abby97

Hello Fodorites! I am new to the Africa and Middle East Forum but have long used the Europe Forum to plan numerous trips over the last several years. I am currently planning a trip to Egypt this December and am utilizing Ahmed Hamed Yousif, a guide that has been recommended many times on this forum. Ahmed has been extremely thorough and responsive and has been able to pull together two potential itineraries for us very quickly. We have been very pleased with his services thus far and are extremely pleased with the hotels/cruise boat he has selected for us.

So, I was hoping the Egypt Experts on this forum could take a look at the proposed itineraries and answer a couple of questions for me. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, so we want to maximize our time there. We are active, fit travelers who will be traveling in the winter during the cooler weather -- but we don't want to be too rushed!

Itinerary 1:

Day 1 - Arrive in Cairo late afternoon
Day 2 - Cairo
Day 3 - Cairo
Day 4 - Day trip to Alexandria
Day 5 - Leave Cairo, fly to Aswan
Day 6 - Early morning trip to Abu Simbel, board Nile Cruiser
Days 6 - 10 - Four-night Cruise
Day 10 - Leave Cruiser, tour Luxor, overnight in Luxor
Day 11 - Return to Cairo
Day 12 - Free day in Cairo, leave at 8:00 pm for airport

Itinerary 2:
Days 1-3: Cairo (two full days after arrival)
Day 4 - Fly to Aswan
Day 5 Aswan to Abu Simbel, overnight in Abu Simbel
Day 6 Return to Aswan from Abu Simbel, board boat
Days 6-10 - Cruise
Day 10 - Abydos/Dendera
Day 11 - Tour Karnak/Luxor, return to Cairo in the evening
Day 12 - Day trip to Alexandria and straight back to airport for departure

Ahmed came up with Itinerary #2 because I had expressed interest in staying overnight in Abu Simbel and because I had expressed interest in visiting Abydos/Dendera. However, in order to do this, we are cutting time from Cairo, so my primary question is whether the 2nd itinerary gives us enough time in Cairo. Also, on Day 12, I like the idea of going straight to the airport from Alex, but is this a risky thing to do, given traffic? We need to be at the airport by 9:30 in the evening for a 12:30 am flight.

Any advice is appreciated!

Many Thanks -
Abby97

scotsgirl

Hi Abby97

What time are you leaving Alex for your return back? When I was coming back down to the airport from Alex in May the journey was delayed a bit because of an accident on the road, and also further down the police were spot checking cars, and basically they just shut down the road and checked everyone. So, if this happens it can back up the traffic quite a bit.

As long as you have plenty of time for the journey back from alex I think it is do-able. Also you could check if you could fly up to Alex and back to Cairo, that way you dont have to worry about the roads.

With regards to your itinerary, are you only having 1 day in Luxor, because it will be a very heavy day to see everything you would want to see. Again it is do-able but to do the East Bank and the West Bank in one day may not do it justice.

Scotsgirl

abby97

Hi Scotsgirl -

Thanks for your reply. The itinerary doesn't provide a return time from Alex, so I'm not sure about that.

As to Luxor, we are there for one full day (and overnight) during the cruise. Itinerary #1 would give us about 2.5 days total in Luxor, and Itinerary #2 would give us 2 days in Luxor and a day in Abydos/Dendera.

We are leaning heavily towards the first itinerary right now because it seems like a slightly more relaxed pace, and it give us an extra day or so in Cairo. Also, I am nervous about driving back from Alex to the airport.

Thanks,
Abby97

scotsgirl

Hi Abby97

That sounds better you have more time in Luxor, because it would have been disappointing to go all that way and miss out on some of the most outstanding sights there are there.

And, yes, Im not sure I would do an excursion to Alex knowing I was flying back out that night, unless I was due to arrive back sort of mid afternoon / early evening. Otherwise your day might not be so relaxing for worrying about getting down to the airport.

You will have a great time, I am sure of it

Scotsgirl

scotsgirl

Also, when you speak to your tour guide, ask him if you will get to see the Colossi of Memnon on the way because these are huge statues that are amazing. Try to get time for the Luxor Museum. You will probably have Hatshepsut Temple in your Luxor itinerary, if not, ask to have it included.

Also, if you get time try to get to the papyrus institute, either in Aswan or in Luxor, because it is quite beautiful some of the artwork they have painted onto authentic papyrus.

Every time I go to Egypt I end up buying pieces in the institutes either for myself or for friends. Dont buy any papyrus off the street, it is normally banana tree fake and not the real papyrus

Scotsgirl

abby97

Thanks for the advice, Scotsgirl. I am glad you mentioned the papyrus institute in Aswan or Luxor. I would like to buy a large piece that I can frame and place in my living room, and I was wondering where to buy it. I had read that many places sell fake papyrus.

scotsgirl

HI Abby97

Wow, that's great, I'm glad that it helped. Yeah you will find fake papyrus EVERYWHERE, even the little kids in the street have little bookmarks (also fake - but the kids are cute).

