Cairo, Egypt from Alexandria - On your own (no tour company)

[gt2192c]

We decided to explore Cairo on our own instead of hiring a tour guide. Here is our summary:

 

Overnight Cairo on your own (no tour company).

 

Disclaimer: This is only for experienced travelers and not for the faint of heart. If you have any reservations about following these instructions, hire a tour company or go on the ship’s excursions. On our cruise, there were only a handful of people who decided to travel to Cairo and stay overnight on their own. The other folks who did Cairo on their own either had already been to Cairo previously or spoke Arabic.

 

Planning stage (before you leave for your vacation)

Prior to embarking on this “freestyle” type excursion, our Internet research showed that there would be direct train from Alexandria to Cairo leaving at 8 AM. Our boat docked at 7 AM so we thought we would be able to make the 8 AM train. Websites we used to get info about the Egypt train system were:

http://www.egyptrail.gov.eg/

http://www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm

http://www.touregypt.net/trains.htm

 

The other Internet research showed that we could easily book a hotel room in Cairo via popular Internet hotel booking sites or through the hotel website. We stayed at the Ramses Hilton and we were able to make reservations easily online. We paid $125 (including fees & taxes) for Ramses Hilton

Debarkation in Alexandria

Not the quickest process as you have to show your passport several times and get your bags x-rayed at the port building first. The organized tour buses will pick up right outside the port building. There were no taxi cabs available at this location. We walked for about 0.1 to 0.2 of a mile on a bridge to get out of the port area. Before leaving the port area, you will be asked to write your name and stateroom number in a notebook kept by the Egyptian authorities. After you get out of the port, you will be immediately greeted with a plethora of eager taxi cabs. You will now have to negotiate the price for a taxi cab ride to the Alexandria train station. The ride is about 10-15 minutes in no traffic. The maximum you should pay is 25 Egyptian pounds (less than $5 USD) for the trip. This will take some haggling to get a reasonable price. See section below for tips for negotiating for a taxi in Egypt.

 

Tips for negotiating for a taxi in Egypt

The way that taxi drivers in Egypt negotiate is like no other country I have haggled in. The taxi driver will throw out an initial price for the taxi ride, when you counter with a price, they will say “NO” and try to get you to their price, at this point you will need to start walking away from the taxi driver and say goodbye. The taxi driver will follow you and beg you to pay his price, at this point, he may offer a slightly lower price, at which point you can make your 2nd counter offer. Repeat process of walking away from the taxi driver, eventually the taxi driver will get tired of following you around and give in. If one or more in your party starts walking with the taxi driver, he will take this as agreement even though the negotiator in your party has not agreed to the price. Make sure everyone in your party understands ahead of time on who will conduct the negotiations and that no one is to undermine the negotiator. You pay the taxi driver when you have reached your destination. The taxi driver will continuously beg you to go other places instead or along the way in order to get more money from you. Once you have reached your destination, you must pay in exact change. The taxi driver will not make change for you and no matter what size tip you give (if any - tips are not required/expected in Egypt), the taxi driver will ask you for another 10 Egyptian pounds. NOTE: Never get in a taxi until you have first negotiated the price for the ride.

 

Alexandria train station

Once we got to the Alexandria train station, we attempted to purchase a ticket for the 8 AM train to Cairo from the ticket office. Unfortunately the train was already sold out that morning. When you buy a train ticket in Egypt, they assign you a seat (like the airlines). Fortunately, the train company in Egypt allows for standing passengers. We were able to take the 8 AM train (even though it was sold out) and buy our ticket while on the train. We paid the equivalent of less than $10 USD per person (about 50 Egyptian pounds). The train takes about 2.5 hours to reach Cairo.

 

Arrival in Cairo

Once you arrive in Cairo, if you haven’t done so already, you should purchase your return ticket to Alexandria at this time. Otherwise the train ride back could be sold out as well and you could be standing up for 2.5 hours. Cairo has a subway system (Metro) just like other major cities. Just outside the train station is the stop for the Metro. Riding the Metro costs 1 Egyptian pound per person per ride (equivalent of about $0.20 USD). For those of you not so excited about taking the subway to your hotel, you can haggle price with a taxi driver for a ride to take you direct to your hotel. Keep in mind that Cairo has terrible traffic and it might be faster for you (depends) to take the Metro and then take a taxi to your hotel.

 

Getting to the Giza Pyramids

The Metro has a Giza line and a Giza stop. Pay your 1 Egyptian pound to ride the metro to the Giza stop. From there you will need to take a taxi or shared van to the Giza pyramids. Otherwise it is about a 6 mile walk. We paid 5 Egyptian pounds ($1USD) per person for a shared van to the pyramids. The ride took about 45 minutes as we stopped and picked up and dropped off passengers along the way. Our shared van was very aggressive about selling us a camel ride and even dropped us off at the camel entrance.

