We have a few questions in preparation for our 1st time trip to Egypt in December. We will
have 15 days. We plan to stay at the Conrad in Cairo using Hilton points for the first 6 nights and take day trips. We have not seen any reports about the Conrad as to amenities and location. Any comments will be appreciated.
Since we are traveling in Dec and it will not be as hot, will we need sunscreen, hats, jackets, or sweaters? Is the clothing mostly black ie NY in Dec or light colors and fabrics ie FL. ? We
are aware of the modesty issues. Is a Nile cruise an absolute must? My husband would
prefer to stay at the Hilton in Luxor and In Aswan 3 -4 days each so that we can take day
trips and rest in between. We have contacted some of the guides recommended on the forums but we are trying to get our general itinerary first. We would like to go to Alexandria
and perhaps see the Suez Canal. Is all this doable in 15 days without touring every
single day? Can we fly from Alexandria to Luxor or Aswan? Thanks for all the help
and replies. Johanna

6 days is a very long time in Cairo. What are you planning to do there?
A Nile cruise is certainly not an absolute must; however, IMHO and that of many other posters, it is certainly well worthwhile and a wonderful way to see the Valley of the Kings, etc. You can opt to stay in Luxor for a few days after the Cruise and enjoy the many interesting sights in that area.
You will see the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Nile River cruise if you start in Aswan. Quite frankly, its not all that exciting.
Since you will be in Egypt for 15 days, a trip to Abu Simble is certainly called for. Many Fodorites consider that to be an absolute must.
See as much as you can; you can rest when you go home.
Have a great trip.

<<You will see the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Nile River cruise if you start in Aswan. Quite frankly, its not all that exciting.>>

Huh? How is that? The Suez Canal isn't ANYWHERE near Aswan. Could you be talking about the High Dam? That is the only site in Aswan that I think probably would get such a comment.

LOL Sorry, but you really missed the mark on that comment about the canal.

Suez Canal and Aswan... NOT!

If staying in Cairo 6/days, better figure out what you want to do on each. Of course, you can go up to Alexandria, but most would suggest you overnight as it's a long trip to/from.

The Nile Cruise isn't a must, but a lovely way to see life alone the river between Aswan/Luxor or Luxor/Aswan. If not, maybe fly from Cairo to Abu Simbel (south of Aswan) which is a "must see" as most here will atest, then fly back to Luxor, stay at a hotel and visit Valley of Kings & Queens, Luxor and Karnak Temples, the museum or just enjoy drinks overlooking the boats docked.

Even though December isn't summer, expect the temps to be hot the farther south you travel - at Abu Simbel, Aswan and/or Luxor. Wearing "black" isn't the best idea as it keeps the heat in; light colors is much much better... save the black for evening dinner.

I went in late Nov/early Dec 2007 and it was still hot in the daytime, especially in the southern areas such as Luxor and Aswan. I wore gray slacks to the pyramids and OMG was I ever sorry!! Sand got all over my pant legs and it was really embarassing. Stick with khakis and light colors.

6 days does seem like too much time in Cairo. I don't know what's in Alexandria so I defer to our many experts. As for me, I would do 3 full days in Cairo and trade the other 3 days for Dahab or some other place on the Red Sea. But that's just me, as I'm an ocean lover.

I enjoyed my Nile cruise very much. That doesn't mean it's necessary for everyone but I do recommend it.

Now a question for Causal Cairo--is the Suez Canal worth seeing? There are so many great sites to see in Egypt, I never even thought of that one.

You could consider changing a couple of those cairo days and head out to the Bahariyah Oasis.. the white desert is really worth a visit..

The Nile Maxim dinner cruise is very nice for an evening out in Cairo.. costs about $55 a person but is worth it for the meal and entertainment..

I recommend the Niule cruise.. very relaxing to sit on the deck with a beverage and watch life on the Nile.

have a great trip!

P_M -
Is the Suez Canal worth seeing? That is probably a "no" to you, but could be a "yes" to someone that is more interested in it. We offer it as a tour we give, and on occasion we have people ask for it. It seems for some reason Australians have more of an interest in seeing it than Americans do. I'm not real sure why, but maybe it was more important in their history.
Also those that have seen and fallen in love with Lawrence of Arabia often want to see it badly to see if they can find a view like Lawrence had as he rode his camel across the Sinai and saw what looked like a ship passing through the desert sands.
I can't say it is not worth seeing, but it would never be on the top of my list....but maybe someone else's it would be.

Cairo cools off in winter, but do bring sunblock, and plenty of it. A sweater for the evenings, just in case. We found that dress was more conservative in Aswan, with more traditional wear than in Cairo or Luxor. At night I'd stay with darker colors, though.

We took an entire day to tour the Museum of Antiquities on our own. It's right off the Nile and easily accessible no matter where your hotel is. Cabs aren't hugely expensive.

Another day we booked a full day tour to Alexandria, with driver and separate tour guide. Including admissions the whole 14-hr day (it's about a 3-hr car ride through mostly desert) cost about $135 for each of us (one other person). And we saw exactly what we wanted to see. This was arranged through our Concierge/Travel center at the Sheraton.

Another tour from Cairo well worth doing, if not included with anything else, is Sakkara and the old Memphis sites. Your hotel could arrange this.

As mentioned, the Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan will get you to some pretty nice temples along the river, but otherwise you can use this time to relax. You probably won't be touring after morning.

So far as Aswan, there are 3 things worth seeing: Abu Simbel (another 3-hr ride through desert), Philae Temple (the light show is actually worth seeing), and if you can get to it, there's a moderately well preserved second or third-century monastery on the West Bank. But you might have to ride a camel to get to it.

Thank you for all of the help and advice. JerryS thank you for your thoughts. It seems like we have our schedule pretty filled for Cairo.We definitely will see the Valley of the Kings and stay in Luxor. Sandi thanks for the help on the clothes. Always want to have the right amt
of clothes in the least amt of luggage.P_M Appreciate the advice on the khakis.We will be
in Cairo during the Christmas holidays, we thought we might have to be a little more dressed. I live near ocean in S FL so enjoy seeing the cities.

SDGlenn thanks for all of your ideas. We plan to do the all day tour of Alexandria.
For us, it is better to return to Cairo than to change hotels.

Cairo_Casual thanks for all of your expert advice.

With the help of guides we got from recommendations here so far our schedule
is: Day 1 Full Day at Pyramids, Day 2 Tour of the Cairo Museum and Coptic Cairo
Day 3 Alexandria Tour Day 4 An afternoon Falouka sailing (we thought we would be
tired from the previous day. Day 5 Islamic Cairo, City of the Dead and the markets.
Day 6 We will leave for Abu Simbel and Aswan and then on to Luxor. We are still making these arrangements.
Does anyone know how much luggage can be brought on the Egypt Air flights? Thanks for
all of the help. I don't know if I mentioned that my husband just turned 85 & recently had
a knee replacement so don't want to push too much. That's why more down time in between the tours. No camel rides this trip for us...but the trip is a dream come true
whatever we get to see will be fantastic. Thanks so much, Johanna