I normally buy a couple of the little bookmarks from the kids (that tend to be outside the institutes) just to give them a little bit of money, but be aware, as soon as you see one kid, they come out of nowhere trying to sell you their bookmarks. It might actually be best just to give them a little candy / sweets if you have them instead of money, to save any problems.

Definately buy from within the institutes or within the Airport. Your Papyrus should be government certified then.

One of the best things about the Institute is that they have prices on each piece, so you know that the prices are not fluctuating depending on where you come from , or how well you are dressed. But I would also say that if you are buying something really expensive, or a few pieces you can always chance your arm and ask if there is a discount available.

They also do heiroglyphic handwriting on your pieces for you as well if you want it. For example they do some pieces where you can put your family name on them or your friends names etc. Sounds tacky, when I write it here, but actually it's not at all. And I brought some home for friends, with the mom/dad and kid's names on a Cartouche type piece, my friends all absolutely adored them.

They also wrap the pieces securely for you, in a tube, so all you do is pop it in your case and it will be as good as new when you get home.

Also, if you have time, they do a great demonstration on how it is actually made, which is also quite impressive

If you need any more advice just shout out,

Scotsgirl

abby97

Thanks Scotsgirl. That is very helpful, and I have copied your posts for my file.

nrb444

Hi,

We are looking into doing a similar trip in December as well. Would you mind giving me Ahmed Hamed Yousif's contact information?

Thanks!

Elizabeth_S

Hi abby - itinerary #1 is exactly our itinerary with Ahmed in January/08 - except we left earlier on the final day for Jordan.

While we enjoyed our day trip to Alexandria in retrospect I would have rather spent the night in Abu Simbel - something about the little town intrigued us while we were there and we thought it would be fun to be there at night when all the day trippers are gone. Looking at Itinerary #2 - it appears you have exactly the same time in Cairo at the beginning, just not a day to Alex - correct?

Regarding going to Alex on your final day of Itinerary #2 - what day of the week is that? We went on a Thursday and traffic was very heavy coming back into Cairo (well, actually to Giza - Cairo would have been another 90 minutes I'm sure). But if it is Friday then traffic is quite a bit lighter - but it is a lot of travel that day.

Here's a link to our blog so you can see that itinerary

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...ards_2008_adv/

Navigate on the right hand margin to Cairo and Nile Cruise pages.

nrb44 - Ahmed's contact info is

[email protected]

retiredinflorida

bookmarking, maybe one day I'll visit Egypt.

abby97

Thanks so much, Elizabeth. I am not surprised to hear you say that Itinerary #1 is like yours -- I specifically referenced your itinerary (as well as hotels, for the most part, and cruise ship) in my initial email to Ahmed.

And you're right -- we would have the same amount of time in Cairo in the beginning -- but not at the end. I was thinking it would be nice to have a day or so to "putter" around and do what we want at the end. The last day is a Tuesday, so traffic could be bad.

That said, we are intrigued by a night in Abu Simbel.

But I still think we're going with #1.

And thanks, Elizabeth, for all the info you have provided here and on other forums. Your trip (and Beth's) was an inspiration to us.

For those who are curious, we'll be staying at the Marriott in Cairo (we wanted to be able to walk around outside at night and potentially explore Cairo in the evenings, hence the decision to stay there rather than Mena House), the Movenpick in Aswan, and the Nile Palace in Luxor, and we'll be cruising on the Oberoi Philae. We can hardly wait!

abby97

We decided on the first itinerary! Ahmed has confirmed that all of our hotel/cruise/internal flight bookings have been made. We are very excited about the trip, and I'm sure I'll be posting here quite a bit between now and December.

sf7307

We stayed at the Nile Palace in Luxor. Very nice hotel -- upscale, but not Four Seasons-like. We actually spent a whole day lounging around the pool there, and we really enjoyed that. The food at the poolside restaurant was actually quite good. Our kids told us they have a decent fitness center.

abby97

Thanks - that's great to know. Of all the hotels on our itinerary, that's the one I know the least about.

andonius

Abby:
I've just returned from Egypt. My trip was also organized by Ahmed Hamed Yousif. You've made a very good choice. Ahmed is a great organizer and a great guide.
We also stayed at the Nile Palace in Luxor just two weeks ago. It's a very good hotel with a great pool overlooking the Nile.The rooms are very big, clean and comfortasble. But If you don't want to be bothered by the noise of the night show; ask for a room with nile view or a room in the pool courtyard. I like the italian restaurant there.
From ther you can go walking (or in a horse chariot, there are hundreds) to Luxor temple (about 1 km apart) It's a very nice walk to do at dawn and see the Nile and luxor temple illuminated by night, if you follow a little bit the walk ,try not to miss the Luxor museum if you can.It was my favourite museum in Egypt.
At Aswan we also stayed at the Movenpick. I liked it very much. It's in the middle of an island, but it has a very efficient 24 hour boat service, so it only takes you five minutes to cross the river. Try to get a mountain view room. I think the view is better than the city view of the other side.The pool of the Movenpick is my favourite. At Aswan we enjoyed very much the market and having a refreshment at the central city square looking at all the people passing by.

abby97

Andonius - thanks for the comments . . . your trip sounds delightful! I can hardly wait until December!