When Alicia and I were researching our trip to Egypt we concluded that either 1. this is the best time to visit Egypt, as there are few tourists, prices are lower, and the country needs visitors! or 2. Egypt is super dangerous now and if we go there we will DIE.
It’s always tough to know how seriously to take travel advisories – I mean, there’s still an advisory up for Thailand and it’s completely safe for tourists – so we decided to go ahead with our trip.
After our first day in Egypt, where we basically had the pyramids to ourselves, our decision was looking pretty good. We only had time to spend one more day in Cairo before heading to the Red Sea, so the next day we just visited the Egyptian Museum and Old Cairo.
When we got to the Egyptian Museum we had to wind our way through a street full of tanks to get to the entrance, so we obviously felt incredibly safe.
The museum itself was pretty strange – it barely seemed curated, and felt more like a storage house full of ancient treasures than a museum. Then again, if you’re housing artifacts that are five thousand years old, people are going to be impressed regardless.
Have I mentioned yet that Egypt is really, really old? I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around how ancient some of the artifacts I was looking at were.
Alicia and I were also lucky enough to be at the museum for the opening of a new exhibit of artifacts that had recently been returned to Egypt from abroad. We knew it was a pretty exciting event because the museum’s lower hall was filled with reporters and important people (not sure who they actually were, but they were definitely important).
But wait, I know what you’re thinking: we were in a building surrounded by tanks, just down the street from Tahrir Square, in a hall full of journalists and notables – isn’t that exactly the sort of situation tourists are supposed to avoid in Egypt now?
Luckily I had the same thought, which definitely had nothing to do with my very low museum stamina (maybe too many cultural trips as a child?), so Alicia and I decided to call it quits and go eat some koshary.
Egypt isn’t exactly known for its amazing food, and after evening meals like “hot dog and cheese pie” Alicia and I decided that Egyptian food is sort of just like kids’ food.
Koshary is an Egyptian favorite and consists of rice, lentils, macaroni, spaghetti, fried onions, chick peas and tomato sauce. It’s the sort of strange concoction my dad would probably come up with on one of his dinner nights, but it’s still pretty tasty. We went to Koshary Abou Tarek, which had been recommended by a friend who used to live in Cairo.
After lunch we hopped on the metro to visit Old Cairo!
Old Cairo is beautiful, and I wish I could just let my photos speak for themselves, but I didn’t take too many photos as Alicia and I were a little preoccupied hatching plans for ways we can move to Cairo.
So does this mean Cairo is safe for tourists?
The situation there is always changing, especially with the upcoming elections, so that’s an impossible question to answer. What I can say is that it was a pleasure to visit the city at this time, not only because we weren’t surrounded by lots of other tourists (happy for us, sad for Egypt), but also because everyone seemed really pleased to see us there.
Several of our friends who had been to Egypt had warned Alicia and me about harassment on the streets, especially as we’re both blonde, but, weirdly, the men in Cairo seemed to be on their best behavior for tourists. Sometimes people would begin to hassle us to buy things, but when we ignored them they would always stop and often call out after us, “Enjoy Egypt! Tell your friends to visit!”
The worst harassment we experienced in Cairo was by a group of eleven year old boys who wouldn’t leave us alone until a young guy around our age (the type we’d usually be wary of) yelled at them. We decided he had probably said something along the lines of “stop pestering those girls, don’t you remember we’re supposed to be being super nice to the tourists?!”
Of course this was my first time in Cairo so I have nothing to compare it to besides my friends’ stories, but it at least seems like Alicia and I were treated exceptionally well by the locals. Definitely no complaints from us!
Where to stay in Cairo
We stayed at City View Hotel which has lovely staff and a great location. Check current rates and availability here
If you want to stay at a hotel right by the pyramids, then I recommend staying at Guardian Guest House, which has amazing views of the pyramids! Check current rates and availability
What to wear as a female traveler in Egypt
Here are some favorites that I packed for my trip to Egypt:
Nate says
Another excellent post. Beautiful photos and a colorful yet compact narrative. Keep up the good work! – Nate
Silvia says
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the post!
