Amoor1234

thank you very much !

Amoor1234

thank you very much !

jasonkevin77

delete

BuildingMyBento

I'd say that's enough time to go to the Giza Pyramids, and those at Dahshur and Saqqara, that is if you're interested enough. If you did get to the latter two as well, then there may not be much museum time, if at all.

Also, if you plan to get a hostel near the Egyptian museum, and wander throughout the city the rest of the day, Sadat, the closest Metro station, is temporarily closed.

flavorflav

This has been a great thread - thanks to all who have contributed. Mrs. Flavorflav is overnighting in CAI in a few weeks. A few questions:

1. Will she be eligible for the free room? She is flying a UA J award ticket but on MS equipment both segments (CMN-CAI to CAI-FRA).

2. Her layover is just over 13 hours, from about 8 p.m. until 9:30 a.m. Still worth it to do the free room given the hassles to procure the voucher?

3. Is there an evening/nighttime tour available?

4. Given the political climate in Egypt, she is considering overnighting in one of the MS business lounges and not leaving the transit area of the airport. Is this reasonable? Or is an overnight trip off property to a midrange airport transit hotel a reasonably safe bet? She is Jewish with a Jewish name, which I think is factoring into her thinking.

Thanks in advance.

dls25

I had a 20 hour CAI layover on a UA C-Class award last week. I was given a room at the LePassage and 3 meal vouchers.

I chose to buy a visa so I could keep my passport so the hotel voucher process was very fast (5 minutes). If you choose to let MS keep your passport it was looking like an hour wait to be given a voucher and escorted to the hotel.

I did do the the Pyramids tour with Karnak ($40) but I felt it was a waste of money...I could have done it cheaper and more thoroughly myself. You only get one hour at the Pyramids and the rest is spent at so-called museums (i.e. hard-sell gift shops).

I did not sense any danger walking around in Cairo or Giza. Caveat: People usually think I am Arab even though I am not in any way...even the MS staff were surprised that I could not speak Arabic. I blend in very well with the Cairo locals so the experience may be different for someone who stands out more.

vincewy

I'm afraid doing it yourself isn't an option even if one stays at Mena House (closest hotel to the pyramid site ticket entrance), as soon as you go outside the hotel, turn right, walk uphill through the curve toward the entrance there will be desperate touts trying to stop you and sell camel/house rides. Going by taxi yourself doesn't shield you from them either, those guys will cling onto the taxis and try to stop you. Even the taxi drivers may be inclined to take detours to their friends' and relatives' shops. Your best (most hassle free) option is going through large tour group in larger vans/buses (much harder for touts to stop).

Now, can anyone recommend a (or a few) tour company that actually provides tours rather than shopping? I don't mind paying for a premium as my time will be limited during CAI stopover.

industry_killer

Using the Egyptair stopover right now on a 21 hour layover. Was given the Radisson Blu and 3 meal tickets. It seemed to me that they were giving different hotels based on originating and final destinations. The pax from KUL and CGK were not given the Radisson. The only hassle was the wait from surrendering my passport to finally getting to the hotel, close to 2 hours total from off the plane to in the room, but obviously for a layover this long not really a problem in the grand scheme.

On another note it is still very easy to do a tour as well. Karnak tried their best at the airport to get people and then the touts at arrivals were more than willing too, and in fact a couple people got a pretty good deal and the guide and driver followed them to the hotel and waited for them to check in and freshen up before heading out.

manthos

is this still offered free by Egyptair?

I will soon have an 8+ hour stopover in Cairo travelling in C class.

I'm not interested in a tour of any kind but would appreciate a free hotel room to get some rest, if possible.

all info welcome

DaveInLA

I'm still not entirely clear if I need to call ahead of time or email in advance to make arrangements for the complimentary hotel. Sounds like I don't, but I tried emailing them yesterday, but no reply. My layover is 20 hours and I'm considering just booking a Hilton, which is reasonably priced. Also, I fly into CAI and out of CAI on MS business class, but they're Star Alliance tickets booked with United miles. Does this exclude me from anything?

industry_killer

From my experience in May, I did not have to contact MS in anyway, I just followed the signs to the stopover desk and they already had my name on a list. They took our passports and then gave us some paperwork and we waited for the desk people to finish the immigration paperwork and whatever else. We were also approached by Karnak if we wanted to take a tour also. The tour costs money the room does not. They then call you and whomever else is going to the same hotel with you and escort you to the hotel shuttle bus. At the hotel you give them your MS voucher and they give you the room and meal vouchers and then do whatever you want until your shuttle leaves 2 hours before your flight back to CAI. I am not sure there is much more to know that this post or the one the one that I posted on here a couple months ago.

plammm

I can corroborate all of the other posts. We did the transit visa just yesterday. I don't recommend that. It took 2 hours to process. If I'd have known that, I would have spent $25 for the usual visa. (The ATM inside immigration didn't take my card, though, so getting $25 would have been challenging; we were transitting at the end of the trip and didn't have any money at that point.)

We were transitting from Amman to Toronto via Cairo. There was also a large group transitting from Khartoum to Toronto as well. They put us all up at Le Passage, which was fine.

Also, we asked the concierge to arrange a tour. He showed us the Karnak list of tours (and also had pictures), but arranged just a taxi driver for the two of us. The taxi driver was very good. We were pretty clear about not wanting any extra detours to gift shops and didn't get any. We had time to get to Saqqhara and Giza.

dhruv120

I am flying from Mumbai to Toronto via Egypt air on 28th dec and I have a 13 hour halt at cairo airport.
I wanna know whether i get a complementary hotel to stay or not; and if yes then do i need to register for that or its available only at the airport.

And if anyone traveling from same flight then do mail me.

cyclist007

Hi,

I am flying Economy class (or Class H/K) from Mumbai to New York via Cairo with a 22 hour halt in early Jan. 2015. I am an Indian citizen (with a non-immigrant US visa). Has anyone had any troubles getting transit visa or access to hotel, based on nationality. Or simply put has any Indian citizen (not holding a green card) managed to get a hotel stay (and tour Cairo) during their long halt in Cairo? Thanks in advance.

1000k00

Will arr CAI 02May2015 from JFK on MS986 UA award travel(bus class) at 12:10P depart 03May at 12:01A(almost 12hr stopover) on MS839 for JNB. Has anyone done this routing, if so, which hotel was offered. food vouchers given and abt how far from gate to transfer desk?