After a gorgeous week on a Nile Cruise, we were back to our hotel in Hurgada but didn’t want to leave Egypt without seeing the pyramids! We had the chance to meet a guy in Louxor who booked for us a mini bus with two drivers who have been our guides through this crazy city: The Cairo! The first day we visited the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel and the Islamic Cairo. The second day we woke up in Guiza, visited the Pyramids and quickly the Old Cairo.
Egyptian Museum
17 millions of people… That’s a lot, and a city full of trafic! We left Hurgada at 3.30am to arrive around 9. After one hour in the trafic we did a first stop at the Egyptian museum. It was reconstruction but totally worth it. Those rooms are just amazing, and the light from outside entering on those statues, sarcophagus, potteries, jewelleries, frescos, papyrus and hieroglyphs, is just magic! The furnitures made by wood and glass give you the sensation to be stuck in the past, when the archeologists discovered all those treasures.
Talking about treasures you also have the ones of Tutankhamen! The only thing I didn’t like was the Mommy part. You pay an extra fee to see corpses of kings and queens who built giants graves to finally finish in a museum… And if you want to see mummies you have some in the general exhibition anyway.
Egyptian Museum entrance fee: 160£ Visit duration: around 2h Momy part extra: 180£ Photo rights: 50£
Mini bus for the 2 days: 50€/pers Contact: Ahmed +20 103 090 2104 (whats app) Time from Hurgada to Le Caire: around 6h (with one stop)
After that nice visit, we asked our drivers to leave us to the Saladin Citadel, one of the highest point of the city where you have several museums and Mohamed Ali’s mosque you can visit. We didn’t have a lot of time, so we just walked around and enjoy the nice view from there.
Citadel entrance: 140£ Taxi from the citadel to Al Azhar mosque: 50£ for 6 people
Islamic Cairo
We wanted to cross it and walk directly to the islamic part of Cairo, but the way was closed so we took a small cab for 6 and went around El Azhar mosque, in the heart of this magic area. Small streets, lot of Corans to buy, and smiles to share! We split our group, ones have been to a Derwish dance show and we went to Khân al-Khalili with my mom to buy so,e stuff and enjoy a time in a very local « cafe » smoking water pipe and drinking a coffee.
Shopping: – 100£ for a dress – 40£ a pant with camels – 20£ for 10 bookmarks All the prices are negociable, usually when they anounce you a price you can devide by 2!
We had booked an hotel with an hotel with a gorgeous view on the pyramids and we were at the main entrance at 8.30am (it opens at 8am but we had to find an ATM before). We had a bad experience at the ticket office: we bought a 500£ ticket and when I asked if it included the great pyramid, the guy told me to go to the other line, where you have to buy a 360£ ticket… But once at the entrance of Keops pyramid, they told me I shouldn’t have buy two tickets: Keops was included in the 500£ ticket! I managed to have my money back, but had to pay 5€ baksheesh (1€ per person who helped me…) This is VERY annoying, kindless isn’t free in this country…
Anyway, after visiting the only room available in Keops pyramid, through a very small tunnel (very fast) we bought a tour with our friends in horses, camel and carriage. At the entrance you can see the official fee: 350£ for one hour tour, but as always you can negociate (our friends alone on a horse or camel paid 300£ and we paid a carriage 200£ for two). It was a fun experience, they lead you to a nice view point, but I was frustrated not to have more time there, looking at the details of those amazing and mysterious constructions. We didn’t have time neither to visit Khufu boat museum…
So after this view point they lead us to the Sphinx where our mini bus was waiting for us.
To stay: Best view Pyramids Hotel 1000£ for 3 people Giza Plateau entrance (including Great Pyramid and Khufu Boat Museum): 500£ Visit duration: 2h minimum, including 1h riding!
Old Cairo: Coptic part
We had only 1h to visit the Old Cairo, it’s really to short! We just had time to enter to the small labyrinth you can access from Mar Girgis’ street and visit quickly the Church of St George and its shrine, Saint Barbara, Saint Virgin Mary’s Churches, and Ben Ezra Synagogue. We didn’t have time to visit the Coptic Museum or the Babylon Fortress, but we quickly saw the Hanging Church. Everything was free and really gorgeous, those orthodox buildings are so diferent than ours… I think you can spend much more time there to fully enjoy this old Cairo.[/wrc_column]
Looking back: I really loved my trip in Egypt, even if I didn’t really felt free to go where I wanted… Cairo wasn’t part of the plan but I think we did pretty well, but I would love to go back there and take my time to fully visit this crazy city (maybe using transports instead of taxi because of the trafic…). Also I would like to go back to Egypt and visit Dashour pyramids and the one of Saqqarah, close to Memphis.
