Egypt on Uniworld, October 2015

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We had an armed guard with us in 2009.. He accompanied us everywhere and I later found out he was ex-Egyptian military. ..at one point his suit jacket was open and we could see the AK47 strapped to his back....frightening but reassuring at the same time!

 

Well we had armed guards with us a few times, mostly on buses, but they were just skinny guys in suits with hand guns. What David's talking about are individual the individual bodyguards that the arab sheiks had following them around.

[capriccio]

We had an armed guard with us in 2009.. He accompanied us everywhere and I later found out he was ex-Egyptian military. ..at one point his suit jacket was open and we could see the AK47 strapped to his back....frightening but reassuring at the same time!

 

Even back in the late 1990s some Egyptian tour groups had armed guards. We were living in Greece at the time and both our kids went to a couple of international school athletic events in Cairo and Alexandria between 1998 and 2000 and they always had an armed escort traveling from point A to point B. Don't know if that was an anomaly or not. Maybe they feared that a bunch of kids - children of diplomats and business executives from throughout the mid east and northern Africa - could be potential targets.

[mimmy52]

Even back in the late 1990s some Egyptian tour groups had armed guards. We were living in Greece at the time and both our kids went to a couple of international school athletic events in Cairo and Alexandria between 1998 and 2000 and they always had an armed escort traveling from point A to point B. Don't know if that was an anomaly or not. Maybe they feared that a bunch of kids - children of diplomats and business executives from throughout the mid east and northern Africa - could be potential targets.

 

This might have something to do with the 1997 explosion caused by militants at Queen Hatshepsut's temple that killed close to 60 tourists.

[DavidTheWonderer]

Just to reassure folks, when we were there in October at no point did we feel unsafe. I think I've earlier reported on the hotel concierge in Cairo who, when asked whether it was safe to walk in Cairo, replied, "You are safe anywhere in Cairo except when you try to cross the street." The traffic there is that insane. So, I would not recommend avoiding this spectacular destination because of security fears, but you are of course free to make your own decision.

Edited January 22, 2016 by DavidTheWonderer

[Hydrokitty]

Just to reassure folks, when we were there in October at no point did we feel unsafe. I think I've earlier reported on the hotel concierge in Cairo who, when asked whether it was safe to walk in Cairo, replied, "You are safe anywhere in Cairo except when you try to cross the street." The traffic there is that insane. So, I would not recommend avoiding this spectacular destination because of security fears, but you are of course free to make your own decision.

 

I agree David....through all of the strife in that area these past few years there has been not one incident involving tourists. The guards we had were required by the Egyptian Travel Dept. for ALL foreign tour groups and they came about as a result of the attack on German tourists at Giza.

 

Wendy: ours weren't skinny guys in suits....ours were movie star quality guys in expensive suits with really big guns :D

[Anubi]

Just to reassure folks, when we were there in October at no point did we feel unsafe. I think I've earlier reported on the hotel concierge in Cairo who, when asked whether it was safe to walk in Cairo, replied, "You are safe anywhere in Cairo except when you try to cross the street." The traffic there is that insane. So, I would not recommend avoiding this spectacular destination because of security fears, but you are of course free to make your own decision.

 

We are so back and forth on Egypt because of the world situation. I know that news media tend to exaggerate but still, it does give us pause. We are thinking of a river cruise in January 2018.

 

We were in Egypt in 2007 and there was quite a bit of security with our group. The ship docked in Port Said and there was a huge convoy of buses headed for Cairo; I'm not sure how many buses there were but I later heard that of the 2400 on board, 2200 went to Cairo!! All the way to Cairo the buses drove in the centre lane of a major highway and all access points were closed until we got by. In addition, there were a lot of small trucks with armed personnel travelling along side the buses and on our bus, one of our guides was armed. We weren't comfortable but it was reality and once we got to Cairo it was just our guide who was armed.

 

It didn't take away from the experience and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Maybe we should just bit the bullet and go.

