help with Egypt tour--Cruisemom and others?

[Pearl64]

We have scheduled a tour with Egypt Private Excursions for next April. Dalia will be our guide as she was highly recommended here on the CC boards. We are having trouble fitting in what we want to see so am looking for suggestions on our itinerary.

 

Our ship the Riviera docks at 8 am on April 27-a Thursday. We will see the catacombs in Alexandria and then go to the Biblioteca. We then will proceed to the Egyptian Museum since it is open until 6 pm. We should be able to be there about 2 hours. EPE says we will have lunch at 6 pm. If we have lunch earlier we will not get to see the Museum. We are staying overnight at the Mena House. On Day 2 we will visit the pyramids at Giza and also Sakkara before going back to the ship in Port Said.

 

Will this work? Are we permitted to take wrapped food with us from the ship so we can snack on the way. My husband is diabetic and cannot last until 6 pm to eat.

 

The other alternative is to spend most of the day in Alexandria arriving at our hotel late afternoon as the sites are closed at 4 pm. Day 2 will be spent at Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx and then 1.5 hours in the Museum before heading back to the ship.

 

Suggestions on our itinerary? This is a first visit to Egypt for all of us. What can we do about lunch? Does Egypt have such a thing as carry out? Is seeing the pyramids at Giza enough? or should we really try to get to the Sakkara pyramids which according to TA is the number 1 site in Cairo.

 

We appreciate any help you can give us.

 

Pearl

[Grimsby]

"Will this work? Are we permitted to take wrapped food with us from the ship so we can snack on the way. My husband is diabetic and cannot last until 6 pm to eat. ["We took some fruit from the ship, apples, bananas, etc. Not strictly legal, but we put them in our bag to take ashore with no problem, and when we gave the apples to our guide and driver on the return trip, they acted like a couple of kids on Christmas morning.

I think you're doing the right thing in hiring a "private" guide. One word of caution, don't try to plan too much in Cairo if you're only visiting for a day. It's a 90 - 120 minute drive one way, from Alexandria, and I suspect the same from Port Said.. And yes, Giza is not to be missed - Pyramids and the Sphinx too! There is a large old Mosque in Cairo with a museum nearby, can't think of the name but your guide may know. It's worth a visit. Also, practice your "sales resistance". At every stop you will likely encounter men aggressively selling all manner of souvenirs and trinkets, as well as some beggars both young and old. Below is a brief outtake of the ship review I wrote after our return from the "Med" in the fall of 2009.

We hired Ramses Tours for a day long trip from Alexandria to Cairo. With only four of us in a van, along with our driver and our Egyptologist guide, the experience was so much more informative and fulfilling. Having a private guide with few people in the party allows one to change the itinerary "on the fly", eliminating some planned sights, while stopping at others that appear more interesting.

A few comments on Egypt. Both Alexandria and Cairo were polluted and dirty, with garbage of every description littering the streets. There are usually four lanes of traffic fighting for three lanes of roadway, and I am still trying to understand why Egyptian drivers turn off their headlights after dark! Despite the above, the area is rich in history. It is literally a meeting point of the ancient and the modern, where a donkey cart shares the road with a BMW. Camels run in herds on the periphery of a modern airbase. Where women in chadors share the sidewalk with those wearing contemporary, stylish western dress. There is poverty and there is wealth. One visit is not enough, we can't wait to go back!

[paul929207]

Personally, I would either leave Alexandria to the end on a time available basis or drop it. yes, it is a beautiful city and the library is great. I would need about 4 days in cairo before adding a day to Alexandria.

 

As to food, generally you can only take off food that is wrapped. That is things like energy bars, candy bars, etc. You cannot take fresh fruit or sandwiches from the ship. Some ports are very strict and have sniffer dogs checking as people get off.

[dog]

it is a 3 hour drive from the ship in alexandria to giza-where the pyramids & mena house is. do this the day you arrive. go to sakkara, memphsis, too. you have time for this.

the second morning you could go to the cairo museum.

then head to alexandria but you will have to limit your time here in order to get back to your ship.

we are always told not to take food off the ship, but no one checked & people did. granola bars, bottled water. be careful what you eat in egypt-many ended up sick after our stop there.

[Pearl64]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately the ship docks first at Alexandria so we have to go there. Now, we do not need to see anything there and head straight to the pyramids. Is that what you are suggesting, dog--seeing nothing in Alexandria and do the Giza, Sakkara pyramids and even Memphis? Then spend the entire second day at the museum? Our ship leaves out of Port Said on a Friday. I had heard that there is less traffic on Fridays due to the religious services. Our ship doesn't leave until 8 pm but want to be back by 7 at the latest.

 

We do know to be careful with eating in Egypt.

[seafun]

There is SO much in and around Cairo, I would suggest not wasting any of your valuable time in Alexandria. (I know, I know... that's a horrible generalization, but there is so much to see!)

I LOVED the Egyptian museum, but doubt that you want to spend a whole day there -- 3 or 4 hours is probably all you can absorb.

Pyramids, YES, definitely. Sakkara, probably. Sphinx, a drive by for photos - it was mobbed when I was there.

My review is in my signature... some photos to look at too. Have a wonderful trip! :D

[cruisemom42]

Sorry to be late weighing in, as I am on a cruise in the Med at the moment.... (I know, I know....;)).

