Heading to Cairo for about week in July. What is a decent centralized hotels I can stay in? Downtown and somewhere not too far from the main historical sites. My main agenda is to check out the pyramids, sphinx, national museum and the university. Not really there for the night life but won't mind having a beer or two.
Keo
Reply to this Hello Keo,
There are a couple of other areas to see in Cairo - the Khan al-Khalili markets are great to wander around, and just north of there, pay a visit to Beit Suhaymi - a traditional mansion from the 19th century.
It is also worth visiting the Citadel and the imposing mosque of Sultan Hassan at the foot of the hill (but not on a Friday when it is closed).
I stayed in the Pension Roma on Mohammed Farid and it was one of the best places I stayed at in Egypt. Just be aware that Cairo is a hectic, noisy city and unless you get a room away from a street, don't expect to have a peaceful evening's sleep.
Reply to this I fully agree with Travel Camel: if you are lucky enough to have a week in Cairo, you can scratch a little bit deeper beneath the surface.
You can pretty much divide the Cairo highlights by religion!
Pharaonic: Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, Memphis (not so great though), Dahshur, Egyptian Museum
Christian: Coptic Cairo - great museum and loads of fascinating churches, nice bazaar. Also the oldest mosque and oldest synagogue in Cairo
Islamic: the Khan al-Khalili area. As well as the tourist bazaar, you have al-Hussein and al-Azhar mosques. Walk east down Muski to experience a real local bazaar. Walk north towards Bab al-Futuh to pass a wonderful area of newly restored Islamic monuments (such as Beit al-Souhaymi, mentioned above). Walk south towards Bab Zuwayla for more of the same sort of stuff.
As well as the Khan, two other must-sees are the Citadel, and Ibn Tulun mosque.
Check out an interactive Cairo website called
NileGuide for more ideas about what to see and do, where to eat and where to stay. They even have some example trips.
Hope this helps ... enjoy yourself!
Reply to this Guys,
Thanks for the info. I will definitely use the tips provided. Cheers.
Reply to this Please if you can help me, I´d appreciate.
I´ve been looking for flights and all of them are as expensive as a tour I found. How can I get to Egypt on my own with a cheap flight?
The tour 8/7 with Abu Simbel and Nile cruise included is 553 Eur.
Please help! Thanks in advance
Reply to this I am not an expert on tours as I never take them - however be aware that if you take a tour in Egypt you will be paying triple or more what you pay if you had organised everything yourself. A co-worker did take a tour there and she paid as much in 10 days as I did in a month.
Having said that, a tour on the Nile is expensive, regardless of how you organise it. If you do wish to take a tour, it may be best to arrive in Cairo and start haggling with a reputable company (check a book such as Lonely Planet). It is always cheaper to organise a tour within a country than from outside.
Reply to this Welcome in EGYPT , Contact with me giving u more facilities
Reply to this I´ve been in Egypt and I am now back to Argentina. Evething was great and if anyone needs any help just tell me. I ´ve done everything all over. Cairo, Luxor, Hurghada (with diving at the Red Sea) all on my own and it was great. No Cruises, just Feluca to sail the Nile. For egyptians, I want to tell them, YOUR COUNTRY IS GREAT!!
Reply to this
Hi Monica,
Did you travel on your own? And was it difficult organising public transport? Also, does accomodation need to be booked in advance or can you just 'wing' it?
Thanks!
Reply to this Depending on the season you go will depend on how busy the transport is. Having said that, I went during peak season and I never had problems organising transport anywhere. For popular routes - I just went to the train/bus station a day before I was due to go and it was easy to purchase a ticket. For shorter routes, I turned up on the day and there were plenty of seats on offer.
Reply to this Shane, you're amazing........you're so well travelled! Thankyou!
I'm fairly confident about travelling through Jordan & Syria and even Turkey solo, but gotta confess, I'm a little nervous about Egypt. I've been reading Lonely Planet and other guides and looking at accomodation in Cairo. The Pension Roma sounds good...do I book from Australia or just 'rock up'?
I'd like to get the day train to Luxor; can I book a return trip by boat back to Cairo from Luxor or Aswan/Abu Simbel...or better to do that in Cairo or Oz? Then from Cairo, would it be easier to book a flight into Amman or Damascus? Or should I do that in Oz? I just hate being held to dates.........
And if I want to go to Israel, can I ask for my passport not to be stamped prior to journeying through the rest of the Middle East? Sorry Shane, lots of questions I know but one more please! Lebanon/Beirut...looks great...good idea?
Reply to this To answer your questions:
1) You will get more hassle in Egypt than the other countries, but it is to do with buying goods rather than anything more sinister.
2) I just turned up at Pension Roma early afternoon and they had a room. If they have an email, send one to them just to confirm. They do speak English, so you could try to call, but I still think email is the better option.
3) Fly to Damascus if going to Egypt last, or fly to Amman if going to Turkey last - no backtracking then. Both are well served by different airlines.
3) Boat trip on the Nile - this is not my area of expertise, as I never did it. However, depending on the type of boat, you should be able to book something when you arrive. There are touts galore in Luxor and Aswan, so there should be something on offer there - but I'm unsure if they offer the nicer cruise boats or some local version.