 

[DavidTheWonderer]

Before the revolution in 2011, tourism was something like 25% of Egypt's gross domestic product. That is now close to zero, and the Egyptian government and people really really want us to come back and visit this astounding destination. That means that the government in particular is working very hard to make sure that those of us who do go back are safe. That doesn't necessarily mean the government is competent, but it is important to them.

 

The fact that the tourists have fled means that you are very unlikely to encounter any crowds anywhere. So that is an added bonus.

 

-- David

[jpalbny]

Before the revolution in 2011, tourism was something like 25% of Egypt's gross domestic product. That is now close to zero, and the Egyptian government and people really really want us to come back and visit this astounding destination. That means that the government in particular is working very hard to make sure that those of us who do go back are safe. That doesn't necessarily mean the government is competent, but it is important to them.

 

The fact that the tourists have fled means that you are very unlikely to encounter any crowds anywhere. So that is an added bonus.

 

-- David

 

+1

 

Go. There may not be a better time! The tourism infrastructure is in dire need of support. When we were there in 2012 we were pretty much the only ones at the Red and Bent Pyramids. Amazing.

[Hydrokitty]

+1

 

Go. There may not be a better time! The tourism infrastructure is in dire need of support. When we were there in 2012 we were pretty much the only ones at the Red and Bent Pyramids. Amazing.

 

I agree and the people were so warm and welcoming...and now more than ever they need the income from tourism.

[pinotlover]

A quick question for anyone that has made this trip recently. Which airlines did you use and with what kind of connections?

 

Checking my two normal airlines and their groups/alliances, I'm getting midnight, or later arrivals in Cairo, 2:30 a.m. departures from Cairo or 18 hr layovers in London. One of the better connections puts me on Jordanian Air out of AMM into JFK! Prices seem to be all over the board! One airlines is showing a 3 hr flight from Cairo to London while another is showing 4:30 hour flight to Frankfort!

[H2Otstr]

A quick question for anyone that has made this trip recently. Which airlines did you use and with what kind of connections?

 

Checking my two normal airlines and their groups/alliances, I'm getting midnight, or later arrivals in Cairo, 2:30 a.m. departures from Cairo or 18 hr layovers in London. One of the better connections puts me on Jordanian Air out of AMM into JFK! Prices seem to be all over the board! One airlines is showing a 3 hr flight from Cairo to London while another is showing 4:30 hour flight to Frankfort!

 

You might want to post this question on the Cruise Air thread (under Cruise Discussion board). There are some very knowledgeable people over there.

[Hydrokitty]

You might want to post this question on the Cruise Air thread (under Cruise Discussion board). There are some very knowledgeable people over there.

 

At the time we went (Vantage) we had no choice but to fly EgyptAir out of JFK. No matter where people came from they had to fly into JFK and we all took the same flight out and back. I understand that we had to use Egyptair because we needed two in country flights....one to Aswan and the other to Amman, Jordan. BTW, Egyptair was very nice...no alcoholic beverage though.

[Hydrokitty]

A quick question for anyone that has made this trip recently. Which airlines did you use and with what kind of connections?

 

Checking my two normal airlines and their groups/alliances, I'm getting midnight, or later arrivals in Cairo, 2:30 a.m. departures from Cairo or 18 hr layovers in London. One of the better connections puts me on Jordanian Air out of AMM into JFK! Prices seem to be all over the board! One airlines is showing a 3 hr flight from Cairo to London while another is showing 4:30 hour flight to Frankfort!

 

At the time we went (Vantage) we had no choice but to fly EgyptAir out of JFK. No matter where people came from they had to fly into JFK and we all took the same flight out and back. BTW, Egyptair was very nice...no alcoholic beverage though...but it was non-stop and I believe we left NY around 8 p.m. and I don't remember exact time we landed but it was daylight. I understand that we had to use Egyptair because we needed two in country flights....one to Aswan and the other to Amman, Jordan....all of the flights were comfortable and pleasant.

[Anubi]

Thanks to the encouragement from this thread and a totally hilarious over-the-top travel agent who was in Egypt in October, we've made the decision to go to Egypt. Thanks to all for their comments. I can't put into words how awesome this trip is going to be.

