Cairo And Beyond, Ticket Info

[lumination]

hello all,

has anyone been to Cairo, Aswan etc? I would love to see all the highlights but im wondering how you go about getting tickets to places like the valley of the kings and such. Am i able to get tickets when i turn up or book in advance?

Any general tips too are welcomed.
Thanks all!

[emeritus]

I would read this before planning anything

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt

[lumination]

Thanks Emeritus, i did pop on this website about 30mins ago and im aware its a little dodgy :)

[TWR]

As said by EM, I would think about your safety very seriously Lum.

[EcclesCake]

Tickets are easily available locally, sadly due to the fear the range of tours is slowly diminishing. I definitely wouldn't bother with booking in advance.

I'm made of stern stuff and would happily travel there and do my little bit for the local economy.

[Peter Pedant]

yeah go ! forza sa'ida
( ooby journey in Egyptian arabic )

one is presumably flying to Cairo
I would stay in Cairo for a few days and see...
National Museum ( 1 day at least)
Coptic Museum ( al methaf al gibti) I day
the bazaar
the citadel - mosque of Mohd Ali - Mosque of ...
Pyramids - bit new museum there as well ( at least one day)

and then there is no reason why you shouldnttake the train to be honest
stop at al minya ( lots about Akhnaten )

stop at Luxor - three or four days at least
just walk into a hotel and pay
day out to abydos as well

train to Esma and Edfu if you want - then Kmombo ( temples aat all these)


from there ont Aswan ( one or two days )

How long have you got ?

I would do Cairo one year and the back of beyond the next ....
try to do some evening classes in arabic

and have fun !

( oh I hve done every bit that I have described but it was a few years ago )

[ubasses]

To see the Valley of the Kings you would need to go to Luxor. Back in 1997, before all the troubles they have now, we had an armed guard on our tours. I would certainly take note of the FO guidelines.

[Peter Pedant]

dodgy dodgy
certainly not

the egyptians are starving and will be pleased to see you

The tourist industry is down about a billion bucks - lots of moolah to the average egyptian in the wadi, and I would say much more ( two or three)

I wanna go ( back ) on a cruise but the soonest looks like Oct 2017

[grasscarp]

I was in Cairo a couple of weeks ago on business. Security is very much in evidence. Gate on the forecourt of hotel. Cars can only come through the gate once the boot has been searched. Guards to check your bag as you walk in the hotel same as airport checks. Traffic is crazy and I never did work out if they drive on the right or the left. I woke at 0420 when the Call to prayer wailed out across the city. Never seen so many satellite dishes on buildings anywhere ever.

[donny48]

I have travelled extensively in Egypt and would not travel at the moment to any region except the Red Sea. Just to dangerous at the moment.

[Peter Pedant]

armed guards ? armed ?
they didnt have any ammunition
and the gun crazy amongst you should have identified them as Lee Enfield 1915.

1997 - was that before the Luxor massacry or after ?
I was there around then - surprising we didnt meet ubasses

at the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut - as you look outwards towards the Nile - the proper house of Howard Carter is on your right - now Dom Polski - there is another one on show as a museum

I looked over the right side of the flat platform where people had thrown themselves off to get away from the gunmen - they broke their legs but thought the sacrifice was OK - and that was ... 1996 or 7
and clearly i woldnt have peeped over the precipice before it happened

but hey that was 20 y ago !

go there and have fun !

[Peter Pedant]

donny you stay at home wuss
well I wouldnt got the red sea ( hotels - boredom - and not much to see and do )

if you wanna do sharm el shake or Hagada I would go to Skeg or blackpool to be honest

[Buenchico]

Wikitravel has much of the information you'll need.

e.g.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Luxor/Valley_of_the_Kings
and
http://wikitravel.org/en/Aswan

[mushroom25]

some very useful stuff about using the trains here
http://www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm

....and advice on how to circumvent the annoying restrictions on foreigners using daytime nile valley expresses...

[EcclesCake]

PP, the diving doesn't compare though.........by a long way!

[lumination]

Peter Pedant - thanks for your itinerary i will work off that. i could have up to 2 weeks, im researching where to go on my holidays next year. i think its this or India.
i love the idea of just showing up, that seemed to work for me when ever ive been travelling everywhere else. lovely to know backpacking and moving around by train will be easy enough.

[237SJ]

If you`re in Cairo, just get the concierge to put you in touch with a trusted taxi driver/local company that can take you to places. They`ll probably be biting your hand off for the business at the moment.

[zebo]

We've been a few times but always as a part of a tour group, there are some good deals to be had. The people are lovely and it's heart breaking that they are now in such a bad way because of the terrorists, ditto Tunisia and Morocco. Were we to go again, I would go as a part of a group. Good luck with your plans.

[donny48]

Peter Pedant , you insult me without any knowledge of me or my travels, I therefore withdraw from this post without giving you the proof of 50yrs of travel and work in many areas of the world which could be considered unsafe. I think your attack on me to be completely without basis or proof and object strongly to someone who uses the safety of an internet post to defame someone.

[ubasses]

Peter - we had been back a few days when we saw the massacre on the news. I had been standing on the very spot the week before.

[Islay]

I and went to Egypt for my honeymoon in 96 and adored it, I went to Luxor Aswan and Cairo - Aswan was my fav as was Edfu and Esna.

However that saying that I am not sure if I would go there now, sorry.