TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO EGYPT (AND NOT SHIT)

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We were finally able to fulfill one of our traveling dreams: visit egypt. After returning we are more convinced that everyone who likes to travel should go to this amazing country at least once. So if you plan to travel to the land of the pharaohs, don't wait any longer! As we know from our own experience that before such a trip there are a thousand and one doubts, we have prepared this post by collecting all the Tips for traveling to Egypt (and not screw it up).

This is the big question! You already know that we are traveling for free, but in this case we decided to go with an agency for three reasons:

We only had one week of time and we wanted to visit the most important.
Contrary to other trips, if you want to go to Egypt and enjoy 7 days, with cruise, guide and transfers, for free it is usually more expensive than doing it with agency. Especially for the price of flights (international and internal). We detail it in this post.
We traveled with Rober's parents and we wanted to have guides in Spanish and not get too complicated with transportation.

In total we pay € 700 per person (plus € 65 in destination fees), which included: international flights, internal flights, visits to the main attractions (with Abu Simbel), guide in Spanish, hotels and cruise all inclusive 4 days The guided tour of Cairo was not included, but we booked it with Civitatis because it was cheaper than doing it with the agency itself.

If you do not find any offer online, this circuit has very good reviews (although beware, it does not have international flights included, do some calculations to see if it compensates you).

So answering the first question, if you have a few days we believe that the agency is the best solution.

However, having had more time (and having traveled alone) the plan would have been different, with these changes:

Reserve the flight online (possibly making a stop, since direct flights are quite expensive).
Spend 3 or 4 days in Cairo and make visits both for free, and the guided city tour that we found very interesting. Obviously also the visit to the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
Take a night train to Luxor (or internal flight) and spend a couple of days there. As the most important excursions are included in the cruise, which we will do later, perhaps we would dedicate the first sunrise to enjoy a balloon flight and the rest of the day to do the excursion of Abydos and Dendera.
Hire online the Nile cruise 4 days from Luxor to Aswan, with everything included (the standard is sufficient, and we would include Abu Simbel).
In Aswan If we have time, we would also stay 2 or 3 nights. It is a much friendlier city than Cairo or Luxor, famous for its spices. You can visit quietly for free, although there is a typical excursion to the Nubian Village, which may interest you. We did not do it and talking with the people of the group that was, they were not completely convinced.
If we still have days left, fly to the area of Red Sea (probably Sharm El Sheikh where they told us are the best seabed for snorkeling and diving) and maybe Alexandria.

On a trip of 7 days You will be able to see the main of Cairo (with the pyramids) and make the cruise, during which you will have excursions to the most famous temples in the country. The truth is that it is a very complete and very, very beautiful trip. But, as we said before, if you can spend more time we would add one more week to get to know the Red Sea area and the north coast.

The truth is that Egypt, today, is a safe destination ... like any other. And when I say this I mean that, unfortunately, in the historical period we are living, any place has a certain degree of insecurity. Our experience has been good: in no case do we feel insecure and find people very friendly and willing. They told us that efforts are being made to offer again an image of a safe country, and thus favor tourism.

You are not free of the risk of pulling or stealing wallets, so be aware of the backpack. If you suffer a robbery, you will have to report it to the tourist police.

There are certain areas of Egypt more sensitive than others, and where there are armed conflicts. You can see what they are, and other recommendations, on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Well, there are. Special care must be taken with (direct information from the Ministry of Health):

- Monitor food and beverages consumed to avoid the intake of contaminated water or food and the appearance of intestinal indisposition. In August 2018, two British tourists died in a hotel in Hurghada because of an infection caused by the E.Coli bacteria.

- Be careful with the cleaning and hygiene of glasses, bottles and nozzles of traditional water pipes in order to avoid getting hepatitis.

- Do not come into contact with markets selling animals, poultry farms or other places where there may be birds and ensure that the meat and poultry eggs are well cooked, having confirmed cases of bird flu.

- Having detected cases of schistosomiasis due to the presence of bilharzia, a parasite that lives in canals and stagnant or muddy waters, particularly in some points of the Nile and that can generate a serious risk of skin or eye infection, avoid bathing and walking barefoot through contaminated areas. However, Egyptian beaches, on the other hand, generally have good health conditions.

