Egypt - July 2021

[xiphoid76]

On Kensington trip right now and I am so happy that we switched from Disney. We have had the most personal attention and private guides for everything. From pyramids in Giza, to more pyramids in Saqqara and Dashur, then the Nile River cruise from Luxor to Aswan - visiting Luxor and Karnak Temple, Hatshepsut temple, valley of king and queens. We had a private tour of Tut’s tomb and Ramses VI. All alone in Tut’s tomb was magical. Then Nefertiti’s tomb. On to Kom Ombo, then Aswan and extra trip to Abu Simbel. Tomorrow we get off the cruise ship and head back to do the museums in Cairo and the bazaars
It has been seriously amazing and eye opening to see this country. Every place has Covid precautions in place, but the enforcement is usually up to you. Most places are outside and open air. It is a bit hot as we are from Minneapolis, but still better than the snow we will have in a few weeks time

 

[sayhello]

On Kensington trip right now and I am so happy that we switched from Disney. We have had the most personal attention and private guides for everything. From pyramids in Giza, to more pyramids in Saqqara and Dashur, then the Nile River cruise from Luxor to Aswan - visiting Luxor and Karnak Temple, Hatshepsut temple, valley of king and queens. We had a private tour of Tut’s tomb and Ramses VI. All alone in Tut’s tomb was magical. Then Nefertiti’s tomb. On to Kom Ombo, then Aswan and extra trip to Abu Simbel. Tomorrow we get off the cruise ship and head back to do the museums in Cairo and the bazaars
It has been seriously amazing and eye opening to see this country. Every place has Covid precautions in place, but the enforcement is usually up to you. Most places are outside and open air. It is a bit hot as we are from Minneapolis, but still better than the snow we will have in a few weeks time

That sounds wonderful! How many people are on your tour? What kind of COVID-19 protocols are they utilizing?

Sayhello

 

[xiphoid76]

That sounds wonderful! How many people are on your tour? What kind of COVID-19 protocols are they utilizing?

Sayhello

We are on a private adventure - just the two of us It was also about half the price of Disney which was nice. One driver - same one in Cairo, different ones at each port of the cruise. Same tour guide in Cairo and one that traveled with us on the cruise. Plus a leader in Cairo and Aswan that helped organize everything snd kept us updated with the plans. Everyone Kensington works with is vaccinated as is the cruise ship. Masks are just not worn in Egypt generally, but if you want to wear a mask the whole trip no one will mind and there are some we see on the cruise doing that. They have signs in place about Covid and things are very clean in the hotels and the cruise. Hand sanitizer everywhere.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

On Kensington trip right now and I am so happy that we switched from Disney. We have had the most personal attention and private guides for everything. From pyramids in Giza, to more pyramids in Saqqara and Dashur, then the Nile River cruise from Luxor to Aswan - visiting Luxor and Karnak Temple, Hatshepsut temple, valley of king and queens. We had a private tour of Tut’s tomb and Ramses VI. All alone in Tut’s tomb was magical. Then Nefertiti’s tomb. On to Kom Ombo, then Aswan and extra trip to Abu Simbel. Tomorrow we get off the cruise ship and head back to do the museums in Cairo and the bazaars
It has been seriously amazing and eye opening to see this country. Every place has Covid precautions in place, but the enforcement is usually up to you. Most places are outside and open air. It is a bit hot as we are from Minneapolis, but still better than the snow we will have in a few weeks time

It sounds like a fabulous trip. Thanks so much for reporting back. Kensington is definitely on the list for when we finally get to Egypt. It's DD's number one, and we had seriously considered the ABD last Christmas before the pandemic hit, but now she's getting started with work and (hopefully) a PhD so might be a while.

 

[upbeatred]

Hey xiphoid,
We are schedule to go on an Abercrombie Egypt tour leaving December 1. It is going for sure as they are already touring there. Do you have any tips for us? Especially when it comes to clothes and tipping? Were you able to use your debit card most places?
Thanks so much for any information.

 

[neurosx1983]

Hey xiphoid,
We are schedule to go on an Abercrombie Egypt tour leaving December 1. It is going for sure as they are already touring there. Do you have any tips for us? Especially when it comes to clothes and tipping? Were you able to use your debit card most places?
Thanks so much for any information.

Excited to hear about your Abercrombie tour - We looked into them also and actually their hotels (like FS Nile Plaza) look much better than ABD.

 

[xiphoid76]

Hey xiphoid,
We are schedule to go on an Abercrombie Egypt tour leaving December 1. It is going for sure as they are already touring there. Do you have any tips for us? Especially when it comes to clothes and tipping? Were you able to use your debit card most places?
Thanks so much for any information.

Hey xiphoid,
We are schedule to go on an Abercrombie Egypt tour leaving December 1. It is going for sure as they are already touring there. Do you have any tips for us? Especially when it comes to clothes and tipping? Were you able to use your debit card most places?
Thanks so much for any information.

Have fun on your trip - I sent you a message on some things, but forgot to add about tipping and the cards. We used our credit card a few times, but mostly used cash. Tipping is a little overwhelming - our budget for tips was way off - we had to triple it. Tip for the bags, tip for each time you use the bathroom (there is always an attendant or two), each temple/tomb has 2 workers there asking for a tip, it become a little crazy, but luckily we had lots of small bills to keep handing out. Each tour came with 2 guides and a driver or two and each wanted a tip each time. Abercrombie may handle that a little differently than Kensington, but the tip thing was driving us a little batty - some times we just wanted to be left alone or go to the bathroom without a person asking for money; but understand that tip money means a lot to the individuals so were happy to give.

 

[pjacobi]

Tipping is a little overwhelming - our budget for tips was way off - we had to triple it. Tip for the bags, tip for each time you use the bathroom (there is always an attendant or two), each temple/tomb has 2 workers there asking for a tip, it become a little crazy, but luckily we had lots of small bills to keep handing out. Each tour came with 2 guides and a driver or two and each wanted a tip each time. Abercrombie may handle that a little differently than Kensington, but the tip thing was driving us a little batty - some times we just wanted to be left alone or go to the bathroom without a person asking for money; but understand that tip money means a lot to the individuals so were happy to give.

"Tip" as defined in Europe and the US is not accurate. The correct word is "Baksheesh". It's kinda like a tip paid in advance, but too little to be considered a bribe. It is unfortunately a way of life in Egypt and other non-western countries. You should be aware of this before travel to Egypt.

Baksheesh - Wikipedia


-Paul

 

[ddkkanders]

"Tip" as defined in Europe and the US is not accurate. The correct word is "Baksheesh". It's kinda like a tip paid in advance, but too little to be considered a bribe. It is unfortunately a way of life in Egypt and other non-western countries. You should be aware of this before travel to Egypt.

Baksheesh - Wikipedia


-Paul

Yes it is very common in third world countries. Please don’t give them foreign currency. It is useless to them because they likely won’t be able to exchange it. When we were in India, a bathroom attendant was showing us her coins and trying to speak with us. We finally realized she wanted to exchange her American coins for local currency which we were happy to do.

 

[notaprincess]

Thanks for those helpful tips! It turns out I have extra days accumulated and planing Egypt in early March. I live in Jordan so 6 days will have to do. It was overwhelming at the beginning, totally underestimated the distances form place to place. Sent out a request to Kensington today.

 

[notaprincess]

Tourism seems to be picking up, both cruises I liked were sold out and so was 1 hotel. Needing to book rather urgently, I couldn't wait for Kensington and went with a local company that answered quicker. It is a shame as I liked what they offered me 2 days later...