Corinne says
Silvia, I think you did the right thing about going when you did, but those tanks would have scared me! Glad you had a safe and wonderful time!
Silvia says
Haha yeah there were tanks everywhere. We kept just saying “this means we’re really safe?”
Karisa says
This is awesome! Good for you for going to Egypt. I’ve wanted to go since I was a very little girl and it’s still high on my list. I love reading about people’s positive trips 🙂
Silvia says
Thanks, Karisa! Egypt had also been on my list for ages, so it was exciting to finally go. I hope you make it there soon!
Mike & Martha says
Really helpful post as we booked our plans to visit Cairo in the next week or so. Thanks!
Sonia says
Cairo is such a lovely city. I want to visit the country again…hope it is safe to do so now!
http://tickingthebucketlist.blogspot.in/2014/07/cairo-top-5-things-to-do.html
Silvia says
It is such a nice city! I felt safe there this summer, though I’m not sure what the situation is like now.
Kitty says
So glad I found this link. My husband and I just booked a trip to Cairo for this April (we are celebrating the anticipation of having our student loans paid off!) and I was trying to find a blogger that had gone in the last year!
If you’re willing and have time, I’d love to hear more! Where you stayed, if you did any tours etc.! Love your blog! Thanks again!
Silvia says
How exciting, and congrats on paying off those loans! My trip was pretty short, but feel free to email me at heartmybackpack@gmail.com if you want more information than I gave in my blog posts!
Chanel | Cultural Xplorer says
Glad to read this report – doing research on visiting Cairo and I keep coming across horror stories. It seems your trip went pretty well.
One thing I noticed about your pictures: every place you visited looks deserted! Were there many tourists you came across when you visited?
Silvia says
There were almost no tourists while I was in Egypt – even the pyramids were almost deserted!
Wandering Me says
I recently went to Egypt and totally agree with your first paragraph. I think I spent the first couple of days feeling anxious, but soon realised it was safe enough to be comfortable. We also went to Abou Tarek Koshari and there wasn’t another tourist in sight. Great food 🙂
Amit Shir says
Hey, nice post. Egypt is one of the best tourist places in the world. I have visited there with my family for two weeks. My elder brother had booked the ticket from mantis-tour.com from where we got private car and a personal guide for our journey. Egypt is basically famous for pyramids which are very large in structure, but especially in ancient Egypt having square base and four triangular sides which form a point at the top. The Red Sea is located near eastern desert and south of the Sinai. The year-round sunshine on the Egyptian Red Sea makes it a perfect diving destination at any time of the year. We have also visited Egyptian Museum and Old Cairo. Cairo is the capital of Egypt. Cairo is a vibrant, exhilarating, exotic, fascinating and welcoming city.
Mustafa says
As an Egyptian who takes things like this for granted, this article provided me with valuable insight on the blonde white semi-liberal female experience in Egypt. Thank you for your unique perspectives on our kid food and military dictatorship.
Silvia says
Thanks, Mustafa, I would love to visit Egypt again for longer some day!
Selma Sahirah says
Wow. Such a nice post, yes Egypt is a safe place and is one of the best tourist places in the world. I have visited there with my friends for two weeks with the help of Complete Egypt and they are provided us all arrangement. Egypt is basically famous for pyramids which are very large in structure, but especially in ancient Egypt having square base and four triangular sides which form a point at the top. The Red Sea is located near eastern desert and south of the Sinai. The Nile of cruise scene is the very vest of Egypt from one place. The year-round sunshine on the Egyptian Red Sea makes it a perfect diving destination at any time of the year. We have also visited Egyptian Museum and Old Cairo. Cairo is the capital of Egypt. Cairo is a vibrant, exhilarating, exotic, fascinating and welcoming city.