Once we arrived at the pyramids, we purchased tickets for 60 Egyptian pounds per person as a “grounds pass” - this did not include entering any of the pyramids. At the time of our visit, the pyramid management sells tickets to enter each pyramid separately at the base of the individual pyramids. Entering the “great pyramid” was 100 Egyptian pounds.

 

Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum is closest to the “Sadat” Metro stop.

We paid 60 Egyptian pounds per person admission to the museum. King Tut’s mask is on the 2nd floor in a small room along the back wall. The Mummy exhibit is an additional fee if you would like to see that exhibit.

 

Conclusion

We were able to save significant money by exploring Cairo on our own and taking public transportation. Our cruise ship charged $499 per person for the overnight excursion to Cairo. Private tour companies charged around $350 for the overnight as well. According to our calculations, we spent about $110 per person ($60 for the hotel + $20 RT train + $10 for Giza pyramids + $10 for the Egyptian museum + $10 cabs and Metro). We also had a lot of fun meeting the Egyptian people. Egyptians are the most helpful, friendliest people to visitor of their country.

[a&n09012]

Wow this was really helpful! Thanks for posting! :)

[MercedMike]

WOW. We are very experienced travelers, and accustomed to dealing with glitches in plans as they arise. We can take small troubles in our stride.

 

BUT ...

 

That is exactly why we almost never set off on DIY trips anymore! We love the luxury of a guide and driver and the freedom to set our own itinerary and trust that it will be efficiently carried out. Saving a few bucks (or even a few hundred bucks) does not warrant spending our valuable sightseeing time trying to negotiate with cab drivers or figure out train or metro schedules.

 

I certainly hope that you were able to see more of Cairo than you list in your posting. It seems as if the Pyramids and the Museum were all you saw.

 

When we did it with Egyptian Express, we saw the pyramids, rode a camel, went to Dashur and Saqqara, toured a mastaba grave, had a great lunch at a private club in view of the pyramids, made a shopping stop at a magnificent store with papyrus, alabaster, gold and everything else associated with Egypt, had a great dinner and breakfast at the hotel, took a felucca ride, visited the museum, and toured the Khan el Khalili bazaar with a great lunch in a famous restaurant. We felt that the cost was well worth it, and we were able to relax and just get in the van when the guide told us to without worrying about the logistics.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/holyland2.html

 

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. These days we like a private guide instead of sweating it out ourselves.

[Keith1010]

I am glad this worked out for you. As you correctly note it is not the approach for everyone. For most, I would go with an excursion, either through the ship or a private one.

 

Keith

[gt2192c]

Wow, I am surprised by the amount of discouragement on this thread.

 

This post was not to intended to spark a debate about whether one should go Cairo on your own or not; I specifically stated in my original post, "experienced travelers only... if you have any reservations...hire a tour company..."

 

This post was intended as a RESOURCE for experienced travelers who wanted to do Cairo on their own. I had very limited resources on how to do Cairo on my own before I went - I posted this as I wished someone had posted this for me prior to my trip.

 

For the record, I did see much more than I originally posted, but for brevity, I edited my post down to the major sites of Cairo. I did not ride a camel as I have zero interest in riding a camel (my personal preference). I had plenty of opportunities to ride a camel as we went in low season where there were about 2 camels to every tourist.

 

BTW: I would also like to point out that the train between Alexandria and Cairo only takes 2.5 hours, while a ride in your organized tour van/bus takes over 3 hours. We had a sandstorm on the 2nd day and it took some private tour vans 3.5 hours to get back to the ship.

[cruisemom42]

Wow, I am surprised by the amount of discouragement on this thread.

 

This post was not to intended to spark a debate about whether one should go Cairo on your own or not; I specifically stated in my original post, "experienced travelers only... if you have any reservations...hire a tour company..."

 

This post was intended as a RESOURCE for experienced travelers who wanted to do Cairo on their own. I had very limited resources on how to do Cairo on my own before I went - I posted this as I wished someone had posted this for me prior to my trip.

 

For the record, I did see much more than I originally posted, but for brevity, I edited my post down to the major sites of Cairo. I did not ride a camel as I have zero interest in riding a camel (my personal preference). I had plenty of opportunities to ride a camel as we went in low season where there were about 2 camels to every tourist.

 

BTW: I would also like to point out that the train between Alexandria and Cairo only takes 2.5 hours, while a ride in your organized tour van/bus takes over 3 hours. We had a sandstorm on the 2nd day and it took some private tour vans 3.5 hours to get back to the ship.

 

Just wanted to let you know that I, for one, appreciate your review. I will be visiting Egypt for the 3rd time in 2010 and I am toying with the idea of doing the train as you did for a new experience.

