Currently on Uniworld's Splendors of Egypt & the Nile

[djett]

Is there a lot of Egyptian military security at the sights?

 

 

There is a lot of security. Whether it is military or some other police agency I don’t know. We have definitely seen military at many of the street checkpoints. Every sight we have visited requires you to put your bag thru an x-ray machine and walk thru a metal detector. When we were taken from the airport to the Four Seasons Hotel, the bus wasn’t allowed to enter the hotel property until a bomb-sniffing dog walked around the bus. Security seems very tight and we’ve felt very safe. There is an armed guard that travels with our buses.

[Mark_T]

You'll encounter armed security staff at all the major monuments as well.

 

They don't get in the way and are perfectly friendly to tourists if you wander off and encounter them while at one of the historic sites, but they are most definitely there as a visible presence.

 

When we did our long Nile tour sailing from Cairo all the way down to Aswan, we had a security presence both on land and on the water at all times.

 

We never felt unsafe, they were just always around.

 

The government is doing everything it can to ensure that nothing impacts on the slow recovery of their tourist industry.

[djett]

Enjoying your blog so far! Just starting to book our return flights for our November Egypt trip!

 

Do you happen to know what the cost of the Alexandria excursion is?

 

$115 per person and they said it was an all-day trip, about 3 hours driving time each way. The other optional excursions offered were:

Abu Simbel $295 per person

Luxor Sound & Light Show $38 per person

Cairo dinner cruise $73 per person

[jklc123]

Regarding money, I'll add that we also took a supply of US dollars which we used with vendors, found at the entrances to most of the sites, for small souvenirs, especially toward the end when we were short of Egyptian pounds and didn't want to buy more of them.

[H2Otstr]

Uniworld uses the Four Seasons Hotel (which is beautiful) in Cairo. Upon arrival we used the ATM in the lobby to obtain Egyptian Pounds. This is fine except you don’t get the small bills such as 5 Pound notes which you have to give to every restroom attendant. The next day we went to the bank which is in the shopping mall that is attached to the hotel. There we changed large bills for smaller bills. You cannot purchase Egyptian Pounds at the bank but they will give you smaller bills. Most street vendors will accept Pounds or dollars. Larger establishments will take credit cards. You will need a supply of 5 Pound Egyptian notes for your restroom visits. On board the ship, they will sell you Pounds at the government set conversion rate. You cannot use U.S. coins for anything because the Egyptian citizens are unable to use it.

 

Thank you. If you don't have pounds for the rest rooms can you use USD? Do you think that getting around $150 changed to pounds would be a good start?

 

We are traveling with Viking and will be staying at the Ritz Carlton.

[Mark_T]

Thank you. If you don't have pounds for the rest rooms can you use USD? Do you think that getting around $150 changed to pounds would be a good start?

 

They will certainly not turn down a $1 bill as it is about 3x the 5EGP note.

 

Just take every chance you get to split larger EGP notes as nobody has a lot of the smaller bills so if you get a chance to do that in a bank, take it...

[H2Otstr]

They will certainly not turn down a $1 bill as it is about 3x the 5EGP note.

 

LOL, I was discussing this with my husband tonight. Why pay $1 to use the bathroom when it should be 30 to 35 cents :D.

Just take every chance you get to split larger EGP notes as nobody has a lot of the smaller bills so if you get a chance to do that in a bank, take it...

 

I will do as you suggested. I wonder if the hotel will change the bills from larger to smaller? I know they do in Europe.

 

I went to our local bank and AAA to see if I could get pounds here before we go on our trip and neither one could get them.

[Mark_T]

I went to our local bank and AAA to see if I could get pounds here before we go on our trip and neither one could get them.

 

Just bring USD, you won't find it difficult to purchase EGP once you arrive.

 

You can also use the ATMs but the daily limit is low so I'd bring USD or GBP or EUR and change that.

 

It really is just the ability to get small notes that will keep you busy and I wouldn't expect the Hotel to be much help as everyone will be asking them the same question.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The problem is mainly just obtaining those small bills. A USD is way too big for a tip or a bathroom fee. But getting the small stuff in Egyptian pounds I found almost impossible--even our guide had problems. In our group we tended to pool or our larger bills to use for bathroom breaks, for instance. Never did get a good supply of the small bills that everyone will have their hand out for.

[Mark_T]

We didn't do too badly with regard to small bills.

 

Our guide managed tips for everyone who needed to be tipped while off the ship which removed the need for the majority of small bills. We just gave him a small amount in USD at the start and he provided a full accounting of how it was spent and usually had one of us hand over the money on behalf of the group just to emphasis that he was being scrupulously honest with the fund.

[djett]

Thank you. If you don't have pounds for the rest rooms can you use USD? Do you think that getting around $150 changed to pounds would be a good start?

 

We are traveling with Viking and will be staying at the Ritz Carlton.

 

I think that would be a good start. Our guide was very good about finding an ATM when anyone needed it and you could get smaller bills on the ship or just purchase pounds on the ship. Don't know whether that would work with Viking.

[djett]

You'll encounter armed security staff at all the major monuments as well.

