I am going to be in Egypt in Oct, and could use some advice. I am primarily taking a tour, but I will have a day or 2 on my own in Cairo as well.

First and foremost, I am a single female. On days I am on my own, can I go out and about by myself? If not, do you suggest I find some daytime tours of the city?

In Cairo, my tour includes the Egypt Museum, the Step Pyramid, the Citadel, Alabaster Mosque and Sultan Husan Mosque. What other places might I visit, or is there a day trip you might recommend?

Any touring suggestions and tips would be appreciated! I am really excited about my trip, but I am a little nervous as well.

I'm male, but I think that for most places in Cairo you should be fine on your own at least during the day. I walked from the Nile Hilton to the Cairo Museum (amongst other places) on my own and it was just like walking in most any crowded 3rd world city. Lots of people all shapes and sizes, men and women, walking about.

The main thing to worry about in Cairo is being "taken for a ride" by extremely high-pressure salesmen disguised as taxi drivers. Make sure your hotel arranges any taxis for you and tell them you do not want to listen to any sales tactics. You have to be firm even if you feel it is being rude.

Gauge the scene on your own for walking around at night. I probably wouldn't recommend it for a woman, but it depends on what area you are in. If you are in a good hotel, talk to your concierge. Maybe you'll meet a nice couple and go out with them.

First of all, you'll likely want to go back to the Egyptian Museum, as one could spend a week there and your tour will likely only give you a couple of hours. From there you can walk around the city a bit, there are a few nice squares with parks and interesting cafes and stuff. It sort of depends on where you're staying and what you're interested in.

A definite must is the Khan al Khalili, the traditional "souk" at the heart of Islamic Cairo. Go during the day and just be firm about saying no if you don't want to buy anything. But definitely do go into a perfume shop. They sell really nice glass perfume bottles and you can buy 10 in a box for not much money (makes great gifts.) I'd also recommend crossing the street (via the underground walkway) and taking a tour of the Al Azhar mosque. It's quite stunning.

Khan al Khalili is about a 10 minute taxi ride from the museum. If you have a good map and someone to go with (I probably wouldn't do this walk alone, though, really, you'd be perfectly safe), the Al-Suhaymi house on the edge of the market is very cool, too.

Where are you staying? You don't mention the Giza pyramids, but surely they're already on your itinerary, right? Another possible half-day outing is what's known as "Old Cairo" -- south of the main part of the city, which is where all the old Coptic churches and the old synagogue are.

As the previous poster said, Cairo is a large bustling city. You'll stick out as a Westerner, but assuming you're dressed appropriately (which we already covered in the chicks thread, ) you'll be fine.

I lived in Egypt for a year and go there from time to time for business. It's a great city and the people are amazingly hospitable. You'll be fine, just don't look men in the eyes and dress a little more conservatively (the more scantily clad you are the more stares you will get).

I always enjoyed the Coptic Cairo section of town (lots of old Orthodox churches that all claim that Jesus slept there). Amazing place with great artwork. Great place to see that helps you remember that almost 10% of Egypt is Christian.

Of course, if you start missing home and need Western food, don't forget to stop by Chili's on the Nile (very close to the Marriott hotel in Zamalek)

Enjoy a great city!!!

Hi Endor,

October seems a great time. Am planning a trip there with my wife - probable dates are october 10th onwards and are planning to stay there for atleast 2-3 weeks (dates to be confirmed sometime next week) - award travel on KLM.

We were planning to travel independently but realised it would be more prudent to take what is referred to as a hybrid option - part organised part self arranged.

We plan to cover Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Sharm el Sheikh, Alexandria, Sinai and El Gouna and we plan to take in a Nile cruise, a desert safari and a few days by the beach as well as a couple of nights at the Nile Hilton.

Could you or other members of this forum who have been to egypt recommend some good online travel agencies for handling bookings for the above and let me know whether 3 weeks would be enough to explore egypt?

Its our third wedding anniversary getaway and want to make it as memorable as possible.

Thanks

We'll be in Egypt from 11/3 - 11/21. Too bad we can't meet up or pool resources. My partner and I were hoping to do a GAP Adventure tour (smaller groups...http://www.gapadventures/com), but their prices have risen and the tour option we wanted takes into account all the places mentioned by the previous poster. They have tours ranging from 8 days to 21 days for Egypt. The one we were considering was a 15 day option, but is $770 per person + $200 per person in-country. Unfortunately, now a bit out of our travel budget. If you find other tour operators that you think might help our planning, please let me know. I'll do the same as I book our trip. I also believe there is a thread somewhere in the Middle East forum on "best tour operators in Egypt." I've been following some links posted there, but some are dead now. One person mentioned (http://ww3.interoz.com/tourgroups/submit.ihtml); though I haven't checked it yet, supposedly it's a site where a variety of tour operators bid on contracts and you fill in details on what you'd like, then get responses. Hope this helps.

Does anyone have a reccomendation for a land only tour provider. I will likely have 2 or 3 days in Cairo in mid January and as I am on my own would prefer to have the company and ease that a group brings (and put up with the inherent downsides).

I'm not looking to do anything other than the well worn tourist things (pyramids/museum etc) and realise that I wont have time to head down to Aswan etc.

Endor,

How was the trip to Egypt?

I am starting to plan my trip.

5 days staying at Marriott Hotels to use my points.

I want to do the tourist stuff.

Pyramids, sphinx, a dip in famous bodies of water.

How long is the travel from Cairo to some of the southern tourist attractions?

Just to let you know, there are threads on Egypt in the Middle East forum too. I've been keeping tabs on that one since I'm planning a trip for next year (march-april).