EGYPT DIY
Travel from 11 to 26 October 2009, in the following towns: Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, El Quseir.
Usually I buy only the flight. This time, since I am not alone, and my partner is not very familiar with this style, and being this our first trip together, I prefer to travel in a softer way.
SAFETY
The only convoy I had to do with was from Aswan to Abu Simbel. From Luxor to the Red Sea coast it does not longer exist. Along this route, I traveled in a public bus, we were the only foreigners on board, and never, never, even for a moment we felt unsafe.
A few kilometers before El Quseir, at a roadblock, soldiers have asked to see our passports. All other Egyptians has been asked to get off, and their luggage was searched, we have been ignored.
VISA
EU citizens can get a visa at the airport. The procedure is simple, next to the desks dedicated to the passport control there are the offices where you buy a $ 15 stamp, the officer then sticks it on the document, and prints the stamp with the date of entry.
CURRENCY
1 Eu = 8.2 EGP. For minor expenses, It is recommended to pay in local currency
LANGUAGE
I learned some Arabic forms of courtesy, greetings, and some practical phrase relating to traveling on public transport.
Also, and I recommend it to everyone, I think it is good to learn to read and write numbers. Useful to find the right bus, read time tables, but also to prevent being ripped off in the shops.
FLIGHTS
Booked via internet.
Milan-Cairo-Milan, Alitalia, 228 Eu tax included.
Cairo-Aswan, EgyptAir, 266 EGP tax included
Hurghada-Cairo, EgyptAir, 459 EGP tax included
HOTELS
We book via internet a few hotels, other ones have been found on the spot
The prices below are per room, per day
1 night in Cairo, Oasis Hotel, booked through HotelClub, 57 Eu double with breakfast
3 nights in Aswan, Pyramisa Isis Corniche, booked through Hotel4U, Eu 28 double with breakfast
4 nights in Luxor, Susanna Hotel, just walked-in, 25 USD double with breakfast
4 nights in Quseir, Utopia Beach Club, booked on the internet through HotelKatalog24, 88 Eu double superior sea view with all inclusive
3 nights Cairo, 1 night at the Shepheard Hotel, walked in, 180 USD double room with breakfast; 2 nights at the Cairo Inn, walked in, 300 EGP double room with breakfast.
Searching for a cheap hotel in Cairo we see and discard the following: Hotel Luna, Hotel Paris (the room would not be bad but too tiny bathroom, like shoe box), Lotus Hotel (dreadful), New Odeon Hotel (awful), all located on Sharia Talat Haarb.
GUIDE
From my point of view, but it’s just my humble opinion, it is better not to use a “human” guide, much better bring a book, so you are free to go wherever you want, according to your tastes and perceptions without any “flock” effect, and annexed time constraint feeling. In addition, according to my experience, many human guides are pretty boring, and very few of them are truly informed and useful. With the hot weather, people become impatient to stand still and listen, most of them does nothing but sit in the shade as in trance, while the guides talk, and explain, and explain … By reading and observing on your own, admiring and contemplating, you learn a lot more.
TAXI
A real pain in the ass, as in the whole world. Better to avoid them as much as possible. The rates depend a lot on your negotiating skills, and knowledge of the Arabic language. Tourists are judged by the way they look, from their clothing, from their sense of self-confidence, from the hotel where they say to stay (so, better to lie and mention a cheap hostel rather than the Hilton). An inconspicuous clothing, backpack instead of the suitcase, a few pleasantries in the local language, and a lot of chutzpah help. Get informed in advance about a particular route cost. Those who dare can always try to do as the Cairenes who, without any discussion, at the end of the ride get down from the taxi and pay the determined amount, without speaking. The concept is that if before boarding the taxi you show to ignore the price you have to pay, the drivers feel authorized to ask you whatever amount.
TRAIN
The only one which can be prebooked is the Abela train, on the Cairo-Aswan route, but it costs a bang (I think 60 USD ). Some trains are forbidden to foreigners, usually the slowest ones which stop at ever village, on the other ones you can go up and pay the ticket directly to the controller. There is no chance to get on a forbidden train, the guards stop you. From Aswan to Luxor a seat in first class costs 41 EGP, 31 EGP in second.
BUS
Upper Egypt Bus, state company, the only one that I used, has a fleet of pretty tatty vehicles. You need some spirit of adaptation, but it is a pleasant experience, as it allows you to know the Egyptians not involved in the world of tourism, who are very friendly. From Qeft to El Quseir the cost of the ticket is 20 EGP
FOOD
In eateries, (tables located on the street), a kofta with drink cost 12 EGP. A portion of chicken / fish / meat with rice can reach 50-60 EGP.
Stewed vegetables, such as those eaten in Morocco, if one wants to be eat light, are very good, and soups, especially the lentil one, are found everywhere, at very low prices (I got to pay for it even 4 EGP in a tourist restaurant ) One and a half liters of bottled water should not cost more than 3 EGP, in the most tourist places.
SHOPPING
Better get presents in stores at fixed prices. Example, relating to Aswan: those boxes of fake pearl ivory, which in the bazaar are proposed at 180 EGP (and then sold at 40-50 EGP), in shop windows under the Corniche arcades are exposed at 30 EGP, avoiding any boredom and loss of time for haggling! In Luxor and Cairo sellers are even more insistent. In general, many items are made in China junk, regarding silver, it costs 3 time more than in India. Keep this in mind if you intend to negotiate. Negotiating is part of Arab culture, but due to some few tourists who pay everything they are asked for, the market is now inflated, and traders now do discount that much. In the souk, if you are not interested, don’t say “no thanks”, but go on straight on your way, in silence, without even looking at the person talking to you. If you are approached by some friendly looking man speaking in your own language, you can be sure he will try to sell you something. The same as above, keep on going. All foreigners are a potential walking green note with Washington’s face. For those who are able to read Arabic numbers: near Sharia Talat Haarb there are some stores that sell computer parts. The USB flash drives and memory cards are much cheaper than here. Shopkeepers have tried to cheat us, the price in the window was 12 EGP, but they asked us 25. When I pointed out that I knew their numbers, they invented childish excuses