 

Also, thanks to Hydrokitty for the remarks about Egyptair; I've been searching for info on them as they do a direct from Toronto to Cairo and I like that!!

Edited January 26, 2016 by Anubi

[Hydrokitty]

Thanks to the encouragement from this thread and a totally hilarious over-the-top travel agent who was in Egypt in October, we've made the decision to go to Egypt. Thanks to all for their comments. I can't put into words how awesome this trip is going to be.

 

Also, thanks to Hydrokitty for the remarks about Egyptair; I've been searching for info on them as they do a direct from Toronto to Cairo and I like that!!

 

You're welcome...just remember they do not serve any alcoholic beverages of any kind...even in business and first class. Flights about 10 hours as I recall....we chose business class and it was worth it.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[Wendy The Wanderer]

A quick question for anyone that has made this trip recently. Which airlines did you use and with what kind of connections?

 

Checking my two normal airlines and their groups/alliances, I'm getting midnight, or later arrivals in Cairo, 2:30 a.m. departures from Cairo or 18 hr layovers in London. One of the better connections puts me on Jordanian Air out of AMM into JFK! Prices seem to be all over the board! One airlines is showing a 3 hr flight from Cairo to London while another is showing 4:30 hour flight to Frankfort!

 

We decided to do a stop in Paris for a few days. This meant we could do Air France there and back, in Premium Economy on all flights, a very nice upgrade from Economy. It also meant we could get over jetlag in Paris instead of Cairo.

 

I can't remember, but I think the light from Paris to Cairo was something like three hours.

[TravelerThom]

This might have something to do with the 1997 explosion caused by militants at Queen Hatshepsut's temple that killed close to 60 tourists.

I have been to Egypt several times, and was at Djeser-Djeseru (Hatshepsut’s Temple) in early November 1997, about two weeks before the gun and knife attack that killed 62, mostly German tourists. I have traveled in Egypt on my own (local buses and hotels; no I don't speak Arabic, and definitely do not look like a local), and found the people very friendly and helpful, and the food amazingly good and incredibly inexpensive. I made a point to stay as far away as I could from the tour groups with their armed guards, for those are magnets for people who are looking to make political statements via headlines. Very little publicity in killing a lone traveler. I'm certain that many think my risk assessment is crazy, but I'm alive when a number of others are not.

 

Thom

 

PS Since this is the river cruise area, I'll mention that I walked down to the dock in Aswan and without difficulty hired a felucca (not part of UniWorld:rolleyes:) and spent a number of days sailing down the Nile towards Luxor. The meals that the mate cooked up on his little stove were outstanding.:)

[jpalbny]

We flew home from Cairo - Paris - JFK in 2012. Flight left 7:40 am and published flight time was 3h50, so probably more like 3h20, as Wendy says. We went to Amman first so can't comment on the arrival from the US.

 

**

 

Thom, your adventure sounds awesome. Wish I had the time and fortitude to do that! Agree with your assessment of the food in Egypt...it was surprisingly awesome. Really want to go back, but so many other great places to visit!

[Hydrokitty]

We flew home from Cairo - Paris - JFK in 2012. Flight left 7:40 am and published flight time was 3h50, so probably more like 3h20, as Wendy says. We went to Amman first so can't comment on the arrival from the US.

 

**

 

Thom, your adventure sounds awesome. Wish I had the time and fortitude to do that! Agree with your assessment of the food in Egypt...it was surprisingly awesome. Really want to go back, but so many other great places to visit!

 

Ditto on the food...it's a vegetarians paradise....and the hookah was fun too...:D

 

Thom makes a good point about tour groups being more of a target than individuals....but like you, I don't have the time or fortitude to do it alone. In Europe yes, but not in Africa or the Middle East.

[pinotlover]

Thanks for the help! After further searches, it appears that Royal Jordanian Airlines via Ammon, which is a oneworld member, or Air Egypt (Star Alliance) are the best alternatives to Cairo from the States.