We had booked with my mom a 2 weeks trip in Egypt, including 7 nights on a cruise and 7 nights in a Hurgada’s Resort. We didn’t buy the tour package and visited alone the Nile Valley. It was a crazy experience with a lot of surprises, but really worth it to enjoy a true experience, to be free and take your time to meet local people (and we paid 1/3 of the agency price).
The first day our flight was delayed and we’ve been told we couldn’t cross the Egyptian desert by night, so we slept in Hurgada instead of going directly to our boat in Louxor. It wasn’t a big deal, it takes 4 hours by bus to go there so why not take a rest. But we had to leave at 5.30, so woke up early, to finally start at 6.15am… It was our first surprise. Second surprise : once arrived on the boat, they didn’t have our names in their list, so it took more than 1 hour to figure what to do, and we lost a second day travelling instead of visiting. The boat finally left at 3.30pm with us on board, and new friends who were in the same case.
Edfu Temple
We woke up in Edfu, and decided to leave very early (6am) to have time to visit the Horus Temple. It was open at 6.30am and we enjoyed a visit with almost nobody! This temple is famous to be one of the most preserved temple. We went there walking (20min) and came back by carriage (15min). We were back at 8am.
Edfu temple entrance Fee: 140£ 20min walk from the boat Carriage: 40£ for 4 people Visit duration: 1h30
The boat left at 10am (it was supposed to leave at 9am but it also depends on the others boats so other tourists) and arrived at Kom Ombo around 4pm. Here you can see the temple from the harbour and easily walk there by yourself (takes 5min). You can also enjoy a small crocodile museum included in your general ticket, and some shops on the quays full of sellers very good in negotiations!
Kom Ombo temple entrance Fee: 80£ Visit duration: 1h 5min walk from the boat
Aswan
We woke up in Assouan and took a taxi in the morning directly in front of the boat. Our driver, Ahmed, a very nice Imame, waited us at the harbour. You buy your entrance and then you can negotiate the boat directly to the Marina.
Philae Temple
We woke up in Assouan and took a taxi in the morning directly in front of the boat. Our driver, Ahmed, a very nice Imame, waited us at the harbour. You buy your entrance and then you can negotiate the boat directly at the harbour. This temple has been moved when they built the dam of Assouan. You can see the old place in the water where there’s wooden sticks.
Entrance fee: 140£ Visit duration: 1h15 Boat: 150£ for 6 people with the way back (around 10min and we paid 200£ with the baksheesh)
The unfinished obelisk
We joined our taxi who waited for us and lead us to the unfinished obelisk. Staying in this stone quarries, it would have measured about 42 meters and weigh around 1,200 tons! It has been ordered by Hatshepsut more than 3,500 years ago… A tour way back, Ahmed stoped at El-Tabia mosque and invited us to join him for the pray. We started at 8am our tour and came back to the boat at 1pm.
Entrance fee: 80£ Visit duration: 30min max Entrance to the mosquee: 20£ Taxi for 1/2 day: 300£ Contact: Abo Mosaab 01151319540
Tour on a felucca to a nubian village
Different boats propose to go around the Elephant island. You can stop at a Garden, and a nubian village, and you can have a motor boat or a Nile felucca boat. Ahmed took us at 2.30 and came with us to this nice tour. Some boys on a board were there to sing for us, hooked to the boat (a bit strange). The nubian village is just a reconstitution and a kind of “disney” village, with a lot of spicies and other sellers. Even if nubians live there, I think you can take a cab and go to an other one maybe more authentic.
Boat: 500£ for 6 people (duration 4h and we added 200£ baksheesh to thank them for the great time we had with the 3 drivers)
Abu Simbel
Ahmed negociated for us a private car to go to Abu Simbel. We started at 5am, arrived at 9am and were back at 3.30pm (we had a lot of trafic and had to go back on our way because we forget a backpack in a restaurant).
Starting the tour at 9.30am with a private guide (who just stayed 20min with us in front of the temple – they’re not allowed to enter) we had the chance to have the temple for us 6. This temple made for Ramses II is one of the most spectacular dismantling and reassembly projects of Unesco. Building Aswan Dam to prevent the famous Nile floods, they destroyed around 50 nubians villages, but saved those amazing temples: The one of Ramses II and a second one smaller built in honor to the Queen Nefertari.
At dawn, on October 22 and February 22, the sunlights are aligned with the statues in the inner chamber (which represent diferent gods and Ramses II). Before, this amazing event happenned on the 21st of october and february, but Unesco’s specialists haven’t been capable to reproduce it.
To know: You need to know it’s 270km from Assouan, through a huge desert with nothing around, close to the Sudan border. We met 4 diferent controls and were very lucky : usually when you’re a french tourist you need to ask the permission first, to send a copy of your passport, and to wait for the autorisation. But we had the chance to be with a group of 4 maghreban french. So we passed the control with me and my mother behind the car, covered of an Hijab and without talking in french. One cop looked on our IDs but didn’t say anything, by chance. If not the driver could have lost his licence, and we could have been send back to our boat.
