Pyramids. Camels. Mummies. Hieroglyphics. I have always wanted to see Egypt, ever since I learned about ancient Egyptians in third grade. My fascination with the country only grew through the years, however, I repeatedly heard, “Oh, Egypt isn’t safe. You’re a little blonde, you’ll get attacked.” As a result, I always put the trip off, telling myself I would do it another time. I eventually realized I was letting fear control my life, and booked the trip solo much to the dismay of many. Last minute, my dad was inspired and decided to come along, which provided a great couple weeks of father-daughter bonding time!
My Egyptian experience was made absolutely amazing through our 10 day guided experience with Timeless Tours. The tour itself was extremely affordable, with the starting price at $287 including all transportation within the country, most of the meals, and accommodation. The groups are capped at 12 people with two guides, so it’s a very intimate experience, and I personally left the group with some lifelong friends! This tour brought us all over Egypt with a tour of the Pyramids, Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, and Hurghada.
Our driver met us after landing in Cairo, and normally, visitors to the country have to stand in line and wait to pay $25 for a visa to enter Egypt. However, by slipping $20 to our driver he was able to get us the visa within two minutes, and we avoided waiting in line, so keep that in mind. Money goes a long way here! We were taken to our hotel in Cairo (which was stunningly beautiful), met the others of our group, and had a pre-departure meeting. We were even able to witness an elaborate Egyptian wedding, which was quite the experience, with brightly dressed clothes and excited yelling.
The following day, saw the pyramids and the Sphinx, which surprisingly, is located right in the middle of Cairo. You see these massive archeological structures of history surrounded by a poorly constructed town. The dichotomy continues when you see donkeys on the street next to massive coach buses. The great pyramids of Giza are an awe-inspiring sight, and tourists are allowed to climb up the first few tiers of the pyramid. Right by the pyramids are Egyptians trying to convince you to get on camels “for free”, but don’t be fooled, you can get on for free, but in order to get off you have to pay. The camels do provide good photo opportunities, but I would wait until you get behind the pyramids to pay for a camel ride (if you want one), it’s worth more money. The light show at the pyramids at night is also colorful and very vibrant, I would highly recommend it! The next stop was Sakkara, the first completed step pyramids in Egypt. After spending all day seeing 4500 year old ancient structures, the tour will either take an overnight bus, or fly to Aswan.
Aswan is city full of history, and the tour spends two well-deserved days here visiting the Philae Temple, the Unfinished Obelisk, along with the famous high dam of Aswan, which created Lake Nasser. There’s an option to book an overnight felucca (Egyptian sailboat) cruise and sail around the island temples, and then sleep under the stars on the Nile River. I did this, and would highly recommend it. It’s absolutely breath-taking watching the sunset while you’re on the Nile, and it’s a very relaxing experience after four days of non-stop exploring.
The next morning provided a must-do experience, visiting Abu Simbel, which in a very different way, is just as awe-inspiring as the Great Pyramids of Giza. Abu Simbel consists of two massive rock temples that have become iconic as a lasting monument to Pharaoh Ramesses and his queen Nefertari. Other notable sights we were able to see while traveling in our air-conditioned mini-bus, included Kom-Ombo, which is where the temple of Sobek, the crocodile headed Evil God, and Haroeris, the Falcon headed good god.Edfu is the home of the most preserved and completed temple in Egypt, it is 2000 years old and dedicated to the Falcon headed god, Horus. After getting to this point in the trip, you will wonder how you could have seen so much, and yet still have so much more to see. I was definitely relieved to have a knowledgeable tour guide to fully maximize my time in Egypt, and provide recommendations. To finish off the day, we traveled to Luxor to see the massive Karnak temple, along with the historical Luxor temple.
My dad and I opted to take a hot air balloon ride, so we woke up at 3am to be taken to the launch site, and were able to see the sunrise as the sky was filled with balloons. Who needs Cappadocia in Turkey, when you can see the sunrise in an hot air balloon over the Nile and the Valley of Kings. It was an expensive experience, at least for Egyptian standards, but definitely worth it. On our way out of Luxor, we got the unforgettable opportunity to see the world famous Valley of the Kings, which houses 63 tombs of pharaohs and powerful nobles. It is most famous for the tomb of King Tutankhamun. We got the opportunity to go inside three tombs, and it was an etheral experience, especially since one of the tombs has hieroglyphics preserved perfectly, still in full color. Fair warning, I wouldn’t recommend going to Egypt in August like I did – it’s very hot! Although it is a dry heat, so it’s not unbearable.
The next stop on our tour was Hurghada, a resort town right by the Red Sea, and we were able to spend two days there relaxing at a beautiful resort right by the sea. We had the opportunity to snorkel, swim, tan, paddleboard, and even go scuba diving! Be careful not to get sunburned, while you’re out relaxing. We got the opportunity to go scuba diving for the first time, and it was an unforgettable experience. We saw eels, lionfish, and all types of tropical fish along with colorful coral. There’s also a very barren island called “Paradise”, that could be better named.
In general, during the tour we could wear whatever we wanted and were comfortable in. After all, as our tour guide said, “We could care less what you wear on the tour, you’re with us. We just want you to be comfortable.” However, he did recommend that if we went off on our own, that we dressed more modestly to respect the culture and to avoid drawing unwanted attention. I never had any problems, except for on Paradise island, I was wearing a bikini in the water, and people kept asking to take pictures with me. This seems harmless, however, it quickly got out of control when I had over 30 people lining up to take pictures with me. So, when you finish scuba diving, or snorkeling, be sure you have a cover-up so you don’t attract unwanted attention.
The two days of relaxation were perfectly timed, so by the time we went back to Cairo, we were ready to attack our last day there with gusto! We did some souvenir shopping at the open Bazaar market, and had the opportunity to visit the old city of Cairo where we explored churches, citadels and mosques. Then, the next morning we were taken to the airport to fly to our next adventure, Amman, Jordan!
Egypt was an unforgettable experience, and although it’s perfectly doable on your own, an organized tour makes the most out of your trip and if I had an opportunity to re-do it, I would do the exact same thing again. Don’t let your fears stop you from the trip of a lifetime!
XOXO,
Lexi
