I'm going to Cairo in June and wanted some advice about traveling elsewhere in Egypt. From what I've read, the average temperature in June in Cairo is in the upper 90s, but a lot of the sightseeing attractions in the south of Egypt (Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor, etc.) are going to be ridiculously hot (i.e. 110+). I'm really interested in seeing pyramids and all, but is it really worth traveling to the south in the thick of summer? We're thinking of just checking out Giza (right near Cairo) for our pyramid fix. I'm sure they're stunning, but there's just something about tourist busses that I'm sure I'll see everywhere that kind of disneyfies the experience. Thoughts? I'll be in the region for two weeks, and I am deciding between just sticking to Egypt, or instead just checking out Cairo, Giza, and maybe Alexandria in Egypt..and spending the rest of our time elsewhere in the Middle East (Beirut, Damascus, maybe checking out Petra in Jordan, or possibly Israel).
Other cities I might visit on this trip are Beirut, Damascus, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. Any tips on these cities would be greatly appreciated. (I know I'll have to visit Israel after visiting Lebanon).
def make the flight/train down to aswan and abu simbel. very different than the pyramids but inspiring regardless. luxor was also awesome. if you dive, the red sea is excellent.
Don't touch the water in the Nile. You don't want o get Schistosomiasis. http://goafrica.about.com/od/healthandsafety/p/biharzia.htm
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Do it by plane, don't try to cross borders in a vehicle. But if you are hellbent on it, then do it through Jordan.
I was in Egypt and Jordan last november. All the pyramids are close to Cairo. in the south you have more temples. If you go to the pyramids in Giza go early (when they open like 7 o'clock) there are few busses with tourist at that time. And the pyramids are unbelievable. If you want to see more pyramids you can go to Saqqara they are also great to visit. In the south Luxor is great, we went to the west bank, for 2 days and we rode a rented bicycle, If you go there visit Karnak temple, luxor temple and medinet habu (which we liked best especially because few tourist visit it and it is quiet). If you are in egypt you should also make a trip to Jordan and visit Petra. That was the most amazing experience of the trip. Again make sure you are first in petra. we were there when the sunrised, and we were the only people entering Petra at the time, an unbelievable experience (also the only way to get a picture of the treasury without people on it). because you walk in the siq for some time, and there was nopbody but us. Really amazing. I was in jeruzalem once, and I didn't really appreciate it (but i'm not a city person). Divind/snorkling in the red sea is amazing. the dead sea is also interesting. Be sure to get the order of countries you visit right, since you cannot visit some countries if you visited others.
How exactly do you do that, other than taking a Red Sea ferry to Jordan from Egypt? Jordan and Egypt don't share a land border. By land, you'd have to cross to Eilat to get to Jordan. Ok Sland, There *IS* a bus company that does the Cairo to Tel Aviv trip. As it is, the bus goes through Eilat, because Rafah (in Gaza) is usually closed, and either way, no bus company is going to brave driving through there. Border crossing at Eilat is pretty painless...it doesn't take very long. For a tourist, that's good, because that gives you a reason to visit the beaches in Sinnai, which are nothing short of awesome, if coral reefs and blue water are your thing. It's also super cheap. IMHO, the beaches in Sinnai are my favorite place to visit since I moved to Israel, and I almost always extend my stay. But I realize hanging out with Bedouins and Sudanese on a beach, and sleeping in a thatched hut at night is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a great experience. But it's also bad, because it's a long, long time to sit in a bus. There is an Israeli tour company that does Cairo to Tel Aviv / Jerusalem bus trips, but it's only a few times a week. The flight is at least $350 rt, which is a ripoff for the short distance. For that price you could visit a major European city instead of Israel. But, if you make it to Eilat, you can get a flight for less than half that to Tel Aviv. I'm with arno_ed; not a big fan of Jerusalem. As Ben-Gurion said, "Who cares about a bunch of old rocks?" I've been there at least 100 times for either work or to play shows. It still rubs me the wrong way. The vibe is rather creepy. Too heavy on the religious side. Too conservative, too divided, and very, very often, a tourist trap full of opportunistic people that prey on tourists But if you *have* to see Al Aqsa / Western Wall / Church of the Holy Sepulcher, etc, then go. But you were warned If you have to do the old city, my advice is, do it in the middle of the night. The wall and the church are still accessible (dunno about Al Aqsa) and there's enough still alive without the noise of all the tourists (and the rabble that it attracts). But...Israel is very small. you can see a good deal in a relatively short period of time, and in my opinion there are more interesting things to see. If you want to see arab communities, I suggest the ancient cities of Akko (next to Haifa) and Jaffo (next to Tel Aviv) as alternatives. Good people, good food, and good shopping, and plenty of antiquity