It may be obvious, but we remind you that you should not drink water that is not bottled ... "Pharaoh's Revenge“, Or as diarrhea is known that makes you stiff, it is very common in Egypt. Beware of the vegetable (which is possibly washed with tap water), the pasta (which is possibly cooked with this water), the teas in the premises and check that the bottles you buy are sealed ... So do not forget the fortasec!

It is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended. The agencies sometimes offer it as an optional package, or mandatory contracting. They are usually quite basic insurance, but they can be worth it. If you want to take a look at other options or travel for free, we always recommend the IATI company, specialized in travel insurance. Here we tell you more and how to get a 5% discount.

The answer is yes. Must apply for a visa to enter the country, in addition to having a passport valid for more than 6 months. How? In three ways: upon arrival, electronic visa or with a specialized agency

On arrival. When you arrive at any airport in Egypt you will have to buy the visa at one of the windows that exist before you pass the passport control, and fill out a form. It consists of a sticker that occupies almost an entire page of the passport and costs € 25 / 25USD (in cash), valid for 30 days.
Electronic visa (e-Visa). From December 2017 for some countries (see second map) the visa application can be made through the official immigration website of Egypt. The process is simple and paid online (USD 25). You will receive the approval by e-mail, which you will have to print and present to the authorities in the passport control, along with your passport.
With specialized agency. You can delegate this procedure to a specialized online agency, which for a fee, will handle the entire bureaucracy. You can see more information on how to get the visa online for Egypt here.
If you go with agency. The guide will be waiting for you before passport checks with your visa. You just have to paste it in your passport and voila.

Arm yourself with the sellers.

We have found the most aggressive and heavy sellers of all our trips. But in no case can you lose patience, think that it is their job and all they want is to feed their family. If you are not interested in buying, just kindly ignore them. Do not accept gifts, do not ask prices if you are not really interested, do not tell them that you will buy them back ...

What can you buy from sellers? You will find them both at the entrance of the temples and near the tourist attractions and at the entrance of the cruise. As you can imagine, they sell any kind of souvenir: from handkerchiefs to figurines, but also tobacco, water or postcards, and you can pay either in euros or dollars, or in Egyptian pounds (€ 1 = £ 20). Bargaining is a general rule and, if you are not sure about the price, you can ask the guide. For example, a basic cotton handkerchief is pulled out for 20 pounds, 20 pounds Egyptian tobacco pack (40 pounds Marlboro), 2 20 pounds water bottles ...

Don't change them money. Or if you do, be very attentive to hand games. Many of them simply want to exchange euro coins for bills, but sometimes, among the euro coins, the Egyptian 1 pound coins are mixed that are very similar (and pretty, on the other hand).

There are two large companies in Egypt: Etisalat and Vodafone. Our recommendations are that you buy the card at an official store. There are some stands at the arrival of airports that resell SIM cards at excessive prices and scam with the amount of data. After haggling a lot we bought a card with 3 GB for € 10 and only had 1 real Giga. Be suspicious when they tell you that you can't check how much data you have left. If you go on a tour, the guides usually offer SIM cards for about € 12, but also check that they give you the amount of Gigas you pay.

The official currency in Egypt is the Egyptian lira (LE), and as we write this article (December 2018) it has a change of € 1 = 20 LE. The shortcut to make the rapid change is: first you remove the last figure and second you split it in half. For example, how many € are 250 LE? 25/2 = € 12.5.

We always recommend carrying a card that does not charge commissions when taking money at the ATMs there and when making payments. We have a Bnext card each, which we complement with the N26 card. They are free and will allow you to save money on commissions. We took out at two ATMs, paid at several businesses, and we had no problem. Remember to bring several cards, in case the flies!

We were advised to avoid traveling to Egypt in summer: temperatures can be very overwhelming (up to 50 degrees!). And not to risk we left in December haha. Although the trip came almost by chance, but the truth is that we really liked the weather we found (temperatures between 24 and 10 degrees). In general we read that the best months to travel to Egypt are September, October, April and May. But what was said: we are fans of Egypt in winter, yes, wears a coat in the mornings and evenings!

