zebulan77

Hey Everyone,

My wife and I are taking a trip to Cairo in May. We are deciding whether to spend extra time/money in Egypt to see the Valley of the Kings. In your opinion, is it worth it? Is it a must see experience or can we skip? Plz help. Also, how far is it from downtown Cairo?

Percy

Yes it is worth it.

It is a loooooooong way from down town Cairo!!!

You are no confusing it with the Pyramids, which are on the outskirts of Cairo.?

The Valley of the Kings is in Luxor whihc is over 300 miles from Cairo .

Grcxx3

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grcxx3

Sorry! Got carried away! I can't even imagine a trip to Egypt without going to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Hatshepsut's Temple, and the Karnak and Luxor Temples.

I've seen it all twice (both my sons have been there 3x) - and I would readily go back again!

Note: Luxor CAN be done as a day-triop from Cairo if time is an issue. It's exhausting (very early - very late) and rather rushed -but it is do-able.

If you don't have time for a Nile cruise (such a pleasure) - then at least spend 2-3 days in Luxor, taking your time to see the sights.

jerseysusan

I would definately go. There is nothing like walking down into the tombs. Just seeing items from a tomb in a museum is not the same at all. It is amazing to see the pictures and writing on the walls.

zebulan77

thank you all very much, you've just made my trip more confusing. LOL. We'll definitely have to get there, just have to figure in the time. We'll only be there about 5 days, so i guess we'll have to catch a flight there and back huh? The Nile cruise will probably take too much time. Thanks again for your input...this is great stuff!

Grcxx3

<<thank you all very much, you've just made my trip more confusing. LOL. >>

That's what we're here for!
And, shoot, no one has even mentioned visiting Abu Simbel yet!!!

sf7307

I think the trip to Luxor/Valley of the Kings was FAR more interesting than the pyramids in Cairo (and those were pretty great, too!). I definitely would go if I had 5 days....in fact, I'd probably only spend 2 days in Cairo, and 3 days in Luxor/Aswan.

zebulan77

crap!!! what the heck is Abu Simbel??? we just started researching, so i haven't really heard of that yet. i'll look it up tonight.

but wow, i'm blown away. for some reason i was thinking it wouldn't be that big of a deal. but i guess we have to go see it. what mode of transportation did you all take? i hear a cruise down the nile is nice, but long. i hear we can get flights too. any suggestions? you all have been a big help.

Grcxx3

sorry zebulan77!!! Didn't mean to confuse things more!

If you do a search on this forum for Abu Simbel - you will find out a great deal of information.

I know that May is closing in and you may not be able to fit everything into your schedule - but if you gave us an idea of what your itinerary is, we might be able to make some suggestions.

P_M

I thought the Valley of the Kings was a million times more interesting than the Pyramids at Giza. Also Luxor is a nicer and less chaotic city than Cairo. (But then again, NY is a less chaotic city than Cairo)

If it comes down to choosing I would much rather miss Cairo than Luxor. If you go to Egypt and skip the Valley of the Kings then you should have your passport revoked!!

Grcxx3

Cairo can realistically be "done" in 2 days. Sure - easy to spend time doing other things if you have the extra time, but I wouldn't do that if it meant missing Luxor.

P_M - I know a family who lived in Cairo for 3 years and they NEVER ONCE visited Luxor! Just mind-boggling!

tinydancer

I can't imagine going to Egypt and missing either the Pyramids or Luxor/Valley of the Kings. Why would you even go to Egypt if not to see all of this??? I just absolutely cannot imagine. The pyramids are absolutly AWSOME! Just being up close and personal to them gives you a sense of how miraculous they really are. Go inside if you can manage the time. BUT...having seen the Solar Boat, I'd have to say THAT is worth whatever one has to do to see it in person. Luxor has tons of amazing sights. I've no idea why you only have 5 days, but you can be sure you will want to go back and see it all if that's all the time you can manage. 4 days in Luxor would not be too much. We spent 14 days in Egypt, including a 7 night cruise and we could easily have stayed another 3 days. Make it a longer trip and do yourselves a favor. After all, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right! That was my second trip to Egypt, and we are certain to go back yet again.

zebulan77

this is all great feedback, except the part about having my passport revoked. LOL. okay, valley of kings it is. we'll start researching to fit it in.

What I have so far is to get in Sat May 8 at like 4p. So just hang out downtown that night. Pyramids on Sun. Take a nile cruise to luxor on mon. See VOK on Tue and take cruise back tue late afternoon. museum/bizarre on wed and leave thurs. i hear the cruise is like 10 hrs or something. what do ya'll think? is the eyptian museum worth seeing too or should i skip that for more time in luxor?

zebulan77

i also read somewhere that the valley of kings was not open all the time. that only one tomb is open at a time. is that a lie?

Grcxx3

Okay - just a note. You can't cruise from Cairo to Luxor - you either have to fly or take the train. The Nile cruises go between Luxor and Aswan.

zebulan77

oh, okay. good to know. i'll start researching flights. thx

Grcxx3

zebulan77 - where are you flying from? Are you going to have jetlag issues?

120aks

Without sounding harsh it seems you have a great deal of research to do and not much time to do it.First, in my opinion five days is insufficient time to spend in this amazing country and to go there without visiting the valley of the kings, Luxor and Abu simbel would be a mistake. Also, a Nile cruise from Luxor for about three days is an important part of the experience. I would recommend you postpone your trip until such time as you can spend more time in Egypt and have done more research.

Grcxx3

<<Without sounding harsh it seems you have a great deal of research to do and not much time to do it.>>

I was thinking the same thing.