Best time to go to Egypt?
 

My wife and I would like to see the pyramids of Egypt in 2009. Could anyone tell me the best time of year to go. Also any recommendations on other things to do and places to stay while there would be much appreciated.

budget?

We are flying RT on an award ticket. $3000 for everything else.

2500 b.c. was the best time.. at 7:30 am..
seriously, i like spring, but busy

Sorry but 2500 BC didn't have any available award flights.

I've been there in the fall. I'd suggest adding Luxor to the itinerary. I did a Nile cruise and wouldn't recommend it. I'd also recommend Abu Simbel, though it's a long way from Cairo. Alexandria is also worth seeing and is easy to get to by train from Cairo.

Just out of Couriosity, What was wrong with the Nile Cruise?

I found Luxor to be much more interesting than Cairo. Even the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx, although must-sees, are way too overrun with tourists. Be sure to see the lesser-known pyramids near Cairo, such as the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid at Dashur, and the Step Pyramid at Saqqara.

I went in December 2007 and it was perfect. From others I talked to, best time is end of the year and start of the year. Avoid summer at all costs.

I also went on a Nile cruise and enjoyed it very much. I'd go into more detail, but if you see my signature, I have it linked to my trip report which goes into a lot of details. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

It was OK. We did Aswan to Luxor. Just too long for the amount of sites visited. That's just my opinion.

There is an extensive thread on visiting Egypt here in our Travel->Middle East forum. Let me move this thread to that forum, as well, for more assistance. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Deleted.....

it is 2-3 wasted days. at least our cruise, and most of the boats followed us. we made one stop along the way, waited 15-20 hrs to get thru some locks somewhere, and continued after dark to Luxor.

also, be very careful of the food on the boat. no orange juice, no greens, make certain the coffee is from boiled water.

aswan and below can be hot even in dec jan. have no idea what it is like in may.

we went for a couple weeks at high season(between christmas and new year). was not that crowded. when we go again, will go in mid dec, or mid jan.


get a an all inclusive tour with 2-6 max. they are not that expensive
northern egypt can get cold in dec jan. weatherbase indicates record low in dec and jan at 32 F. must have been the year we were there. we layered ok, put everything in the suitcase on.

Tha's true. The cruises between Aswan and Luxor spend more time docked than sailing. There's only 3 stops of archaeological interest between the two which are covered by the sightseeing convoy between the two (you don't get much time at the stops however).

If you want a cruise, the ones between Abu Simbel and Aswan are more rewarding (other than not being able to observe life along the Nile at a leisurely pace).

We had no problem at all for our cruise on Lake Nassar.

In my opinion the best time to visit Cairo is either the fall (october to mid-november) and spring (mid-march to april).
Places to visit depends on minaly 3 things: budget, amount of time you're planning to spend in Egypt and your interests.

If its Egyptology and ancient Egyptian stuff you're interested in, then it'd probably be Cairo, Luxor and Aswan (with a half day trip to AbuSimbel as one of the previous posters recommended, I find the story of moving the temple very impressive).

If its scuba diving you're interested in, start by Cairo (as you want to see the Pyramids) and then do some diving in the Red Sea. My favourite 2 spots are Sharm El Sheikh and Dahab. You can opt to stay at one of the resorts there, or if you're a serious diver you could consider taking a safari boat for several days.

As one of the posters recommended, Alexandria is 2-3 hour train ride from Cairo, interesting place, make sure you see the Alexandria library, Roman amphitheater, the catacombs, qayt bay fort, etc.

One other thing to note, Egypt doesn't only offer ancient Egyptian stuff, it has things from other more recent eras too.

Have a lovely trip and tell us what happens ;)

Cheers.