If you decide to make a cruise on the Nile, keep in mind that there are different boats of different categories. We stay in the standard (the cheapest) and the truth is that we were pleasantly surprised. All rooms have huge exterior windows, TV, private bathroom, fridge ... It is best to try to be on the top floor (third or fourth) and as far as possible from the boat (the smaller numbers), to be away from the engines. For example room 401 would be the perfect one (we only consider the numbering of our ship). In addition, everyone usually includes meals, but not drinks, that this does not worry you too much: water and soft drinks are cheap (the large water bottle costs € 1.20 approx, € 1.50 soda and the beer bottle € 0.5l 3).

Here you have more information about the Nile river cruise.

Although the visit to Abu Simbel is expensive and is 3 hours by bus from Aswan, it seems essential. Some packages include it and others do not, keep in mind that it cannot be done for security reasons, and that in Civitatis it is for € 70 (cheaper than in the agencies themselves). In this post we tell you what are the most beautiful temples and monuments of Egypt (coming soon).

It is, as it could not be otherwise, the largest Egyptian museum in the world, with almost 200,000 pieces. The full entrance (includes the visit to the mummy rooms) costs 300LE (about € 15), to which you have to add 50LE if you want to take pictures (they charge for each device). Although you can not take photos in the rooms of the mummies or in the treasure of Tutankhamen, we do not pay and we regret it. Our advice is that if you go free, hire a guide since, unless you are an expert in Egyptology, you will be able to understand much more about the most important pieces. Spend at least 2 or 3 hours.

We believe that it is NOT worth buying the ticket. We saw it from the roof of the El Hadaba restaurant, and we didn't find it so impressive. But it's a personal opinion. What does impress and much are the views from the rooftop: the best thing you can do in Cairo. It is an ideal place to try homemade food (don't miss the onion soup, € 1) and smoke a shisha (less than € 2).

Egyptian cuisine is quite interesting, but be prepared to eat enough vegetables (even for breakfast) and to savor a few spices. Here we recommend 10 typical dishes to eat in Egypt.

As you know, Egypt is a Muslim country, and alcohol is prohibited. Which doesn't mean you can't find it. You can have a beer or a cocktail in the hotels and on the cruise itself, even from Egyptian brands. Prices are not excessive (about € 2.5-€ 3 for a beer of 0.5l).

Tips (bakshish) are very common in Egypt.

It is normal to leave 10% of the bill in the restaurants, but in general they are given for almost everything, even inside the temples, if a guardian tells you where to take a photo, in the end he will ask you for bakshish. They are tiresome, so if you don't want to end up without money (and patience) you better not snack.

The general tips of the cruise are usually already included, although it is not too bad that at the end of your stay you give something to the waiter who attended you or to the cleaning staff, whenever you think it is convenient of course! To the guide that accompanies you we read that you usually leave about € 5 per person per day. What we did the group was to leave each one what he believed in an envelope, and then we gave it to him at once.

Avoiding skirts that discover knees and shirts that show the shoulders, especially in little tourist places or in cities like Cairo. If you travel alone a piece of advice that many give is to bring an alliance and to the question are you married? that, believe me, sooner or later they will make you, answer yes.

Inside temples and tombs it is forbidden to take photos.

Or at least most of them, which are usually the most important. And they do not go with little girls, if they catch you they usually ride a good chicken and in the end they make you delete the photos. There are those who bribe the guards with small amounts (from 50LE), you have to get some interesting bonuses those guards!

Whenever we can we rent cars to be able to visit a country on our own, but it is not something we recommend in Egypt. On the one hand, traffic in the capital and large cities is sooo crazy, and on the other, Egypt has the highest road fatality rate in the world.

To travel in Cairo it is best to use Uber: it is very cheap. All the trips we did cost us about 30LE (€ 1.5). Extra tip: take a card from your hotel with the address in Arabic ... not everyone in Egypt speaks or understands English.

If you arrive in Cairo on your own and need to travel to Luxor or Aswan, there is an alternative to the internal flight: take a night train. Apparently it is very comfortable and safe. Here you have more information.

These are ours recommendations and tips for a trip to Egypt, both free and in agency. Some of them invite you to panic a bit, but you will see that, as very serious, you will bring an interesting diarrhea back. But the magnificent things you'll see will be worth it! We also recommend that you take a look at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and take note of the contact of the Spanish embassy in Egypt, in case you have problems.