to check out without the hordes of tourists ruining the experience. Caesaria is an old roman city. My favorite beach is also nearby. Like Akko, overlooked by tourists. The Dead Sea is worth a day trip, and it really will do wonders for your skin. The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is also a nice day trip. The north of the country is very green, much less homogenous than the rest of the country (Druze, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Ciracassians) and more laid back, but it's tough to see without a car. Everything else is easy by bus or train. Haifa has the Bahaii Gardens. It's worth seeing. West Bank: there's one tour operator that's well known for its dogma-free tours. They'll show you Jewish settlements as well as major Palestinian centers like Jenin and Ramallah, and without any bias regarding the conflict, religious, cultural, or otherwise. Visiting either on your own can be dangerous, and most of the other tours operators are mostly carting religious jews to the settlements, like Hebron. Not likely the kind of people you want to spend a fun summer afternoon with. I've never been, but I've heard Ramallah is amazing. Israelis, other than people who work for NGO's are forbidden to go there, so it has a kind of mystique, admittedly, but travellers describe it as one of the most secular cities in the Arab world, in the vein of what Cairo was like 20 years ago. Tel Aviv is good, maybe not the urban shangri-la people here would have you believe, but I've chosen to live here for four years, and it sure isn't for the job prospects. If you plan on coming here, message me privately and I'll do my best to steer you in the right direction of whatever you are looking for. It's nearest US analog is probably more Miami than anything, and its European one Athens -- so if you want to eat out or go drinking or meet girls on a crowded beach, then you'll love it. If you have kids...not so much. Once you have your passport stamped of course, you can only go to Jordan or Egypt, so if you want to see Lebanon, do that first. I've been told it's worth it. Having said all this though, if I was in Cairo and I had the money to shell out for a plane ticket, I'd just as soon visit Paris or Rome or a Greek island instead. It'll cost about the same.
Wow, thanks for the reply, man..I really appreciate it. As of now, this is what I'm thinking -- check out Cairo for 3 days, then maybe fly to Sharm on a Monday morning, find my way to Mt. Sinai (not sure how far it is), and then try to get on a bus to Eliat and onwards to Jerusalem/Tel Aviv/Ramallah, etc. Would this be a good idea, or are Sharm/Mt. Sinai, and Eliat not easy to travel between? If I were to catch a roundtrip from from Eliat to Tel Aviv, what would be my best option for getting back to Cairo (from Eliat) on the way back? I'm also really interested in checking out Beirut (roundtrip runs around $350 for June)..I even have a friend who lives there, but Israel seems to be a bit cheaper (although there's the bus ride). Another plus for Beirut is that we could check out Damascus since it's really close, but a tourist visa is something like $130 from what I understand (probably not worth it for a weekend visit). As you can tell, we're still in the planning stages of the trip, so any more advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
Mt. Sinai to the border is two hours and change by taxi. It can be VERY cheap if you can others to share the ride (likely, it's a popular day trip from Eilat) and don't let the driver rip you off. Israel and Egypt are technically at peace, but Israelis mostly visit Sinnai (if at all). Egyptians don't visit Israel, pretty much...ever. They like Americans and are pretty tourist-friendly. They do not find Israelis interesting at all So transportation is limited mostly because of lack of demand. Whether you fly or take the bus, know that most of things don't operate every day. In a pinch you could take a cab from Cairo to Taba (at the border with Eilat). when I stayed at a beach maybe 30 minutes from the border, a cab driver who came by for dinner offered to take me for $80, so you might find a deal if you are up for a considerable adventure. Eilat is pretty isolated from the rest of Israel. In my opinion, there's not much to see you haven't seen already in Sinnai, and for more money. It's kinda cheesy in a Vegas way, only without the entertainment. Or gambling. Prostitutes however, are not in short supply. The bus is 5 hours to Tel Aviv. It's cheap, but it fills up fast. Aqaba (In Jordan) is also on the other side of Eilat. I've never been there, but if you want to cross to check it out, there it is. You can't miss the gigantic Jordanian flag. The one thing I always do is eat at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian place. I don't remember the name, but I doubt there's more than one. It's a few blocks from the bus. The lower Negev is mostly undeveloped so the scenery is pretty dope. I recommend buying a ticket beforehand. You can call +972-3-6948888 a day or two or three before from Egypt and book it with a credit card and avoid having to wait hours for the next bus (bad) or being desperate enough to ride on the floor for 5 hours (worse). I've done both...the first time on the floor wasn't so bad. I had a bottle of single-malt scotch from the duty free, and at the end of the ride, the girl that rested on me on the hot dirty floor became my girlfriend, but the second time alone on the floor was not fun at all.
