andreacavone7304

Grazie mille! exactly the same reason why we would go and we have grown up amongst the Greek communities in Bari so we are super-fascinated by its multi-ethnic past. Did you manage to see the synagogue? We travel from London so it may be a bit more difficult but I am still very keen even if it needs a stop-over.

with respect to the guide, in the end, I guess you really need a guide only maybe for the drive from Luxor to Aswan and the hotel in Cairo can arrange that and then to go to Abu Simbel. However, a guide will give you an insight into the country (if you have a good one like Mohamed seems to be). We do hate being forced to shop anywhere so that is one reason we wouldn’t want to have a guide in Egypt.

Thanks a lot!

jacketwatch

This talk about Egypt here and on another thread and from people, I know who have been there recently has got us really thinking. How is the weather there in February? We are really thinking about February of next year assuming that it’s not scorching hot like it would be in the summer.

The OP went in February. Perhaps you can enlighten me or anyone else really.

Thank you very much!

Larry

ms_go

I'm not the OP, but we were there exactly a year ago, roughly Feb 12 - 23. I thought the weather was perfect for a lot of outdoor activity. It could be a little cool in the mornings (and not really pool weather - there was one on our Nile cruise, but no one used it). I recall the temps being very comfortable during the day, and no rain during our trip.

Nice trip report, by the way. I'm not sure I ever saw this before. Looks like we were there around the same time, but I didn't manage to do a report.

jacketwatch

That’s good to hear. Thank you for the reply. we were in Dubai in the month of February some years back and as I recall the night we arrived it was 59°F and actually during the day practically perfect. This sounds similar to what I suppose Egypt would be like during that month.

carrom

Hi, I am the OP. I requote what I wrote in the trip report:
THE WEATHER
If I go back to Egypt it won’t be in February. We were very cold in Alex and Cairo. It rained and temperatures were around 12° centigrade. All those lovely pools gone to waste! From Luxor down things definitely got better during the day but mornings and evening as mentioned were still too cold for our tastes.

Maybe we were unlucky and when we travel in February we do like to go somewhere super warm. But I would go later, March or early April.

carrom

To be honest, you don't really need a guide anywhere. If you are the sort of people who like to read before you travel you will probably only hear things you have heard or read before. And remember that guides are not allowed inside the tombs which is where they would be most useful. A pre-booked driver and/or guide for sure makes things more comfortable and avoids a bit of hassle but it is not essential. Hotels will for sure over- charge you for organizing transfers. I suggest you contact someone like Mohammed and get him to give you a quote just for the drives and then decide. If you plan well and you are young and used to travelling just use taxis in the cities. They are cheap and everything is really quite straight forward.
We also hate being forced to shop. We thought we had become good at avoiding it because we travel a lot to India but in Egypt it is the same and sometimes you have to be really firm!

jacketwatch

Thank you. We can also consider March though as we are in the Chicago area so we are used to chillier weather especially if we are out and about.

HappyTrvlr

jacketwatch, we were in Egypt in early January and it was very cold. But it was sunny and we loved our trip. February sounds like it would have better temperatures.

jacketwatch

Sounds good.

I looked up the average temperatures for that month for Cairo. I think for us it would be pretty good.

Thank you.

Larry

progol

Larry,
We were in Egypt the first half of November in 2022 and, while it was warm, it was pleasantly everywhere except for Aswan, which was too hot during the day but pleasant in the early evening. December is probably the ideal travel time. Did you see my trip report? We were in both Jordan and Egypt and it was a fabulous trip.

Paule

jacketwatch

thank you. I am afraid I missed your trip report. Can you re-link it?

Larry

progol

Here you go!

Egypt and Jordan: it was truly amaazing!

yestravel

We were in Egypt in January 2023 and had very nice weather. It was even a little hot in Luxor one day. The Egyptians we asked about the weather said it rarely gets cold. I think these days weather everywhere is unpredictable. I am in Mex City right now and it’s having hotter than normal days. Seems wherever we go weather is not what is normal.

Interesting views on guides. We typically travel on our own, picking up a driver or guide only upon occasion. But I found the guides and drivers in Egypt made it all so much easier and enhanced our trip greatly.