Egypt, the Nile…. Their names evoke mysteries, history and adventures. A must for travel lovers, Egypt is one of the cradles of civilization. And tourism is one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange.

The tourist industry in this country is highly developed, and this is reflected, among other things, in the prices of tour operators.

We are going to talk about our recommendations so that you can enjoy your trip to the land of the Pharaohs to the fullest without having to sell your house.

 

Is it safe to visit Egypt?

 

We intend to answer this question here, even more so if you are a woman traveling alone or with other women.

In 2015, Islamic fundamentalists shot down a passenger plane from Russia to Egypt. As a result, the influx of tourists decreased dramatically from 14 million annual visitors to only 2 million.

This situation prompted the Egyptian government to take extraordinary measures to encourage tourism again and ensure the safety of visitors.

One of them is the reduction in air fares and tourist services in general.

Another thing that caught our attention was the diligence and concern of the policemen with regard to tourists.

If we left the hotel in a group, a policeman would come up to us to find out where we were going, why we weren’t with an agency and give us safety advice.

Once, we took a taxi to return to the hotel that was nearby. The taxi driver started going round and round. We think to let the meter run and charge us a higher fee. At a traffic light, we lowered the window and called a policeman who was standing. He came over and we told him what was going on. The policeman caught the attention of the taxi driver and demanded to take us quickly to our hotel and charge the right rate.

 

 

Traveling to Egypt is a matter of overcoming fear. Fear is irrational and paralyzing. Just as something can happen to you coming out of your door, something can also happen to you while you travel. But if you stop going to Egypt you will stop knowing impressive stories, stop knowing a wonderful historical legacy.

Bluntly: yes it is safe to travel to Egypt. Even for single women. But as with all things, a series of precautions dictated by common sense are imposed.

In the case of Egypt, is it better, even more so as a woman, to travel with an agency? If that makes you feel more comfortable, safe, go ahead. Check out our post on the pros and cons of traveling through agencies.

Treatment of women

 

There is a conservative sector in Egyptian Muslim society that considers women to have fewer rights than men. In a restaurant we were a group of about ten women and one man. The waiter, very truculently tried to deceive us with the price: he offered us the food for a price and when it came to paying he demanded more than he had said in principle.

The protests of the ten women were of no use. Until the only man in the group – a shy person – said to him, “We just can’t afford that price.” The waiter shrugged his shoulders and said “Oh, all right. Pay what you can.”

There we realized that the opinion of man is valued as the only important one.

However, the authorities are well aware of the freedoms and equality enjoyed by American and European women (the areas where the most tourists come from). Therefore, when it comes to such a problem, we suggest contacting a police officer, supervisor or other figure with law enforcement functions.

Women’s clothing

 

Specifically for women, if they are going to travel alone or accompanied, it is important that they wear appropriate clothing, that they do not disturb the moral codes of the Muslim religion.

You may or may not agree that shorts don’t have to be “immoral.” But remember that we travel to a country with its own laws and moral code. You are the visitor, the foreigner, and the old saying “Wherever you go do what you see” is fully valid.

Of course, it’s not that you’re going to put on a burqa to go out and visit the monuments.But it is advisable to wear blouses or shirts that cover the shoulders. Wide and fresh pants, more than skirt or short shorts. It’s not that you’re going to be stoned for wearing shorts, but many conservatives might be upset to see women showing off their legs.

Agencies

 

We recommend that, if you decide to hire one, hire it in Egypt itself and not from your country of origin. Because it’s going to be more expensive.

As we are “experts” we leave Venezuela for Spain and hire the tour from Spain to save… Only to discover that it was much better to do it in Egypt itself.

Now, you absolutely can go without an agency. If you have done your homework of planning your trip well, when you arrive in Egypt you can hire a taxi that will take you wherever you want and it goes much cheaper than with the transport provided through an agency. But you must find out well where to hire these taxis and very importantly you have to set the price before requesting the taxi service.

In our case, we did not do so, we did not hire a taxi on our own because we found out later that we had already hired the travel agency.

So we did the tour planned by our agency. BUT we met some people who traveled with us in the same tourist package and together we created our journey to visit several places and we managed to negotiate with a public transport driver to make all the transfers throughout the day. Together we pay you your fees. And it was a memorable experience… And much cheaper.

In case there are 3 or 4 people can look for the taxi option, but in our case as we were many more people, then we decided to rent a larger transport.

 

Don’t be fooled by the guides

 

If you finally take a tour of an agency and then decide to do your own walks, don’t be intimidated by the guides. They tell you no, no, you’re not going to leave the hotel without them, it’s not safe, etc., etc.

And in reality the intention is that you do not know the real prices that are handled in Egypt and, in this way, that you depend totally on them, so that you do everything – and spend it – through them.

It is also a way to get to know the local culture, without going through the “filter” of the tour guide. Many times, these people have the mentality that “the tourist brings a lot of money” and use mischief and deception to make the unsuspecting visitor pay much more for a service.

Care when walking

 

In Egypt it is very difficult to cross the streets for the pedestrian. The traffic lights are embellished. Here, the driver seems to have priority over the pedestrian.

Without traffic lights, the average driver assumes he can pass simply without worrying about the walkers. We had to ask the police to help us cross the street, to stop the traffic so we could get through.

Or in the case when there is a group of people, we would make signs with each other, making ademanes with our hands, so that the cars stopped and let us pass.

Don’t hire camel rides

 

Absolutely WE DO NOT recommend hiking with camels. These animals are mistreated: they do not feed it, and to support the weight of so many people is excessive. We must confess that, out of ignorance, we once hired a camel ride. We were unaware of all the mistreatment suffered by animals used in the tourism industry.

Do not contribute to this inhumane economic activity. They exploit those creatures for profit. And the same goes for elephants and other exotic animals in Thailand.

Carry on change or exact pay

 

When you go shopping, always try to have the exact change. Traders are skilled and easily trick you with the change. To not have a bad time you can have simple and pay full.

It is very common for merchants and service providers, taking advantage of the ignorance, good faith or distraction of the tourist to charge more by deceiving with the change.

Be more precise with the price before paying and take out your account, if possible, with a pocket calculator and show it to the merchant. Mathematics is a universal language.

Visit bazaars

 

You should go to the bazaars, very common in Cairo. They are like markets where people sell souvenirs, food, very exotic ornaments.

It’s nice to spend an afternoon from stall to stall watching what the merchants offer. Although there are many trinkets, you can also be lucky and find some treasure… Maybe the Wonderful Lamp!

You must be prepared to participate in one or more haggling. This custom as it was invented in the Arab markets. A seller and a buyer don’t really consider a transaction to have been a successful transaction if there hasn’t been a time to discuss and level the price until a mutual agreement is reached. It’s part of the idiosyncrasy.

Apart from shopping, there are places where you can smoke the Hookah or hookah. But you’ll never see the published prices. You should always haggle with someone.

 

Conclusion

 

Egypt has been one of our stellar visits. Despite the enormous number of tourists and each place was almost always crowded, one cannot help but feel that connection with a distant and mysterious past, which invites reflection on the path the world has taken and what it could have been if this civilization had not disappeared.

There is much more to Egypt than has been discovered. More and more new findings are made. It’s as if the pharaohs came from the past to claim their Empire!

There is so much to say about Ancient Egypt, that this post has fallen short.

So we will publish an upcoming post about the wonderful places we visited and making contact with this ancient and fascinating civilization.

And you have visited Egypt? What was your experience? Or do you want to visit it?

We’d love to hear from you!

Leave a comment below. We would be happy to share experiences.