 

I have a question regarding the Air Egypt comments. Hydrokitty, are you saying that if cruisers fly intra-Egypt to get back and forth to the cruise ship, they must then fly Air Egypt into the country? I haven't found this requirement written anywhere! Please explain your comments on this subject!

[TravelerThom]

...I have a question regarding the Air Egypt comments. Hydrokitty, are you saying that if cruisers fly intra-Egypt to get back and forth to the cruise ship, they must then fly Air Egypt into the country? I haven't found this requirement written anywhere! Please explain your comments on this subject!

I occasionally see tours that are sold ONLY as a complete package from the US. Within the last month I saw a Gate1 tour to Mongolia that was being sold only with air from California (I think they would at addition cost allow other US origin provided you met the group in CA). There were several intra-Asian flights involved in the tour, and Gate1 had apparently gotten a good deal on the entire flight package. I ASSUME that Vantage had gotten a good deal on the internal flights PROVIDED they were in conjunction with the inter-continental flight. As an individual you may fly Air Egypt within Egypt without having used them to get to Egypt; you may not get as good a deal however:cool:

[Hydrokitty]

Thanks for the help! After further searches, it appears that Royal Jordanian Airlines via Ammon, which is a oneworld member, or Air Egypt (Star Alliance) are the best alternatives to Cairo from the States.

 

I have a question regarding the Air Egypt comments. Hydrokitty, are you saying that if cruisers fly intra-Egypt to get back and forth to the cruise ship, they must then fly Air Egypt into the country? I haven't found this requirement written anywhere! Please explain your comments on this subject!

 

No pinotlover, that was not what I intended to imply at all. We were with Vantage and apparently the deal was all flights had to be with Egyptair. I think Thom nailed it....when Vantage made the deal with Egyptair for the flights from Cairo to Aswan(for included trip to Abu Simbel) and from Cairo to Amman(for post extension to Jordan) part of the deal was that all flights to and from USA had to also be on Egyptair. We noticed other airlines landing in Cairo while at the airport...one of them either American or United....as well as Air France and Lufthansa. There was also another group from the US on all flights with us but I don't remember who they were traveling with.

Sorry for the confusion.

[pinotlover]

Hydrokitty;

 

Thanks for the explanation. I ended up calling Uniworld on the issue, and they said there are no limitations on who we use as an air carrier, but they also use Eygptain air inside the country.

 

Quick check appears that Royal Jordanian Airlines may be our best bet on connections. I don't want a 10 hour overnight flight without a glass of wine :eek::eek: to relax me!!:o

 

Using RJ Airlines, we are exploring stopping over in Amman for trips to Petra, Jeresh, and the Dead Sea, details to be worked out, on the way back. That means we don't have to catch the red eye out of Cairo and have good connections then out of Amman returning home. RJ appears to be about 50% less expensive, in every class, over other airlines!

[Hydrokitty]

Hydrokitty;

 

Thanks for the explanation. I ended up calling Uniworld on the issue, and they said there are no limitations on who we use as an air carrier, but they also use Eygptain air inside the country.

 

Quick check appears that Royal Jordanian Airlines may be our best bet on connections. I don't want a 10 hour overnight flight without a glass of wine :eek::eek: to relax me!!:o

 

Using RJ Airlines, we are exploring stopping over in Amman for trips to Petra, Jeresh, and the Dead Sea, details to be worked out, on the way back. That means we don't have to catch the red eye out of Cairo and have good connections then out of Amman returning home. RJ appears to be about 50% less expensive, in every class, over other airlines!

 

Sounds great. When in Petra, ride the camel BACK to the treasury building. Walk TO the treasury building, if you can handle about a 2 mile walk...Jerash was marvelous and make sure you bring a bathing suit and float in the Dead Sea....it's a trip!!! You'll also want to bring some shampoo so you can shower the salt out of your hair and off your body or you'll itch like crazy all the way home!! They sell some wonderful products made at the Dead Sea....pricey but very nice.