4) Having an Israeli visa stamp will allow you to visit Egypt and Jordan - but definitely not Syria and probably not Lebanon - not sure about Turkey. If you are going by plane, it is easy to get the visa stamped on a piece of paper, but if coming overland by Jordan (via King Hussein bridge) also ensure that you do not get an exit stamp from Jordan in your passport, as anyone seeing it will know that your next destination is Israel - and thus it will cause you the same problems.
5) Lebanon/Beirut - I did like Lebanon - had some great historic sights - but be aware that Beirut has an underlying tension and it can make one feel uncomfortable. My blog on this journey:
A Country Under Siege expresses it better than I could in a short amount of space here.
I really love the Middle East - my favourite region of the world. Will head there again for my fourth visit next year.
Reply to this Let me tell you my experience. I´d just arrived from Egypt and Jordan.
First of all, if you want to book something cheap look at Hostelbokers.com I´ve been at the Australian hostel and the Alexander. I prefer the 2nd. You can read about both.
Luxor is a place to stay for a few days cause you can go everywhere from Luxor. I got there with the sleeping train. Excellent (U$60) 9 hours trip. There I booked at the Sherif hostel. Great and very cheap (U$4.50 for a single private room) It is near evething even the Nile. There I took a Feluca for a Nile sailing. Ask for Khaled at that hostel, is a person you can trust and that is very important in Egypt. jajaj. Nothing is dangerous there but money is what they try to get. Not steal, just selling. The people is great, same as in Jordan.
I return to Cairo by plane. Egypt Air is a very good airline you must ask for th3e day it´s cheaper and tha´t all. I went to Hurghada and dive in the Red Sea. GREAT and safe. Moon Valley Hotel there and Seawolf diving Center just across the street. If you please go say hello to Shin and Martin, the owners. Jordan: I did not like Amman very much but Wadi Musa and Petra City...Guau!!! I love it and stayed more days I thought to. Sunset Hotel is where I stayed. If you need to go to sleep in a bedouin tent ask on the street for Abdallah (cheap and trustful person) The othersa want 100 jORDAN DINNARS (70+20 for food+10 for the bedouin) AND HE TOOK ME FOR 60 WITH FOOD INCLUDED. Iraesl is forbiden for people with a Syrian visa stamped less than 6 month ago. I recomend you go to Damasc after Jordan, it will be thew best way I think.
I made friends everywhere I went so if you need help just tell me. Good Luck!!
Reply to this Let me tell you my experience. I´d just arrived from Egypt and Jordan.
First of all, if you want to book something cheap look at Hostelbokers.com I´ve been at the Australian hostel and the Alexander. I prefer the 2nd. You can read about both.
Luxor is a place to stay for a few days cause you can go everywhere from Luxor. I got there with the sleeping train. Excellent (U$60) 9 hours trip. There I booked at the Sherif hostel. Great and very cheap (U$4.50 for a single private room) It is near evething even the Nile. There I took a Feluca for a Nile sailing. Ask for Khaled at that hostel, is a person you can trust and that is very important in Egypt. jajaj. Nothing is dangerous there but money is what they try to get. Not steal, just selling. The people is great, same as in Jordan.
I return to Cairo by plane. Egypt Air is a very good airline you must ask for th3e day it´s cheaper and tha´t all. I went to Hurghada and dive in the Red Sea. GREAT and safe. Moon Valley Hotel there and Seawolf diving Center just across the street. If you please go say hello to Shin and Martin, the owners. Jordan: I did not like Amman very much but Wadi Musa and Petra City...Guau!!! I love it and stayed more days I thought to. Sunset Hotel is where I stayed. If you need to go to sleep in a bedouin tent ask on the street for Abdallah (cheap and trustful person) The othersa want 100 jORDAN DINNARS (70+20 for food+10 for the bedouin) AND HE TOOK ME FOR 60 WITH FOOD INCLUDED. Iraesl is forbiden for people with a Syrian visa stamped less than 6 month ago. I recomend you go to Damasc after Jordan, it will be thew best way I think.
I made friends everywhere I went so if you need help just tell me. Good Luck!!
Reply to this Thankyou so much Monica...that information is so helpful. Did you also travel to Turkey?
Reply to this No I didn´t but my friend says it is so beautiful. I think you´ll find most same as Egypt. If you need anything else you can send a private and I give you my mail. Remember I was alone all the time and I got a fantastic trip. No need of company. Remember to book before arriving the first time. It is very useful cause you arrive tired and need to rest. The hostels offers picking you at the airport. That is great. You can san say "la" (means; no) to all the taxi offers. The best advice I can give is that you can bargain for anything till you arrive to a price that´s good for you. Don´t listen to the ones who say I got it cheaper. If it is OK for you that is good. As they say -"Do it if it makes you happy"- hahahah
In case I forgot, if you go to the Sunset hotel, wich is 5 min walk from Petra (very important cause Wadi Musa downtown is far and "uptown" as it is all mountains) The owne´s name is Belal, say hello to him too.
Best Regards, have a nice trip.
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