Thingorjus needs help w/Cairo
 

I need help planning a trip to Cairo. I want to do everything on my own, however, I see that Gate 1 has a special 3-day trip to the pyramids at Giza and Luxor/Karnak. It is around $800 for room, plane trip to Luxor from Cairo, and guided tour.

Do you think it would be better for me to take this trip from Cairo or find a guide on my own for Luxor/Karnak. I want to stay in Cairo for at least 10 days total. I wanted to stay on Zemelek and just take this Gate 1 tour as an add-on to see the pyramids. I would have to switch hotels after the tour was over from the Movenpick to the Longchamp.

Take the three-day tour or find a guide on my own?

Thank you for your help.

Thingorjus

Hi,
I am in the middle of planning a trip on my own and let me tell you it's not as easy as a trip to Europe. The Nile cruise has been particularly difficult, but, we are a small group on a budget so that has complicated things.

It sounds like the main focus of your trip will be Cairo, with the sights outside of town secondary. I would go with finding my own guide, but, that's just me. Debbie Senters, [email protected], has been very helpful to me both on this forum and by email. We will be taking some tours with her.
http://www.casualcairodetours.pyramids.net

For train reservations if you want to take the train rather than fly, the overnight sleeper looks very cool and exotic:
http://www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm

Here is something that we didn't do, but maybe you might be interested:
http://www.dahabiya.com/default.htm

Good luck! I can't wait to go - when do you travel?

The pyramids are only 45 minutes from downtown Cairo, so a combined Pyramids/Luxor trip sounds a little odd to me.

If you go to the pyramids, there are a few things that generally are out in the direction -- Memphis, Sakkara, et al. I'd get a guide with a car in Cairo & go out there on your own. that way you can do what you want when you want.

How much time to you have altogether? I spent 3 weeks traveling around Egypt on a custom tour. To my great surprise, Egypt has several very distinct areas which offer different things. See if you can stretch your time out so you can see a few of them on this trip.

The problem is not Giza, it is getting to Luxor by plane. I know that I can stay in Zamelek and just hire a car/guide to see the pyramids. I thought it would be easier if I just went with the tour operated by Gate 1 to see the Giza Pyramids and Luxor/Karnak. The tour of Luxor is an overnight stay.

Thanks for your help.

Will Muffy be joining you?

No. I will be going by myself. I need to be alone this Christmas because my mom and my step-father were recently killed in a car crash. My husband understands that I don't want to be at home for the holiday season. (He is Jewish and will go to visit his parents in Rochester.)

Thank you for your concern.

Thingorjus

I am so sorry to hear that!

Cairo sounds like a place to get away to, so different from what we are used to. I would take the trip if I was you so as to have one less thing to worry about.

I'm so sorry. A trip to Egypt sounds like a good plan. It's nothing like the US.

I'm still not wild about this combination. Look around & see if you can find a trip to Luxor alone. Try Thomas Cook (Cooke?)

A tour is a good idea when you go to Luxor. Having someone to meet you at the airport & take care of any of the changes that Eygptair makes I had changes on both flights on my RT to Luxor from Cairo.

Also you should make sure that you have someone to meet and greet you at Cairo airport when you first arrive. Makes life a lot easier.