 

They don't get in the way and are perfectly friendly to tourists if you wander off and encounter them while at one of the historic sites, but they are most definitely there as a visible presence.

 

When we did our long Nile tour sailing from Cairo all the way down to Aswan, we had a security presence both on land and on the water at all times.

 

We never felt unsafe, they were just always around.

 

The government is doing everything it can to ensure that nothing impacts on the slow recovery of their tourist industry.

 

We had to go thru a metal detector everywhere we went including monuments and the hotels.

[djett]

Thank you. If you don't have pounds for the rest rooms can you use USD? Do you think that getting around $150 changed to pounds would be a good start?

 

We are traveling with Viking and will be staying at the Ritz Carlton.

 

Yes you could but since $1 equals 17 pounds, you're paying a lot to use the bathroom.

[jklc123]

No photos of the galabeya party? LOL. The walk behind the Esna temple was so interesting, as was watching Egyptian life along the banks of the Nile and from the bus inland. We didn't do Karnak at night so we were happy to see your excellent photos.

[Barrheadlass]

I’m absolutely loving your blog. The pics are stunning. I’m booked up for this year, but Egypt in 2019 seems very likely.

[djett]

No photos of the galabeya party? LOL. The walk behind the Esna temple was so interesting, as was watching Egyptian life along the banks of the Nile and from the bus inland. We didn't do Karnak at night so we were happy to see your excellent photos.

 

We did have the party but the majority of guest didn't purchase outfits. We were usually so tired after the day's touring that we often turned-in soon after dinner. Our Egyptologist had told us there would be a belly dancer at the party but she didn't show up. He said it's very difficult to find a good one as they are all hired by the casinos at a very good salary.

[djett]

I’m absolutely loving your blog. The pics are stunning. I’m booked up for this year, but Egypt in 2019 seems very likely.

 

Go, especially if the exchange rate is still as favorable as it is now. Prices are very reasonable and Egypt is very welcoming to tourists. Uniworld does a wonderful job. I'd rate their European cruises at 5 and Egypt at 4 on a scale of 1-5.

[fred111]

On this cruise in November. Thanks for all the good information. Please keep it coming.

[jpalbny]

Finally caught up with your blog, just as it's over. Oh well!

 

Your trip looked fantastic. I think River Tosca looks a bit nicer than the boat we used with A&K in 2011. We didn't do the night show at Karnak, but we went to Luxor Temple at night while it was lit up. On our tour, the light show at Giza was extra (optional) - we were the only two who did it, as our wake up call was at 3:30 the next morning. But the trip to Abu Simbel (airplane ticktes and tour) was included in our base itinerary. So just a few minor differences; all in all, very similar to your trip.

 

Sure looks like Uniworld is doing this trip right. Thanks so much for sharing...I never had time to blog about that trip, and I was happy to read those details which I'd since forgotten!

[jklc123]

We did have the party but the majority of guest didn't purchase outfits. We were usually so tired after the day's touring that we often turned-in soon after dinner. Our Egyptologist had told us there would be a belly dancer at the party but she didn't show up. He said it's very difficult to find a good one as they are all hired by the casinos at a very good salary.

 

Most of our group did buy the outfits. I made mine into a blouse when we returned home. Not sure what my husband will do with his! At least they weren't expensive. We were told they stopped booking a belly dancer as most Americans don't seem to enjoy them.

[canuck.qc]

Thanks for sharing the blog link. I left you a comment there, but I’ll post here as well.

 

“Looking forward to following along. We hope to do a DIY overland trip and combine it with a river cruise next January. We were in Luxor for an overnight this year in May ... the temp was 102-104F ... not fun. If you have a chance to do a hot air balloon ride, do it ... we really enjoyed ours, which went over many of the main sites on the West Bank.”

 

We are sailing onboard the SSSudan this November. I would like some recommendations on a reputable company for a Hot Air Balloon excursion in Luxor.

Thanks

[cormike1]

I really enjoyed your blog....it brought back so many memories as we just did this with Insight Tours this past November. I loved all the help I got on the boards here. I took $200 U.S. one dollar bills for tipping which I just about used up lol. You can use any currency as the Egyptians are allowed to change it at the bank. No coins though. I laughed as one of the waiters asked if we would give him the dollar amount for some of our CDN coins he had got as tips. No problem to do that. I was able to withdraw $2000 EP from the ATM at the Old Cataract Hotel but it was larger bills...no 5 pound notes. Security was high when we were there also...4 guards on our ship but we never noticed them....very discreet...never felt afraid. An amazing trip and so glad we did it!!! Thanks again for writing your review....wonderful!

[Rebel54]

I really appreciate this post. This is the next trip we plan to do. Now I want to do it even more!

[djett]

We are sailing onboard the SSSudan this November. I would like some recommendations on a reputable company for a Hot Air Balloon excursion in Luxor.

Thanks

 

This is the company that Uniworld used and it was a great ride:

http://hodhodsolimanballoons.com/

[2552phxcrzr]

Our ballooning excursion was with Sindbad Balloons; we were very happy with the experience last year. (Here’s a link to my blog post ... http://2totravelrtw180.blogspot.com/2017/05/day-127-luxor-west-bank-of-nile.html)