15 Day trip to Egypt - the travel notes, by Seafun

[MVPinBoynton]

I am looking forward to my Egypt memories that will start in 29 days. :) It is so nice to be able to say that we are going to Egypt next month. We will be there during Ramadan, which is supposed to be quite festive at night.

[Future Islander]

Thank You for the information....haven't had the chance to return here.....

 

We're thinking of March 25th (2009)....we have 4 people so far, but working on 4 more........we haven't booked yet, but if they run a special discount (say $400 off per person) that will make us "jump" right now........also we'll be taking all of the extra excursions that you did.

 

I called them about the hot air balloon ride, but they no longer offer that....I guess we'll need to book that excursion when we're there.

 

Thanks again.

 

F.I.

[seafun]

A "special deal for Cruise Critic folks through Gate 1," for a 12 day trip to Egypt with a four night Nile cruise, at the following link:

http://www.gate1travel.com/egypt-travel/egypt-tours-12degrs.aspx?utm_source=cruisecritic&utm_medium=eletter&utm_term=081908&utm_campaign=egypt&advid=e14725b4-46f3-4aa1-b3c7-0f6662b26dff

 

It doesn't sound like a huge "deal" to me, ($100.00 off...by entering CCERS100, by September 2nd)) but thought I'd pass it along in case it interests anyone. Prices are going up all the time, and this is still an inexpensive way to see a lot of Egypt.

Future Islander (and others) last year I found, surprisingly, that the 15 day trips were usually cheaper than the 10 or 12 day trips! Go figure...

And I see the shore excursions offered have gone up from when I booked for this past February. And don't worry about the balloon ride --I know you'll be able to book it on your own, in Luxor, but I bet the tour guides will offer it to you once you're there.

Happy travel planning! :D

[mes531]

Hi, I just returned from the very same trip with GCT so if you have any questions please feel free to ask! I made some comments about the trip yesterday on the posting titled "River Cruise Review....Long". It was a great trip and this was my 4th GCT trip and I have always been pleased with their tours. This one has several very early morning flights to catch so it is a little more grueling but at least there is time on the ship to rest some and take afternoon naps if you'll take advantage of it. Also February should be cooler. We had one day at the Valley of the Kings that the temperature was 112 degrees....they said it was unseasonably warm. We picked April thinking that it would be mild and it was nice when we were in Cairo & Alexandria but warmer on the Nile Cruise. Again, feel free to ask any questions about the trip or ship!

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We will be doing a Gate I tour and cruise next May, and since you were there the same time I had some questions:

What temperatures did you find in Cairo, Luxor and on the Nile?

What did you find was the best clothing to wear during the day?

I read that shorts,and sleeveless tops are not appropriate. I also read that sandals are not good as the sand is blowing around.

We added this 10 day tour to our TA cruise on the Solstice that is ending in Rome, and we decided to fly home through Egypt.....so we are trying to pack for 2 trips, and still keep it light!

Any suggestions are great! Thanks - Mary:)

[WeBeGone]

We will be doing a Gate I tour and cruise next May, and since you were there the same time I had some questions:

What temperatures did you find in Cairo, Luxor and on the Nile?

What did you find was the best clothing to wear during the day?

I read that shorts,and sleeveless tops are not appropriate. I also read that sandals are not good as the sand is blowing around.

We added this 10 day tour to our TA cruise on the Solstice that is ending in Rome, and we decided to fly home through Egypt.....so we are trying to pack for 2 trips, and still keep it light!

Any suggestions are great! Thanks - Mary:)

Temps are high during the day - 80s - but cooler after dark-70s. I wore capris and sandals every day. It depends on whether you're bothered by sand and whether walking in sandals is ok for you. Most people were in walking shoes of some sort. If you're a hat wearer, that will really help with the sun.

[mes531]

I found this thread this morning and.....WOW - I really did enjoy your "daily adventures". I now have to send the link to my friends that will also be doing this "adventure" with us in May. As you said, sometimes you pick a trip because of the schedule, and this one fit into our schedule exactly. This log has just made it so exciting to look forward to, and I have been making notations, like to make sure about the "antinal"....I think I will look for it at the airport as we land. My DH is usually tooooooo experimental with his food choices, so he usually winds up with the "out of order" issue as described!

 

I now have to go back and look at all the pictures...I can't wait! My day is finished!!! But I am really enjoying it!!

 

Mike - thanks for all your info on the CC boards as well. We are doing the Mediterrean cruise on the Grand in October, and I picked the same cabin you had, C753.....your photos convinced me. I also used some of your tour ideas as well. Always great to read your reviews as well!

 

Thanks for all the ideas...and great reading! Seafun, enjoy your trips! Mary:) :)

[MVPinBoynton]

Marty and Mary,

You will love that cabin. You were lucky it was available. I am glad I was able to help in your Med cruise planning. I hope our Egypt review will be helpful to you also. It won't be as entertaining as Seafun's, but I hope it helps some.

