yeah you can do it yourself easily. arrange a taxi for the day through the hotel. Flat rates are super cheap and if through the hotel will be reliable - others on the street will try to keep upping the ante and hold your stuff or you hostage until you pay more. (yes, this happened to a friend of mine while on our tour. I got one through the hotel and never had a problem.)

Definitely keep a lot of small piastres on hand for the scum everywhere begging for money that they don't earn. Some will try to earn it by leading you places that you already know where to go. Ignore them. Avoid public bathrooms at all costs!

If you're female, find a male travel companion ASAP. Otherwise be prepared to constantly be looked at as if they are undressing you with their eyes (even if you fully cover up under the Egypt sun!) and be propositioned constantly for marriage and other unmentionables (they may not be able to read but they sure do know every 4 letter work in english!).

Only other tip - if you want to climb in the pyramids do this first. A: it's super hot inside and the later in the day the hotter it gets (people passed out inside!) and B: it's limited to 100 tickets sold per day. First come, first serve.

don't get me wrong, I had a great time. I want to go back every decade to Egypt as so many sites are constantly under excavation. Once you're in the tourist / historical sites, the locals don't hassle ya much (they won't be bothered to pay the entrance fees). The next time, though, I'm taking a man who will pretend to be my husband. That might help considerably