This year’s annual family holiday trip was to Cairo, Egypt. This trip was special because it was our first time visiting the continent of Africa.
Cairo has a population of ~22 million people, making it the 6th largest city in the world. The weather in December is cool and I would advise anyone traveling to Cairo during that time of the year to pack like it is early/mid fall in the US. We made sure to pack a hat, long sleeve shirts, jeans, and sweatsuits. The flight itinerary we selected made our trip roughly 15-20 hours from Atlanta with 1 stop in Frankfurt, Germany.
We stayed in an AirBnB which worked well for us because it provided a lot of space and everyone had their own room, but we were not in a tourist area, so we definitely stood out. One thing to be mindful of is the Egyptian people will not say excuse me and will jump in front of you in lines and violate your personal space. The majority of the people DID NOT wear mask and will tell you “COVID is not bad there”. I advise you to WEAR YOUR MASK no matter what!
Before You Go:
- Negative COVID test 72 hours before departure
- Check what vaccinations/shots you may need by visiting the World Travel Care The most common shots you will need you can probably get from your primary physician.
- Typhoid Shot
- Hepatitis A
- If traveling through Germany, obtain a QR code of vaccination card from GoGetDoc and select ‘VaxYes’.
- Obtain an eVisa from Egypt e-Visa Portal 7 days prior to departure or purchase a visa in the airport at customs control (I would recommend getting your Visa on site in order to have the Visa pasted in your passport and stamped). The cost is $25 for a 30 day Visa
On Arrival:
- Obtain a SIM card from Vodafone. A 70GB data plan is ~$50 USD. You will need to call Uber and speaking to tour guides via WhatsApp
- Convert USD to Egyptian Pound. At the time of this post, $1USD = $15.72EGP. Visa is accepted, but only in more established locations.
Things To Be Aware Of:
- Cairo is safe. It’s a very religious country so the people do not fight or harm each other; they mostly yell at each other and then walk away.
- Cost to most attractions for non-Egyptian residents will cost you 200EGP (~$30)
- Use Uber!!! An ‘Uber Comfort’ most likely will give you a more cleaner vehicle, but it may not be the best vehicle. I spent ~$50USD on Uber rides for the entire week in Cairo (for the whole family including tips).
What We Experienced:
- ATV riding around the pyramids and camel ride through the city.
- Dinner cruise on the Nile river*. Enjoyed the show and the food. The boat ride doesn’t take you far down the Nile, but at least you are on the Nile.
- Visited the Citystars Heliopolis Mall. This mall has been featured on TikTok because it has 8 levels. All the major brands are within this mall. The mall was not impressive to us, but my daughter wanted to see it. From our AirBnB it took ~1hr to get there due to distance and traffic (~$7 Uber ride).
- Khan el-Khalili (Old Cairo outdoor market place). This area is a famous bazaar and souq (or souk) in the historic center of Cairo, Egypt. Established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era and named for one of its several historic caravanserai, the bazaar district has since become one of Cairo’s main attractions for tourists and Egyptians alike. It is also home to many Egyptian artisans and workshops involved in the production of traditional crafts and souvenirs
- Egyptian Museum. Cost is 200EGP (Visa accepted). The museum holds some great Egyptian artifacts, one being the mask and caskets of King Tutt. The museum’s artifacts are been packed up to be moved to the new Museum of Egypt later this year. The new museum will sit across the street from the Pyramids of Giza and will be the largest in the world.
- Cairo Tower. Cost is 200EGP (Visa accepted). The Cairo Tower is a free-standing concrete tower in Cairo, Egypt. At 187 m, it is the tallest structure in Egypt and North Africa. It was the tallest structure in Africa for ten years until 1971, when it was surpassed by Hillbrow Tower in South Africa. Best time to go is between 2pm – 4pm when the sky is clearer and the views are better. We went at night and the views from sky walk are amazing. You able to see how bad traffic is moving through Cairo. Take lots of pictures because you would want to look back on the views.
- Photo Shoot at The Pyramids of Giza which I booked on AirBnB. Entry Cost is 200EGP (Egyptian Pounds only accepted). The area of the Pyramids and Sphinx is very wide. Renting a horse carriage to ride you around is recommended if you are not with your photographer. Go early, because traffic getting into the area and over to your photoshoot area will take some time. If approached to rent camel for pictures, ask the cost upfront, for how long, and what’s included (i.e. sitting on camel, walking camel, one or two person, etc.). I recommend a 11am start time which will allow time for the photoshoot and exploring the 3 Pyramids and walking/riding to the Sphinx before exiting.
- Mall of Egypt is one of the cities newest malls. It was an ~1.5hr Uber ride from our AirBnB (~$8 USD). Some say the mall compares to Dubai Mall, but I strongly disagree. It was by far the best mall we visited, but it’s not on the scale of Dubai Mall. Within the mall you have all the high end stores, their version of a Walmart where I purchased unique flavors of KiKat. It also has an indoor snow slope called Ski Egypt (think Ski Dubai)
Our last day was more of a relaxing day. We walked the surrounding area around our AirBnB, ate street food and packed. I think 5 days was good enough for this trip. We experienced and saw a lot on our trip, but there is so much more to see and do in Cairo and surrounding areas.
Things I Would Want To Do If I Returned:
- Red Sea (~2hrs from Cairo)
- Luxor via air or cruise
- Siwa’s Salt Lakes (~8hrs from Cairo. It’s a resort location)
- Museum of Egypt
- See how the locals party
This was a great trip. I recommend a visit to Cairo, and I hope this helps to provide a better glimpse of the city through my eyes.
If you have additional questions or need help setting up any tours/excursions/activities/travel arrangements, feel free to reach out to me via Email and I’ll be more than happy to assist you
