There are very few places in the world that hold as much intrigue as Egypt. However, since the Arab Spring back in 2011 and the rise of ISIS in 2013, tourism has dropped sharply in Egypt. But things are different now. 2018 is going to be Egypt’s year. I’m calling it now. Tourism is coming back, and for good reason: Egypt is awesome!
My husband and I love independent travel, but for certain destinations that seem difficult to do alone, we like to go on G Adventures tours. We’ve done 2 in the past, Kenya and Tanzania and Vietnam, so when we decided to go to Egypt we knew we would be joining our 3rd G Adventures tour. We took G Adventures’ 8 Day Best of Egypt tour and we are so happy we did! If you’re considering traveling to Egypt with a small tour group, consider going with G Adventures.
The Best of Egypt tour is a classic tour, which meant we were staying in 3 star hotels and most of the excursions we did were covered in the cost of the tour. In this post, I will specify if an activity was optional and not included in the cost of the tour.
Cities Visited: Cairo-Aswan-Luxor
Day 1: Cairo Day 1 was an arrival day. There is a welcome meeting at 6 pm, which we missed due to flight delays.
What’s optional: airport pickup (highly recommended)
Day 2: Cairo:
What’s included: entrance to the Pyramids and Sphinx, entrance to the Egyptian Museum
What’s optional: camel rides, going inside the Great Pyramid, going to the Mummy Room at the Egyptian Museum.
Our first stop was the Pyramids of Giza. Of course it was, how could it not be?! Let me tell you, the Pyramids are just as impressive and grand as you’d imagine. Our guide took us out onto the Giza plateau to see the viewpoint before the majority of the tourists got there (most tourists start by visiting the base of the Pyramids). From this vantage point, you can take a camel ride through a bit of the desert and get some awesome pictures.
After the camel ride, we went back to the base of the Pyramids and we had the option to go inside the Great Pyramid. All but 4 of our group opted to go inside. There’s nothing to see inside, but just being inside the Great Pyramid was worth the 300 EGP ticket.
After we finished up at the Pyramids, we took a short ride to view the Sphinx, which, unlike the Pyramids, was much smaller than I thought it would be.
After lunch, we headed over to the Egyptian Museum for a few hours of exploration. The Egyptian Museum is most notably home to King Tut’s treasures and his sarcophagus and death mask (which you weren’t allowed to photograph).
Overnight train ride to Aswan
After a long day of sightseeing, we caught a sleeper train down to Aswan. I was nervous about the train because I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was fine, and as a bonus, the bathrooms weren’t disgusting.
Day 3: Aswan
What’s included: afternoon boat ride, tour of the Nubian village on Elephantine Island, dinner at a Nubian house
What’s optional: visiting Philae Temple
We hit the ground running in Aswan, heading down to the docks right after dropping our bags off at our hotel. After a short motorboat ride, we reached Philae Island, which is the home of the Temple of Philae, honoring the goddess Isis.
Fun fact: Philae Island is not where Philae Temple was originally built. It was actually built on another nearby island, which was then submerged once the Egyptians dammed the river to create Lake Nasser. The Egyptian government and UNESCO worked together to move every piece of the temple and reassemble it where it is today.
After leaving Philae Temple and grabbing lunch, we had several free hours in Aswan. The hotel that G Adventures uses in Aswan, the Nile Hotel, is located right on the Nile and overlooks the river and Elephantine Island. The hotel has a really nice rooftop area with chairs, umbrellas, and shisha at night. If you’ve ever taken a G Adventure tour, you know you don’t get a lot of downtime, so most of our group hung out on the roof or took naps.
In the afternoon, we took a boat ride around the islands of Aswan, then met up with a Nubian man who would be our guide for the afternoon. The Nubians have been in Egypt longer than even the ancient Egyptians, and they usually live in villages with other Nubians who share their culture and way of life. Our Nubian guide took us to a beautiful hillside to watch the sunset, then we were taken to his home where his wife and cousins made us a delicious (and enormous) Nubian meal.
Day 4: Abu Simbel and Aswan
What’s included: visit to Egyptian perfume shop
What’s optional: visiting the Abu Simbel temples, photo ticket at Abu Simbel
Day 4 started with a 3:45 am wakeup call. We were going to Abu Simbel, considered by many to be the greatest temple in all of Egypt. This visit was optional, but everyone in the group signed up for it because you really can’t visit southern Egypt and not go. Abu Simbel is approximately 3 hours by van from Aswan and only about 25 km from the Sudanese border. It’s literally in the middle of nowhere, and if you drive there you have to be part of an armed convoy that hits the road at 4:30 am. If you miss it, you don’t go. There have never been any problems, but you’re driving out in the middle of the Sahara with nothing around, so if you have a problem and are alone, you may not make it back. So, armed convoy it is.
Abu Simbel is comprised of 2 temples: The Great Temple was dedicated to Ramses II, and the Small Temple was dedicated to Ramses’ favorite wife, Nefertari. Both are fabulous inside and out. You can take as many pictures as you want outside, but if you want to take photos inside the temple, you have to buy a special ticket at the entrance, which I believe is 300 EGP, a recurring theme in Egypt.
After a long, long drive back to Aswan, we stopped at a perfume shop to eat a delicious lunch of koshari, the national dish of Egypt consisting of rice, lentils, pasta, and tomato sauce. We learned about Egyptian essential oils and had the opportunity to buy some if we wanted to.
The rest of the day was a free day to relax or explore Aswan.
