I don’t want to see Coptic Egypt, or Ptolemaic Egypt, post-revolution Egypt, or modern Egypt. Just the ancient structures and some museums.
I don’t want to go scuba diving, or experiencing the desert. Camels don’t interest me. The food in Egypt looks terrible. Cairo is noisy and polluted and crowded.
I just want to see the ancient stuff, and do it efficiently, affordably, and comprehensively.
Here’s the plan, as it evolves. I am meeting my friend in Cairo for the end of the adventure, so I intend to work backwards. Leaving the most amazing pyramid and museum for last.
LUXOR
Luxor looks great. Everywhere is walkable or a cheap tuk-tuk or bike hire. Accomodation, food, transport in Egypt is dirt cheap, so I want to maximise how much I get to see and do, but not run out of things to do. Gauging how long to spend in Luxor is difficult, but I trust guidebooks when they say you’ll want to visit Karnak more than once. Luxor has a 5-day visitor pass that gets you into everything, and in my experience such passes are an accurate guide to how long you want to visit for. So, 6 days, 7 nights in Luxor. Because I would also do a day trip to Dendera and Abydos
First I have to get there, so I reckon one night in Cairo at a cheap downtown hotel and then catch the train.
Actually, this place (Pyramids View Inn) is $50/night and has a free airport shuttle and this view, so 2 nights there and my first Giza visit might be the go.
Not the overnight sleeper train because apparently it isn’t very pleasant and it costs a lot. Day time train (first class $US35 or fly, (flights are just one hour, but are $100US).
The Bob Marley Peace Hotel is $AUD25 per night for my own room, so that is perfect. The King’s Head Pub has “normal” food, beer and a pool table.
Something to do in Luxor is a sunset felucca cruise. No need to go on one over-night or longer to get the experience.
CAIRO
I have decided that everything I want to see can be achieved in Cairo or Luxor, or via day trips from those places, With the day trips there is no DIY option – for example, you need to deal with police. The cheapest way is to hire a driver but I am more than happy to go on a group tour and pay for a quality, in-depth one.
So the pyramids to the south, can be done in one day.
And the pyramids to the north, ditto.
I figure I’ll want to visit the Giza pyramids twice, just because I can.
One day for the main museum in Cairo.
Half a day for a guided tour of Cairo that includes the fascinating City of the Dead (slum in a cemetery)
For accommodation, it will be a toss up between the extremely cheap (and not fun?) downtown, or the regular cheap Zamalek that seems to be, by far, the nicest part of Cairo.
These are downtown, 2 beds, with washing machine and kitchen available, per night
- Hostel Sunset Down Town $60
- Joy Homes $60
- Sama Hotel $55
- Hotel Luna $40
Or in Zamalek, AirBnb has a few dozen apartments in the $40-$60/night bracket.
I think 9 nights in Cairo, 8 in Luxor, that covers two days of training between, and a 2-3 days of doing nothing. 17 days total!
I friend can’t come before Easter, which means April 23 at the earliest for Cairo, which means I can arrive around April 15th. The best and cheapest (!) flight is China Eastern with just 1 stop in Shanghai for 4 hours, for around $900. Wed, Fri or Sun.