[jalynn]

Did you use an ATM to get your Egypt pounds? Or did you get them before leaving home?

 

I enjoyed reading the original post about Egypt on your own. I, too, am an "on your own" traveler, but for Egypt I'm going with a tour. But I learned from the post, and enjoyed reading about haggling even tho I won't need a cab :-))). I'm betting I'll find other haggling opportunities.

 

Jo Ann

[cruisemom42]

Did you use an ATM to get your Egypt pounds? Or did you get them before leaving home?

 

I enjoyed reading the original post about Egypt on your own. I, too, am an "on your own" traveler, but for Egypt I'm going with a tour. But I learned from the post, and enjoyed reading about haggling even tho I won't need a cab :-))). I'm betting I'll find other haggling opportunities.

 

Jo Ann

 

I used ATMs throughout Egypt on my two-week land trip in 2008. I did not have a problem anywhere. Our hotel in Cairo even had an ATM in the lobby.

[jalynn]

CruiserMom--My worry is that I'll need pounds for the tour on day one in egypt...for admissions, etc. Do you recall an ATM in the cruise terminal? I suppose I could ask the driver to stop at an ATM when the tour starts, but I hate to do that since we'll be on tour with several others and I don't want to hold everyone up.

 

thanks--

[cruisemom42]

CruiserMom--My worry is that I'll need pounds for the tour on day one in egypt...for admissions, etc. Do you recall an ATM in the cruise terminal? I suppose I could ask the driver to stop at an ATM when the tour starts, but I hate to do that since we'll be on tour with several others and I don't want to hold everyone up.

 

thanks--

 

There are ATMs literally everywhere. Your driver wouldn't have to go out of his way to get you to one. What are you doing on the first day? There is one just across the street from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, for example.

[jalynn]

Thanks, Cynthia. I'll just not worry about it till we get there.

 

:-))

[gt2192c]

________________

 

While I admire your courage and great review, I still want to caution off-shore travellers. You only have very limited time, one or two days. A broken taxicab, miscommunications, and unforeseen extra costs are just a few of the many things that could go wrong, causing frustration and more cost in the long run.

 

Mishaps can happen in any scenario. For example, during my time in Egypt, one of the tour buses hit a pedestrian.

To address the specific scenarios you mention: broken taxicab - there are taxis a plenty in the areas that we visited. I never encouraged anyone to take a taxi out to the middle of the Sahara. Miscommunications - most everyone we met in Egypt spoke English - they learn English in school starting from the 1st grade. Unforseen extra costs - Considering we saved $390 per person = $780 in total - we would have really had to muck it up in order to spend $780.

 

To you point, yes there is a risk involved, and as I said originally, if you have any reservations about my post, Take an organized tour! I am not discouraging anyone from taking an organized tour.

[Kevin1]

Just to add to this my wife & I had pre arranged a private tour to Luxor from Safaga port, the company concerned did not turn up leaving us high & dry for the day, believe me there is nothing to see in Safaga.

 

We are now in the process of arranging another cruise that visits Safaga so as we can go to Luxor only this time we will do it with the cruiseline.

 

This is not the norm for us as we usually do our own thing but NOT IN EGYPT!

 

Hope this Helps.

[cruisemom42]

Just to add to this my wife & I had pre arranged a private tour to Luxor from Safaga port, the company concerned did not turn up leaving us high & dry for the day, believe me there is nothing to see in Safaga.

 

We are now in the process of arranging another cruise that visits Safaga so as we can go to Luxor only this time we will do it with the cruiseline.

 

This is not the norm for us as we usually do our own thing but NOT IN EGYPT!

 

Hope this Helps.

 

Taking a private tour is not exactly the same thing as doing it on one's own..... But I would always encourage any traveler to have a "Plan B" for any given port.

 

I am sorry you missed seeing Luxor, it's a wonderful place. The Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple, and the temple of Karnak are 3 of my favorite spots in Egypt.

[cruisemom42]

Mishaps can happen in any scenario. For example, during my time in Egypt, one of the tour buses hit a pedestrian.

To address the specific scenarios you mention: broken taxicab - there are taxis a plenty in the areas that we visited. I never encouraged anyone to take a taxi out to the middle of the Sahara. Miscommunications - most everyone we met in Egypt spoke English - they learn English in school starting from the 1st grade. Unforseen extra costs - Considering we saved $390 per person = $780 in total - we would have really had to muck it up in order to spend $780.

 

To you point, yes there is a risk involved, and as I said originally, if you have any reservations about my post, Take an organized tour! I am not discouraging anyone from taking an organized tour.

 

Cruise ship passengers seem to be among the most risk-averse of travelers that I have encountered. Don't take it personally -- some will appreciate your information. In fact, if you have any other details, I'd like to hear them.

