We travel by road convoy from Luxor to Hurghada - 2 of these leave every day. Given that we are covering long stretches of uncontrolled territory this is the only way safe travel (and I use this term loosely) is possible. Between 20 and 30 minivans and coaches travel with 3 police vehicles, one up in front, one in the middle and one behind. There is a scheduled stop somewhere in the middle. More on convoys later... We arrive in Hurghada early evening but as it is dark any visual delights or disappointments will elude us until morning. The kids make a dash for the pool and are ecstatic when they discover we have our own bit of Red Sea. We wake early to catch our bus to our snorkling boat and my thoughts en route ... read more

Hello! Holly and I have just arrived back from the most amazing time snorkeling off the red sea coast at Hurghada.... but I don't want to talk about that just yet we have to catch you up on the last 7 days or so. Temples and tombs and enough history to make you wish you'd been paying more attention at school. We've been to Aswan, Abu Simbel, the High Dam and Luxor. I've taken around 1000 photos (thank goodness we live in a digital age) and luckily for you I cannot load them all here now! Where to start? After Cairo, the pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, the Christian and the Muslim ends of town we headed by overnight train to Aswan. The train takes usually around 12-14 hours but we took 20 hours and no trip ... read more

Arrive Cairo 26th September 2008 - The Oasis Hotel. Cairo Alex Desert Rd, PO Box 44 Pyramids 12556, Cairo, Egypt Tel: + 202 838 7333/7666 Tour starts 27th September 2008 Day 1: Cairo. Arrive at Cairo Airport. Our representative will meet and assist you. An arrival transfer is included to your hotel. Your pre departure meeting is at 6pm today to meet your tour leader and fellow travellers then this evening is free for you to relax or explore a little. Cairo is the largest city in Africa with between 12 and 18 million inhabitants - nobody is sure, but there are quite a few. Driving is an experience, as it appears that Egyptian vehicle inspectors are fairly lenient and that the only roadworthy requirement on the cars is a workable horn, which must be continuously ... read more

Very excitedly counting down the days and making our preparations. This is really just to set up the travel blog and get a feel for how it works before we head off.... read more