Cairo Hotel and Luxor to Aswan cruise
Apr 24th, 2008, 04:05 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cairo Hotel and Luxor to Aswan cruise
Lesley And I went on our Honeymoon to Egypt, We spent a 4 Days (3 Nights) at the Hotel Siag Pyramid. We went to bed watching the Pyramid Light show on the first night. And we woke up seeing them from our window the next morning. Its not the kind of hotel for anyone demanding a 5 star experience. Its the kind of place where you feel really welcome and wanted. It is a hotel frequented by Egyptians as well as the occasional tourists.
I have visited two Arabic countries Egypt and Bahrain and being totally truthful I felt safer in the market places at 10PM over there than I do in some of the malls here in the US.
After Cairo we flew UP to Luxor ( The Nile runs South to North ). We arrived about 1AM and were told our tour to the Valley of the Kings started at 5AM. At 5AM we met our tour Guide (Aladdin abo elHaggag). We arrived at the Valley just before 7AM, and having visited several of the tombs, we left sometime after 10:00AM before the heat became intolerable and before the bulk of the visitors arrived. The early start was well worth it. Whatever you do WEAR A HAT and Carry Drinking Water. In October it was approaching 100 degrees by the time we left.
Aladdin accompanied us acting as a guide for seven days from Luxor to Aswan and back. During that time he became a friend. He also visited us a couple of times while we were spending our final four days at the Hotel Movenpick on Crocodile Island. With him we not only saw the Tourist locations but also some of the places the Egyptians use and dine at.
We intend to travel to Egypt again next year or the year after and will be using a new company Aladdin has formed luxorguidedtours.com. I can only say good things about this Guy we still chat and stay in touch by email.
I have visited two Arabic countries Egypt and Bahrain and being totally truthful I felt safer in the market places at 10PM over there than I do in some of the malls here in the US.
After Cairo we flew UP to Luxor ( The Nile runs South to North ). We arrived about 1AM and were told our tour to the Valley of the Kings started at 5AM. At 5AM we met our tour Guide (Aladdin abo elHaggag). We arrived at the Valley just before 7AM, and having visited several of the tombs, we left sometime after 10:00AM before the heat became intolerable and before the bulk of the visitors arrived. The early start was well worth it. Whatever you do WEAR A HAT and Carry Drinking Water. In October it was approaching 100 degrees by the time we left.
Aladdin accompanied us acting as a guide for seven days from Luxor to Aswan and back. During that time he became a friend. He also visited us a couple of times while we were spending our final four days at the Hotel Movenpick on Crocodile Island. With him we not only saw the Tourist locations but also some of the places the Egyptians use and dine at.
We intend to travel to Egypt again next year or the year after and will be using a new company Aladdin has formed luxorguidedtours.com. I can only say good things about this Guy we still chat and stay in touch by email.
Apr 24th, 2008, 06:57 PM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,823
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Forgive the skepticism, but considering (1) this is your first Fodors post (2) you give only a few bits of information about your trip, and (3) you are specifically recommending a particular person/company........this "smells" like an advertisement.
If I read your post right, you spent 4 days in Cairo, 7 days up and back between Luxor and Aswan, and an additional 4 days in Luxor.
What else did you do in Cairo? What cruise boat did you take? What did you do those final 4 days in Luxor?
If I read your post right, you spent 4 days in Cairo, 7 days up and back between Luxor and Aswan, and an additional 4 days in Luxor.
What else did you do in Cairo? What cruise boat did you take? What did you do those final 4 days in Luxor?
Apr 26th, 2008, 07:02 PM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A perfectly reasonable assumption, however slightly off the mark.
Hint to future Visitors "Always carry bottled drinking water when outside the heat makes you VERY thirsty and a days dehydration won't kill you but it will definitely spoil your enjoyment. Avoid drinks with ice in them. If you do get a tummy upset go to a local pharmacy and take the local medicine, It works better than lomotil.
In Cairo We arrived late evening and met our Guide the next morning. We visited The British Museum, The King Tut section was absolutely breathtaking, I wish we had had time to visit for a second day an 8 hour visit is no where near long enough.
We toured the Pyramids at Giza, and went back for the evening light show.
Suggestion when goining into the pyramids take a torch/flashlight and keep it in your pocket it gets awfully dark inside if the power goes off. Not for the claustrophobic. We did the mandatory Camel ride, make sure your Guide approves some take you out to the desert and then start asking for more money to take you back.
We also did a short visit to the Stepped pyramid.
On the final morning we went shopping and sight seeing without a guide Popped into local coffee shop and had breakfast in there.
I honestly cannot remember the name of the ship/boat, Early onset Alzheimers Probably
But as for the trips we did Valley of the kings on the first morning, I remember the 5am start extremely well. WEAR A HAT. We allso saw the Colossi of Memnon
then in no particular order we did tourist stuff at Edfu, Philae, Kom Ombo the Aswan Dam. Temple of Hatsepshutt. we also saw a rock quarry where they were excavating an obelisk but it cracked so they just left it. We also visited a very pretty park area. That was with fun all the school groups coming up and some of the kids practicing their English.
At some point we travelled in a horse drawn buggy. Do not wear light colored closes they use black boot polish to shine the seat. Being a mechanical engineer I was totally mesmarised by a 3 story building being renovated and the scaffolding was made of Saplings 1" to 2" in diameter tied together with string. Visiited a couple of perfume factories and a couple of Rug making factories.
Other than that we didnt do much watching sunsets on the Nile, watching the Falukahs, and taking a trip in one , and we did travel to an Egyptian party tent. Where I ended up wearing a cobra as a hat< I had already handled some snakes butjust to reassure you they arent Slimy, and attempted to Belly dance (Yeah Right!) There was no way I was doing the dervish thing.
