Anyone been to Egypt?

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KWB

.......Yep. Lovely people. The Pyramids are disappointing though, very overrated. But the museum is awsome. Cairo is very busy but I felt very safe. Learn just one bit of Arabic: Salam alah coome (not the actual spelling, but its how to pronounce) It means God be with you. It makes people smile and stops people trying to sell you stuff or hassel you. Good luck, enjoy

David T

I've just got back from Luxor.

If you go out into the town expect hassle, just be polite and say no.
Don't be aggressive or disrespectful.

There are not many tourists in the back streets of Luxor at this time of year so a lot of the shop keepers will be very keen for your money.

Take plenty of water wear long sleave tops and long trouser, take an hat

AND ENJOY.

I guess you'll be doing the Temples.

THE MUSEUM IS A MUST.

You can get a ballon ride from near the Valley of the kings from Â£65.

If you go to the Valley of the Kings, climb the Hill to get a good view.
Just ignore the touts. (You will get hasseled up there)

TELL SHOP OWNERS YOU WANT EGYPTIAN PRICE NOT ASDA PRICE!

Rich S

Its nice,
Always haggle and dont get pulled into buying things you dont want,
Always carry 2 wallets, one with low denomination notes for tips etc and one with higher denomination notes for bigger purchases.
If you do go into a shop and they are trying to get you to buy stuff pull out the wallet with a couple of low notes in and tell them you are offto the bank and you will be passing through again the next day. In a hurry to meet freinds. etc

Sabi

I've been to Sharm and Cairo and both are great in different ways. Sharm's a real dive resort and I haven't really done much else there. The diving's good though and there's something for all abilities. Pretty cool night life, especially the rooftop Camel bar. Definitely try a sheesa (hubbly bubbly pipe). Beware the crazy taxi drivers who believe that headlights run the battery down and so try to do without!

Cairo's utterly different, as you'd expect. The Egyptian museum is an absolute must and you should allow at least one whole day. There are loads of tours and stuff but the best thing I did in Cairo was to take the metro, which no-one except locals seems to use, and go to the old town and just wander. It was fabulous and everyone was really friendly and I had no hassle at all. I saw about three white faces all day and got a proper feel for the Cairo that isn't part of the tourist scrum.

All the usual rules apply about negotiating prices before you agree to anything, keeping your valuables safe and so on, but anyone sensible would do this in any case, even in their own country.

If you've never been to north Africa you should also know that, although many conversations sound like furious arguements to the Western ear they never seem to deteriorate into any kind of physical aggression, and the most heated discussion usually ends in smiles and back slapping and hand shaking. It's very bizarre and a bit worrying at first but you soon get used to it!

Hope you have a great time!

Saratisima

Well,I'm Egyptian and i live in Cairo since i was born.Its honer for us to visit our country and welcome anytime,the weather in Cairo is good little sunny at the morning but in Sharm and luxor it is hot and very sunny so its better to have a cold mineral water everywhere you go and to have a hat or umbrella and forget the sun creams.There is alot of places to visit in Cairo as they told you about the pyramids the museum and don't miss the mosques and Khan el Khalili which is and old barrio which is full of markets where you can buy souvenirs for you family and negotiate with the sellers if the price is high if he tells you that the price is 50L.E tell him that you'll take it if it costs 35,40,don't worry you will find a lots of varieties with different prices,the you can go to the Azhar Park to have dinner there.Don't worry Egypt is safe, the people are friendly and kind,we aren't terrorists.
About sharm and Luxor i think the people told you about them,if you need anything you can contact me before you come.
Enjoy your tripe

chaosjones7

Always shake hands with your right hand because in Egypt it is rude to use the left hand because that's the hand you use to wipe your back side with. also always carry Extra water with you and handy wipes and take plenty of flim and have fun

NJP

I went to Sharm and got back last Friday - it was my best holiday ever! We only had a week there, but if we'd had more time, i'd have definately gone up to Cairo - people at out hotel who'd been had loved it.
Sharm is very tourist based, but the hotels, Egyptian people, weather and diving were all amazing!
Enjoy your holiday - take me with you!!!

