Is it safe to travel in Egypt now?
#2
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Dear Christina
I travelled in Egypt with my family (13 year old son) at Christmas/New Year and always felt safe and welcome in Cairo and along the Nile on a cruise.
Take the same precautions you would anywhere in the world and you will be just fine. Be conservative in your style of clothing and show respect for other peoples religion ( photos). Learn a bit of the language and practice on the Egyption people - they will respond with great humor and tell you you are now almost Egyption. The People are the greatest- be prepared to barter- usually around half. Take the black and white taxis to get around they are the least expensive. Have a good Trip.
Security is very tight and comforting
Bill
I travelled in Egypt with my family (13 year old son) at Christmas/New Year and always felt safe and welcome in Cairo and along the Nile on a cruise.
Take the same precautions you would anywhere in the world and you will be just fine. Be conservative in your style of clothing and show respect for other peoples religion ( photos). Learn a bit of the language and practice on the Egyption people - they will respond with great humor and tell you you are now almost Egyption. The People are the greatest- be prepared to barter- usually around half. Take the black and white taxis to get around they are the least expensive. Have a good Trip.
Security is very tight and comforting
Bill
#3
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It's quite safe on a tour and you get to places on a tour that you wouldn't otherwise. We spent three weeks in Egypt (and a side trip to see Petra in Jordan) on a Special Expeditions tour in February. We had no problems and the security is very tight. A lot of guys with AK-47's on guard. Just don't drink the water or eat anything washed in the water. That means using a lot of bottled water, even for brushing your teeth. Have fun.
#4
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Yes, on a tour you will be very safe.We (my husband and I) felt safe the entire trip. Our tour had an armed security person on the bus.
Egypt's economy is very dependent on tourism. They are very concerned about tourist safety. Just be aware of your environment, as you would be anywhere. Enjoy and have a great trip!
Egypt's economy is very dependent on tourism. They are very concerned about tourist safety. Just be aware of your environment, as you would be anywhere. Enjoy and have a great trip!
#5
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I am going to Egypt in May with my mother. Her and I will be traveling with Globus. Before I reserved the tour I did some research into the current political situation in Egypt. The news coming out of Egypt made me satisfied that it was relatively safe to go to Egypt. Of course there are never any guarantees. You can do some research of your own at the U.S. Department of State website (eg: consular information, health information and any travel advisories). Go for it!!!
#9
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My wife and I just returned from Egypt and could not have felt safer. The Egyptian mentality is not one of violence.
Egypt responded to the terrorist attacks in the late 90s almost with overkill. There are armed gaurds at all the tourist sites. It was very reassuring to see Egypt taking it's tourist's safety with such seriousness. It has a huge dependence on tourism for it's economy and realizes this.
Even on the crazy roads no-one got mad at the overtaking antics. Egyptians are very calm and polite.
We went with Gate 1 travel who we'd highly recommend. They escorted us through the airport when we arrived in Cairo even from before going through customs and whisked us through all our internal transfers.
Epinion of our trip to Egypt in April 2000 for those interested here:
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-...3904662B-prod5
Richard
Egypt responded to the terrorist attacks in the late 90s almost with overkill. There are armed gaurds at all the tourist sites. It was very reassuring to see Egypt taking it's tourist's safety with such seriousness. It has a huge dependence on tourism for it's economy and realizes this.
Even on the crazy roads no-one got mad at the overtaking antics. Egyptians are very calm and polite.
We went with Gate 1 travel who we'd highly recommend. They escorted us through the airport when we arrived in Cairo even from before going through customs and whisked us through all our internal transfers.
Epinion of our trip to Egypt in April 2000 for those interested here:
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-...3904662B-prod5
Richard
#11
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Posts: n/a
OK, Egypt is safe now but I have to disagree a bit.
Personally, I don't feel so safe in a country where I see thousands of soldiers and policemen with assault rifles and kevlar jackets absolutely everywhere, plus the escorted convoys.
Because it means that there is still a risk, otherwise why would they be there ? (OK, some people say that since the Egyptian Army/Police has a huge budget to fight terrorism, they don't want to scale down even if the threat has disappeared. Maybe).
And the islamic terrorists also know that tourism is crucial for Egypt. This is why they targeted tourists to scare them and then the whole economy would collapse and they could easily overthrow the governement.
But I agree that it's a great place and that people are very nice. And I would go again and take this little risk without hesitation.
As for safety for women, some minor hassles but no physical danger (apart from some groping hands maybe).
Personally, I don't feel so safe in a country where I see thousands of soldiers and policemen with assault rifles and kevlar jackets absolutely everywhere, plus the escorted convoys.
Because it means that there is still a risk, otherwise why would they be there ? (OK, some people say that since the Egyptian Army/Police has a huge budget to fight terrorism, they don't want to scale down even if the threat has disappeared. Maybe).
And the islamic terrorists also know that tourism is crucial for Egypt. This is why they targeted tourists to scare them and then the whole economy would collapse and they could easily overthrow the governement.
But I agree that it's a great place and that people are very nice. And I would go again and take this little risk without hesitation.
As for safety for women, some minor hassles but no physical danger (apart from some groping hands maybe).