MissGreen

Just wondering... for those who have already been to the Land of the Pharohs... how did the trip rate against your expectations.

What was different to what you imagined, what was better, what was worse?

Fill us all in.... I can't wait until the day when I can answer someone elses questions in depty from "real life" experience!

twelveoaks

My wife and I have travelled to Europe, Asia, Australia, etc. and Egypt far and away was the best of all of the trips. It exceeded our expectations to a great level.We have all seen the pictures of the pyramids and the other sights but nothing comes close to seeing them in person.Being in the tombs, the palaces, the ruins was truly a trip back two thousand years in history. Also the Nile cruise was a fantastic experience.

Leslie_S

Ditto what twelveoaks said. It was far & away my favorite trip among many - just amazing to be in the temples, pyramids, floating on the Nile, etc.
And that is despite a bout of mummy tummy which was pretty awful at the time but immediately was outweighed by the fabulousness of the trip as a whole.

Do stock up on Antinal when you arrive just in case. Or your guide can get it for you. But don't delay if you start to feel "not right." People on my trip who had the same problem tried immodium and that didn't work.

shelleyk

My DH and I have travelled extensively and Egypt is one of favorite trips. We are not cruise lovers, but the Nile cruise was one of the highlights of our trip. We were in Egypt for 2 weeks, were careful about not eating any cold foods, (especcially salads), except for peeled fruit, and we did not get sick. Others who were not as careful did, so be prepared. And if you can get to Abu Simbel, do it, although the other temples and pyramids are fabulous also.

scotsgirl

When I first went I thought oh ok its Egypt, im sure ill learn something, see some history etc etc etc.

Went, loved every minute, and its the only place that I vacation now. Every time I go, I see some other part that I cant believe I didnt know Egypt had.

A must see country definately! cant believe I wasted all the years going back and forward to Spain, etc. (no offense to spain its a lovely country and the people are fab) but Egypt - OUTSTANDING!! cant wait til my next trip. I hope to try Marsa Alam next.

Scotsgirl

tinydancer

We went to Egypt last April (my second trip 32 years after the first) and we totally, totally loved it! I've traveled pretty extensively, but I'd almost have to say that if you have only one trip in your lifetime, make it to Egypt! Why? Because it is just so amazing to be up close and personal with a culture that has been gone for so long, and was so well developed and advanced. Just when we thought we'd seen it all, we were newly amazed again. It was jaw dropping. The architecture and art of the ancient Egyptians is just plain spellbinding, to say the least. This was also our first ever cruise and we loved it. It's especially great to do a cruise down the Nile because it's so relaxing in between the heat of the temples on land and it's just gorgeous to watch Egypt glide by along the banks. We also found that being on the cruise enabled us to spend some quality time with people we met on our tour and we made some wonderful friends as a result. Just loved it! Some don't miss sites would have to also include Abu Simbel (fly), Saqqara (tombs), the solar boat at the pyramids, apart from all the main sites. I ate salads every day on the ship and never got sick. I avoided the dairy, but my husband didn't and he had mummy tummy once. Have a great time.

fthomasbond

just back from a 15 day tour and loved every minute of it. I had worried that things such as the pyramids or Abu Simbel might be a let down, but in reality they were more beautiful and exciting than I could have imagined. A few places that stood out: 1. the Egyptian museum - what a collection and it is better shown than I had been led to believe though it is after all over 100 years old. 2. Valley of the Nobles - the Valley of the Kings was as expected in fact a little disappointing as many of the best tombs are closed and it was very crowded - but in VN the tombs of Ramose and Sennefer were spectacular (again, no photos but you can buy good reporoductions on post cards though not those pushed in the gauntlets)3. Philae Temple especially ay night - the light show there was better than at Giza - you walk around the site and see it very well.
But above all what impressed me the most were the Egyptian people I met -certainly not a cross section but everyone was polite and interested - seemed excited about Obama and even those who pushed wares were only trying to make a living and backed off when we showed no interest - " La, La" - no, no".Our tour had a home study and an excellent guide - it felt almost normal to be in a Muslim country,
Hope to return!!

kak113

our trip definitely exceeded my expectations. as mentioned before, each day was more fascinating than the next. My husband, on the other hand, who had not done all the researching, reading, looking at books and photos like I did ... was absolutely BLOWN AWAY. if he said once, he said 3,000 times - "I can't believe how massive xyz is" and "its amazing how deep these carvings are." the trip filled us both with a sense of wonder and joy that we were so fortunate to see such great beauty.