Entrance fee:215£ for the tourists, but this time we only paid 20 because we’ve been considered as part of the magrebian family ! Photo right: 300£ per camera Time to visit: 1h30 minimum Taxi: 2000£ for 6 (4h one way with one stop, we added 100£ backshich) Private guide: 200£ for 6 people
Luxor West Side
We arrived around 5pm in Luxor but were too tired to go there and enjoy the sunset in Luxor and the Karnak night light show (we di dit the day after thought).
Friday were supposed to be our last day so we ran a little bit and didn’t follow our original plan which was to enjoy the Nile west coast one day, and the other side the other day… If you have two days there I think it’s your best option! We missed Medinet Abou temple and the Queen’s valley.
King’s Valley
We found a taxi in front of the boat and booked him for a half day. We started by the King’s valley (because of our driver, I think the best is to finish by this area and avoid the buses of tourists). It’s an amazing valley where all the tombs of the great pharaons are. They’re all aligned and it’s easy to pass from one to the other. At the entrance you have a list of 6 tombs opened, and you buy a ticket with 3 tombs included. You have a general ticket and at every entrances they mark it to be sure you don’t exceed this number. We visited Ramses IV, Ramses III and Meremptah and bought a ticket extra to visit the one of Ramses V and VI, burried together. It was a good option to avoid the line of people. You can also do it for Sety I which is known as one of the most beautiful, but also expensive.
Informations: – Entrance to King’s Valley (with 3 tombs): 200£ – Photo rights: 300£ – Entrance to Ramses V and VI: 100£ – Visit duration: Around 2 hours – Taxi for the half day from Viking Dock to the Nile Westbank: 500£ for 5 people (25£ backsheech) – Boat to cross the Nile: 10£/person (usually 20£ but we are now great dealers!)
Deir el-Bahari
10min driving from the King’s Valley you have this amazing temple built for the Queen Hatchepsut in the foot of a mountain. Not so much to see inside, a lot has been destroyed but it’s still an amazing temple with a great view of Louxor.
Entrance fee: 100£ Visit duration: 1h
Deir el-Médineh
It was the village of the workers who built for themself around 50 small tombs well decorated. You can only visit 3 of them, and the rest of a temple, and walk around the ruins of their houses (I thought it was a bit expensive for what it is). You buy the ticket close by the colossi of Memnon.
Entrance fee: 100£ Time to visit: 30min Colossi of Memnon: free
Luxor East Side
Luxor Temple
We crossed the Nile by boat and arrived right in front of Luxor Temple. We were there at 2.30pm and took time to have lunch on the rooftop of a local (but touristic) restaurant. On the boat we’ve been told Karnak was closing at 4pm. The truth is it’s the ticket office which close at that time, but you can stay until 5.30pm there. We didn’t know so we first did a small tour by carriage, and visited Louxor temple until the sunset to enjoy the last lights of the day.
At 8 o’clock we had a show in french and discovered Karnak by night. It was impressive, even if the light show isn’t crazy and sometimes you can’t ear was they say. At the end a very kind guide invited us to his mini bus which were going to the docks (we were staying at Viking Dock, 15km from the city center). We just gave a backsheesh to the driver. We came back the day after and met a very nice guide in english. We get back to Louxor area where our friends visited the Mommy Museum and we went to Abd El-Hameed Taha street to buy some souvenirs and enjoy the last sunset on the Nile from Al- Sahaby Lane restaurant.
Karnak show price: 250£ (from 7pm, duration: 1h30) > See Karnak show timetable Carriage Louxor – Karnak: 20£ Karnak temple general entrance fee: 150£ Visit duration: Around 1h30 Taxi from Viking dock to Karnak: 90£ for 6 people
Summary: Day 1: Transfert Hurgada – Louxor, boat and cruise to Edfou Day 2: Visit of Edfou and Horus temple, cruise to Kom Ombo and visit of the temple, cruise to Assouan by night Day 3: From Assouan visit of Philae temple, the unfinished obelisk, Felouque tour to a Nubian Village Day 4: From Assouan to Abou Simbel and cruise back to Kom Ombo Day 5: Cruise from Kom Ombo to Esna (1h break) and back to Louxor Day 6: Visit of the King’s Valley, Hatchepsout Temple and Deir el-Medinet, passing in front of the Memnon statues, Visit of Louxor’s temple at sunset and the light show in Karnak Day 7: Visit of Karnak temple and Louxor Souk (you can also visit the momy museum or Louxor’s one) The second week we were supposed to stay to a big resort in Hurgada, but prefered to leave and visit the Cairo and Guiza’s pyramids
