Jam

First trip to Egypt departing in March. I am wondering if it would be recommended to hire a tour operator for the Cairo and Giza Area? I will be in Giza 2 nights at the beginning of my trip. At the end of my trip, 2 nights in Giza and 2 nights in Cairo. First night in Giza will be recovering from jet lag, arriving late. I will be going back to Giza after doing the Oberi Philae Cruise. Would it be to difficult to take in the sites on our own? I'm reading that many travelers hire tour operators to get them around. Also, what Sound and Light shows do you also recommend in Cairo/ Giza Area? I am basically doing the same trip as many first time travelers starting off in Cairo/Giza, then to Aswan, Nile Cruise and then back to Giza and Cairo before flying to London. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Would also like help as to the order in which to see the sites. I was also wondering if it is recommended to be vaccinated for typhoid? I asked my local trip clinic and typhoid was not on the list but I've been reading the discussions on Fodors. Appreciate any suggestions and help. The cruise and hotels are booked so now I need to decide if I should arrange for a tour operator. Thanks in advance.

qwovadis

www.ladyegypt.com

good guides with 4 year Egyptology degrees.

best for learning a bit about the culture.

DIY can be problematic and less informative.

www.mdtravelhealth.com Egypt for all health issues

Typhoid not needed poorly effective

unless going to a high risk country/area not Egypt.

Happy Journey,

skibumette

Should mention that ALL Nile cruises are very high risk for travelers diarrhea; this is one time you really want to pay attention to all those food/water recommendations.

Typhoid fever is a specific strain of the salmonella bacteria. The vaccine (either the shot or the capsules) is somewhere between 55-70% effective; whether you want to get it depends on length of trip, how adventurous your eating habits are, and your tolerance for risk. I'm a bit risk-averse (who wants to spend any part of their trip stuck in the bathroom?) so I tend to err on the conservative side. (BTW, I see that qwovadis' recommended web site does recommend typhoid vaccine for all travelers to Egypt.)

TravellerB

After few day I will be in my trip in Egypt, my booking through Le Caire Travel, www.lecairetravel.com, so far everthing are excellent

Axel2DP

Enjoy your trip TravellerB !

Jam

Thanks Traveller. Emailed Le Caire Trave to find out prices of daily tours in Cairo. Waiting for their reply.

peter_gs

You can do it the other way around (my wifes sister did this, and was very happy): Make your own plan of the trip. Book hotels online through momoway or bookings (short cut here: http://bit.ly/gBttAU) in places you want to stay and go on sightseeing trips with the hotel groups / guides. Stay in one place for a few days, then travel to another selected destination, where you booked a hotel. it fun this way and you'll get to see more and for a lower cost.

Jam

Peter all my hotels and cruises are booked, independently not through a cruise company or agency. That's why I now need to locate a private city tour guide who will drive us to the sites and give us tours on the pyramids etc. A bit worried about the safety issue since we have never been to Egypt.

Grcxx3

You can also check out Casual Cairo Detours. The owner, Debbie, posts here as Casual_Cairo, but she doesn't advertise her own services, just gives advice/recommendations. She has lived in Cairo about 10 years.

http://www.casualcairodetours.com/

Jam

Thank-you Grcxx3 and Traveler for all your suggestions. Traveler when are you leaving for Egypt? Le Caire Travel contacted me and are so very helpful. Is this your first time using them? Will you post to let me how your private tours went. Happy Travels and thanks again to everyone for your help.