The Egyptian economy might be in the dumps and the political situation fairly unstable but the US government just relaxed the travel warnings against it and Egypt is the best deal going right now. I just got back and had the TIME OF MY LIFE. I swear. After the jump I present the top ten reasons (and deals!) why you should book your trip to Egypt NOW:
1. The weather. Once again I am under snow-induced house arrest in NYC. In Cairo it is 70 degrees.
The snowbound view from my prison-like apt.
2. You will have the Pyramids all to yourself. Seriously – I walked around the Tomb of Khufu in the Great Pyramid by myself for an hour before I hopped on a camel for a solo tour of the desert. It was like a private, VIP tour.
That camel is actually smiling. I cant believe it either.
3. If you book now you can have a Four Seasons holiday at Holiday Inn prices.
From my article in the NYPOST: Abercrombie & Kent, a well-respected, luxury travel agency, is charging $3,495 (regularly $6,995), not including airfare, for a 10-day trip that includes a five-day Nile cruise on the deluxe Sun Boat 3. I did the exact same trip at the end of October, even traveling down the Nile on the exact same boat used by Abercrombie & Kent, for far less. I booked my own flight on Kayak and the tour through SEEgypt (a female owned and operated company in Cairo) for a grand total of $2,000 — $1,495 for the tour, and $551 for the Lufthansa flight from to Newark to Cairo via Frankfurt. The tour included internal flights, English-speaking guides, the boat trip, several meals and transport to and from the international and domestic airports.
I stayed with my friends in Cairo, but rooms at the historic Mena House were going for $115 online (regularly $250) and rooms at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza were down to $170 from $280.
The empty pool deck of the luxury boat I took down the Nile.
4. You will be treated like Cher. All over Egypt I was stopped repeatedly by locals who told me, “Thank you for coming — we love you! Please come back!” During a stroll on the Palace Road, I was invited into one of the 800-year-old madrassas (Islamic schools) that normally don’t allow non-Muslims to enter — and was even treated like an honored guest.
I don’t think anyone has ever been this excited to meet me.
5. No lines. Anywhere. Luxor, Karnak, Dendera, Edfu and Kom Ombo — were, for all intents and purposes, empty. In the Valley of the Kings and Queens — 300 miles south of Cairo — I walked around Hatshepsut’s tomb and those of several kings unimpeded by crowds.
Explore Hatsheptsut’s Temple… by yourself.
6. You will see things no one else has seen. For $5.
you’re not supposed to take pictures inside the tombs. But now you can!
No visitors allowed… except during a recession.
7. The flights are cheap (see #3).
oh hello, Egypt – here I come!
8. The food is amazing.
Having a yummy lunch outside the Khan el Khalili bazaar.
9. You can buy a stuffed leopard rug – or anything else you’ve ever not known you wanted – at the Khan el Khalili Bazaar. Where else is that gonna happen?
I still cant believe I didn’t buy this guy.
10. You will actually be doing some good by helping a struggling/fragile economy. AND THEY ARE STILL UNCOVERING SHIZZ EVERYDAY LIKE THIS 4600 YR OLD STEP PYRAMID.
PS: Yes, there are protests and some of them end in violence. Any good driver knows where, when and how to avoid the protests. And the violence is not towards tourists, whom both sides want to return to the country to bolster Egypt’s economy. Just in case, read my list of How Not To Get Killed Or Maimed before you go.
I love that you were eating pizza in Cairo! LOL
it actually wasnt pizza.. it was a Kanafeh…. flaky dough stuffed w cheese.. VERY DIFFERENT. ha.
Sounds delish
Dude iam egyptian, and we eat pizza normally, as everybody else 😀
there everything you seek 😀 😀
It is called “Hawawshi” a very old -may be pharaonic- Egyptian food, and yes it is yummy!
There was no travel ban, ever! Please learn English! “Ban” means you are not permitted to travel there at all, like the travel ban on Americans to Cuba. There was a warning, nothing more nothing less. If you want to encourage tourism to Egypt, then you and all the other stupid people out there, and God knows that 95% of people wanting to promote tourism fall into this category, need to learn the difference between the words “ban” and “warning.” No wonder people aren’t coming, because smarter people will think they aren’t allowed when you use the word “ban.”
Susan its called feter when it is with cheese and called Konafa when it is with honey
It’s a pitty you didn’t visit the White Desert, an unearthly place of beauty, only in Egypt and for the rest, yes now is the time to go there, I was in Komombo (and other places) for the first time, we were with a dahabiya (around 14 people), we were the only visitors. Normally you were pushed with the crowd of thousands and hardly would have been able to take proper pictures, Now we could look and take all the detailed inscriptions. I highly recommend to visit Egypt now, before the mass tourism kicks in again.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/454760511275076/
i know! next time… I want to see the whale graveyard as well…
You could do Siwa and surroundings (including the depression with the whale) and then go
to the White Desert, it’s magical 😉
When you should go in April you could join the White Desert clean up safari, wich will cost 100 euro + maybe another 50 for the hotel, lunch in Bahariya on the way to Farafra, tips etc. for 6 days all inclusive from Cairo. Live the Bedoin life, explore the desert and have fun with the international group of ‘desertcleaners’. You will never forget it and maybe get addicted as well 😉
Nice write up Paula, you are kind and generous. Please ignore the negative comments from some people, your write up is a gift to the Egyptian people, I respect that. x
thanks adel – and I dont mind negative comments either – everyone is allowed their say! Take care…
My husband and I just finished a stint of 4 1/2 years living on the North Coast of Egypt on the Med. We did 2 other stints…one in Taba and the other in Hurghada. We were building golf courses and living there. We agree whole heartedly that a trip to Egypt now or at any time is a gift you give yourself…the people are magnificent and the sights are magical…We lived in Egypt a total of 8 years and never had any issues…we are missing it now so much…
Can’t believe that you’re actually recommending buying a leopard skin! Not cool!
it had been dead for over 50 years. the ONLY reason i was into it. But i admit, there is also a reason i didnt buy it in the first place.
Thanks for your post – it was very informative. I am very glad that you did NOT buy the leopard rug because that encourages the killing of wild animals who deserve to live in the wild – not on our floors.
You had me enthused until your comment about the leopard rug. Leopards are endangered and dead ones are not a flip topic. Please consider that in the future. Thank you.
Elizabeth – i hear you and agree with you. I never would have even looked twice at it – had it not been 70 years old.
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Egypt people are amazing people. They are really friendly. I visited Egypt 5 years ago. I can`t never forget how they showed their appreciation of visiting their country. One man gave free magnet. Greetings!
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