Best time of year to travel to Egypt ?
 

We are thinking of organising a holiday to Egypt. Does anyone have opinions of what is the best time to travel there?? Advantages/ disadvantages. Any opinion would be valued . thanks

Well, there are going to be lots of opinions....here's mine.

I always found Egypt to be it's most "comfortable" between mid-October and mid-April. Still some warm/hot days in there, but tolerable since the mornings and evenings are generally pleasant.

May and June are okay if you don't mind hot. To me, July and August were brutal (hence, I seldom returned until just before school started!!!). :)

I went in late Nov/early Dec and the weather was great for the most part. A little hot in the Abu Simbel and Valley of the Kings but not the brutal heat of the summer. As a Texan I am no stranger to heat but I wouldn't even think of going to Egypt in the summer--NO WAY!!

P_M -

I'm from New Orleans but those late Aug evenings when it was 7 pm and still over 100 degrees did me in!!!!! Those were the evenings I made my DH take my son for his orthodontist appointments!

I was there in early to late October and in Aswan it was 106 F for a few days...and hot hot at Abu Simble!

Alexandria, Cairo and Luxor were okay and very tolerable!

At Giza at the Pyramids for the Sound and Light show, I brought a very light sweater and was glad I did...it's funny , but it can be 90 to 95 all day in Cairo and then a wee bit chilly at night... at least it was in the desert at the Pyramids

The day I was at the Step Pyramid was 104 F .

Can you imagine what the summer must be like !!!

Percy

we were there over the Christmas holidays and it was just about perfect - sweater weather in Cairo and gorgeous in Aswan and swimming in Abu Simbel. I was ready to move to Aswan, which I loved, but our delightful guide kept cautioning me about the summer. He's from outside Luxor, and found Aswan to be very hot then.

February unless you must swim. If swimming is high on your list of things to do, come in November. Perfect temps and no sand storms, and not the most busy time.

We went in February because we wanted to miss the sand storms. The weather was perfect in all places we visited but we did still have a sand storm the day we visited the Giza Pyramids. In Luxor and Aswan on the ship some people did swim in the pool on deck. While going back to Luxor it was breezy on deck and we needed a fleece in the early morning and in the evening. In Cairo on our last days it was 16°C and everybody was telling us how cold it was.

Julie

We just flew back from Egypt yesterday. We were there April 9th to the 20th. I would say you wouldn't want to go any later than April. Temperature wise, evenings were great; early morning (i.e., 6 a.m.) was cool; mid-day it hit 110; but we didn't really mind it. We are from PA, so we have high humidity and 80s/90s bother us. 110 didn't bother us in Egypt. There was almost always a nice breeze. We drank water constantly. I wouldn't want to run a marathon; but walking at the Pyramids, Valley of Kings/Queens, Karnak, Quarries, etc. weren't bad.

SWD --
We're getting ready to leave for Egypt the first week of May. By then it'll be even hotter than for you, but I'm not worried about the heat. Just wondering -- do you think a jacket will be required in early mornings or evenings-- possibly on the deck of the ship?

Had been planning on taking a lightweight, fleece-lined jacket just in case but now I'm thinking that won't be necessary. Maybe just a cardigan.

Thanks for any advice.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow the temperature has been/is/will be 107/42. On Sunday the forecast is 81/27. That's a difference of 26/15 degrees.

I have no idea whether you will need a fleece jacket.

Quite a fluctuation. Thanks for the weather tips.

I would advise late October-December and March-April. January and February can be chilly and rainy, especially in Cairo. Rain in Egypt is very unpleasant, as the streets do not have proper drainage.