 

To the other posters: I think it's been made ABUNDANTLY clear that DIY isn't for everyone, particularly in Egypt. Can we now get on with the topic of the thread, which is how to DIY for those who might be considering it?

[gt2192c]

Can we now get on with the topic of the thread, which is how to DIY for those who might be considering it?

 

Thank you Cynthia!

 

In response to the question about the ATM machine. I agree that ATM machines are a plenty in Egypt. They even have an "English" button so that you can read the screen in English (instead of Arabic). I don't remember specifically having an ATM machine in the port terminal, our taxi driver took us by an ATM machine on the way. The only 'funny' thing about the ATM machine that I happened to use (I say this because I did not use every ATM machine in Egypt so this might just be my experience), was that the "Fast Cash" option had choices ranging from 20 Egyptian pounds to 200 Egyptian pounds. 200 Egyptian pounds is the equivalent of less than $40 USD. Admission to the Egyptian museum is 60 Egyptian pounds - 120 for 2 people, which for us meant that we needed to skip "fast cash" and type in the amount that we needed.

 

Any questions I can answer about DIY Egypt?

[cruisemom42]

Thank you Cynthia!

 

Any questions I can answer about DIY Egypt?

 

Actually, I was wondering how you were able to determine that even though the early train from Alex was full, you could buy a ticket and stand. Were you offered that option when you went to purchase your ticket?

[CRUISERTN]

Jalynn - I noticed that you are from Memphis. We live in Germantown....just returned from the Brilliance last month and overnight private tour in Cairo. If you have any questions, I will be happy to talk with you....daytime phone is 544-0903. You will LOVE Egypt!!:p

 

Leslie

[Kevin1]

Taking a private tour is not exactly the same thing as doing it on one's own..... But I would always encourage any traveler to have a "Plan B" for any given port.

 

I am sorry you missed seeing Luxor, it's a wonderful place. The Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple, and the temple of Karnak are 3 of my favorite spots in Egypt.

 

Point taken but just to add it is almost impossible to go to Luxor from Safaga under your own steam as to speak, it is a 3.5 to 4 hour trip by road each way, I state this for the benefit of others.

[gt2192c]

Actually, I was wondering how you were able to determine that even though the early train from Alex was full, you could buy a ticket and stand. Were you offered that option when you went to purchase your ticket?

 

Good question. The guy at the ticket counter was kind enough to tell us we could still get on the train even through it was sold out. It was kind of funny actually, with the guy at the ticket counter saying, "8 AM train to Cairo is sold out....but you can get on the train anyway." Caused us to do a double-take. My husband responds, "Can I buy a ticket on the train?" Ticket guy, "Yes."

[jalynn]

We actually live in Germantown also. I just put Memphis in my profile since most people would not know G'town. I appreciate your offer and will give you a call at some point. What did you do at night in Cairo? the light show? the nile dinner cruise? we're trying to decide...

 

Jo Ann

[CRUISERTN]

Will probably turn out that we are neighbors....LOL...we live in Dogwood Creek......we had heard mixed reviews of the light show....half said it wasn't anything special and others said it was great.....we did not have any desire to do the dinner cruise because we never heard any good reviews and we have been the belly dancing shows in Morocco....if we had planned to do either, it would have cut into our day at the other sights and at the bazaar, so glad we did not do anything.....we stayed at the hotel and could see some of the lights from the light show from our hotel room. We were so tired after going non-stop all during the day that we were glad we did not do any of the other activities. We slept well and were ready to go early the next morning. You will need to leave your hotel around 7AM or 7:30AM if you want to cover a lot the second day. Please give me a call; would love to talk with you.

[herkin]

gt2192, I'm surprised by the negative responses too. It is kind of you to share the results of your research and experience for intrepid future cruisers. As I'm a bit of a 'fraidy cat, in Alexandria we opted to do a boat excursion. It worked out OK, but I can't help wishing we'd had more time at the pyramids and less at the required shopping stop. If we'd done it your way, we would have had that flexibility. Thank you for sharing the fruits of your labor. If we go again, maybe we'll try it your way. :)

[goldie888]

We decided to explore Cairo on our own instead of hiring a tour guide. Here is our summary:

 

Overnight Cairo on your own (no tour company).

 

Thank you very much for this post. This is exactly the info I have been searching for on CC. Just wish we can find another couple to travel on the train with us. I am not against tour group but really do not wish to travel on the highway to Cairo. We also like the freedom to not be taken to any shopping trips we have no use for.

[dileep]

WE had a govt provided armed Antiquities Guard on our bus for 2 of the 5 days in Cairo! This was when we went to Dashur, Abu Sir, and Sakkara.

 

He did not accompany us to the Giza Pyramids which were right around the corner from our hotel.