Travel Advice

You’re not going to find posh tier-one luxury hotels in most other parts of Egypt, with a few notable exceptions. But you will recognize some major international brands in some of Egypt's other major tourist cities and you'll even find some nice boutiquey properties that you didn't even know to look for. Luxor is the second most popular city in Egypt for its historical … [Read more...] about Hotels Outside of Cairo

There are a LOT of hotel options when visiting Egypt, which is a good thing. The not so good thing about that overabundance of choices is that you usually don't know what you're signing yourself up for until you arrive in Egypt and lay eyes on the property for the first time. If you've done your homework, you'll be pleased. If you blindly trusted the [always flattering, … [Read more...] about Review of Cairo’s Hotel Scene

Hopefully you’ve pre-arranged your transportation from the airport with your fabulous Western-run tour company and someone will be there at arrivals waiting to greet you and get you on your way. If you’re taking responsibility for your own transit from the airport to your hotel, then you’re going to have to gird your loins and be prepared to get ripped off a little in a … [Read more...] about Getting from the Airport to Your Hotel in Cairo

We’ve covered quite exhaustively the best ways to get to Egypt in this previous blog post, so now let’s talk a little bit about what to expect on arrival at Cairo International Airport, or CAI as it’s known. First, you can get a tourist visa in advance if you want to, but it’s totally not necessary because you can get a “visa” on arrival at the airport. I put visa in quotes … [Read more...] about Arriving in Egypt and Getting Through the Airport

One of the biggest and most common logistical questions that future visitors to Egypt have is how to get there. For nearly all travelers, you'll almost certainly fly into the country, although very few do cross the land border from Israel into Taba, Egypt. But compared to the total number of international visitors to Egypt, those who come in by land are very far and few … [Read more...] about Getting to Egypt

So why Egypt? Why Egypt for me, and why Egypt for so many people all over the world who want to travel there? Well, I’ll tell you that for me it was the sheer volume of sites to see and unique and distinct places to visit within this one country that drew me there originally. When I first moved to Egypt back in 2003, I was there on a language scholarship that required me to … [Read more...] about Why Egypt? And Why Now?

You know, I’m sure everyone knows this but it bears repeating because it can be a little shocking at first if you’re not ready for it when you get there, but here goes - Egypt is still a legit developing country. There are some very nice, very luxurious, very modern parts to Egypt, but the overwhelming majority of the country is still developing. Some say Third World, some say … [Read more...] about What’s Egypt Like?

A trip to Egypt is truly a bucket list trip of a lifetime, so planning the right time to go can ensure that your trip maximized to be as amazing as it can possibly be. That's why planning for and around weather can be critical to making sure you have a great experience when you finally arrive. Egypt is obviously a hot country because, well, it’s Egypt. But the summers can … [Read more...] about When Is the Best Time to Visit Egypt?

Another topic that I'm often asked about is how long one should plan to stay in Egypt when you visit, and part of that depends on how you get there. If you’re tacking a visit to Egypt on to a trip to somewhere else in the region, you can get away with a shorter stay and be ok. If you’re flying all the way from North America just to go to Egypt, then you won’t want to fly all … [Read more...] about How Long Should You Stay In Egypt?