Egypt- pyramids and tombs

Has anyone been there and done much of the touristie stuff?  I'd love to go and see pyramids and the tombs of Pharaohs- would you recommend?

Yeah me too- was one of my favourite history subjects in school.

Very much on my list of places to visit although I've been put off in recent years by the threat to tourist visitors by terrorism and also by hearing about the amount of hassle tourists tend to get from hawkers, beggars etc

Yeah- same, although I know people who've gone and it's all been fine, but not sure how much touristie stuff they did, not sure they went to see any of the pyramids or tombs,tended to stay around the resort etc I think.

It'd be amazing to see the Valley of the Kings! http://www.luxoregypt.org/English/historical_sites/VALLEY_OF_THE_KINGS/Pages/default.aspx

The Valley of the Kings looks great

Was looking at Egypt holidays last night. Can't decide whether to go for the historical delights of Luxor or the diving delights of Sharm-el-Sheik. Would ideally like to do both but not sure where would be a good location to enable me to do both. 

I spent about 3 days in Cairo then a 7 day Nile cruise a couple of years back.  You'll get to see loads of temples and the pyramids in Cairo that way.  You can probably spend less time in Cairo and do a week cruise and week diving somewhere along the line.

I loved it and would go back no problem.

That sounds great- what company did you do your cruise with?

Quote:

I spent about 3 days in Cairo then a 7 day Nile cruise a couple of years back.  You'll get to see loads of temples and the pyramids in Cairo that way.  You can probably spend less time in Cairo and do a week cruise and week diving somewhere along the line.

I loved it and would go back no problem.

 Would be interested who you booked with. Really like the idea of spending my vacation in a number of destinations rather than being stuck in just one place. Need to book something now to give me something to look forward to next year. Would love to go this year but can't afford it.

How safe is Egypt considered these days. I recall a few years back that tourists were avoiding it because of terrorist threat or tourist buses were being escorted by armed guard. Is there still a risk these days?

Check out the lates Foreign Office advice. It may put you off but it's better to be prepared than not at all

 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/egypt

In the Vatican in Rome they have a whole section dedicated to Egypt- they even had two preserved mummies in there- so well preserved over all the years! So much detail on all the coffins too.

I'm also quite take with the idea of a Nile Cruise. Hopefully gives you a chance to see all the major tourist sites with having to be stuck in one place or having to do too much travel by road.

I'm considering a trip to Sharm el Sheik but would still like to see Luxor and the Valley of the kings which is a fair distance away. I see that you would have to take a flight on a day trip of sorts, but is it really worth the hassle. Has anyone done this before?

Sharm el Sheik looks really nice- it'd be great to go diving there!

Quoted from redrobin

If you go to Egypt and don't go and see the above, I'd question your sanity. Would be like going to New York and not seeing the Statue or Times Square!

My mum went and just lazed around by in the Red Sea. I wasn't impressed.

She definitely missed out - it looks like it'd be amazing to see! As much as I enjoy lazing around by the pool or beach, I wouldn't want to miss out on seeing the sights.

I'd love to see the pyramids, but top of my list would be Cairo Museum. I looked into flights a while back as BMI fly there, and they had a sale on, but the security concerns put me off too.  I'll go one day, the pyramids have been there thousands of years, I'm sure they'll be there for the duration of my lifetime

Not heard of the Cairo Museum - I bet that would be an absolute treasure trove. Kind of weird too - I am sure there is something in the superstition that removing artifacts from tombs brings bad luck.