Hi all, I'm planning a trip in early March to Egypt for about nine days. With the staggered elections taking place through that time period around Egypt, was wondering what thoughts were on safety and security for Westerners traveling in the area. I've noticed several of you have been there recently. For the most part I'm seeing positive reports, though government (US and British) Web sites seem to be in a bit of a tizzy about the protesters and the elections. I'll be staying with a friend and her brother who's been living just outside Cairo for over a year now, and most likely using a trusted driver to get around. Any thoughts, positive or negative? Concerns? I don't plan on loitering around Tahrir Square...Thanks!!

I was there 3 north ago with my friend and it was safe and really nice country ,we went to the pyramids and Nile cruise in Luxor,go and stay away from taahrir sq.,HAVE FUN.

Having the "trusted driver" should be all you really need to avoid any issues. He will take care that you don't get caught up in anything.

If your friends live outside Cairo (New Cairo or 6 Oct City) you won't notice anything is different probably.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...y.html?hpid=z3

You probably should be more cautious of your surroundings than in the past.

The 2 tourists in the above link are freed.
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news...sed-police-say

So since the tourists were freed, that makes it okay to go there? Sorry, but I just posted about how safe & secure Israel is, even with terror threats. Eygpt, on the other hand seems more like the "wild west" now. Everyones armed, the military , police and goon squads are just not as effective since the (Arab Spring) and safety to tourists, even with a driver is not working like it has in the past. I would love to see the Egypt, but it just seems like the safegaurds aren't there right now.

>>So since the tourists were freed, that makes it okay to go there? <<

I didn't say that. I was simply providing an update on the hostage situation. Anyone planning a trip to Egypt, especially Cairo, will have to decide for himself how comfortable he is with the situation over there.

The road from St. Catherine's to Sharm is relatively isolated. Even in "good" times, I didn't like it. Got caught in a horrible hamseen in that area. That is why we usually flew to Sharm (never went to St. Catherine's).

But.....would still not be overly concerned in Cairo or on a Nile cruise.

I loved Egypt--every minute of it.

However right now, I wouldn't go. With the arrest of 19 Americans who work for an NGO in Cairo, the devolving unrest post the soccer deaths, and the upcoming elections, things are tense. There are many other wonderful places in the world to visit until Egypt calms down. The US is now considering decreasing/stopping the $1.4 billion in US aid right now because of the arrests--this, even just the discussion of stopping the aid, will make things even more tense.

I know that there are some in the forum who will completely disagree with me because they either have a huge affinity towards this ancient and fascinating country, or their livings are tied to tourism. I feel terribly badly for those who live by the tourist dollar. However, I would wait a while before I returned to Egypt. That is my <i>opinion,</i> no more, no less.

yeah, I second the above opinion. We were there at the start of the revolution Jan 2011, and I am grateful that we got out when we did (Jan 29th). There are still uprisings going on. You will be safe on the cruise, and most likely in Giza. Luxor and The Valley of the kings seems to be calm, but you just never know what will happen day by day. It still sounds chaotic to me. And, the Cairo museum is right in the middle of the mess.

I'm headed to Egypt on a cruise in March and have plans for several day trips with fellow passengers. I will take it day by day and port by port. I've been trying to get there for 30 years and I'm not giving up this chance but will weigh my options as they come.

We were in Egypt in January and had a fantastic trip. I too had some concerns about going, but all was well. I never felt unsafe at all. We used Casual Cairo Detours in Cairo, and Lady Egypt for upper Egypt. I will write a trip report shortly.

Almost at all the websites, all visitors wrote good reviews about Egypt, no problems and there are security in the streets.
I think the Egyptian government & all people there care about tourism.