Egypt Itinerary

So now that I’ve kicked things off with a funny story, I thought I would write a more traditional post about where I went in Egypt, my favorite things, as well as any tips and tricks. First things first: itinerary. We started off in Cairo which I really enjoyed. The city life was completely different than what we have at home. It’s amazing because the pyramids are right next to the city. You would think that they would be in the middle of the desert, but they’re not. In Cairo, we enjoyed going to different museums and monuments. My favorite thing we did was definitely the pyramids. It’s hard to say anything bad about them, they’re simply spectacular. They’re building a new Egyptian Museum right next to the Pyramids which looks amazing and huge, so I think that would be something I would love to see if I ever went back.

After Cairo we flew down to Luxor because we were starting a cruise down the Nile. Before we got on the boat we spent the day exploring around Luxor. We went to the Temple of Luxor which was one of my favorite temples of the trip, which is saying something because we saw a lot of temples. This temple is huge and it was interesting to see the differences between the buildings of the different pharaohs. After the temple, we went to the other side of the river and visited the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Kings. In Egypt everything is split into different sides of the river with the living side on the east, and the necromancy side or the side to do with death on the west. Over on the west side we visited a lot of tombs of the dead pharaoughs which are all intricately decorated and amazingly well preserved.

Columns from the Luxor Temple

My highest recommendation from the trip is to visit Nefertari's tomb in the Valley of the Queens. It’s the best-preserved tomb of the whole lot and it’s spectacular. They only let 100 people in to see a day and all of the original colors are there and intact. It’s definitely worth the extra fee.

This is a picture from inside the tomb. As you can see the colors and detail are amazing!

While we were on the boat we spent our days getting off the boat at big cities and visiting the temples there. We would go out in the morning and then head back to the boat in the middle of the day to escape the heat. Every day was around 104˚F, so we were very thankful for the air conditioning on the boat. Due to our summer holiday schedule, we weren’t able to go to Egypt any earlier, even though it would have been ideal. For anyone for a more flexible schedule I would highly recommend hitting Egypt earlier in the year, around April, where you’ll beat the heat and be able to spend more time exploring, however, if you are planning a trip in June stay tuned for some of my tricks at the end of this post.

We also flew out to a little place called Abu Simbel for a couple of hours to see another amazing temple. Our guide told us this temple is considered the 8th wonder of the world. Although we weren’t there on the exact day, our guide explained to us that on October 21st, the sun shines directly through the temple and hits the main god in the center directly on the nose, also highlighting the two gods next to them. The light doesn’t touch the third god across, Osiris god of death because he is supposed to be shrouded in darkness. I can imagine this being an incredible experience on the actual day, as well as amazing to wonder at the engineering that was required to construct that thousands of years ago.

Other than Abu Simbel and the Temple of Luxor I would have to say that my all-time favorite temple was the Temple of Philae in Aswan. When the Egyptians decided to dam the Nile it created a lake on one side meaning that the government had to move a lot of temples from their original places to higher ground, so they wouldn’t be flooded. This means that this temple is situated on an island in the middle of the lake. You take a boat from the shore across to the island and then get out to explore the temple. I think that the lake provides a different perspective from the rest of the temples and I loved the backdrop of the sandy-colored temple and blue water. It was definitely a very photogenic temple as well as impressive in size.

A view of the temple from the water

Well I think that wraps up my highlights from the trip. Now onto tips for beating the heat and doing everything Egyptian style, while still staying safe.

First, just a reminder that you can’t drink the water out of the tap in Egypt. Seriously don’t do it. This includes opening your mouth in the shower, and also getting ice in your drinks at places that aren’t more westernized because these are usually made with unbottled water.

In terms of beating the heat, clothes play a huge role. I’m not saying that you need to buy a whole new wardrobe for this trip, instead, I would just say pack smart. I brought 2 dresses and they were definitely my favorite things to wear. Other than dresses, skirts are a good idea, and make sure you pair everything with a t-shirt or top made of lightweight and stretchy material. Even if this isn’t the most glamorous outfit you’ve ever worn, you’ll thank yourself later. Also just remember that it is culturally appropriate to have more conservative clothing while in Egypt. This includes coverage from your shoulders to your knees, especially for the ladies.

Another tip for beating the heat is to bring a small towel (like the size of a handtowel) and wet it with cold water before you leave wherever you’re staying. We liked to stick these on the back of our necks to keep us cool. This trick does a lot to help regulate your temperature before you get super hot. Once you’re at a point of despair and trust me I definitely got there at a couple of points during the trip, it’s hard to help when you’re in the middle of the desert.

Other than these tips there are the basic ones like making sure you drink enough water. This is very important on super hot days because you’re losing a lot of water through sweat. On the day we visited the Pyramids I think I drank 7 bottles of water before lunch.

Also, make sure you take breaks in the hottest part of the day. I particularly enjoyed getting up early to see a couple of sites and then retreating to the cool in the middle of the day for lunch before going back out again.

Anyway, I think that wraps up my posts from Egypt. I had such a good time in this country and I hope that this post helps anyone planning a trip or gives more information to anyone just interested in the country. Bye for now!