Bonjour my Beauties, I am so thrilled to blog about my latest trip: Egypt. What can I say...this country is simply magical filled with so much history, culture and mystery. Let me start with this, a lot of you have asked me if it was safe, I understand your concern but trust me, it is very safe and tourism actually picked up again this year and I suggest if Egypt is on your bucket list then don't wait, just go before there is mass tourism.
We decided to go as a family, because it was on our list for a long long time but years back it wasn't advised to we waited until it was and 2019 was finally the year! We used Abercrombie and Kent option: "Egypt & the Nile: Cruising on "Sanctuary Nile Adventurer" with a private tour for each excursions which was the best thing we did. We also had the most amazing guides, in Cairo we had the amazing Gazibia Hussien and for the Nile cruise we had the fabulous Mohammed El Rehim, so sweet and knowledgable, felt like a family member! If you decide to use A&K, I highly recommend these guides. (I will list the email of Mohammed as he does private tours as well)
The company basically created an itinerary for us which was great so we could focus on discovering the country while they are in charge of everything else including logistics. The service was unbelievable, so thank you for A&K for your hospitality.
Now as per request here is the itinerary (you can go read it on the website as well) but I am still listing it here, everything listed is worth seeing!
->First 4 nights we stayed at Marriott Mena House (we booked an extra night so we can rest up a bit) and we visited: Egyptian Museum of Antiquities and the Mummies Room, Giza Pyramids and the Solar Boat Museum, Workmen's Tombs.
->Then we flew to Luxor to head to our Sanctuary Nile Adventurer Cruise for 5 nights
Day 1: Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings and Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Day 2: Karnak Temple (my favorite), Esna Temple
Day 3: Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo Temple
Day 4: Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, Felucca Ride on the Nile
->Then we flew from Aswan Airport to Abu Simbel to visit the masterpiece of a temple with its four massive statues of Ramses II overlooking Lake Nasser and same day flew back to Cairo
->Last 2 nights, we stayed at Four Seasons Cairo Nile Plaza, ugh what an amazing hotel with great restaurants. We visited for our last day the Mosque of Sultan Hassan followed by a walking tour down the main street of the old walled city of Cairo with a lunch at "Naguib Mahfouz" which I highly recommend.
Voila! I also left a piece of my heart their, seriously I was so sad to leave, but I am seriously looking forward to go back one day
Now here is some extra info:
Dress Code: Well you saw what I wore and the one thing I would say is dress code is conservative so just respect that. The less you'll wear the more attention you'll get and I'll leave it to that. (I wore a slit maxi dress one afternoon and I could sense the difference between wearing pants:)
Weather: We went from Jan 24 to Feb 3rd and mornings and evening got really chilly, I had to layer my outfit as day time was a little warmer but not that much where you could hang in t-shirt so pack a light jacket with scarf and also close toe comfortable shoes especially for Valley of the Kings and visiting other places as it could become unstable.
Food: We ate traditional Egyptian food which was yummy but Egypt also offer lots of different cuisine, we had Indian, Chinese, etc and it was really good. None of us got sick but the one thing we respected was to only drink water bottle as well as avoiding raw food as much as we can to avoid food poisoning. Also you should try the Sheesha (at the Marriott Mena House overlooking the Pyramids, pretty cool experience) One more thing to keep in mind, no alcohol is offered anywhere expect the international hotels
Tips: Take some cash with you because tipping is thing in Egypt, you tip almost everyone well at least they do expect it
Visa: We did it at the airport but be aware, take $25 cash with you because they only accept cash
One thing I suggest though is to plan your trip in advance with a travel agent so you not confused their or wasting time figuring things out. But make sure that whatever agent you choose is not overcharging your day with lots of excursions and its giving you time to enjoy each places and not filled rushed.
Hope this helps you, also if you want to see the story version of my trip, here it is => @alpa.rama
Thank you for your beautiful messages, this was one of my top 3 trips I have ever done. Seeing historical places 4600 years old with such an amazing story to it was simply unbelievable and mystical at the same time. The sound, the smell, the wind of that country truly transports you somewhere else and that's why I suggest you experiment it at least once if your lifetime.
*My amazing guide's email: mohamedrehim@hotmail.com
