Two days to kill in Cairo before heading off on liveaboard — any suggestions?

[nippurmagnum]

Hi all, I am going on my first Red Sea liveaboard in Sept, and set up the trip so that I have two full days in Cairo on the front end to see the city and get over the jet lag. I was thinking of doing the Giza pyramids, Egyptian museum, and the bazaar (maybe) on the first day, as a private tour, mainly so that I don’t have to worry about getting around and I have a guide to the pyramids and museum. That would leave me the full second day free. Any suggestions on what to do that second day? And am i being over ambitious in planning that first day?

I’ve never been to Cairo (or Egypt) before, closest I’ve been is Morocco, Jordan, and Turkey. Any advice for Cairo and environs is most welcome.

 

[Altamira]

Take a guided tour to Alexandria on your second day? Your first day is pretty full, especially if you have significant jet lag, and you might not have time or energy to do much more.

 

[KathyV]

The Egyptian Museum is huge and amazing and it can take up a full day. The King Tut exhibits are wonderful.

Visiting the pyramids is great, but don't bother doing the Pyramids light show at night - it's really hokey.

You could take a cruise on the Nile or visit the Bazaar:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_el-Khalili

Alexandria is a long drive there and back, with only 2 days I would stay around Cairo.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Great idea to hire a guide to take you to Giza, etc. If you’re a pyramid nut, there’s more than just Giza—we spent a whole day just touring the various Cairo-region archaeological sites with a guide. The next day, on our own, we did the Museum, bazaar, a famous mosque (I can’t recall the name, but I think it was in the same area as the bazaar), and took a felucca ride on the Nile. Bazaar in Cairo was not enjoyable due to being pounced upon by every vendor. I expected some attention, but not so constant, so persistent.

 

[KathyV]

Great idea to hire a guide to take you to Giza, etc. If you’re a pyramid nut, there’s more than just Giza—we spent a whole day just touring the various Cairo-region archaeological sites with a guide. The next day, on our own, we did the Museum, bazaar, a famous mosque (I can’t recall the name, but I think it was in the same area as the bazaar), and took a felucca ride on the Nile. Bazaar in Cairo was not enjoyable due to being pounced upon by every vendor. I expected some attention, but not so constant, so persistent.

I just remembered another one. My husband took a ride on a camel when we were in Cairo. It wasn't much of a ride, but we have a photo of him on a camel with the Pyramids behind him - so that's a fun memory.

Yes, the street vendors are everywhere and very persistent; it was very uncomfortable. I thought they were bad in Jamaica, when they would wake you up on the beach to try and sell you something that you couldn't possibly want to buy - but the street vendors in Cairo were much worse.

 

[diveUAE]

I absolutely LOVED Cairo - we went for 3 days 2 years ago, and would love to go back.

We toured with Egypt Tailor Made - good price, safe driver and nice guide (arriving on time). As well as the pyramids at Giza, we also saw the ones in Dashur and Saqqara. Then you have the Coptic and Islamic parts of the city (interesting). Do not miss the Khan el Khalili (bazaar), it was so much fun! Also do try the fresh falafel you get from small stalls around the city (we had the driver do a detour, so we could have some more, as it was really that tasty and very, very cheap) Koshari was nice to try as well - we tried this one evening in a local restaurant, that only served Koshari, only question was: big or small;-)

I found the felluca ride nice, but not a highlight of the trip. Egyptian Museum was great.

Enjoy!

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

I flew from Cairo to Luxor early in the morning, hired a private guide in Luxor (did it ahead of time). He picked me up at the airport in Luxor, took me to Karnak, we crossed the Nile in a Felucca, went to the Valley of the Kings, went inside King Tut's tomb and a few others. He took me back to the airport late that afternoon, I flew back to Cairo and left the next day to board my liveaboard in Sharm el Sheik. It was a day I'll never forget. M

 

[nippurmagnum]

I flew from Cairo to Luxor early in the morning, hired a private guide in Luxor (did it ahead of time). He picked me up at the airport in Luxor, took me to Karnak, we crossed the Nile in a Felucca, went to the Valley of the Kings, went inside King Tut's tomb and a few others. He took me back to the airport late that afternoon, I flew back to Cairo and left the next day to board my liveaboard in Sharm el Sheik. It was a day I'll never forget. M

Thanks for the tip. Did you arrange the flight/guide separately, or as part of a package? Were there plenty of return flights to Cairo? My main worry about doing this as a day trip is that if I miss my return flight for any reason, I am stuck in Luxor, my luggage/dive gear is in Cairo, and my live aboard is departing from Hurghada the next day. But maybe I should not be a wimp.

 

[nippurmagnum]

As well as the pyramids at Giza, we also saw the ones in Dashur and Saqqara.

Thanks for the tip! I may try to do a Dashur/Saqqara/Memphis trip on the second day.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Thanks for the tip! I may try to do a Dashur/Saqqara/Memphis trip on the second day.

We did all that along with Giza in one long day. We had our guide for the whole day. Admittedly, it all became a blur. The second day we tooled around Cairo on our own, as I mentioned above.

As for Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, we figured we'd save it for our next trip to Egypt, and we did. On our second trip to Egypt we skipped Cairo entirely and flew on to Hurghada and then by van to Luxor. Although the great pyramids and the Sphinx are iconic and not to be missed, my impression was that the sites at Luxor and the Valley of the Kings were more extensive, more intricately decorated, well preserved, etc. I mean, tombs like King Tut's! I would never have thought it could be done in a single day, let alone as a day trip via air from Cairo, if ScubaLawyer hadn't said he did it.