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Prelude, disclaimers, and some pieces of advice
Egypt represents one typical destination for all-inclusive tourists, and many think that traveling independently is not an option. Several terroristic attacks affected the country in the last 20 years, making Egypt less attractive for independent traveling.
However, people travel through Egypt in security as backpackers. Knowing that it was not always easy to find the necessary and updated information along our way, we share our itinerary, our highlights, and the way we made it within this blog 🙂
Key facts before starting your journey:
- the blog refers to July 2024
- it is not always easy to find the way to get from A to B;
- as an occidental woman, you might attract unwanted attention. However, this has never led to problems! You might want to wear more covering clothes than you would in your country, though, in particular, if you are traveling alone;
- most Egyptians are welcoming and willing to help. However, be aware of scams!
- bargain is THE thing. Sometimes you will need to bargain even with the price of water 😉
- in the time we traveled: 1 € ~ 52 EGP;
- get a student card, and you will get 50% off on most monuments! If you do not have an international one (i.e., ISIC), you need to convince them that you are a student; once you have managed, keep the ticket! You can easily use it to convince the other sellers for all other monuments 😉
We traveled on a budget (for 14 days, we spent about 531 € in total + flights p.p.), but we did not renounce some ‚luxus‘ during the trip.
Roundtrip
Flying to Egypt. Our journey started in Mailand; Wizzair is a cheap aircraft company offering cheap flights. We paid about 180 € for the return ticket from Milano Malpensa (MXP) to Cairo Sphinx (SPX). We had to buy a visa on arrival (25 $, they accept euros).
Arrival. Cairo Sphinx SPX is a small airport, not connected to the city. You can order an Uber, but the drivers will probably cancel the ride, asking you to pay cash and asking about 3/4 times more than the price that you saw on Uber. We bargain the price for a taxi driver for about 750 EGP (~15 €) to Gizeh.
Transport in Cairo. Cairo is a chaotic colossal city. Gizeh, where the pyramids are, is just next to it. To move from A to B in Cairo, we mostly used Uber and inDrive, an Egyptian app similar to Uber; while Uber allows you to pay only through the app, using inDrive means you will have to pay cash to the driver after the ride. The price is fixed beforehand on the app, so you do not need to worry about the rates. Also, it is often cheaper and faster.
From Cairo to Luxor. There are several options available: buses, trains, and flights. Train prices for tourists are more than double those for Egyptians. Flights require reaching airports and waiting times and are not too sustainable (although relatively cheap!). We chose to go by bus; GoBus is a trusted bus company that provides comfy buses. Only three people sit in one row, and each seat is reclinable. We traveled to Luxor by night, and we actually slept quite well. The price is also reasonable, 600 EGP (~12 €) per person.
From Luxor to Aswan. This transfer was tricky. Most people will tell you there is no way to reach Aswan from Luxor, but one train (23 €, 3/4 hours journey) or a private taxi (from 50/60 € one way, 3 hours ride). For some reason, minivans will not be offered to tourists. One ‚bus company‘ next to Luxor train station offered us a ride on a tourist bus for 600 EGP. We paid for it and went for that option. Eh voilá, SCAM! They brought us to a minivan station (map), and we traveled on a local minibus. A lesson to be learned from our misfortune: you can get to that minibus station, get on a minivan for Aswan, pay about 200 EGP, and arrive in Aswan. However, getting a private taxi might be worth it, as it will allow you to visit some temples on the way and be much more comfortable.
From Aswan to Marsa Alam to Hurghada. No way, you need to go back to Luxor. Somehow drivers are not allowed to drive the street connecting Aswan and Marsa Alam. But, good news, there is a bus Company, El Khaligea. You can get the tickets here (map); it looks like that on place the tickets are cheaper than online; the bus stop is next to the ticket office. A one-way ticket to Safaga costs about 400 EGP p.p., and you can travel by night. We ordered a taxi from Safaga through this ‚taxi association‘ (+201000250950) to a resort (traveling to/from resorts without a taxi is not possible, or at least we really did not find a way to do it).
To Hurghada, again, the same taxi.