[tnsauerkraut]

Just got a letter eysterday from GCT that because of expenses, travel to Abu Simbel will now be by a 3 1/2 hour bus ride instead of a flight. I wonder what else will change by the time we go in February....

[MVPinBoynton]

Just got a letter eysterday from GCT that because of expenses, travel to Abu Simbel will now be by a 3 1/2 hour bus ride instead of a flight. I wonder what else will change by the time we go in February....

 

Now that really sucks! I would have thought that they would have added a surcharge to the optional tour rather than just switching to a bus.

[WeBeGone]

Just got a letter eysterday from GCT that because of expenses, travel to Abu Simbel will now be by a 3 1/2 hour bus ride instead of a flight. I wonder what else will change by the time we go in February....

 

We had a van to Abu Simbel and we were in a caravan that left Aswan at 1:00 AM. Of course we there there on the Feb sunrise, when the rising sun shines directly into the door and onto the gods, but still, it's a LOOOONG ride. We rode out in the dark but the ride back was just as bad because there is absolutely nothing to break the desert landscape.

 

There are bathrooms when you get there but WARNING -either have your own TP or small change because the lady will want you to pay her for 2 squares of TP. Same for the men's room.

 

We thought the vendor prices were very high at Abu Simbal... it's better to go to the Aswan market....and DO take a horse drawn carriage ride around the city. Have your guide negotiate the price first and take a towel to sit on because the seats are filthy. If you're lucky enough to be there on a Thursday, that's the locals market day. Have your driver take you there but don't get out of the carriage. Just takes loads of photos.

 

My review from Feb is here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=724536

[TreasureQuest]

Thank you for sharing the incredible story of your trip. You do an outstanding job of allowing your readers to live vicariously through the experiences you've recorded. I felt like I was standing there too, gazing at Tut's mask for those treasured two solitary minutes. I laughed over the spectacle of the boat vendors tossing things into the air as the gates of the locks are closing. I felt your discomfort as your bus caravan arrogantly

cruised through the landscape of what we consider a substandard lifetstyle.

 

It's taken me two days with little snatches of time here and there to ready through it all. Along the way, I called my DD over now and then to share a bit of it with her. It's been great fun for both of us.

[seafun]

Geesh! I was away for a couple days and now there's so many of you to respond to...

mes531... Thanks for your appreciation of my "travelogue." What a great trip you have coming up -- transAtlantic, and then Egypt! (Antinal is available everywhere, I doubt if you need to race to look for it at the airport, lol!)

Remember that you'll be going from the relative "glamour" of cruise ship life to "roughing it" somewhat in Egypt. Try to not let the step down in food and accomodations frustrate your appreciation of all the wonders laid out before you.

I laughed about your DH, getting more adventurous with his food choices. It sounds just like me, lol, after a few days I was digging into those salads and fruits with careless abandon. :rolleyes: (I still think it was the "poison" ice cream bar at Abu Simbel that did me in...)

I have good friends doing the Med/Aegean/Egypt on the Grand on 10/5. They are excited as well. I'm jealous, but I do have to work occasionally to pay for my vacations, lol.

I'm glad you enjoyed your time reading my entries and looking at the pictures -- you must have put in close to an 8 hour day doing that!

MVP... Gosh, you must be down to just over two weeks to go! How exciting for you. Say, I just had a thought for you -- if you go over to Ebay and look for "Egyptian collectibles" you'll get a pretty good idea of what kind of souvenir items you'll be seeing and a rough idea of prices to give you a framework to work with.

I wish you could send me a cupfull of your excitement and enthusiasm about your upcoming trip. Isn't it one one the very best "drugs" ever?!?!?

tnsauerkraut... Sorry to hear about the "downgrade" to a van for Abu Simbel, but maybe it will change, or you'll find another way to do it before your trip. It's still worth the trip!

and WeBeGone... visiting Abu Simbel on the very day of the sunrise illuminating the statues -- you rock! :cool: Isn't that the equivalent of a full house or straight flush in world travel? Pretty much beats everything!

finally, TreasureQuest... I'm so glad you enjoyed my Egypt trip, and that you shared it with your DD! I had a wonderful time reading your Hawaiian adventures, so now we're even, lol. As we have noted before, we are writing not only for our "audience" but also as a way to preserve the wonderful memories for the future.

Happy travels everyone!! :D

[MVPinBoynton]

MVP... Gosh, you must be down to just over two weeks to go! How exciting for you. Say, I just had a thought for you -- if you go over to Ebay and look for "Egyptian collectibles" you'll get a pretty good idea of what kind of souvenir items you'll be seeing and a rough idea of prices to give you a framework to work with.

 

I wish you could send me a cupfull of your excitement and enthusiasm about your upcoming trip. Isn't it one one the very best "drugs" ever?!?!?

 

I can't tell you the number of hours we have already spent looking at on line Egyptian stores. We are well prepared to shop. I could not be more excited about anything. Can't wait and can't believe we will be heading for the land of the pharaohs in just 16 days.