 

I have to agree with most of the other posters. While you may have read my review of my wonderful day in Alexandria, keep in mind that I did that tour after having been in Egypt twice previously and having spent about 6 days in and around the Cairo area.

 

Yes, go directly to Cairo. Try to see Sakkara as well as the museum, and Giza. Those would have to be my top 3. Anything else you can fit in (Coptic Cairo, the Citadel and mosque of Mohammed Ali) is gravy.

 

Dalia is a gem and I know you will have a terrific time.

 

To answer your questions on food, you have some options. To start with, I would highly recommend if your husband is diabetic, that you take a few pre-packaged items with you just in case. Egypt is unpredictable -- traffic and crowds make timing problematic. I'm all for sampling local food, but I also found on my land trip to Egypt that having a couple of granola bars or a pack of crackers along when tours ran long was great and kept me going on the days when lunch ended up being at 3:00 pm.

 

There is Egyptian 'fast food', depending on how comfortable you are trying things. There's felafel (wrapped in a pita) for one thing. Trust your guide to tell you if it is safe. I've eaten salad in Egypt and survived with no ill effects -- after my guide checked out the kitchen. ;)

 

If you have other questions as you plan things, don't hesitate to ask here.

[havcamwiltravel]

We have scheduled a tour with Egypt Private Excursions for next April. Dalia will be our guide as she was highly recommended here on the CC boards. We are having trouble fitting in what we want to see so am looking for suggestions on our itinerary.

 

Our ship the Riviera docks at 8 am on April 27-a Thursday ... on Day 2 we will be going back to the ship in Port Said.

 

Suggestions on our itinerary? What can we do about lunch? Is seeing the pyramids at Giza enough? or should we really try to get to the Sakkara pyramids which according to TA is the number 1 site in Cairo.

 

We appreciate any help you can give us.

 

Pearl

Hi Pearl, if all you have are two days and it's your first visit to Egypt (you'll definitely want to go back; believe me) you must go to Cairo and see the top 3 that Cruiseom has listed. Alexandria has many things to see but in my mind, it's best saved for a 2nd (or 3rd?) trip.

 

Because you are staying at the Mena House - excellent choice , by the way; you're going to love it! - you will want to concentrate your first day at Giza and Sakkara, in order to avoid downtown Cairo. The drive from Alexandria can take up to 3 hours, so it may be best to go to Sakkara 1st and get to Giza at the end of the day.

 

At Sakkara, there is the Step Pyramid, of course, and several interesting tombs and mastabas to visit. In May, the government opened up seven new mortuary temples/tombs and few visitors have seen them (only 12 had seen it before me, when I was there in June). The temple/tomb of Horemheb is a must see, in my opinion. It was to be the tomb of the Commander of the Armed Forces of Egypt before he became Pharaoh; very impressive and filled with ancient artwork.

 

If you rush things, you could take in a visit to Memphis, as well, but that would certainly take away from the time you spend at Giza and Sakkara, and I'm not sure I'd make that choice if time were really limited.

 

Spend the end of the afternoon at Giza - see it all: The Pyramids (outside and in), the Sphinx, the Solar Boat and take a camel ride into the desert for a great view of the Plateau.

 

In the evening, if you have the energy and desire take in the Sound & Light Show (5 minutes away from the Hotel) or simply luxuriate in the opulence that is the Mena House - rated the #8 hotel on the continent by Conde Nast.

 

The next day, visit the Museum early, spend a 2-3 hours there. See the Tut exhibit and the Mummy Room. Then ask to be driven once around historical Tahrir Square and make your way to either the Citadel or the Khan el Khalili souq in old Cairo (or both!).

 

As Cruisemom said, make your dining needs known to your tour leader and they won't steer you wrong.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[Pearl64]

Thank you everyone for your advice on our tour. I have passed this information on to the rest of our people. It does make sense to skip Alexandria but this will be a group vote. We will be there on a Thursday and a Friday so don't know if that will impact seeing things in Cairo on Friday. I keep reading conflicting info regarding that. We are all excited to take this tour. Never in a million years did I ever think I would see the Pyramids or the Sphinx!

 

Thanks again.

 

Pearl

[havcamwiltravel]

Thank you everyone for your advice on our tour. I have passed this information on to the rest of our people. It does make sense to skip Alexandria but this will be a group vote. We will be there on a Thursday and a Friday so don't know if that will impact seeing things in Cairo on Friday. I keep reading conflicting info regarding that. We are all excited to take this tour. Never in a million years did I ever think I would see the Pyramids or the Sphinx!

 

Thanks again.

 

Pearl

Because you are going to be there on a Thursday and Friday, I would reverse the days' itineraries that I suggested. You should definitely do the museum and Cairo on the Thursday and do Giza and Sakkara on the Friday.

 

When I was there for 6 days in June, we spoke at length with our guides, drivers and tour leaders about the revolution and the post-revolution demonstrations. They all told us the same thing: that all of Egypt needs tourists to come back to Egypt, so there is an unwritten agreement among most Cairenes that demonstrations will occur on Fridays after religious services and only in Tahrir Square, so as not to disrupt tourism. The Museum is right next to Tahrir Square and, I was told, should be avoided on Fridays, both for safety's sake and so as not to be disappointed if demonstrations have closed the Museum.