From Hurghada to Cairo or Alexandria. You can travel directly with a night bus to Alexandria with GoBus (~14 € p.p.) from here (maps); there is also another bus company, but we did not experience it. Also, you can travel to Cairo by bus.
Alexandria to Cairo. There are a LOT of buses connecting the two cities (GoBus, again! 3 € pP). Also, there are minivans to Cairo, which are cheaper (about 80 EGP). Both GoBus and minivan start from the same place (maps).
Costs
We spent 531 € in 14 days, i.e., 38 € per day. Costs are divided as follows:
- transport: 120 €
- food: 53 €
- hotels/hostels: 207 € (usually including breakfast + for 3 nights we got a all-inclusive resort)
- activities: 200 €
You can decide to stay cheaper by avoiding some activities (the most costlier for us have been Hot Air balloon, Private Boat Tour in Hurghada, and quad and camel ride). For the rest, consider we traveled pretty cheaply and in the low season.
Cairo and Gizeh
Contrary to our expectations, we really enjoyed Cairo and believe it is worth spending some days visiting it.
Where to sleep and eat. We slept twice in Cairo (at the beginning and end of our trip). Sleeping in Giza is comfortable for visiting the pyramids. However, it would be best if you had an Uber or similar to get to the city center from there. Splitting the stays among nights in downtown and Gizeh is a valid option.
We stayed at Panorama View pyramids (in Gizeh) and at Champollion Hostel (Cairo downtown). Highly suggested for dinner/lunch: Zööba.
What to do. We spent three full days in Cairo and Gizeh.
First day. Cairo’s downtown area starts from Tahrir Square; you can walk from there to the Islamic Quarter. We visited Bab Zuweila, Al-Rifa’i Mosque, Mosque-Madrassa Sultan Hassan and Ibn-Tulun-Moschee. We were tired, and we chilled quite a bit.
Second day. We started with typical Egyptian antiquities. We start at 7 a.m. and go to the Gizeh pyramids. We bought the ticket to enter the Great Pyramid and the plateau. There is a viewpoint that allows the pyramids to be seen together. You can reach it by camel rides or with carry; you can also go on foot (if you manage to avoid all the people who try to convince you that ‚you must pay for a camel ride! it is illegal to go there on foot!‘). We managed on foot 😉 the view is worth it, so do not miss it! Additionally, we visited the Egyptian Museum in Downtown.
Third day. We started with the American University Bookshop (map). There you can buy Arabic, Egyptian, Iraqi (and more) books in English. The prices are affordable, much cheaper than in Europe, and the catalog is big! Then we went to the Hanging Church and Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church (map). Next to them is a Synagogue (temporarily closed for tourists) and the Souq El Fustat, a bazaar which is a must! Prices are quite high, but the products are artisanal. You can also visit the Greater Cairo Public Library (map), chill there, or read some books.
Luxor
We arrived in Luxor after the night bus and spent 3 nights and 3 days there. We slept at Yasmine guest house; they have a swimming pool that invites you to chill and swim on hot days, and it is situated on the west bank. Our restaurant recommendations include GREEN OASIS (a nice local restaurant); in Hamada Market, you get sweets for low prices; and at the Juice bar, you get terrific juices.
First day. Chilling 😀 and visit Luxor Temple by night. It closes at 21 and not at 22, as Google Maps states! The temple is visible from the streets next to it during the day; however, it is particularly suggestive during nighttime as the lights are on. Also, it is connected to the street with Sphinges.
Second day. To visit the west bank, due to the distance between the various attractions, you need to hire a taxi or go with an organized group; the other option is renting a bike. We planned to visit the west bank by bicycle! Early morning is a good option in hot months (we were there in July and started at 6.30 am).
It is possible to rent bikes at Bicycle Rental Mohamed Setouhy. Our route comprehended (about 18 km)
- the Colossus of Memnon: no entry fee, nice to see although quite destroyed by earthquakes
- the Temple d’Amon: highly recommended! It is not crowded with tourists, so it is really enjoyable. You have to buy the ticket here.
- the Valley of Kings: There, you get a ticket that includes the visit to 3 tombs (we chose the Tomb of Ramses IX, Thutmose IV, and Merenptah). We added the visit of Tutankhamun Tomb to that.