[seafun]

I could not be more excited about anything. Can't wait and can't believe we will be heading for the land of the pharaohs in just 16 days.

Excited?? EXCITED?? Hmm... as excited as a Chicken McNugget skateboarding across the sands in front of the pyramids and the Sphinx?? LOL :D

(photo from the "extremely cultural" mural at McDonalds in Luxor. And remember, it's one of the very few places in the world you can buy a McBeachTowel!!! :eek: )

[MVPinBoynton]

Wow! Two more reasons to be excited.

[tnsauerkraut]

WeBeGone,

 

thanks for the update on the Abu SImbel trip..sounds like it will be a necessary evil. On the positive side, I hate flying anyway, so one less flight will make me happy :D

 

How did you find the weather in February?

[seafun]

I found the weather in February just about perfect. I was only too hot a couple of times (Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings -- maybe 80 degrees) which is amazing for Egypt!

It was cool most mornings (as noted, some of them were very early) and I had a light jacket that I was able to remove as the day warmed up. Some of the evenings were cool enough for a jacket, but very pleasant. I took a fold up plastic rain poncho (overplanning...) but never used it since it never rained.

It was warm enough to swim in the Red Sea and run around in swimsuits -- probably 75, but not quite 80 degrees. I'd choose to go again in February or March in a heartbeat.

[WeBeGone]

WeBeGone,

How did you find the weather in February?

 

It was cool during the day and downright cold after dark. Along the Nile the air is surprisingly humid so that added to the chill. We wore jackets to the night Sound and Light shows. I wore capris and sandals during the day with a sweater.

[MVPinBoynton]

I have a feeling that we won't need a jacket when we leave in 2 weeks. :D My goodness Seafun, if you were hot when it was in the 80's you would really be miserable in Aswan when it is 110.

 

I would not have chosen September as a month to visit Egypt, but this is when the group we wanted to go with picked. It should be an experience.

[tnsauerkraut]

I'm like SeaFun - 80 is almost too hot! But I have an entire wardrobe of cotton clothing from my days in the desert in Australia that I think will be perfect. Add a jacket and I should be good to go! I think my biggest challenge will be keeping my mom to one small suitcase for three weeks :D She always overpacks.

 

Did most of you wear sandals or tennis shoes for covering?

[WeBeGone]

Did most of you wear sandals or tennis shoes for covering?

I wore sandals but everyone else wore tennis shoes. I live in Key West so I live in sandals, sand and all. :cool:

[jbctraveler]

I will be leaving for the Gate 1,15 day Nile and Red Sea trip on Sept. 10. I am a little confused by the photograph on the Gate 1 site. The pictures it has of Al Nabila Grand Makadi do not look like the ones that I see on your post or any others. When I google Al Nabila Grand Makadi, it looks totally different than when I google just Grand Makadi. It is the Grand Makadi resort pictures that are on the GAte 1 site. Did the Red Sea resort or the Al Nabila Grand Makadi in fact look like the pictures on the Gate 1 site?

Also, four of us gals are going on this trip. I have made so many notes from your trip. It truly has been a gift that you have given to many. Thank you so much Seafun!

[seafun]

Aww.... Thank You! :o That's very nice of you -- I'm glad you've gotten some good ideas from this thread!

As far as the Al Nabila Grand Makadi... lol ... it is SO confusing. For starters, the Al Nabila group is a big company that owns hotels, resorts and cruise ships in Egypt, so the names of the properties get confusing. I think there are several hotels called something like Al Nabila Grand Makadi.

 

The one we stayed at was brand new, and beautiful, on a great private bay, way south of Hurghada -- no elevator yet. The official name I saw was Al Nabila Grand Bay Makadi Hotel Resort and Spa.

 

In my Shutterfly photos, look for pictures #HPIM2935 through HPIM3098 (next to the last pages of the album at:

http://seafunegypt.shutterfly.com/ )

 

I had not looked at the Gate 1 website for a while, but I think they are still using the same hotel for the 15 day trip. The pictures on their website are not of the same hotel we stayed at, but they are the same picures they had posted on the website last year. So I went through the same confusion you are having.

Try to relax -- by the time you get there, your head will be spinning from all the incredible things you've seen in the previous week, and any hotel with a beach will do, lol! :)

Oh, and did I mention free cocktails, beer and wine while you're there at the resort??? See, you and your girlfriends will be just fine... :D

[seafun]

This link will take you to the reviews of the above hotel on trip advisor and there's about 15 photos (and this IS the place we stayed). Very mixed bag of reviews, but I liked it just fine.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297550-d1012195-Reviews-Al_Nabila_Grand_Bay_Makadi-Makadi_Bay_Red_Sea_and_Sinai.html

[tnsauerkraut]

I would prefer sandals, but did you find the sand to be a pain in open shoes?

 

Key West????The oneplace I've always wanted to go and have not yet made it, but I will someday. I live in Tennessee, in the foothills of the Smoky MOuntains.