The last 4 days in luxor we saw Aladdin a couple of times and wen't out for a meal with him. Real Egyptian food is Good. We Went shopping one day but most of the time stayed at the hotel and wearing my factor 30 slowly toasted myself. And took hundreds of Sunset Pictures. O and we fed load of Fruit to Rameses the hotel Camel. He never Spat once
One thing Most Northern States in the US and the UK have a reasonably long evening. In Egypt even in October it goes from daylight to dark in minutes. So keep your camera with you or it will be too late by the time you fetch it.
I hope that assures you we did in fact travel. And yes I got caught out by hidden ice in the Hotel fruit juice the first morning.
Egyptian Stella Beer(not Stella Artois) is pretty good and perfectly safe to drink. The motto on the bottle is 'That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger'.
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and we were hoping to go back this year but my Stepson is getting married so we are having a couple of weeks back in the UK instead. We are planning to go back to Egypt next year instead.
Hint to future Visitors "Always carry bottled drinking water when outside the heat makes you VERY thirsty and a days dehydration won't kill you but it will definitely spoil your enjoyment. Avoid drinks with ice in them. If you do get a tummy upset go to a local pharmacy and take the local medicine, It works better than lomotil.
In Cairo We arrived late evening and met our Guide the next morning. We visited The British Museum, The King Tut section was absolutely breathtaking, I wish we had had time to visit for a second day an 8 hour visit is no where near long enough.
We toured the Pyramids at Giza, and went back for the evening light show.
Suggestion when goining into the pyramids take a torch/flashlight and keep it in your pocket it gets awfully dark inside if the power goes off. Not for the claustrophobic. We did the mandatory Camel ride, make sure your Guide approves some take you out to the desert and then start asking for more money to take you back.
We also did a short visit to the Stepped pyramid.
On the final morning we went shopping and sight seeing without a guide Popped into local coffee shop and had breakfast in there.
I honestly cannot remember the name of the ship/boat, Early onset Alzheimers Probably
But as for the trips we did Valley of the kings on the first morning, I remember the 5am start extremely well. WEAR A HAT. We allso saw the Colossi of Memnon
then in no particular order we did tourist stuff at Edfu, Philae, Kom Ombo the Aswan Dam. Temple of Hatsepshutt. we also saw a rock quarry where they were excavating an obelisk but it cracked so they just left it. We also visited a very pretty park area. That was with fun all the school groups coming up and some of the kids practicing their English.
At some point we travelled in a horse drawn buggy. Do not wear light colored closes they use black boot polish to shine the seat. Being a mechanical engineer I was totally mesmarised by a 3 story building being renovated and the scaffolding was made of Saplings 1" to 2" in diameter tied together with string. Visiited a couple of perfume factories and a couple of Rug making factories.
Other than that we didnt do much watching sunsets on the Nile, watching the Falukahs, and taking a trip in one , and we did travel to an Egyptian party tent. Where I ended up wearing a cobra as a hat< I had already handled some snakes butjust to reassure you they arent Slimy, and attempted to Belly dance (Yeah Right!) There was no way I was doing the dervish thing.
The last 4 days in luxor we saw Aladdin a couple of times and wen't out for a meal with him. Real Egyptian food is Good. We Went shopping one day but most of the time stayed at the hotel and wearing my factor 30 slowly toasted myself. And took hundreds of Sunset Pictures. O and we fed load of Fruit to Rameses the hotel Camel. He never Spat once
One thing Most Northern States in the US and the UK have a reasonably long evening. In Egypt even in October it goes from daylight to dark in minutes. So keep your camera with you or it will be too late by the time you fetch it.
I hope that assures you we did in fact travel. And yes I got caught out by hidden ice in the Hotel fruit juice the first morning.
Egyptian Stella Beer(not Stella Artois) is pretty good and perfectly safe to drink. The motto on the bottle is 'That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger'.
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and we were hoping to go back this year but my Stepson is getting married so we are having a couple of weeks back in the UK instead. We are planning to go back to Egypt next year instead.
Apr 26th, 2008, 07:21 PM
#4
I read with interest!
But it was not the British Museum you went to ,but the Cairo Museum.
(simple mistake)
Also if you get a tummy ache and IF you need any medication ,then the local medication for this is AntiNal.
It does NOT work better than Lomotil because it is a complete different medication for a different medical condition.
But for those of you who do get a "tummy" problem ,then just walk over to any local Pharmacy and get AntiNal.
Don't bother asking him for Imodium ,which you probably will not need and certainly not Lomotil...besides he will not understand about some of the North America drugs.
I would like to know more about Aswan and Luxor.
hmmm Good Night
Percy
But it was not the British Museum you went to ,but the Cairo Museum.
(simple mistake)
Also if you get a tummy ache and IF you need any medication ,then the local medication for this is AntiNal.
It does NOT work better than Lomotil because it is a complete different medication for a different medical condition.
But for those of you who do get a "tummy" problem ,then just walk over to any local Pharmacy and get AntiNal.
Don't bother asking him for Imodium ,which you probably will not need and certainly not Lomotil...besides he will not understand about some of the North America drugs.
I would like to know more about Aswan and Luxor.
hmmm Good Night
Percy
Apr 26th, 2008, 07:33 PM
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The only things I regret are not having visited Abu Simbel, and also not having pre booked the balloon Trip. Seeing the Sunrise from altitude must be incredible.
Reminder to self, NEXT TIME.
Reminder to self, NEXT TIME.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ashwinb
Africa & the Middle East
21
Mar 21st, 2019 05:33 AM
