A question has come up as we prepare for our long awaited Egypt trip on appropriate driver and guide etiquette (we are on a private tour and will have our own driver and Egyptologist with us in Cairo). Should we invite them to join us to lunch on the days we are touring Cairo? And if they do not join us, it is appropriate to give them (particularly the driver) money for his lunch? I ask because when we were travelling in India we usually gave the driver some money so he could have a decent lunch while he waited for us (they don't earn much). If we offered money, is it insulting? I would like to hear what other recent travellers have done, so we don't step into too many cultural minefields, either way. Thanks!

When are you going ?

Ramadan is starting soon

Hi Baby Bear

We had a private guide and driver in Cairo. The guide took us to a lousy buffet restaurant and they had their separate table. I am pretty sure they got a free meal from the restaurant for taking us there.

Anyways, from my past experience, the guide and driver would not want eat lunch with you and you would not have to invite them to lunch. A tip at the end of the day will suffice.

Have a great time in Egypt, the country is incredible.

Thanks Happy Mom. That sounds perfect. We prefer to eat by ourselves (have already scoped out some good spots), so what you have described sounds great. They can come by and pick us up after lunch each day.

jmvp - we will be there during Ramadan. Normally, that would concern us but we've double-checked that all the sites are open (slightly shorter hours though so we've structured out sightseeing times accordingly). The good thing is, being foreigners we can still order alcohol at the hotels.

Baby Bear, we were on a private tour last summer with our own guide and driver, just like you. The first day, we told the them where we wanted to eat lunch. When we got there, we invited them to join us, and they politely declined. We did not offer money for lunch and it was clear none was expected. This became the pattern -- after the 2nd or 3rd time, we "gave up" being polite because it was obviously not expected that they would join us. I can only think of one occasion where at a tourist site, we sat down together for a cold drink (and I don't remember if we paid for his drink).

Thanks so much. That confirms Happy Mom's experience. We are in a large family group and would prefer to eat together, so this is great that we won't be hurting anyone's feelings.

Any good lunch places to recommend? We are planning to visit Naguib Mahfouz Cafe the day we shop at the Khan. Any others?

And on the first day when we see the Pyramids, is there anything in Giza? Some people had suggested on that day, to get packed lunches from our hotel. What would you suggest?

There's really nothing in Giza except the Pyramids (and unfortunately, there's a KFC/Taco Bell directly across the street from the Sphinx if you have your back to the statue).

We're very casual lunch-ers, so we ate at the Felfela stand (fast Egyptian food) and loved it! (In fact, we ate there 3 or 4 times during our stay). The only other restaurant I can recommend is the Tex-Mex place in the Le Meridien Pyramid hotel -- very good (if a little pricey). We ate at a cafe in the Khan, too, but don't know if it was the one you mentioned.

Sounds truly depressing! On one side the Sphinx, on the other - KFC/Taco Bell! They go so well together, don't you think?

A question on the Felfela stand - is it reasonably clean and hygienic? I assume it was since you went back? Is there somewhere to sit or did you sit in your car?

We ate a restaurant near the Falfel stand called Casino I think - food was quite good especially the pita bread.

Baby Bear - I have as much faith in the cleanliness of Felfela as I do any fast food restaurant in the USA (i.e. NOT!!). I didn't spend a lot of time worrying about it -- the food was great and unbelieveably cheap (remember, this is mostly frequented by Egyptians, not Americans). We were six people with only two very very minor cases of stomach upset (not enough for medication) the whole time we were in Egypt (that said, my son was served raw, no kidding, RAW) chicken at a restaurant in Luxor. I thought he was going to keel over just from the possibility of salmonella. He was fine (didn't eat again till dinner that night, though).

sf7307 on Aug 21, 09 at 03:21 PM
There's really nothing in Giza except the Pyramids (and unfortunately, there's a KFC/Taco Bell directly across the street from the Sphinx if you have your back to the statue).

Oh this is how rumors get started. LOL Now people are going to be coming and asking where the Taco Bell is. FYI KFC and Pizza Hut always go hand in hand here in Cairo. Taco Bell used to have one outlet in Mohandiseen ONCE when I first moved here, but it went out of business a long time ago.
Sorry sf3707 - just needed to set the record straight. Thanks.

No problem, CC -- honestly, I think Pizza Hut is that much worse than Taco Bell! (I should have consulted the picture I took)