Egypt – Egypt travel blog

We chose Egypt for our two week holiday because it was a lot cheaper than equivalent all inclusive trips in Europe for some sunshine and relaxing in November. It also gave us the opportunity to easily include a visit to the pyramids. We absolutely loved the trip, floating over the valley of the kings in a hot air balloon at sunrise was an unforgettable experience, and seeing the pyramids in person felt really unique and special.

We based ourselves in Sahl Hasheesh, a gated resort community just south of Hurghada. It was clean, quiet, safe and very relaxed.

We stayed at Kai Sol Romance. We’d done a lot of research into all inclusive adult only holidays across Hurghada and neighbouring resorts and this one stood out as it didn’t have the “beach club scene” that many other adult only places had. We weren’t looking for that. It also had consistent good reviews for food, drink and service. The hotel was perfect for us. The beach was gorgeous, with plenty of sun loungers and crystal clear water.

The food was a highlight. There were four a la carte restaurants in the all inclusive, Italian, Asian, Indian and Lebanese. The food was really high quality and we had great service. All the staff were hard working, attentive and friendly.

The hotel offered a free shuttle into Hurghada early evening, which we decided to try. You had to book it 24 hours in advance. It felt quite overwhelming very quickly. There was a swarm of people trying to get you into taxis or shops.

We headed straight to the marina, which felt slightly chavvy and not particularly enticing to stop for a drink. We were very happy to be going back to the hotel in our free shuttle bus.

As mentioned earlier, the resort was quiet. There wasn’t much nightlife outside the hotel but a cosy shish-a bar near the hotel, right on the sea front was a lovely place to visit and sit and relax at night.

Valley of the Kings

We booked an organised GetYourGuide tour to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. It cost around £150 per person, which was pricy but packed a lot in. It started with a mini bus pickup at 11pm, followed by a few other hotel pickups. We optimistically planned to sleep through the night, but the journey felt surreal, police checkpoints, convoy style driving, and a general feeling we were being people trafficked, which of course we weren’t.

We arrived in Luxor at around around 4am, stopped at a rest point for tea, crossed the Nile on a Felluca (a small local boat) and then just as the sun was rising, climbed into a hot air balloon. It was magical!!

We floated silently above local villages, farmland, the Nile, and ancient monuments. Watching the sun rise over the Valley of the Kings, was one of the most memorable experiences of the entire trip.

The tour then took us to the The Valley of the Kings itself. This is where many of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs were buried, including Tutankhamun. The tombs are carved deep into the rock, decorated with hieroglyphs. We were able to visit a few tombs as part of the standard ticket. The tutankhamun tomb was an additional cost.

We also visited the Temple of Hatshepsut, built into limestone cliffs, dedicated to one of Egypt’s most powerful female pharaohs and The Colossi of Memnon, two enormous stone statues that once guarded a temple.

It was an amazing experience, even if the early start and heat left us feeling worn out. By about 2pm we were well and truly templed out, so we took a break and relaxed over a beer and lunch before heading back to Hurghada.

Pyramids

There were guided trips to the Pyramids both by minibus and by flight, but were quite pricy because of the distance.

We booked EgyptAir flights to Cairo about six months in advance, an early morning flight from Hurghada and a 10pm return from Cairo.

We’d also booked a private transfer from Cairo airport to the Pyramids of Giza and this is where you need to be prepared.

We’d read beforehand about being constantly sold to and sometimes lied to, and that proved true. Our driver tried to sell us his own tour using Google Translate (he didn’t speak a word of English). We politely declined. On arrival, a “friend” of his appeared, conveniently a “tour guide”, also politely declined.

Inside the Giza area, we bought official tickets for 700 EGP (less than £10) and entered on foot. We were repeatedly stopped by people claiming that we could only reach the panorama viewpoint by camel or horse and cart, some of them even claiming to be ‘government officials’.

We ignored all of it and kept walking and we’re so glad we did. We ended up in quieter desert areas, away from the crowds, which really let us take in the scale and beauty of the pyramids. We stopped on the way back and agreed a price for some photos on camels.

We decided not to pay extra to go inside the pyramids after hearing that the inside is dark, cramped and not especially enjoyable. We also didn’t go right up to the Sphinx, but still came away with some fantastic photos, you don’t have to be right next to it to appreciate it.

We’d gone with low expectations, people had mentioned a Pizza Hut next to the pyramids, which made it sound tacky but it wasn’t like that at all. The pyramids felt vast, ancient and powerful and a unique and unforgettable experience.

Our next stop was the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum, and it’s on an entirely different scale. It is enormous!! You could easily spend a full day there. Even though we only scratched the surface, it still felt like a lot to take in. We paid extra for the guided tour with was 2.5 hours and that didn’t cover the whole museum.

We got there by tuk-tuk from the pyramids (a 15 minute journey) which oddly felt safer than a taxi but that’s a later story!

Next, we took an Uber to Khan el‑Khalili, Cairo’s famous historic bazaar. Strolling through the winding alleys was really enjoyable, people weren’t overly pushy, and the atmosphere felt surprisingly relaxed.

Traffic / Taxis

Egypt traffic, especially in Cairo, deserves its own warning. Imagine five cars squeezed across three lanes, no clear rules, horns blaring nonstop, and everyone utterly convinced someone else will stop first. Headlights? Not always a priority! Apparently, some drivers switch them off to save fuel. Taxi drivers are either fearless or completely unhinged. Its chaotic!

Our final taxi ride back to the airport was…
….memorable. We’d been advised to use apps like Uber or inDrive, but it’s not what you’d expect. Prices get accepted, then suddenly doubled. We lost signal, ended up having to hail a local driver who drove aggressively, blasted loud Islamic music, and then got fined at a police checkpoint approaching the airport. We were just relieved to make it to the airport in one piece.

Overall, an unforgettable experience!

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