Pre Egypt: Preparation for Egypt

Before going to any new destination a little research for safety is always a good precaution. The most important precaution I found was to always carry water on you as it can get very hot in august. Adding to that always drink only bottled water and like always watch what you eat, a lot times people who have not travelled abroad before will have very sensitive stomachs so you don’t want to eat something that isn’t going to sit well with you.  Safety shouldn’t be much of an issue as long as you remain in main tourist areas.

Currency

Their currency is called the Egyptian pound, about 1 US dollar = 6 Egyptian pounds and looks like this:

Tour Map

Day 1 - 3: Cairo
Day 3 - 5: Alexandria
Day 5 - 7: Luxor

Day 1: Cairo

The flight will arrive at 1 pm in Cairo, Egypt where we will receive a rental car and drive to the hotel.  We will then check-in, get settled and relax. We will be staying at the City View Hotel. Later on in the day, we will get dinner within the local area recommended by the hotel staff and head to bed early. 

Day 2: Cairo

On day 2, we plan to go to Giza Plateau, which is approximately a half an hour drive, to see the ancient pyramids - one of the most famous places and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. While at the great Pyramids of Giza, we plan to experience a camel ride for the first time. Nearby, we will also visit The Great Sphinx, which is one the biggest mysteries of Egypt, and the Solar Boat Museum. The day will be spent at the Giza Plateau once we head back we will get dinner from downtown Cairo.

Day 3: Cairo to Alexandria

Today we visit the Babylon Fortress, which is also a half an hour drive away from the hotel. We will check out in the morning and head over to the Fortress to visit the ancient city. We will take a guided tour of the Fortress and once we are finished we will head to Alexandria, which is approximately a two-hour drive. In Alexandria, we will stay at the Hilton Alexandria Green Plaza. Once we reach there we will relax and sleep early so we can be well rested for the following day. 

Day 4: Alexandria

We will start the day by going to the beach in the early morning, hoping it hasn’t got too hot! The beach we will be walking over to is called Asafra Beach, which runs parallel to the city’s main street. After the beach we will be go back to the hotel, shower and change and drive over to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. This is the largest reading space in the world with 4 permanent museums. I am also very interested to see CULTURAMA, which features 9 big screens where the presenter can explore a 5,000 year long timeline of Egypt. Once we are done we will head over to the hotel and eat dinner at the restaurant in the hotel and get to bed to be fresh for the next day. 

Day 5: Alexandria to Luxor

Once again, we will start the day early because we will need to go back to Cairo to take a train from there to Luxor. Once we are in Cairo, we will return the car and taxi to the Ramses Station where we take a 12:30 pm train and arrive at Luxor around 1130 pm, riding in first class. We will then take a taxi to the Steigenberger Nile Palace hotel and check-in.

Day 6: Luxor

At our first day in Luxor, we will rent another car and drive about a half an hour to visit the Valley of the Kings, which is where most of the kings are buried. The one that we are most interested in visiting is Tutankhamen’s tomb. Once we leave the Valley of the Kings we’ll head over to the Karnak Temple Complex to view the Karnak Sound and Light Show. The Karnak Sound and Light Show tells the stories of the lives of the pharaohs.

Day 7: Luxor to Toronto

This is our last day here in Egypt so we will relax and not go sigh seeing just go shopping and try to bargain and get some good deals. Also, we will visit The Kings Head, which is a very nice pub for lunch. Then its time to jump on a plane from Luxor and head home to Toronto.