party. You can find a wide range of cheap hotels with private room or shared rooms in hostels. Most are quite old but it´s fine. Not even close to the worst places I´ve had stayed.
Sometimes you should invest a little bit more, especially if it´s too hot. In luxor I got a private room at a hotel with pool, privet toilet and WiFi for $15 a Day. The hotel had better days but still was awesome for the price since the temperature got even up to 48ºC when I was there.
Hostels and Hotels are not so developed as in other countries so not all places are listed on internet. Still you can find most of them on the regular booking websites.
6
Tips and Considerations
Khan Al-Khalili, Cairo
- As tourism has fallen a lot, some locals try to take advantage of tourist so be ware of scams. Be suspicious if someone it´s too nice or offers something too good. Better safe than sorry!
- Train stations will force you to buy sleeping trains saying that seating or day trains are just for locals. If that happens, ask your hostel to buy it for you and you won´t have any problem.
- Be carefull with the buildings you photograph. Since the crisis, military forces are very sensitive with foreigns suspecting they could be spies. I was almost arrested for taking a picture on the streetbecause I didn´t noticed a small no picture advice.
- For a cheaper Camel Ride and Picture at Giza Pyramids do it on the other side of the pyramids where the Sphinx is located since less tourist do it in that part because they ususally do it once they arrive.
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