Last updated on 01 May, 2019 at 12:44 am
Since the arrival of the Greeks, Egypt has almost always been under the yoke of a foreign power. After the Greeks, the Romans then the Arabs and the English reigned over the country, leaving in turn traces of their passage by erecting temples according to their belief mixed with those of the Egyptians.
We thus find Greek temples with hieroglyphs engraved on the walls, mosques built on the walls of an Egyptian temple buried under the sand during its construction and frescoes of Christian churches covering hieroglyphs.
Here is the 12-day itinerary we made in October 2018 in Egypt and all our practical tips to visit the country.
Egypt was the sixth country we visited during our world tour.
Security has become a keyword here.
Up to the point where it has become a selling argument. “It’s more expensive but at least we’re sure it’s safe to travel like that, we know what kind of people take this bus while with other companies…” we’ve been told many times.
We never felt in danger anywhere. It’s also true that we have not often been alone either.
Our 12-day itinerary in Egypt
- Two nights in Cairo
- Visit the pyramids of Saqqara and Giza.
- Visit of the Egyptian museum.
- Visit of old Cairo.
- Night train to Aswan in double berth with evening meal and breakfast.
- A three-night cruise between Aswan and Luxor full board without drinks.
- Visit of Aswan Dam and Philae Temple.
- Visit Abu Simbel temple.
- Visit the Kom Ombo Temple and the Crocodile Museum.
- Visit the temple of Edfu.
- Two nights in Luxor with breakfast in a hotel on the Nile.
- Visit the Colossi of Memnon.
- Visit the temple of Atchepsout.
- Visit of the Valley of the Kings.
- Visit the Karnak temple.
- Visit the Luxor Temple.
- Transfert en bus pour Hurgada.
- Trois nuits dans un hôtel All Inclusive à Hurghada.
- Bus transfer to Cairo.
- Last night in Cairo.
- Transfer to the airport on the day of departure.
Private transport to different sites, admission tickets, lunch without drinks and guides were also included.
Basically, we still have to pay our drinks during meals and extras (tips, ride horse or camel, tips, souvenirs, tips, etc.).
Price: € 510 per person for 11 nights.
This is clearly not a friendly backpacker budget.
But it is simpler and a priori it fits (just) in our budget. The style of travel also differs from our other countries. Here, beachfront hotels and Nile cruises have replaced our usual hostels and private cars, the usual overcrowded local buses.
Moreover, note that prices of entrance tickets to various sites have increased after our passage (see below) and you probably will not be able to negotiate the same package anymore at the same price.
Entrance prices from November 1st 2018
Since November 1, 2018, entrance fees to the various monuments have increased.
Here is the new price list per person for foreigners taken from a message on the forum of TripAdvisor, the old prices that we paid are put in parentheses:
- Saqqara Pyramids: 150 EGP (120 EGP).
- Site of the Giza Pyramids: 160 EGP (120 EGP).
- Egyptian Museum: 160 EGP (120 EGP).
- High dam: 30 EGP (30 EGP).
- Philae Temple: 140 EGP (100 EGP).
- Abu Simbel Temple: 200 EGP (160 EGP).
- Abu Simbel Temple, the day when the sun is aligned with the statue of Ramses II: 400 EGP, not counted in the total since we didn’t go that day.
- Kom Ombo Temple & Crocodile museum: 100 EGP (80 EGP).
- Edfu Temple: 140 EGP (100 EGP).
- Hatshepsut Temple: 100 EGP (80 EGP).
- Valley of the Kings: 200 EGP (160 EGP).
- Karnak Temple: 150 EGP (120 EGP).
- Luxor Temple: 140 EGP (100 EGP).
Total: 1670 EGP (1290 EGP). Which makes 93 $/CHF (71 $/CHF) or 82 € (63 €). This is an increase of about 20 $/CHF or 19 €.
Going to Egypt
Visa for Egypt
Unless you have the nationality of an Arab Middle East country, you will need a visa to travel to Egypt. Depending on your nationality (we give a non-exhaustive list, please always check with official embassy websites), you will be able to opt for one of the simplified procedures: a visa on-arrival or an e-visa.
