Pyramids from Alexandria

Has anyone done the pyramids from Alexandria on their own ? The ship excursion not only involves a long time on a coach but visits a papyrus factory and we would rather have as much time as possible at Giza. The ships excursion mentions an armed escort. On previous visits to Eygpt we had none of that. Have things changed that much then ? Any advice gratefully recieved.

Has anyone done the pyramids from Alexandria on their own ? The ship excursion not only involves a long time on a coach but visits a papyrus factory and we would rather have as much time as possible at Giza. The ships excursion mentions an armed escort. On previous visits to Eygpt we had none of that. Have things changed that much then ? Any advice gratefully recieved.

everyone gets an armed escort. In fact it is required and it has been that way for more than 5 years.

How would you get from Alexandria to Giza and back?

you are only allowed on certain trains. You are not allowed on public buses. Even a cab would have to join the caravan for armed escort. You can do it on your own through any tour company and they will arrange a car, a driver and a guide and you will have to go with an armed escort. Thems are the rules.

How often do the armed escorts travel from Alexandria to Cairo. How does that work with customized itineraries back and forth? :confused: One tour company mentioned there are no convoys.

booking on your own can be done. this past march '08 i booked a driver and guide online. i won't recommend this particular guide (marwa), becasue she got testy when i did not want to go to the papryus school, even though i had told her this when arranging the tour. do a search online.

a driver in a van met me at the port - outside the gates - and drove me to cairo. the guide met me at the egyptian museum. after the museum we proceeded to the pryamids. then the driver took me back to alexandria. i had no guards and never felt uncomfortable.

one tip - i would have rather visited the pryamids first, as the light would've been better for photos.

Been to Egypt twice. once cruise down nile and took a tour to Pyramids in 2001.If you go make sure your tour is to the upper road to the very top looking down,best view and make sure you have plenty of time to walk around and the Sphinx.Do not go late in afternoon for better photos.

2nt time went to pyramids in 2007 from cruise ship in Alexandria.Long bus trip and i seem to remember reading in tour writeup about armoured guards,etc but never say any!That tour we stopped at pyramids on the lower side and a lot of busses and not a nice view of pyramids and not long enough to really look around.I asked after why we did not go up at the top and the guide said that was for other tours!so make sure where you will go on the site.:)

if you can take a camel ride and look at pyramids and a jeep...so much fun.I loved it,my wife was nervous.It was her first time and my second.

DH and I did a private tour from Alexandria to Cairo last month with Rasha, an Egyptologist, and owner of: http://www.egyptdailytours.com/

The cost was less expensive than a ship's tour, we were driven in a new van, and Rasha was an excellent guide. She doesn't do shopping stops (unless you ask her to.)

We had planned to see the pyramids and Great Sphynx, Citadel/Mosque and Egyptian Museum. After an hour and a half at the pyramids and sphynx we left to go have a quick lunch, but felt disappointed that that was all the time we would have at the pyramids ... they are so incredible and the reason we came to Egypt, and who knew if we would ever be back. So, I asked Rasha if she would mind if we skipped the Citadel/Mosque in order to spend more times at the pyramids, which was fine with her. We went back and wandered on our own for an hour ... it had been very busy in the morning with bus tours, but in the afternoon, it was very quiet. What great memories (and photos) we have of our time there!

Afterwards, we spent two hours at the Egyptian Museum and Rasha pointed out the highlights (including the amazing treasures from King Tutankanhum’s tomb). In addition, she gave us quite a bit of information on Cairo during our travel time there.

Rasha lives in Cairo and she arranges for a driver to pick clients up in Alexandria and meet her in Cairo. We had a bit of a glitch in the morning when we couldn't find the driver, but it turned out that he was outside of the port gates and not inside where other drivers were.

It was a very interesting day and we really enjoyed doing it by a private tour.

p.s. We didn't have an escort ... nor did another couple who we spoke to afterwards who went with another private tour.

Thirteen of our Legend of the Seas roll call group did a great private tour to Cairo with De Castro Tours last Nov. We weren't part of a convey but did have a armed, off duty policeman as a guard. Dahlia was our guide and did an excellent job. We also had a driver and the owner onboard who exchange our USD to local currency for us while we were in the Eygptian Museum in order to pay the entry fee at the different sites. He had the cash on him to pay for our entry fee to the Museum. Total basic cost (includes all bacic entry fees) for us was $57US each vs $159 for the ship's tour and our tour was much better as we found out after when discussing it that evening with other who had done the ship's tour. Your cost will determined by size of your group and what you want to do. There are optional entry fees at the Museum (royalty mummy room) and Giza pyramids (solar boats, inside pyramid vist)

Go to

http://www.decastrotours.com/

Definitely hire a guide. It is a 3 hour drive from Cairo to Alexandria - and the Cairo traffic is a nightmare - so make sure you leave plenty of time to return to the ship. We did the reverse a few weeks ago from Cairo to Alexandria. Started out at 6am. We hired the driver and Egyptologist for roughly $85 for the day including all the entrance fees in Alexandria. We did not have an armed guard with us. We stopped at a rest stop on the way back where there was a baby lion cub we got to pet and have our pictures taken with. :D

you do not under any circumstances want to drive this your self. Cairo traffic may be the worst in the world and the traffic rules are alien to any one who hasn't driven in Cairo since birth. I have driven all of the world on both sides on the road(in third world countries too) and I have driven a cab in NY and would never drive in Cairo....

everyone gets an armed escort. In fact it is required and it has been that way for more than 5 years.

