Egypt?

bryanb

Wife and I would like to see the Pyramids/ Valley of the Kings.
Any advice on when/how to go?
Just 2 of us and we don't mind independent travel.

LucyJaneS

I went with a tour a few years ago, which was good as I got to meet people (I went alone) and learnt about the history as I went. There is a tour that I saw on Vida Loca Travel which looks like a good offer.

However, if you are happy to go without a tour, I would recommend flying to Cairo with a Lonely Planet guide (or similar) and booking everything else once you arrive - if you go to a hostel there will be loads of options for transport to the sites (if you book these at an expensive hotel you will likely get the same transport/tour for a lot more money).

delwynshd

Do you work from Vida Loca Travel

Every post you mention them?

LucyJaneS wrote: »

I went with a tour a few years ago, which was good as I got to meet people (I went alone) and learnt about the history as I went. There is a tour that I saw on Vida Loca Travel which looks like a good offer.

However, if you are happy to go without a tour, I would recommend flying to Cairo with a Lonely Planet guide (or similar) and booking everything else once you arrive - if you go to a hostel there will be loads of options for transport to the sites (if you book these at an expensive hotel you will likely get the same transport/tour for a lot more money).

bcl999

I did a month independently a number of years ago. I used the Lonlely Planet and found it invaluable - even better than some of the locals knowledge e.g my hotel at Saint Catherine's insisted there was no bus from there to Sharm and tried to get me to take a taxi. Lonely Planet said there was a bus, I went along to the place it stated at the time listed and the bus was there! £30 saved just on that one day.

Buy your guide book now and plan where you want to see/what you want to do and a rough timescale. Then follow LucyJaneS' advice (not the bit about Vida Loca, don't know anything about them). I went mid-November to mid-December but part of that time was Ramadan. Although it was curious being the only person on the street in the middle of Cairo at dusk when evryone else is at home breaking the fast, I would avoid visiting during Ramadan (which is a moveable feast as the Islamic year only has 9 or 10 months rahter than the Christian 12- google "ramadan dates" or similar). Service etc starts to deteriorate during the 4week period, understandably, as they are fasting all day and then up half the night celebrating.

Pollycat

The Pyramids and Valley of the Kings are quite a distance apart (we spent a week in Luxor after doing doing a Nile cruise (Luxor to Aswan and back) and did a trip to Cairo on the overnight train from Luxor.

Any reason why you're not considering the Nile cruise?
The temples along the Nile are stunning, in fact we were more impressed with them than the Pyramids!

I'd not consider summertime - it gets incredibly hot.
Even early morning (8am) at the Valley of the Kings in September is enough to have you fighting for shade.

MrsE_2

I stayed in the Reef Oasis Blue Bay two years ago, booked with Thomsons.

http://www.thomson.co.uk/destinations/africa/egypt/egypt-red-sea/sharm-el-sheikh/hotels/reef-oasis-blue-bay-resort-and-spa.html

You can take trips to the pyramids from the sea resorts.

Cairo is not somewhere I would like to stay, great to visit, but not to stay.

MrsE_2

PS the great pyramids of Giza are just outside Cairo & the Valley of the Kings is Luxor, they are a long way apart.

You could visit Luxor from Hurgahada or Makidia Bay (sp?).

david39

Would recommend you go with established "big-name" tour company. We did Nile Cruise with Thomsons a few years ago. They (and others like Thomas Cook, Portland etc.) use excellent cruise ships, have first-class English-speaking guides and have the best time-slots at the temples (early morning or evening).

Other people we met with lesser known operators had poor quality boats and ended up at the temples in scorching temperatures in the middle of the day.

Best time to go is November to February - the coolest part of the year but, even so, temperatures in high 30's.

There are many variations of the two-week Nile Cruise format - the cruise is always for a week and you get a choice on what you do for the second week. There will be a package available that will allow you to get to the Pyramids in that second week, either from Luxor or one of the Red Sea holiday resorts.

One final point: On two organised trips to Egypt, the tour operators have insisted that we do not eat food other than that supplied by them. This was not for financial consideration as these were "all-in" package deals with the food already paid for in the ticket price. The cruise operators always ensured we were back on the boat for mealtimes other than when they supplied a packed lunch. The warning is - be very selective where you eat.

david39

Further to my post above - you could always do the temples at Luxor as a one-week cruise only.

You can get to the Pyramids on a trip from a separate holiday in Cyprus. They do various trips from there that take you to the Pyramids and then on to Cairo and the big museum.

This was how we went to the Pyramids, it was a two-day trip - one day in Egypt and one day in Jerusalem, but I expect the Jerusalem day is probably not on now because of the political situation. If it's the Pyramids and the antiquities you really want, then one day is enough to see the best of these.

We found that the Cyprus-Egypt trip excellent. Part boat, part coach. I found it amazing when the coach travelled alongside the Suez Canal. The water was not visible, being lower than the surrounding desert, and we watched several large ships apparently floating along in just the sand.

poppy_f1

im looking at going to Sharm for a week in May and going on a day trip to Cairo to see the pyramids with thomsons, think tis about 180 for the day trip, thats flying from Sharm to Cairo

nervousftb_3

poppy_f1 wrote: »

im looking at going to Sharm for a week in May and going on a day trip to Cairo to see the pyramids with thomsons, think tis about 180 for the day trip, thats flying from Sharm to Cairo

We did this in May 2008, it works really well as you get the beach holiday and the culture bits too! flight to Cairo was very early morning (think we left hotel at 5am), then we visited the Cairo museum, sphinx and pyramids, and then a papyrus museum, before flying back to Sharm early evening. it was a long and tiring day but well worth it, I certainly wouldn't want to actually stay in Cairo but it was fantastic to be able to visit for the day. It's expensive just for a day trip (we paid £160 each I think?) but this included the flights, coach travel in Cairo, entry to the museums, and a meal in Hard Rock cafe so we didn't need to spend any extra that day.