$80 from Cairo to Eilat?! That's an amazing deal for 250+ miles. Is the number you mentioned the number for the bus service from Cairo to Taba? I'm deciding between two options...flying from Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh (is this the only airport on Sinnai?), and then finding my way by bus/taxi to Taba -OR- taxiing straight from Cairo to Taba and skipping out on Sharm. My cousin and I both are US citizens and have US passports, but we have Pakistani visas (our parents are from Pakistan) -- would this cause any concern at the Eilat border crossing? How sure can I be that they'll oblige my request to stamp on a separate sheet of paper?..in case I ever want to visit Pakistan with this passport. Thanks again for the advice, man.
I probably wouldn't visit Jenin or any or the more northern, conservative cities in the West Bank. Stick to Ramallah, Bethlehem and areas around there. Ramallah is a great city. My family is from there and I've been several times. It's a really fun, open, and like Deji said, secular. You'll find a lot of nice cafe's and restaurants. Bethlehem is cool if you want to see the Church of the Nativity, but other than that there isn't much there. Like Deji said, Tel Aviv is basically Miami. Definitely go to Beirut. I've heard nothing but great things.
I definitely want to go to Beirut too, but the flight there is around $400 from Egypt. With the same money, I can see Sharm el Sheikh, Mt. Sinnai, and Israel...that's the only real reason I'm leaning towards Sinnai/Israel at this point, rather than Beirut.
Here's what I'm thinking -- Day 1 - Cairo Day 2 - Cairo Day 3 - Cairo Day 4 - Fly to Sharm El Sheikh in the morning Day 5 - Mt. Sinnai Day 6 - Tel Aviv (via flight from Eliat) Day 7 - Tel Aviv Day 8 - Jerusalem/Ramallah Day 9 - Luxor (via flight from Tel Aviv to Eliat, bus/taxi from Taba to Sharm El Sheikh, flight from Sharm El Sheikh to Luxor) -- is there any easier way to get from Taba to Luxor? Day 10 - Luxor Day 11 - Aswan Day 12 - Alexandria Day 13 - Alexandria I know it's going to be hot everywhere, but I tried to schedule the highest temperature cities for the least amount of time.
Awesome itinerary, but arno_ed is right -- if you're willing to hopscotch around the Middle East, you've got to see Petra. It is an absolutely incredible experience. You can fly from Cairo to Amman cheaply, I think. I'd cut Tel Aviv to fit it in. Tel Aviv is just a big city; more like a European metropolis than an interesting Middle Eastern one. I'd add more time in Jerusalem or a quick trip to Jordan. Abu Simbel and Luxor are absolutely worth it! Cairo is the biggest city I've ever seen, and that includes Mexico City. It just seems to go on and on and on. Really amazing.
The Israel addition does seem a little much maybe, we might nix it altogether. Heck, I'm reading the Rough Guide to Egypt right now and we might even stay in the country for the full 14 days. Speaking of Petra, though, what's the easiest way to get there from Egypt? From my understanding, Amman is still a fairly lengthy drive from Petra itself.