Zenny Morag says
Thanks for sharing with us such wonderful post. I really like it. Egypt is one of the oldest and most beautiful countries throughout the world. It is not only famous for its natural beauty, but it also for its ancient culture. During my college time, I went there with my friends. We enjoyed a lot with the help of Ask Aladdin. It is a famous travel expert agency. We have also visited Egyptian Museum and Old Cairo. Cairo is a vibrant, fascinating and welcoming city. Keep Blogging. There is a lot to explore Egypt and the best way to do it is to visit the place.
Angel marth says
Egypt is a great city break weekend & travel here for 72 hours & it would be safe for you – I’m sure you’d love it and it is really a lovely, pretty place.
Thanks for sharing pictures of beautiful with us. Get cheap flight tickets & best deals of hotels to enjoy the trip of 72 hours.
kathy Kathleen says
Another excellent post. I enjoy reading your posts. Beautiful pictures.Amomg all I like the museum most. I wiil be on a trip to Egypt in the coming month.One of my cousin has booked tickets through a local online travel service site citadeltours.Hope my journey will be excellent.
sandra says
I just returned from a wonderful vacation in Cairo and Sharm, and really enjoyed reading your post before I went.
Check out my post at http://beforethesunrises.com/2015/11/29/functional-madness-in-cairo/
Silvia says
That’s so great, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
bisoman says
Wonderful post i like it
Egypt tours says
From visiting the pyramids to experiencing the famous Siwa Oasis safari tours, Egypt is a land of wonders and awe. Home to one of the most ancient wonders and, of course, world’s first great civilization, Egypt remains in every traveler’s bucket list. After all, who doesn’t dream of visiting land of Pharaohs? However, Egypt has much more to offer.
Jimmy says
Thanks for sharing,this is so helpful as I’m planning on travelling there next week.
Silvia says
Have a wonderful trip!
Ahmed Fayed @ JakadaToursEgypt says
Hello,
Thanks for the awesome article and the beautiful photographs.
I enjoyed reading your article, and I wanted to assure that Egypt is pretty safe despite all these rumors. I used to organize private guided tours in Egypt, Oasis, and the south. my guests have been enjoying their stay here especially in the south ( Luxor & Aswan ).
Old Cairo is awesome with all these experience but I believe you still need to cover the south and the oasis where you will get inspired to a great extent.
Thanks again for sharing your experiences,
That has been so helpful.
Regards,
Ahmed @ JakadaToursEgypt
Biso says
Perfect
Biso333 says
Perfect information
Biso says
Perfect information
AtiyaAyda says
Nice information . Cairo is a capital of Egypt . In Egypt where we can see so many attractions such as pyramids
Middle East Hotel says
Thanks for such a great info you have shared here.
Interesting one.
Bolbol says
Great information and nice pics as well. Your briefing was enough to give people a bit of experience about what they can meet while they are visit Cairo. Thank you for this
arathy says
your pics look amazing! can i know what camera u used? 🙂
John says
I’m leaving Friday for a solo trip to Egypt for 10 days – i’m Using a tour guide during my time there – hoping it will be an awesome time – I am concerned about flying with prescriptions And didn’t get vaccinations for yellow fever or hepatitis…..ughh I’m having anxiety which is what one of the meds are for – let me just breathe….any recent info about Egypt with a layover in Dubai is great to read…..Egypt & the itinerary I have looks like it is going to be an adventurous time!
eiliyah says
We visited Egypt six months once the Revolution. it had been a life-changing expertise, however Cairo was unsettled to mention the smallest amount. Glad to visualize things square measure trying higher currently.
Egypt says
this is really one of the best travel guide about Cairo but I can tell Cairo more safe and stable now much more than the time you visited in 2014
Vijay Patel says
Thanks for this post. It has a detailed description of each and every place. I’m impressed and I’m planning to visit Egypt with my family and would suggest my friends have a trip too. Great post. Very Informative. Keep posting.
Middle East Hotel says
Hello Silvia,
Appreciable info you shared here.
I hope you will keep updating us with this post.
Ashraf Fares says
Well, this really describes the circumstances back then.