Question CAI vs HRG

[Nicklebon]

I am in the process of trying to put together a trip to Egypt. Circumstances dictate this trip be in July. I am currently looking at a LOB for myself and my son departing from Hurghada. My non-diving wife will join us after we return to port. The plan is to spend a few days after the LOB to do some non dive related tourist activities. My basic question is whether or not I should fly into CAI vs HRG. If it matters I will be arriving to Egypt from WAW (Warsaw, Poland) but continuing on to RDU.

Any thoughts on this matter are greatly appreciated.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Nicklebon

I don't think I quite understand your queston. Your LOB departs from Hurghada? Where will your wife be joining you, Hurghada? What kind of "tourist activities" are you planning to do, Luxor, Cairo? How exactly are your Egyptian arrival and departure cities connected?

My wife and I flew into Cairo, from Zurich, when doing Cairo, Luxor to Aswan, and Abu Simbel. I flew into Hurghada, from Zurich, when doing 2 weeks of liveaboard, departing from Port Ghalib/Marsa Alam.

 

[Nicklebon]

Yes the LOB departs from Hurghada. ATM all things not in Poland are very much in flux and not fixed. The post LOB "tourist activities" will certainly include Cairo and Luxor. This has very suddenly gone from my spending the bulk of July in Poland non-diving to visiting some family and then going to Egypt to dive. I am trying to get plans together and my initial impression is that it appears to be easier and cheaper to fly into and out of CAI vs HRG but I am uncertain on cost/methods of getting from Cairo to Hurghada.

 

[mulratt]

I did a similar trip in November and because I flew in from Canada the flight to CAI was much cheaper than to HRG. However, if you can find a good price for HRG, I would advise you skip CAI. I did not find the pyramids and the museum of Islamic arts that interesting. There is a lot of traffic (I avoided the metro because of Covid) and the city is dusty. Pros are the museum of Cairo: there are some well preserved artifacts there.
I would spend my nondiving time in Luxor instead. The tombs and temples there are much more interesting and at the time it was much less crowded.
If the flight to CAI is definitely cheaper, note that Egypt discourages tourists from taking the train. I was looking into the overnight train to Luxor but flights were almost as cheap and definitely more convenient.

 

[ontdiver]

Many European carriers fly direct to Hurghada, so this is one option. But if you wanted to maximize your trip, fly into Cairo and spend a couple of days seeing the pyramids and the new Grand Egyptian Museum which is going to be world class and worth the time and effort. I have been to Egypt a number of times and the various historical sites are quite spectacular. While most would not consider it, you can take a bus from Cairo to Hurghada but it takes at least 6 hrs. So, fly to Cairo and again by air to Hurghada.

Going overland from Hurghada to Luxor is doable, and takes around 4.5 hrs by road. If you have the time, you owe it to yourself to visit the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. (You can not fly directly from Hurghada to Luxor and must go via Cairo, which seems hardly worth it.)

You can fly from Luxor to Cairo and this would allow you to complete the loop. As mentioned above, you can also fly to Europe from Marsa Alam.

If you are looking for more comprehensive travel advice, check out TripAdvisor.

 

[tursiops]

<snip>

If you are looking for more comprehensive travel advice, check out TripAdvisor.

Or, better, work through a travel advisor, which usually costs you nothing since they earn commissions from the places/companies you choose. The big difference is that travel advisors are professionals, whereas the info on Travel Advisor is from amateurs and scammers.

 

[mulratt]

Oh is the Grand Egyptian Museum open now? That would be worth a trip to Cairo then. I’m sure they spent a lot of resources to make it great.

 

[ontdiver]

"...whereas the info on Travel Advisor is from amateurs and scammers.

I was perhaps a bit generous regarding TripAdvisor. Nonetheless, like this space, you can ask questions on TripAdvisor on many topics and pick and choose what suits you.

 

[tursiops]

I was perhaps a bit generous regarding TripAdvisor. Nonetheless, like this space, you can ask questions on TripAdvisor on many topics and pick and choose what suits you.

Trip Advisor is not curated. At least on SB if you say something really wrong it will get corrected...

 

[diverLux]

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