Hi all,

I'm taking a trip to Egypt in February for the first time and would appreciate any help that you can provide. Here are the most urgent questions I have right now.

1) I have only 6 days in the country -- arrive Sunday early morning and leave early morning the following Saturday. I'm mostly interested the historical sites so I've come up with the following itinerary: Days 1 & 2: Cairo/pyramids, Day 3 fly to Aswan in morning, Day 4 Aswan, then travel to Luxor in afternoon or evening (how? train, bus, taxi?), Days 5 & 6 Luxor/Thebes, then fly from Luxor to Cairo airport the night of Day 6 (I'm thinking I will stay in the Cairo airport that night as my flight home leaves next morning at 4:30 AM). So, is that too madcap of an itinerary? Can I rely on Egypt Air to be on time? (I don't know if I'm taking a chance leaving Luxor the night before my flight home -- what if the flight is cancelled?)

2) As for hotels in Cairo, I have rewards points that I want to use at either the Hilton in Zamalek or the Sheraton by the Pyramids. Any suggestions as to which is the better place to stay for such a short stay in Cairo?

3) I'm thinking about seeing most things on my own as I usually don't care for tour groups, but some places may be easier with a group -- I don't know. Is it pretty easy to hook up with a tour through the hotel's concierge or something? And if so, are there any of the major sights that would be just easier with a tour/guide than going on my own, e.g. Valley of the Kings, Pyramids and Saqqura, Aswan Temple of Philae, etc.

4) Lastly, safety appears to be all right for tourists right now as long as one remains alert to one's surroundings, but if this is sounding too overconfident or ignorant of the current situation since the referendum last week, then please advise.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Advice Number 1.

Go someplace else until political situation stabilizes.

Advice Number 2.

You are trying to do too much in 6 days. Aswan is one of my favorite places in Egypt but I would eliminate on this trip. Three days in Cairo and three in Luxor. I usually stay at the Marriott.

We never use tours. Your taxi driver will most likely be more than adequate.

Every where in Egypt now is perfectly safe.

Here's what I would do. Ignore the previous posts. Egypt is neither the most unsafe or the safest place to go. There are a number of attacks against police, but so far tourists haven't been threatened. Next, I would skip Aswan and concentrate on Giza, Cairo and Luxor. I'd spend very little if any time in Cairo, though the museum is fabulous. The pyramids are in Giza, outside Cairo. Yes, go there. But have a guide for all these places. Don't rely on any taxi driver you just pick up! No quality control there. Your hotel could help you find one, or ask people to recommend one. A guide will not only help you get around and give you good historical information, but will keep the hordes of people selling things away from you. Without a lot of other tourists around, these people will try to settle on you like flies to molasses. IF you can arrange it, take a Nile cruise. I think you can get three-day ones, though the longer the better. They will stop at sites along the Nile. If you are set on Aswan, you could sail from Luxor to Aswan, but that may take too many days. My credentials: I've been to Egypt 7 times, though haven't been there since 2010. I have Egyptian friends who help me stay in touch about conditions there. Oh, don't know your hotels. I've liked the Marriott on Zamalek. If the Hilton reviews are good, that could be fine. But do you need to stay in Cairo? Best hotel in Giza is the Mena House.

PamR - nice answer but he was probably here LAST Feb since he posted in January 2014.

And - FYI - the Mena House once was a very good hotel, but clearly the news that Oberoi has pulled out missed you. It's on the downhill slide now. There are numerous nicer hotels here now.