Egypt Trip – Day 0 – itinerary
I had consulted many travel agencies with my wish itinerary and finalized to go with trip.me (who booked our trip through local agency in Egypt – Memphis Tours). There were many group tours from Tour radar company, but it is for people who are traveling with out kids. We want to do the private tour, so went with trip.me.
We traveled to Egypt in 2018. There were political changes and incident with bombing happened few weeks before our trip. Due to situation at that time in Egypt, we felt private guided tour was best option. I definitely recommend to plan your trip with local Travel agency. Things might have changed now, so look at the local political situation and decide.
Places to See in Egypt
- Giza
- Luxor
- Cairo
- Aswan
- Abu Simbel
- Dahshur
- Sharm el-Sheikh
- Siwa Oasis
- Dahab
- Alexandria
- Hurghada
Here is our exciting trip itinerary
Day 1 : Greeted at Cairo international airport by our tour leader and transferred to our hotel”
Day 2 : Visit Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Memphis and Sakkara (B,L)
Day 3 : Fly to Aswan – Embarkation – Visit the High Dam, the Granite Quarries and the Temple of Philae (B,L,D)
– Meet & assist at Aswan Airport
– Embarkation
– Lunch on board
– Visit the High Dam, the Granite Quarries and the Temple of Philae.
– Afternoon Tea
– Dinner on board
– Nubian Folkloric Show
– Overnight in Aswan
Day 4 : Sail to Kom Ombo and visit the Temple shared by two gods Sobek and Haeroris – Sail to Edfu and then visit Horus Temple (B,L,D)
– Sail to Kom Ombo
– Breakfast on Board
– Visit the Temple shared by two gods Sobek and Haeroris in Kom Ombo
– Sail to Edfu
– Lunch on Board
– Visit Horus temple in Edfu
– Sail to Esna
– Afternoon Tea
– Dinner on board
– Egyptian Galabeya Party
– Overnight in Esna
Day 5 : Sail to Luxor – Visit the West Bank (Valley of the Kings, temple of Queen Hatshepsut and Memnon) Sail to Esna (B,L,D)
– Breakfast on board.
– Visit to the West bank enjoying Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon facing the Nile.
– Lunch on board.
– Afternoon visit Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple.
– Dinner on board.
– Overnight in Luxor.
Day 6 : transfer to Hurghada (B, D)
– Breakfast on board.
– Disembarkation after breakfast.
Drive from Luxor to Hurghada – 3hr 50 mins
Day 7 : Free day in Hurghada with a possibility of optional excursions (B; D)
Day 8 : Fly back to Cairo – the Egyptian Museum, Old Cairo Khan El Khalili Bazaar (B,L)
Day 9 : Transfer to Cairo international airport for your final departure (B)
Our dream journey started from SFO -> Istanbul -> Cairo, Egypt
Our Cairo flight was in one hour after landing in Istanbul. It was a mad run from one end of the airport to another end. Finally we are able to catch the flight.
We were greeted by a Memphis Tour Manager at the air port. He gathered all the Memphis tour members together. He helped us getting Egypt visa and convert dollars. Getting Egypt visa was so simple…$25 per person and you can buy it at the airport counter.
1USD = $17.69 Egyptian Pounds.
Trip Map
Note: Cairo to Aswan was flight in the above map.
Travel Tips and FAQ
What is the best time to visit Egypt?
Best time to visit Egypt is from October to April, when temperatures are at their most pleasant. However, December and January constitute peak tourist season.
Tipping at Egypt
Tipping is recommend at every location and we followed a nice website which gives guidelines on who, when and how much “www.marahouseluxor.com/tipping-in-egypt/”
Is it safe to travel to Egypt?
There was high security in all the tourist places. We saw many security guards with guns every where… along the road, tourist areas, hotels and restaurants. There were a special tourist police, who tracked and took the passport info when we were going out of hotel and visiting any place. It is recommended to go with local travel agency as they are aware of the current situation in the place.
Do you need Vaccines for going to Egypt?
Yes. For people living in US, talk to your doctor. It is recommended to take Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid and Rabies. We did take these vaccines before leaving for trip.
What are the medicines needed?
Take all the medicines you need for fever, cough and diarrhea.
What food to avoid?
Avoid any raw food. Only consume hot well cooked food. Some time we took easy on fruits and salads as well. It is better to be cautious then spoiling the vacation…:)
Animals?
Stay away from dogs, you will see some stray dogs at Giza. Don’t touch or go close to them. Go on camel ride with camels that are well taken care of. Some of the camels are not taken care well by owners and tell your tour guide to look for good ones.
Recommendation – change and tissues
Definitely carry a toilet issue roll and hand sanitizer in your back pack. There is barely any or few tissues if at all you need to use rest rooms outside. Carry some change or dollar bills as you need to pay for restrooms.
Jet Lag?
Egypt is 10 hours ahead if you are from US Pacific time. Jet lag will hit you hard at 3 or 4PM in the evening. If you take tours most of them will end at 4PM local time. So you should be good. We were awake at 3AM in the morning and ready for morning tours most of the days.
