Hey all
Beginning of July I have to travel to Cairo for work. I will be there for approx one week and will have one day off.
It's my first time in egypt (arabic country in general) and I would be glad for some advice:
As a Swiss citizen, any recommendation for customs? As far as I know I don't need a visa, but I have to get one at the airport?

Except the pyramides, what is a nice place to be or visit in Cairo? Something special maybe a little bit away from the broad tourist places?

Any tips and recommendations are welcome, thank you in advance.
Wombelero

I am currently in Cairo. If you do a search, there is a long thread on Cairo which discusses which places to see.

Let's be clear, though. One day off means you'll get to see the pyramids and not much else. Firstly, because the traffic is terrible and secondly because the heat, even now in early June, is intense. After 2 and a half hours at the pyramids, I collapsed into the Oberoi Mena House (a lifeline, a saviour - there is no cafe of any sort in the pyramids) for an air-conditioned lunch. The round trip with lunch was about five hours from my hotel in Heliopolis. If you're staying in the centre, its still going to be 4.5 hours to do it properly, with lunch. You'll then want a shower and rest back at your hotel, I promise you.

Note that if you want to go in the Cheops Pyramid, which is amazing but you MUST be in good physical shape (a walk through a four foot high passageway that is very long and slopes at 45 degrees) then only 150 tickets are sold each morning and afternoon. My guide book said that tour groups tend to get the AM ones, so you should arrive around 1pm when they start selling the PM ones. You need to buy the Cheops ticket inside the site, not outside.

The other 'must do' is the Egyptian Museum which, again, will take at least 2 hours to do properly plus travel time there. Its open until 6.45pm so you could do it one evening.

Don't plan on doing much else given your small amount of free time. What I WOULD recommend is visiting the Four Seasons Nile Plaza, which is just superb and has wonderful dining. And when you fancy a burst of the civilised world, take a cab to Citystars in Heliopolis - a new 250-shop shopping mall / cinema / theme park which looks like it fell out of the UK, albeit that most of the shops are local brands.

Of the off-beat tourist spots, the Gayer-Andersen house is very interesting. It is also next to a huge mosque and a short walk from one of the other major mosques, which itself is underneath the citadel (although the entrance is on the other side). Hiring a car and driver for a 3 hours should get through this list. I had Gayer-Andersen and the mosque totally to myself yesterday afternoon. Even the pyramids were relatively tourist-free today.

Agree the Gayer-Anderson museum is worth it.. a very personal collection of artefacts in a fascinating building.. it's listed in the Lonely Planet.

For a one day outing, it's possible, if you get up really early, head to the pyramids for a quick view (from the street by the KFC for Sphinx, and then from near MENA House Oberoi for a second breakfast) and then don't bother walking around them or going in.. you could then head back to the Gayer-Anderson Museum, then down to Coptic Cairo, which is also worth wandering around.

I'd leave the Egyptian Museum.. the Tutenkhamun death mask is on tour outside the country at the moment I believe, and eventually the whole kit is moving to a new site.. wait until that is open in about 10 years.

Visa.. just bring $15 cash and buy the stamps in the hall before passport control, stick them into your passport yourself, fill in the form and hand it all to the passport control official in the booth. easy.

Thank you very much for your information, these are very helpful. Just short questions to add, then I leave it.

I assume it's quite safe to walk around in town? Probably there are pickpockets, but otherwise it should be safe?

How cheap or expensive are the cabs or it is more advisable to hire a driver/car? What is the best way toget around?

Again, thank you very much, I am checking other Cairo treads as well ( I did not find them as they were too old to be displayed, my bad

I'm looking forward to the short visit there
Cheers
Wombelero

We found a driver and a guide to be extremely inexpensive. the guide company would send a third person over to buy tickets for us, so we never waited in line. we were dropped off at the door. the guide would call the driver as we left wherever, and the car would be waiting.

the sidewalks are quite safe. the streets are sudden death. more important egyptians are run down in traffic than are assissated. I think there is less pick pocketing in Cairo than in Rome(does not say much).

if you do the one day itinerary i suggested, it can be done without a guide.. just the book for reference/map reading.. an english speaking driver is a must though, they are readily available

as for pickpockets, just the same as any other big city. you'll not be pounding the pavements much if you have the driver anyway.

Thank you all for all the helpful tips.

I would like to add another question: I'll (I have to) probably visit a customer in Talkha. Talkha seems to be approx 150km away from Cairo.

I am not familiar with the roads, how long will it take with a driver to reach Talkha? If possible I would like to keep this to a one day journey and be back in Cairo in the evening.

Thanks for your advice
Wombelero

Anyone knows something about the roads and distance to Talkha? Would be very helpful to plan my journey.

Thanks again
W

You might want to check with the embassy. We were under a very short leash, and any driving or being driven to off the beaten track seemed to require military escort. maybe Talkha is within the "safe" zone.

My biggest suggestion would be don't plan on walking anywhere in Cairo unless you are very quick and agile. The drivers there are the worst I've ever encountered. The horn is used constantly instead of the brakes. If a pedestrian darts in front of a vehicle the driver in Cairo leans on the horn rather than applying the brakes to urge the pedestrian to run faster. Even riding in a taxi can raise your blood pressure.

The streets are fine. You get a lot less hassle downtown than in most developing countries. The biggest problem is at the Pyramids which attracts loads of money-grabbing free-loaders because the site is not sealed off or restricted.

Taxis - very cheap, but no working meters so negotiate a price before you get in. However, lack of working seatbelts means that once you've done it once you're unlikely to want to do it again.

Unless you are on a real budget, use hotel cars. The Four Seasons cars were unbelievably expensive but the other hotels I used were fine (ie InterCon Citystars to Pyramids EGP 90). Get your hotel to take you to the pyramids, then go to the Oberoi Mena House and take one of their cars back to your hotel.

There is a metro but I never used it in 4 days as the stations are generally not in places where you want to be. It is meant to be very impressive, though.

The Citadel offers some spectacular views out over the medieval/Islamic heart of the city. A wander around that district is fascinating.