davecutter73

i have found out the name of the restraunt it was elsarya

turaj

REgarding City of the Dead and walking alone...not a good idea at all...but walking with Arabic guide and having a driver one of the best experiences we had in Cairo...Casual Cairo arranged it for us and I highly recommend it if she is still doing it.

scotsgirl

I would second what Kak said above. Medinet Habu is wonderful, and not on the "normal" Luxor West Bank tour. I always take private tours / private egyptologist / private car and they took me to here. it was fabulous, and hardly anyone was there.

If you go right up to the back you find all sorts of broken bits of columns etc all sitting there like a big jigsaw puzzle waiting to be put together, its lovely.

It is one of the biggest temples sites in Luxor and I would definately recommend you try and add it into your itinerary.

Only thing to watch out for is the Portacabin type toilet. when I was there there is a hole on the floor right beside the toilet pan. Now the portacabin is raised about a meter from ground level and you go up steps to get to it. Therefore someone could go under it and as soon as you go to ...... over the pan someone could see through the hole in the floor. So, if you are as agile as I was, try to keep one foot over the hole on the floor, bend and aim

You will have a great time in Egypt, and everyone in here will definately help you piece your tour together.

Scotsgirl

jahlie

Because we'll have a private car and driver with guides when we want, we'll be free to do just about anything, take detours and wander off. That's usually when things get interesting I'd rather do as much as possible on our own. For instance, we can easily take a train up to Alexandria by ourselves. I don't see a need for a guide/car/driver in Cairo or other cities (towns). Maybe a guide for an hour or so, maybe not. I rarely hire one and rely on tips from friends, websites like this one and a good guide book or two. We'll see how this all plays out.

I'll have to research Medinet Habu a bit - sounds wonderful.

We have an entire year to plan and change plans. Fodor's has always been a great help whenever I plan travel and from the start, the trip to Egypt is no exception. Thanks all - I appreciate everyone's advice.

BonnieN

we did alex as a day trip. recall it was about 3 hours each way, stopping at the monastery enroute, which we really liked and we might have been the only visitors that morning.

medinet habu is wonderful - don't miss it. also nobles and workers . can't have enough time on west bank.

terrific that you are staying overnight at abu simbel. be sure to go back at dawn for photo light. the nubian house is very cute. I think our dinner and breakfast was included at seti so we just went for visit to nubian house but others have enjoyed dinner. it is small and VERY friendly.
bonnie

jahlie

BonnieN, did you hire a car and driver for Alexandria? Through your hotel? How much did it cost? We're thinking about the train...