Egypt: join a tour or travel independently?

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With Egypt, if you take a tour, you will be paying a premium - basically you will pay triple (or more) compared to doing it on your own. Anywhere along the Nile it is easy to hop on a train and find your own accommodation. Guidebooks such as Lonely Planet are a great help, but there are other ways to find a place. I remember arriving in Luxor in 2002 with my plan to stay somewhere and a guy bailed me up at the station to take me to his hotel, and he charged me US$1.00 per night for my own room with a shared bathroom - couldn't really beat that price.

The big positive of going on your own is that you have the ability to miss the crowds and enjoy places (even if for a short time) on your own, and the ancient sites are fantastic places to relax in the solitude. Also, you'll find that some places resonate within you and it is easy to linger in them for hours, yet others have only a passing interest for you and you may want to pass quickly - and again, you have the freedom of changing of allocating your time to your needs if own your own.

My only caution would be the western deserts, it probably is better to organise a small tour for that part of the journey. It is possible to do it on your own (i.e. I went to Siwa Oasis on my own) but it is a bit of pain being on public transport in that part of Egypt and the cost of a private vehicle is going to be quite high, so even sharing with two others will reduce your costs by a lot. Reply to this

Egypt trains are good, the daytime express ones are better value. I used the system to get between Aswan to Alexandria - and it is a great way to travel. Plus when in Luxor they are helpful for making day trips to places such as Edfu. Reply to this

Hi,

if you want to go 5 stars, independant will be way easier for you. The trick is to get a driver from one hotel to the next by using the hotel car. This is more expensive, but garantee you an insurance you have a proper car and guide most of the time.

In Aswan, try to get a room at the renovated Sofitel, the ones with the Nile view, this is a magical place. In Luxor, I know there is a newly open great place on the left bank, need to find the name. In Cairo, if you stay few days, the Mena House for the Pyramids, and in town, the two Four Seasons have amazing reviews....ok, there you don't hit at 5 stars, you hit at the best of the crowd.

I would really avoid a cruise on the Nile, I speak the 4 days ones...you drive from Aswan to Luxor in less than a day, and they do stop at all the sites...sorry, I hate travelling in group (except when I'm the guide).

If you have questions, ask, I've done Aswan, Luxor, Abu Simbel (really impressive), Alexandria...ok, also dive South Red Sea and been few times in Cairo. I'm back for a day trip or two in Cairo end of February...more to see.

Hope this help,

Peter Reply to this

Shane, did you visit Nefertari Tomb in the Valley of the Queen....that place is amazing, I went there 9 years ago. At the time, they were selling only 100 tickets per day, price, a wopping 100usd or just below that if I remember well. It was an amazing experience as it was also a very private one. I had to wake up bloody early two days in a row to get the tickets, but on the second day we made it.

Seems today, it's another story, they only allow or let say "sell" access to the tomb for a max of 45 minutes, and this for a group with a maximum size of 10 people....price tag, a crazy 4500usd per "group". I heard they raise that money in order to built a copy of the tomb. As it is so fragile, and that our human breath is enough to damage the place.

I don't think it does worth that money to be honest, even if it is an amazing place. Reply to this

Hi guys,

Thanks again for all your tips & information! Although, now it looks like we may be changing our travel plans..... & heading to Syria instead in April /May & may go to Egypt later in the year around October, for a longer trip including Jordan & Turkey!
Seems like there is a bit of planning needed for these destinations, but really looking forwrd to it :-)
Thank you Reply to this

You'll love Syria, an amazing place and it is good at that time of year - make sure you see the two star attractions of Krak des Chevaliers and Palmyra. Also see the amphitheatre at Bosra, and the cities of Aleppo and Damascus. Travelling around Syria is easier than Egypt, but you'll be relying on buses instead of trains or you could hire a car and driver for your own private transport. Strongly recommend you avoid a group tour in Syria, as you do not want to put any buffer between yourself and its wonderful people. Reply to this

Hi,

When I first started to backpack I used a tour company to go through Egypt.. Mainly because I was just beginning and didn't really feel too comfortable to start with and second is that I wanted to go to the Western deserts. (I went to India before this as my first country outside Australia and this prepared me for anything 😊) The company I used is a backpacking tour company (don’t think I can mention the name on here) but I will also send you a private message with the details. The accommodation is basic and we were in tents in the desert. It is the only tour I have done during my travels and seemed fine.

But if I go back I would do it solo as I am much more confidient in backpacking now of course but still not 100%!s(MISSING)ure how easy it is to do the Western desert solo though. Even on our tour group we needed to bribe along the way to get through the checkpoints.

I have two blogs on the trip I did so you can get an idea

Amazing History and Shesha
Temples, Nile and Great People
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