Pyramids Camel Ride

[Bellarose]

We are leaving next Friday for Cairo and staying in Giza. Does anyone know a particular person to contact in regards to a camel ride. My family is really looking forward to this. I have two kids, ages 6 and 9.

We have a guide but he is to drop us off the first day to the hotel. We start the touring the next day with him. Should I ask the concierge at the Mena House? We thought the first day we would stay around the hotel due to jet lag then find a camel ride in late afternoon.

Is there a good time to go for a ride? We won't be in Giza until 2pm. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

[MercedMike]

We are leaving next Friday for Cairo and staying in Giza. Does anyone know a particular person to contact in regards to a camel ride. My family is really looking forward to this. I have two kids, ages 6 and 9.

We have a guide but he is to drop us off the first day to the hotel. We start the touring the next day with him. Should I ask the concierge at the Mena House? We thought the first day we would stay around the hotel due to jet lag then find a camel ride in late afternoon.

Is there a good time to go for a ride? We won't be in Giza until 2pm. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

Most often, a visit to Giza starts off at the "high desert plateau" from which you have a great view of all three pyramids. Also there you will find a bunch of vendor's tents, and a whole jam of camels! Just let your guide arrange it for you. You can just sit on the camel for a picture, or you can ride off a few minutes into the desert and back, or you can take a long ride all the way down to the pyramids. Your guide knows exactly how it works and will set it all up.

I suppose that the concierge at the Mena House could set it up for you too, but it is so easy to do in connection with your visit to the pyramids.

check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/egypt3.html
and
http://www.bully4.us/holyland2.html#egypt

Have a GREAT cruise!

[cruisemom42]

If your kids absolutely can't wait until the next day (and I can see that happening, btw....;)), I'd check with the Mena House staff about it. I'm sure they could arrange something. I wouldn't recommend doing it on your own. After a long flight, you probably won't be able to summon the right mindset to keep from getting fleeced.

As I recall, the camels on the plateau all go home at a certain point in the late afternoon. (We were there and watched them all going in a long line....but I don't recall the exact time.)

Camels aren't exactly the friendliest animals nor the easiest to ride. You may want to decided in advance if a quick sit and a bit of a walk around are all that's needed.
I'm not sure if the stirrups are adjustable enough for kids that young -- could be an adult will have to ride with each to help them keep their balance, particularly when the camel is getting up or down.

[Bellarose]

Thank you for the replies. We leave in a few days.

[Mzhelen]

We went to Giza with a guide and we're glad we did. A lot of the camel wranglers will rip you off. You'll agree to a price, and then they will refuse to let you down off the camel unless you pay even more! The camels are pretty tall, so you're stuck. One woman refused to pay and jumped off, and ended up breaking her hip - she spent a month in the hospital in Cairo!

Our guide took our group to where a bunch of camels were, and he pre-negotiated a price that we were not to pay until we got off the camel. He stood right there to make sure everything was fine. Definitely safer than one of the random camels roaming around the pyramids.

[janina]

Wow great advice. I would hate to be hostage on the back of a camel.:D

[dileep]

I have heard that the Sound and Light Show is good too.

[akohl]

I just returned from a cruise and spent 2 days in Egypt.

2 things, our guide set up the camel ride. we paid 2 american dollars per person. go with your guide. we stayed at the mena oberoi also. it was a great place! they are very accommodating

the other thing, the light show is a must. some people say it's cheesy, and perhaps it is, but it's a fun way to recap the history while sitting in awe of the pyramids!

enjoy!

[knuts1]

stay away from anyone your guide has not set up for the rides. We were there last year and one camel jocky had us take pictures and such and then wanted money and 2 of them cornered me and I ended up giving him 2.00 and he said it was not enough so I took it back and started walking away and he grabed me and I told him to take his hand off me and continued walking and then he agreed that was enough and this really scared my 13YO dd. They can get really aggresive. Be carefull stay close togather and you will have a great time. Do not let anyone else take pictures with your camera or you will eather loose it or they will try and charge you to get it back and the police there are no help at all!

[MercedMike]

LOL ...

At Sakkara, There was a guy with a camel. I asked him how much for a picture and he said, "What you want." So I said "10 pounds" (LE10 was $2 at the time.) He was very nice, helped me up on the camel, gave me a dirty headress to wear, and I got a great picture! You can see it at http://www.bully4.us/egyptmain.html

When I got off the camel, I handed him LE10 and he said "No, no, American!" So I laughed and handed him $10.

Now there are lots of people who would say he ripped me off for $8. Personally I think I got a great picture that I would willingly have paid $20 for (and have at Denali and other places), and I also get a story to tell, which goes back at least as far as Mark Twain in Innocents Abroad!

Our guide was standing right there. He got all concerned that I would be mad. He was very happy when I laughed at it!

[lovely12no]

My well traveled friend was told by a very reliable embassy source that when you take camel rides most folks end up being bitten up by fleas. Just a tidbit to consider and as one of the earlier folks commented on, camels are not particularly social animals and spit.

[deniuh]

If they kids are looking forward to it give it a try. My hubby and I were on the fence about riding the camels but once we got to the Pyramids we knew instantly that it was a must do. It's a lovely experience, one that your children will thank you for - for the rest of their lives. Arrange it with your guide or hotel and have fun!!

[BigGuy25]

We went to Giza with a guide and we're glad we did. A lot of the camel wranglers will rip you off. You'll agree to a price, and then they will refuse to let you down off the camel unless you pay even more!

It's true ... you hear these stories all the time. One of the folks we were traveling with took one of the camel rides "out into the desert." Once they were out there, they "held him up" for another $20.00 before they would bring him back. You never hear of this happening if you have a local guide do the negotiating!!

[cruisemom42]

If they kids are looking forward to it give it a try. My hubby and I were on the fence about riding the camels but once we got to the Pyramids we knew instantly that it was a must do. It's a lovely experience, one that your children will thank you for - for the rest of their lives. Arrange it with your guide or hotel and have fun!!

On the other hand, if you really don't want to do it, don't let yourself get talked into it by an enthusiastic guide. I had one who wouldn't take my "no" for an answer, so I ended up on a camel. I was not comfortable nor happy and it was a long 15 minutes, let me tell you. :o

[MercedMike]

On the other hand, if you really don't want to do it, don't let yourself get talked into it by an enthusiastic guide. I had one who wouldn't take my "no" for an answer, so I ended up on a camel. I was not comfortable nor happy and it was a long 15 minutes, let me tell you. :o

LOL now there is EXCELLENT advice!!

To be perfectly honest about it, check out my picture at
http://www.bully4.us/eg3.jpg
Notice that you can't see the camel's legs?? ;) That is because the camel never stood up!

Look at http://www.bully4.us/egB8.jpg and http://www.bully4.us/morD10.jpg for a couple of great pictures of my wife on camels, at Giza and the Sahara desert. Who do you think stood on the ground and took those pictures?;)

She says that riding the camel brought our marriage closer together. Now, when I sit in my chair in the evening and belch, it reminds her of her camel! (She didn't get fleas, though ...)

I also stood on the ground and took pictures when she did the boom ride in New Zealand, the tree walk in Australia and the Gaucho Sled Ride in Argentina and kissed a giraffe in Africa!

How adventuresome are you?

[BigGuy25]

She says that riding the camel brought our marriage closer together. Now, when I sit in my chair in the evening and belch, it reminds her of her camel! (She didn't get fleas, though ...)



Very funny!!!!