9 Days in Egypt

Wow, what an amazing trip! I’ve wanted to go to Egypt forever, and always struggled with finding someone crazy enough to go with me. I travelled with one of my best friends from nursing school, and we decided it would be safest (and easiest) to see this country through an organized tour. This was my first experience with G Adventures – and this post is in no way endorsed by the company. It is simply my honest review and experience (which was amazing!). I’ll show you the journey in my travel video at the bottom 🙂

 

I’ve linked the full itinerary of our tour below, but I’ll briefly go over what we were able to see, the pace of the tour, the group dynamic, and my thoughts on Egypt overall! We bought “The Best of Egypt” Tour; 8 days, beginning and ending in Cairo. On sale, this tour is $849 USD. I thought this was a great deal considering it includes all transportation within the tour (overnight train, one domestic flight, bus, sailboat) and half of meals. I would budget an additional $150 extra for meals. The food there is very cheap. This price does not include airfare to and from Cairo. I scored a pretty good multi-city deal through Skyscanner. $1100 USD for San Diego -> Dubai -> Cairo -> San Diego.

 

 

When we landed in Egypt, we paid extra to have someone from G Adventures meet us at the airport. We didn’t know what to expect, and we wanted to feel comfortable getting to our hotel that was a 40 minute car ride. The guide met us before customs and walked us through, took us to the currency exchange, and helped us with our luggage. I’m really glad we arranged that pickup.

You’ll meet the group night one at the hotel. There was a wide age range, from 20s-50. Some people came together and others travelled alone. Overall, everyone was friendly and it was a fun group to travel with. I love group tours because you meet so many people from all over the world that you stay connected with years later.

 

 

Multi-City Transportation Included – On this tour you’ll travel from Cairo to Aswan by overnight train. So much fun! Then you’ll head to Luxor via a felucca (Nile sailboat) where you’ll sleep onboard and under the stars for one night. And lastly you’ll fly back to Cairo from Luxor.

What we were able to see in 8 days (SO MUCH)

• Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx with camel ride
• Egyptian Museum and guided tour
• Nubian village visit – with homemade dinner provided by a sweet Nubian family!
• Felucca overnight sailing on the Nile
• Karnak and Kom Ombo temples and guided tour
• Temple of Hatshepsut, Valley of the Kings, and donkey ride (omg this was so much fun)
• Colossi of Memnon
• All entrance fees are included with the tour for everything listed above.

Available Add-On Excursions (we did both, WELL worth it!)

• Temple of Abu Simbel – $125 USD
• Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride in the Valley of the Kings – $95

 

 

So as you can see this trip is PACKED with history while including activities that are fun for everyone. This tour is HIGH ENERGY. You’re up early every morning and stay busy with sight-seeing until the evening. It’s great because you see so much in so little time, but it is tiring.

 

 

What to Pack

Egypt is a very conservative country. I kept my shoulders and knees covered majority of the trip. I wore t-shirts and lightweight long pants as it was very hot. Comfortable walking shoes is a MUST as most of the streets are not paved and you’ll be walking in dirt, sand, or uneven terrain majority of the time. I would say 95% of the women I saw there had their heads covered, but they respect the tourists that come and there’s no judgement if you don’t cover your head.

 

 

A shout out to our tour guide, MIKE!

Our guide was an absolute EXPERT in Egyptian history, and lived there his whole life. I loved this, as a lot of tour guides from different companies aren’t native to the country they educate on. He was always available, made us feel safe, and kept everyone engaged with all of his knowledge.

 

 

After the conclusion of our tour, we added on one extra night to relax. Our tour was amazing but was a non-stop itinerary. We stayed at Le Meridien Pyramids with a hotel room view of the Great Pyramids. Unreal!

 

 

I highly recommend touring Egypt if you are interested. The media is a little dramatic in regards to safety over there. I felt safe the entire trip being with a group, and having everything planned for me. Egypt is a third world country, so apply common sense in that regard and you’ll be fine. It’s totally worth checking off your bucket list!

Here’s the link if you want more information from G Adventures’ website: click here

Check out my travel video below 🙂