Hophop

you are welcome at any time and if you need any more info or any help here around contact me back. i live in Luxor so may be we can have chance to meet.
check the info page at the website below.

cassandra581

In Cairo if course you have to visit the pyramids and spinx on the giza plateu. You are allowed to go into 2 of them but 1 is always closed. This is their way of preserving them that they alternate which one is closed. Althoug it's not as much fun to go in as you might think since all art and artifacts have been removed from the insides so it's just big stone walls inside but still you should do it. You might want to visit the pharonic village which is like a liitle mock ancient egyptian town that let's you see life in ancient egypt (kind of). Also I'd reccomend of course, the Egyptian Museum just like everyone else but some other things I think you should see that nobody else seems to be mentioning are khan el-khalili bazaar, old cairo, the mohamed ali mosque, al-azhar unizersity/mosque, the castle (I fogot what it's called but it's this old castle in old cairo). The architecture in old cairo and the mosques is absolutely amazing and breathtaking. Also al-azhar is one of the oldest universities in the world. In luxor you should see luxor temple, karnak temple, the valley of the kings, the valley of the queens, ramses temple, and heshepsuts temple. There are ton's of temples and ruins in Luxor. The valey of the kings has many tombs that you can go into but you are only allowed to enter into three a day. Either go more than once or pick your tombs carefully. I would recommend doing some research into which ones are the most interesting or have the most to see in them and then you can see the three you like best. Also, don't go into tut's tomb. It's really boring. They removed everything from it and there's hardly anything to see in it. Aslo, you have to pay extra on top of your regular admission to go into his tomb. Oh ad don't bother bringing cameras or video cams because your not allowed to bring them on the site. You can't take any pictures the only way around that if yourvery sneaky is to use a cell phone with picture takingh ability and then watch out for the guards or you'll be in big trouble. I would rteccomend skipping Shar all together! Shar is just boring unless you like lounging on the beach all day. I'd much rather see ancient ruins than a stupid beach but that's my opinion. Also don't forget to take in a bellydance show in one of cairo's 4 star hotels but just don't see lucy or dina. The dancing is spectacular(not so much in cheaper locales though). Oh be very careful about watching prices in luxor and shar they are such thieves they really jack the prices up. Id buy everything in cairo, you can get a better deal there.

lucyockmore

Its awesome! I went to Sharm 2 years ago. (Hauza Beach Resort)
Visit Cairo if you can, you must see the pyramids and the Egyptian museum etc. Its magical!
The people are friendly, the food is fantastic (especially the desserts!!), the weather is always good - never a cloud in the sky!
I'm so jealous, you'll love it!
Enjoy yourself!!!

sugar n spice

I've been to Cairo. The best part of it was seeing the Pyramids, they are amazing!!!! You can ride a camel and go to the museum which has all the mummies in it. Watch out for the taxi drivers though they will rip you off and overcharge you loads so feel free to haggle with them over the fre and agree a fare first before getting in. The cruise along the Nile is great to.

dbs

I went on a day trip from Cyprus, saw the Pyramids, Sphynx , Cairo ( not the nicest city I have been in) Watch out for pickpockets and persistant sellars of touristy souvenirs.

Number 3

My husband has been, he says "make sure you catch the pyramids while you are there".

Big Gascoigne

No - far too many pyramids for my liking

R S C

egypt is the most amazing place. never pay the price offered in markets/shops - haggle they expect it and you get good prices. cairo (pyramids) and thats about it some shops etc it is a working city. sharm has amazing beaches diving etc luxor lots of sightseeing. dont do any paid tours through your holiday rep they cost a fortune. we were offered a trip from the tour operator for about $390 and the hotel arranged a taxi driver from the hotel to do the same trip for around $200 (not sure as piad in pounds was Â£90) we had the kids so meant we could stop when we wanted etc. just have fun people are great country is safe. when you travel long distance (whenb in the taxi) you have to state your destination, number passengers, country from, hotel etc and they check you arrived the driver of taxi has to leave details so if you arrive or something wrong at end of day when they check they know where to look - makes you feel quiet safe. above all enjoy the amazing overwhelming feeling you get. see all you can do all you can enjoy it all...dont forget to haggle!!

romancer

lots of people i think

Lâ™¥Oâ™¥Vâ™¥E

i love it... you will like it.. make sure you bring lots of bottled water cuz there water is NAASSSTTYY!!!

White Trash Beautiful

No I haven't, but I am a lover of all egyptian items. I love when the tour comes around with mummy's and there belonging.

King Tut I thought was going to come back around but It doesn't look like it. :(

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