Day 5: Felucca Boat Down the Nile
What’s included: all day/overnight felucca boat ride, lunch, dinner
What’s optional: drinks
Mid tour we had a full day sail down the Nile on a traditional Egyptian sailboat called a felucca. We found out that everyone was nervous about this day. It sounded like it might be uncomfortable having to spend all day and night on a small sailboat, crammed in like sardines with butts numb from uncomfortable fiberglass seats. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth and at the end of the tour everyone agreed this was the best day of the trip.
The felucca is a lot bigger than we expected and instead of seats like a normal sailboat, it’s been modified so that the entire boat is a big mattress with pillows and blankets. A support boat stayed nearby for bathroom breaks and meals. This day is all about rest and relaxation and getting to really bond with your tour mates. At sunset, we docked by the support boat, ate dinner, and slept on the boat. It was really cold at night, so I would recommend bringing a ski cap.
Day 6: Kom Ombo Temple, Arrive in Luxor
What’s included: Kom Ombo Temple, Crocodile Museum, Karnak Temple
Immediately after breakfast, we took a motorboat across the Nile to a waiting van that drove us about 15 minutes away to the Kom Ombo temple, also known as the crocodile temple . We got there right when it opened so for most of out visit, we were the only ones there, which was quite a surreal experience. Kom Ombo used to be used as a hospital, as well as a place where people would go to receive fertility treatments.
After Kom Ombo, we took a short drive to the crocodile museum, where you could see several mummified crocodiles. Crocodiles were worshiped in ancient Egypt and they were often mummified.
Several hours later, we finally reached Luxor and went directly to Karnak Temple.
Fun fact: The Luxor Las Vegas hotel was inspired by Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple is actually a temple complex, with temples that honor several gods and goddesses from ancient Egypt, and there are multiple temples and areas you can visit, and some that are off limits to tourists. The main section of Karnak is dedicated to Amun-Ra, who was the patron God of Thebes (now the Luxor area). Most of the stone used at Karnak Temple was brought from Aswan, over 150 miles away.
Day 7: Luxor
What’s included: G Adventures Surprise destination, entrance to Valley of the Kings, entrance to 3 tombs in Valley of the Kings, entrance to the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
What’s optional: Hot air balloon ride*, Entrance to King Tut’s tomb, photo ticket to take pictures of the tombs in Valley of the Kings
*Until late January, Day 7 began with an optional hot air balloon ride at dawn in Valley of the Kings. However, as there was a crash resulting in multiple injuries and death in January of 2018, G Adventures has suspended offering this activity for the time being.
Our last full day of the tour began bright and early as we drove across to the west bank of the Nile and towards Valley of the Kings. Our first stop was a surprise that isn’t listed on the G Adventure’s Best of Egypt itinerary…and I won’t spoil it for you, except to say that if you grew up being fascinated by King Tut you will really enjoy this stop!
After the surprise stop it was time to visit the Valley of the Kings. Besides the Great Pyramids, this is what I was most looking forward to on our trip. The Valley of the Kings was the burial site of almost every pharaoh in ancient Egypt, including Ramses II, Ramses III, and the most notable of all, King Tutankhamen.
The entrance ticket is included in the cost of the tour and with that ticket you are allowed to visit 3 tombs. To visit King Tut’s tomb we had to buy a separate ticket that cost 200 EGP. We were warned that there is nothing in it but his mummy as all of his treasures are now in the Egyptian Museum which we visited in Cairo, but we couldn’t not go. They are extremely strict about not taking photos in King Tut’s tomb, even if you pay for a photo ticket it isn’t applicable in King Tut’s tomb and they had four people down there making sure nobody was taking photos.
Photography is allowed in the other tombs in Valley of the Kings, for a 300 EGP fee. Part of me wishes that I had bought a photo ticket because the tombs were incredible! They are so intricately designed, with hieroglyphics, colorful scenes with gods and goddesses, and the ceilings painted blue with white stars. The fact that the paint is thousands of years old and is still so colorful and bold will blow your mind. At the same time, it was nice to be able to take our time and take everything in instead of looking for the next great photo.
The last temple we visited on the tour was the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was a female Pharaoh and one of the most successful pharaohs in ancient Egypt. We were all a bit ‘templed out’ at this point, but we knew it was the last one, so we tried to appreciate it.
The last activity on the tour was having lunch in an Egyptian family’s home. Both of the meals with local families were fantastic and the family in Luxor was excited to take group photos with us.
Day 8: Luxor to Cairo
What’s included: flight to Cairo
What’s optional: airport transfer, day tour to Saqqara
The Best of Egypt tour ended with a very early flight back to Cairo. Some people opted to take a day tour to the step pyramid in Saqqara, some were traveling onward to Jordan, and some of us were staying in Cairo an additional day or two. The tour ran Friday-Friday, so I would recommend spending the weekend at a nice hotel in Cairo to get some much needed R&R before flying home.
If you’ve always wanted to visit Egypt but you’re concerned about safety, don’t let that hold you back. Egypt knows people have been afraid to visit, and they’ve taken a lot of steps to improve the safety of its visitors. There are armed guards at all tourist sites, metal detectors at many attractions and most hotels, and increased police presence anywhere visitors might be. And the people-the people! They’re so friendly! Never once did we feel unsafe and any less than absolutely welcome in Egypt. People would stop us in the street just to ask us where we were from, how long we had been to Egypt, and to wish us a pleasant trip. Being on a tour only added to the sense of security we felt while in Egypt.
On the last night of our trip, our guide talked about the importance of spreading the word that Egypt is safe and welcoming to tourists as the past few years have been disastrous for the economy. It’s my sincere hope that everyone who is curious about visiting Egypt has the opportunity to do so. It’s a country of magic, mystery, history, and culture, and you won’t find anywhere else like it.
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