You can add to the tour other tombs (the Tomble of Nobles are along the way, and the Valley of Queens) or the Temple of Hatshepsut.
We then briefly visited the Fruit Market and the Bazaar. We were not that impressed with the bazaar. The Fruit Market is worth it if you are nearby.
Third day. We started with a Hot Air balloon sunrise. We booked this one (Blue Bird Baloon, +201007027158) and, after negotiations, it cost us 28 € per person. We were picked up by a minivan around 5 am and went to a huge field where many rides were starting. Hot Air Baloon have different sizes, we got one that had place for 20 people + the captain. It was really a fantastic experience, and the views were incredible! (I was not a fan, but really really pleasantly surprised). We could see the Temple of Hatshepsut and the valleys.
Instead of returning to the hotel, we went directly to the Temple of Karnak at around 8 a.m.. It was not yet crowded, and we got a guide who explained the historical background and the temple structure. We did not get a guide in any other temple, but we believe that a guide can enrich the visit to a huge structure such as the Karnak Temple. You pay a fixed amount per hour (we paid in low season 7/8 €), and guides know a lot. Ours spoke English and German fluently. The Karnak complex contains many single temples, each constructed by a King of Egypt. Some of them remain unfinished because of the sudden death of the kings. We visited some of them.
Aswan
We stayed in two places: one hostel, David hostel, and one guest house on the Elephantine Island, Baba Dooi.
First day. Day trip to Abu Simbel. We let all of it be organized by David hostel (highly recommended for the organization of your trip there, costs about 15 € return. The hostel per se instead was really ‚cheap‘; you can find better options for a few more bucks); we departed around 4 a.m. from Aswan. Abu Simbel temple is further south in Egypt. We heard that there are also some minivans traveling there for cheaper prices, but we did not bother to find them. The temples are next to Lake Nasser, an artificial lake created around the 1990s. Because of the lake’s creation, the temples were moved to a higher position in 1968 (crazy, isn’t it??). There are two temples, both excavated, both really impressive. It is really worth it!
Second day. This day went somehow wrong. We planned to visit the Nubian Villages and the Monastery of Saint Simeon. We did none of them 😀 why? we have been scammed! Our idea was to get a Felucca, a typical boat on the Nile, moved by the wind to do both things. We got into one, but the wind that ‚for sure is strong on the Nile‘ was not there. So we did not really move and lost half a day. The positive aspect is that we visited two cool coffee places: check them out! Mango Camp and Siesta. We then visit the Nubian Museum (not a must if you don’t have time, tough). Lesson learned: you can trust tourism police! They will help you if you had been scammed.
Aswan has much more to offer; we did not manage more! It is REALLY hot in July, and we could do most activities only in the early mornings.
Red Sea
We enjoyed some chill days at the Red Sea. We stayed 3 nights at Radisson Blu El Quseir and one night at the Bedcoin Hostel in Hurghada. In general when in Egypt, its recommended to go on a snorkellig trip close to Marsa Alam, or on Sinai Peninsula nearby Dahab or Sharm-El-Sheik
We had here beach life and two activities:
- Quad / Baggy Cars / Camel ride + beduin village tour in Hurghada (25 € per person)
- Snorkeling tour (turtles and Sirenia) from Port Ghalib
We booked both tours with Mahmoud.
Alexandria
Our last stop in Egypt was Alexandria for a day trip. We did really little there; there is much more to see. We booked a free walking tour with Adel. The walking tour shows you a big part of the city and some local quarters you would not enter if you were alone. We highly appreciate that!
Among the monuments, we saw the Library (this is not the original one!), and we entered the Abu-l-Abbas-al-Mursi Mosque (amazing!).
We had lunch at Falafel and Beans – Uncle Zaghloul The service and food are stunning and provide an entirely local experience.
Food
Egyptian food is amazing! Must try’s:
- Ful Mudammas, Hummus, Fries (for breakfast), babaganoush, local bread
- Guava and Mangos and juices, sugar cane juices
- syrian sweets
- karkadé / hibiscus iced tea
- you get black tea at each corner
- in the case your are coffee addicted, try turkish coffee or classical italian, otherwise you will get instant coffee!
All these are vegetarian options 😉
