Is Egypt Safe for Tourists Now?
 

My wife and I have been planning a trip to Egypt for months, and now it seems so chaotic! We would arrive in early November after 3 weeks in South Africa and Tanzania. We are fairly intrepid, but not foolhardy. We'd love to hear some feedback from some of you who live in Egypt or have visited recently, about the current conditions for two American tourists. We plan to see the Giza pyramids, then head up the Nile to Aswan & Luxor, spending about 10 days altogether.

Have you contacted your tour operator?
Though possible they'll advise all is fine, but you do want to be assured your Nile cruise is operating and Giza is likewise open. Recent photos I saw indicated that Giza was what would appear 'closed.'

If not and who knows if/when Debbie who lives in Cairo might access Fodor's, consider dropping her an email.

Her site is 'casualcairodetours' where I'm sure you can thru her web site or her direct email: dds71 at aol dot com.

Good luck!

We're doing everything on our own, so no tour operator to consult.... Thanks for the suggestion to contact Debbie; I sent her an email and checked out her site, which is really interesting.

<<We're doing everything on our own, so no tour operator to consult..>>

Just curious how you plan to travel around Cairo to see the sites if you aren't using some sort of tour operator.

Debbie did reply today, thread above, with some overall update. Did advise someone (you) were seeking advise, so hopefully she'll reply to your email.

But as Grcxx3, while under different times you can probably do Egypt on your own, during these trying times, I'd strongly suggest you have a contact in-country so you know where to go or not. Debbie speaks the language and seems to know everyone who is worth knowing to assure your visit runs smoothly.

Yes, we got a wonderful email from Debbie overnight in response to our inquiry to her. She seems to be doing well navigating the occasional turmoil. She had some great ideas, and we're taking to heart the advise to have help while in Egypt, so we'll definitely be pursuing this connection with Debbie. Her message was quite extensive, with suggestions in line with what we said we wanted, and lots of flexibility to use her as much or little as we might choose. Yea Debbie!

Does anyone have any new reports from Cairo, Luxor or Aswan? We're planning on being in Egypt from Nov 3-13. Are trains still running? Is Abu Simbel still open (can one get there)? There is a lot of contradictory information on various forums about the conditions and safety in Egypt. We'd sure appreciate some on the ground perspective.

Why are you not asking Debbie these questions?
By the way, Ulunick, your response concerning using Debbie for assistance/guiding seemed somewhat tentative. Are you still trying to do this trip without professional assistance?
That would be a big, and possibly costly, mistake.

Ditto what JerryS has commented.

At least you have a resource in Egypt, so use Debbie and if it has to cost a few extra $$$, pay it. Better to have someone hold your hand and guide you appropriately than not during this difficult time.

I have written to Debbie with these questions, and we are looking to her for help with our trip in Egypt. I do appreciate your advice, Jerry and Sandi. At the same time, we'd like to have some on-the-ground reports of conditions. It's usually a good thing to have several perspectives. Unless something dramatically horrible happens in Egpyt over the next month, we're planning on going.