Egypt
Wikipedia - Egypt is a country situated mainly within North Africa, with its Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia, making it a transcontinental state. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
CLICK ON THE PICTURES BELOW TO DISCOVER SOME OF THE BEST THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN EGYPT
Giza Pyramids
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World's First Pyramid
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Tour Crazy Cairo
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Alexandria
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Swim in a Magic Spring
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Western Desert Safari
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Philae Temple
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Abu Simbel
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Ride a Felucca Boat
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Valley of the Kings
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Karnak Temple
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Shop at Khan el-Khalili
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Unfinished Obelisk
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Hapshepsut Temple
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Teresa the Traveler's Egypt Travel Tips
1. Expect to Pay More - If you are not Arabic, you can expect to pay considerably higher prices for everything including entrance fees to all historic sites. There is the tourist price and the locals price for all goods and services. This legally applies to all monuments and museums but local vendors try to apply it to everything else such as cab rides and gift items. If you find out what things are worth ahead of time you can negotiate a way better price for yourself and quite often can pay the locals price for things.
2. Carry Small Change - Egytians are masters of extracting money from tourists. Wherever you go they are eager to assist you and are usually expecting to be compensated. If you are in the train station they will carry your bags and bring you to the ticket office and deposit you at the appropriate platform whether you wnat them to or not and they expect a tip. If you are at the monuments they will give you an unwelcomed private tour and all sorts of information on the site with the expectation you will give them a tip. They will often be wearing uniforms and badges as they are official workers of the site or train station but don't let that fool you, even though they are working for the site, they like to supplement their income with tips and can be very aggressive about obtaining them. I will often refuse service if I don't need it and keep plently of small change on hand for the times when I do need help.
3. Dress Modest - Women, when you are on the streets be sure to dress modest or you will get a lot of unwanted attention. Cover your shoulders and hide the cleavage and you will fit in just fine.
4. Pay at the Gate - On your way to the monuments you will get all sorts of people trying to sell you tickets and tours. If you want the best price, be sure to buy your own ticket at the gate and if you decide you need a guide there are plenty on site that you can negotiate a good price with. Be aware that the entrance fee at the gate does not include everything on the site. Main attractions such as entrance inside the great pyramid, the mummy room in the Egyptian Museum, entrance to King Tut's Tomb in the Valley of Kings usually cost an extra $16 US.
5. Avoid the Hassle - Whenever you enter a tourist area you canexpect to be approached by numberous people wanting to sell you a souvenir, a cab ride, a boat ride, a camel ride or want to practice their English with you or if you are a woman they will want to hit on you. Westerners have a tendency to be polite and nice and soon realize that this encourages the behaviour and makes it worse. The vendors will not accept no as an answer and will follow you for blocks trying to change your mind and make a sale. Until you learn to avoid the hassle you will be constantly followed until you snap. The locals think that if they follow you and chat you up long enough your no will turn into a yes. I would like to meet that first person who this worked on and have a word with him because he ruined it for all of us.
2. Carry Small Change - Egytians are masters of extracting money from tourists. Wherever you go they are eager to assist you and are usually expecting to be compensated. If you are in the train station they will carry your bags and bring you to the ticket office and deposit you at the appropriate platform whether you wnat them to or not and they expect a tip. If you are at the monuments they will give you an unwelcomed private tour and all sorts of information on the site with the expectation you will give them a tip. They will often be wearing uniforms and badges as they are official workers of the site or train station but don't let that fool you, even though they are working for the site, they like to supplement their income with tips and can be very aggressive about obtaining them. I will often refuse service if I don't need it and keep plently of small change on hand for the times when I do need help.
3. Dress Modest - Women, when you are on the streets be sure to dress modest or you will get a lot of unwanted attention. Cover your shoulders and hide the cleavage and you will fit in just fine.
4. Pay at the Gate - On your way to the monuments you will get all sorts of people trying to sell you tickets and tours. If you want the best price, be sure to buy your own ticket at the gate and if you decide you need a guide there are plenty on site that you can negotiate a good price with. Be aware that the entrance fee at the gate does not include everything on the site. Main attractions such as entrance inside the great pyramid, the mummy room in the Egyptian Museum, entrance to King Tut's Tomb in the Valley of Kings usually cost an extra $16 US.
5. Avoid the Hassle - Whenever you enter a tourist area you canexpect to be approached by numberous people wanting to sell you a souvenir, a cab ride, a boat ride, a camel ride or want to practice their English with you or if you are a woman they will want to hit on you. Westerners have a tendency to be polite and nice and soon realize that this encourages the behaviour and makes it worse. The vendors will not accept no as an answer and will follow you for blocks trying to change your mind and make a sale. Until you learn to avoid the hassle you will be constantly followed until you snap. The locals think that if they follow you and chat you up long enough your no will turn into a yes. I would like to meet that first person who this worked on and have a word with him because he ruined it for all of us.
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"No" no longer means "no" in Egypt. The best way to avoid the hassle is to learn two magic words "la shokran". This is arabic for no thank you. If I want to walk down the street by myself without getting hassled, I wear sunglasses and do not make eye contact with anyone. I walk with purpose and look like I know where I am going. I also wear my MP3 player and have loud music playing to drown out the chatter. When someone approaches me I say "la shokran", if they continue I say "la" and I hold up my hand as though to say "talk to the hand". I do not utter another word and this makes them go away 99% of the time. Sometimes a young man decides to persist and continue to follow me...this is when I stop, look him straight in the eye and go postal on him. The guy always leaves at this point and any man witnessing the event also keeps his distance.
5. Don't Believe Everything People Tell You...Especially if They Approach You on the Street. Theft is not accepted within the Islamic culture however, ripping a person off is acceptable and, amongst some groups in society, respected. Many Egyptian vendors are not happy until they charge you ten times what something is worth, short change you or somehow trick you out of your money. For tips on visiting the Middle East CLICK HERE
For general travel tips on what to pack and how to plan ahead CLICK HERE For tips on travelling on a budget CLICK HERE |
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