I have to disagree with you as our group of 11 traveled Alexandria-Cairo-Port Said this past summer and we did not travel as part of an escort from Alexandria-Cairo or Cairo-Port Said. There may be armed escorts, but we were not part of one and many of the other private tours that passengers on the Nautica also traveled without armed escorts.

Definitely hire a guide. It is a 3 hour drive from Cairo to Alexandria - and the Cairo traffic is a nightmare - so make sure you leave plenty of time to return to the ship. We did the reverse a few weeks ago from Cairo to Alexandria. Started out at 6am. We hired the driver and Egyptologist for roughly $85 for the day including all the entrance fees in Alexandria. We did not have an armed guard with us. We stopped at a rest stop on the way back where there was a baby lion cub we got to pet and have our pictures taken with. :D

What sites did you see and gain entrance to for the $85 fee? That is the lowest price I have heard of. Can you let me know the name/contact info of the guide?

Just got back from NCL Jade cruise to Egypt. Our ship docked in Alexandria. We had a guide for two days. He helped us with restaurants, find a fully furnished apartment for the evening with no notice. He helped us tour Giza pyramids, Sakkara, Museum, Memphis, Papyrus Factory, Perfume Factory and Junk Shopping.

We had 2 seniors, 6 children aged (1-6) and my wife and I in our group. Our 2 day tour cost a small fraction of what it would cost on the cruise ship ($496 per person). I don't want to say my exact cost but it was very reasonable.

Emad is a big Egyptian man and guarded us like king tuts treasure. A few time he stood between us an potential problems. He knew tons of guards, officials and workers at the tour sites. He is quite popular and has a demanding presence. Seriously, very few people tried to sell us junk because we were with him. He just looked at some sellers and they walked away. He must have a reputation for being a tough so of a gun. Some sellers would ask his permission to talk to us. I found his security excellent. He was very strict about where we went and keeping us together. He went the extra mile on several occasion and even hired a guard for our apartment over night. Don't be too confident in Egypt to save money it is not a place to mess around.

My wife and I have visited about 47 countries together. We consider ourselves adventurous even with 6 kids. With kids or not I strongly recommend a guide in Egypt. People don't speak English and are suspicious of Westerners. We had a wonderful time and are greatful we visited Egypt. I get frustrated by the hand slapping, tipping and brides. That is part of the culture. We saw all the sites on the best cruise tour (our ship overnighted for one night) and got to see the back roads. It was more personal and entertaining with our own minivan and guide.

He has been a guide for many years and takes his job very SERIOUSLY. I think you need this kind of attention in Egypt. Be prepared to be a good tipper and hand some trust/control into someones hands that is watching out for you. He told us, "In Egypt you are my family, I will protect you and guarantee you a wonderful time the land of the Prophets"

Here is Emads email address: Emad Abuhadeda [emadhadeda@hotmail.com]

I read reviews around the internet about him. I think they were on cruise critic. Anyway, I hope you have a nice time in Egypt if you should visit.

Some do it yourselfers tried to tour the pyramids on their own and their train broke down and they got in a big mess. If it was just my wife and I we probably would pay the $495 per person for the cruise tour. Wow! $1000. We paid less than this for 10 people.

We did not have armed guards or feel that we needed them ever. We saw two street fights/ pushing matches with locals. We never had any fear for our safety or our children. We just felt safe with our guide. Without a guide I would have been a wreck it just wasn't possible especially with children.

In two days we went thru about 15 road blocks. The police/military saw our American faces and never asked us for our ID or even talked to us. One guard hassled Emad about something and he put some Egyptian pounds in his hand. The guard smiles and that was the end of that problem.

We need to keep our free country from becoming a police state like Egypt. It is the opposite of freedom. All I can say now that I am back in my nice warm house is, "God Bless America" :)

hello!!!

Following your glowing review of working with Emad - - we have been in contact with him for our upcoming overnight in Cairo.

Question - - we are also looking at using the flat that he used for you and your family. Apparantly it's owned by a friend of his.

What did you think about it? Where was it? Did you feel safe? You can email me privately at

jen@freedomwithcandles .com

thanks!