Visa on-arrival
Depending on your nationality, this visa can be obtained upon arrival (Visa on-arrival). This is valid if you have the nationality of one of the states of the Schengen area.
At Cairo airport, the bank ticket office on your right before passing immigration sells these visas. It costs 25 $ (25 CHF or 22 €).
Caution: it is better to pay in cash. Although it is possible to “pay” by credit card, we had the bad surprise to see this payment be made as a withdrawal, with the key, more than 10 $/CHF of fees…
e-visa
Selon votre nationalité, il est possible d’obtenir un e-visa. Cela est valable pour les citoyens suisses, belges, français et canadiens, la liste complète des nationalités est disponible dans la FAQ du site. Il coûte également 25$. Je recommande cependant d’utiliser le visa on-arrival. Bien que la procédure soit simple, elle prend quand même plus de temps que de juste se pointer à un guichet à l’aéroport. De plus, au guichet vous n’avez aucune chance de vous tromper et de voir votre demande refusée, contrairement à dans un formulaire sur internet.
Attention: de nombreux sites proposent des e-visas pour l’Egypte et encaissent des grosses commissions au passage!! En faisant mes recherches, j’ai trouvé un e-visa pour 84$!!
How to travel in Egypt?
Bus
We traveled from Luxor to Hurgada and from Hurgada to Cairo by bus with Go-Bus. In these buses, the air conditioning works very (too) strong, up to the point where we had to put a sweater to avoid getting cold.
Note that this company offers different rates corresponding to buses of different quality. Our travel agency has put both times on top categories.
Train
We traveled from Cairo to Aswan by night train. Full details of our train journey are available in this article.
What currency is used in Egypt and how much does it cost?
Egypt uses the Egyptian pound as currency, abbreviated EGP. One thousand Egyptian pounds are worth about 55 $/CHF or 49 €. The price in store for a bottle of water a liter and a half is 5 EGP, a soft (coca, sprite) between 7 and 10 EGP. We eat for 50 to 100 EGP per person with drinks at a mid-range restaurant. In a restaurant, the prices of soft drinks rise very quickly, it is possible to pay up to 30 EGP for a coke.
Tipping in Egypt
Always have small bills on you for the various tips you will have to give. I say “will” because often the guide or the person himself will explain explicitly that he’s waiting for a tip.
It becomes sickly.
So much so that a person who accompanied us in a tiny car and then a maximum of 15 meters between the car and the bus clearly visible without even helping us carrying our bags asked us for a tip…
It has lost the meaning of a supplement for a well done job
It has simply become an absolute. In addition, they even point out that the usual tip is so many Egyptian pounds and that you should give more, often while stating a ridiculously high amount.
Following the numerous revolutions, Egypt has lost a lot of tourists
Even if the tourists are slowly coming back, with 3 million in 2017 and a little more this year, they are still far from the 13 million before… I agree that they should be able to live with a decent salary but it’s not by attacking tourists like that that they will come back in mass… moreover, the government decided to increase the entrance fees of all the monuments as from November 1st 2018, a decision which displeases the guides and the local travel agencies…
Communications
In Egypt, there are three big operators, Etisalat, Orange and Vodafone. At the airport, Orange made an offer for a sim card with 20 Gb of Dragon units for 165 Egyptian pounds (9 $/CHF or 8 €). This is the offer we took.
Beware, there is a trap: Dragon units are not exactly equal to normal Gb… This is equivalent only for some applications (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). For others, the data counts double. So you end up with 10-15 Gb rather than 20 Gb. We learned this along the way when Celine received a message that she had already spent 10 Gb while on his iPhone it was only 5 Gb.
The Orange application allows you to follow your package as you go.
How to dress yourself in Egypt?
Egypt is a predominantly a Muslim country. Therefore you should avoid walking with bare shoulders or mini-shorts if you want to go unnoticed and not being constantly looked over.
Macho minute: It’s instead a way to exchange your wife against a herd of camels more or less big depending on her beauty and your negotiating skills.
No problem on the other hand in the sea-side hotels, where everyone is used to the western style of dress.
