Felucca recommendations?
Nov 4, 2015, 4:49 am
#1
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Felucca recommendations?
Going to Egypt in January, super excited. I want to try to rent a felucca to go between Aswan and Luxor one way.
Looking for a recommendation for an ultra-budget one, that's safe for solo female (I don't know if I'll find people to split with or not), and estimated price. I know most deals are made on the spot but would be good to have an idea, or even specific recommendation if possible.
I'd read something about booking through a hotel for better service.
Flexible on number of days, it seems it's anywhere from 1-3.
Looking for a recommendation for an ultra-budget one, that's safe for solo female (I don't know if I'll find people to split with or not), and estimated price. I know most deals are made on the spot but would be good to have an idea, or even specific recommendation if possible.
I'd read something about booking through a hotel for better service.
Flexible on number of days, it seems it's anywhere from 1-3.
Nov 5, 2015, 2:42 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Paris-FRANCE
Posts: 193
have a look at
http://www.aswan-individual.com/
they have a lot of activities plus the price to be paid which is fair, for both the tourist and the egyptians
http://www.aswan-individual.com/
they have a lot of activities plus the price to be paid which is fair, for both the tourist and the egyptians
Nov 28, 2015, 10:25 am
#4
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Is that right, about $200/2 days plus $10-15/day food? That's outrageous. I had been reading it was $25-50 for 2 nights budget trip including transfer after.
Dec 1, 2015, 3:16 am
#5
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It's ultra-expensive: premium price for a premium (???) product.
It's much cheaper to arrange yourself: but you might want to raise the price you're prepared to pay in your negotiations when you find someone trustworthy offering a package you like. Be sure that any helpers, food and refreshments, and stops at where YOU want to stop are included. Know where you will be sleeping. You'll be travelling with the current, so no towing should be required.
I'd urge you to find someone to share your trip, and share the costs. As a single woman, simply being prepared to travel with a man on an overnight journey puts you in a difficult position in local terms. I probably expressed that inelegantly, but I hope you get the drift.
It's much cheaper to arrange yourself: but you might want to raise the price you're prepared to pay in your negotiations when you find someone trustworthy offering a package you like. Be sure that any helpers, food and refreshments, and stops at where YOU want to stop are included. Know where you will be sleeping. You'll be travelling with the current, so no towing should be required.
I'd urge you to find someone to share your trip, and share the costs. As a single woman, simply being prepared to travel with a man on an overnight journey puts you in a difficult position in local terms. I probably expressed that inelegantly, but I hope you get the drift.
Dec 1, 2015, 10:21 am
#6
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We did a felucca locally in Aswan to see various sites from the river and hired a driver to take us to Luxor. Two hours on a boat was more than enough for me.
IIRC, there were only two or three stops along the route from Aswan to Luxor to view anything of intrigue...a couple temples you could access from a boat plus a camel market that was a bit inland. It seems like a slow boat ride between the two cities would involve a lot of time looking at nothing.
$200 for 2 days doesn't sound *that* outrageous for a boat trip with sleeping accommodations. $50 for 2 days almost sounds fishy, no pun intended. But I'll definitely caveat this by saying I know nothing at all about boats or cruises in general. Is it possible that one price is to confirm a boat that sleeps four whereas the other is for a single berth? Our local felucca in Aswan was rather small and not set up for a long cruise - these seem like smallish boats in general. At the time, I wasn't even aware that people used them for intercity travel...figured that was the domain of the larger vessels you see more frequently on the Nile (typical river cruise ships holding larger numbers of people).
IIRC, there were only two or three stops along the route from Aswan to Luxor to view anything of intrigue...a couple temples you could access from a boat plus a camel market that was a bit inland. It seems like a slow boat ride between the two cities would involve a lot of time looking at nothing.
$200 for 2 days doesn't sound *that* outrageous for a boat trip with sleeping accommodations. $50 for 2 days almost sounds fishy, no pun intended. But I'll definitely caveat this by saying I know nothing at all about boats or cruises in general. Is it possible that one price is to confirm a boat that sleeps four whereas the other is for a single berth? Our local felucca in Aswan was rather small and not set up for a long cruise - these seem like smallish boats in general. At the time, I wasn't even aware that people used them for intercity travel...figured that was the domain of the larger vessels you see more frequently on the Nile (typical river cruise ships holding larger numbers of people).
Dec 1, 2015, 3:45 pm
#7
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We did a felucca locally in Aswan to see various sites from the river and hired a driver to take us to Luxor. Two hours on a boat was more than enough for me.
IIRC, there were only two or three stops along the route from Aswan to Luxor to view anything of intrigue...a couple temples you could access from a boat plus a camel market that was a bit inland. It seems like a slow boat ride between the two cities would involve a lot of time looking at nothing.
$200 for 2 days doesn't sound *that* outrageous for a boat trip with sleeping accommodations. $50 for 2 days almost sounds fishy, no pun intended. But I'll definitely caveat this by saying I know nothing at all about boats or cruises in general. Is it possible that one price is to confirm a boat that sleeps four whereas the other is for a single berth? Our local felucca in Aswan was rather small and not set up for a long cruise - these seem like smallish boats in general. At the time, I wasn't even aware that people used them for intercity travel...figured that was the domain of the larger vessels you see more frequently on the Nile (typical river cruise ships holding larger numbers of people).
IIRC, there were only two or three stops along the route from Aswan to Luxor to view anything of intrigue...a couple temples you could access from a boat plus a camel market that was a bit inland. It seems like a slow boat ride between the two cities would involve a lot of time looking at nothing.
$200 for 2 days doesn't sound *that* outrageous for a boat trip with sleeping accommodations. $50 for 2 days almost sounds fishy, no pun intended. But I'll definitely caveat this by saying I know nothing at all about boats or cruises in general. Is it possible that one price is to confirm a boat that sleeps four whereas the other is for a single berth? Our local felucca in Aswan was rather small and not set up for a long cruise - these seem like smallish boats in general. At the time, I wasn't even aware that people used them for intercity travel...figured that was the domain of the larger vessels you see more frequently on the Nile (typical river cruise ships holding larger numbers of people).
It'll be two nights to get to Kom Ombo, which is usually the end of the trip - taxi/bus to Luxor.
Dec 2, 2015, 10:58 am
#8
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I went back and looked at my trip details from 2009: we did indeed stop at Kom Ombo and Edfu. Daraw was the town with the camel market, which was an unexpected joy of that part of the trip.
I have a little video of us traveling down a back alley with about 100 camels being driven right at us, slipping past us one at a time on each side of the car. The market itself was fascinating and chaotic. You can do the whole thing as a 1 hour detour max...unless you're *really* into livestock markets.
But you do need a car/driver to do it. The temples appear to be routinely done from the Nile cruises.
I have a little video of us traveling down a back alley with about 100 camels being driven right at us, slipping past us one at a time on each side of the car. The market itself was fascinating and chaotic. You can do the whole thing as a 1 hour detour max...unless you're *really* into livestock markets.
But you do need a car/driver to do it. The temples appear to be routinely done from the Nile cruises.
Dec 24, 2015, 3:03 pm
#9
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 108
Stumbled on this while doing some research for my own Egypt trip. This includes a lot of other items, but does have the Felucca part as well. Not sure if it helps but ~$600 all in seems reasonable.
https://www.gadventures.com/trips/budget-egypt/68/
https://www.gadventures.com/trips/budget-egypt/68/