This time it really took us forever to find a suitable flight. We booked our flights in January, so 3 months ahead, which is normally a good time to book, but it looked like all the good/direct flights were already fully booked. We then had the choice between flying from Munich, putting up with a 23-hour layover in Moscow, or flying directly from Milan to Cairo, but having to endure a nightbus-ride to Milan. However, as our car was not in the best condition, we decided to leave it at home and take the flight from Milan. That flight was operated by Air Italy, and it was actually quite okay, at least we slept most of the time. As we wanted to visit different parts of Egypt, we again booked an open-jaw flight, and on our way home we flew from Hurghada to Munich, with a short stopover in Instanbul. However, that flight was operated by Pegasus, a Turkish low-cost airline, and we would not recommend flying with them. I’ve never seen such old and uncomfortable planes in Europe. We could deal with it for the few hours our flight took, but for longer flights this airline is on our black list. The costs for all flights were approximately 350€ per person, so as usual, you get what you pay for ;)

The coldest month in Egypt is January, with approximately 22°C, so I would say it is always worth a visit, especially when you’re planning to spend a few days at the beach. However, same as in Dubai, it can become incredibly hot during the summer months, e.g. in July and August temperatures around Luxor might rise up to 48°C (!!!). Therefore, if you are planning to explore the pyramids in Cairo or the temples of Luxor, we would recommend to go in autumn or spring :).

Cairo is the capital of Egypt, and one of the largest metropolitans in Africa. We were surprised by the modernity of New Cairo, where you will find skyscrapers and many luxury hotels. However, as we mainly came here to see the pyramids, we stayed directly in Giza, an area which is located about 5 km southwest of central Cairo and isn’t that modern.

As we arrived in Cairo at 3 in the morning, we didn’t realize how close this place was to the pyramids, because it’s been dark :D. When we woke up after some descent hours of sleep and went up to the breakfast room/terrace, we almost couldn’t believe our eyes. We were directly in front of the pyramids, and boy they were huge! The hotel itself was pretty modern in comparison to the buildings around, and everything was held in an Egyptian style, with lots of masks and statues. On the other hand, none of the rooms has got daylight. They do have windows, yes, but the windows all open into a shaft, through which only very little light is seeping in :-/ The rooms itself were big enough with a huge bed; nothing special in deed, but more than okay for 2 nights. Breakfast is included in the price, which is okay, but more choice would be welcome! Nonetheless we would recommend a stay in this hotel, because it’s clean and offers everything you need. You just need to cross the street to reach the entrance of the pyramids, and the terrace of the hotel is the one thing that makes up for all the not-so-perfect things mentioned above ;) Furthermore, the price is really a bargain! AND, if you stay for 2 or more nights, they pick you up from the airport, bus terminal, whatever…for free :)

--> HERE YOU CAN BOOK YOUR STAY AT GREAT PYRAMID INN

The Great Pyramids of Giza are really marvellous – when you see them for the first time you will be impressed by their magnitude. The pyramid complex includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, in the time between 2580 – 2560 BC. Furthermore, the Giza Pyramid is the only one of the seven ancient wonders of the world that still exists. So, hands down, a visit is a must!

“The best sights you have to visit very early in the morning” – that’s usually our mantra when visiting world-famous sights. And actually we also wanted to visit the pyramids early in the morning, but thanks to a 10 hour delay in Milan, we arrived at Cairo airport in the middle of the night, and we couldn’t get out of bed before noon. At first we already discussed about postponing our visit to the pyramids to the next morning, but as there aren’t many other things you can do in Giza, we thought we would give it a try – and this probably was the BEST DECISION EVER! When we entered the pyramids (160 EGP = 8,50€) around 11:30, the place was pretty crowded. We were told that all the guided bus tours arrive early in the morning to enter the area at 9 am, when the place opens its gates. So, going there early in the morning doesn’t make much sense here. Therefore, not getting out of bed was pretty fine, because shortly after our arrival, most of the busses started to leave, and only few people were around. We took our time, primarily because of our tiredness :D, and after 3 pm we were more or less the only people who were still exploring the area.

Some rules for visiting:

• you neither need a camel ride, nor a horse carriage to move around – the pyramids are easily manageable by foot, walking around the whole area will take you no more than 1 hour in total. AND, the animals we saw were treated very badly and looked haggard – please do not support this cruelty. And don’t worry – if you still don’t want to miss one of those pictures in front of the pyramids with a camel by your side, you don’t have to ride them. The cameleers are everywhere, and if you start taking pictures with their camel, they will come running and ask you for money. Give them a few Egyptian pounds and you will be fine, without mistreating the animals.
•  you do not need to enter all the pyramids – to visit the greatest of them, you have to pay 360 EGP (16€) extra, but there are also some smaller pyramids which you can enter for free, and we were told that they all look the same
• bring a hat – the sun is really quite intense in this area, and there is hardly any shadow. In summer I would also recommend wearing closed shoes, because the sand will become very hot.
•  the “sound and light show” is a waste of time – we watched part of it from the terrace of our hotel, but after 10 minutes we almost fell asleep and decided to have dinner instead

Hands down, the visit to the pyramids was a real hassle. There are cameleers and “professional photographers” everywhere, and they are pretty aggressive. They do not accept a simple “no, thank you” and will continue shouting and touching you until you are out of sight or reach. We were really a little bit shocked about this and it’s sad to say so, but these guys with their aggressive manners really sort of ruin your visit to the pyramids. As long as you are close to the pyramids, you won’t have a minute to enjoy the breathtaking view, which is a real pity. However, when you walk a little bit off-the-beaten paths, which is according to these guys, “dangerous and impossible” – bullshit -  you won’t be bothered by them any longer. For example, the walk to the viewpoint, from which you can see all the pyramids in line, which is “only possible by camel or horse” took us no more than 15 minutes and was absolutely no big deal. When we reached this point, it was already 3:30 pm, when we realized that we were almost on our own. And that’s when we started to enjoy our visit. We sat there and admired the gorgeous view and took our time to take some photos. The pyramids officially close at 4 pm, but nobody cared when we left it a little bit later. 

So, all in all we would still recommend a visit to the pyramids. It’s a unique place and it should be on every bucket list. However, be prepared for a lot of hassle and if possible, try to visit in the afternoon :).

Our second day in Cairo we again started with breakfast with a view to the pyramids, but that morning the sky was overcast and there was even a little bit of rain in the morning – luckily we went to see the pyramids the day before! We took a taxi to Cairo Downtown for about 100 EGP and decided to visit the Egyptian Museum. 

The Egyptian Museum

There are not many museums in the world that we are really keen on visiting, but the Egyptian museum was definitely on our bucket list, and didn’t disappoint. You can see sarcophagi and huge statues from different dynasties in Egypt, along with the splendid masks that were put over the dead pharaoh’s heads after they died. For those of you who took a closer look, you will have observed that the tops of the pyramids yesterday were all missing – they are also exhibited at the Egyptian museum. Another highlight is the mummies room, where real human bodies are exhibited, and you will be shocked how well-preserved they are!! Also something that you shouldn’t miss at the museum, is the golden mask of Tutankhamun, probably the most famous Egyptian pharaoh. We really enjoyed our visit to this museum and it’s the perfect endorsement to a visit to the pyramids. Entrance fee to the museum, including the mummies’ room and the Tutankhamun exhibit, was 300 EGP, and if you want to bring a camera inside, you have to buy a photo permit for 50 EGP.

 Khan-el-Khalily

After the museum and some decent food in the city, we visited the biggest market in Africa, Khan-el-Khalily. When we arrived there, we were fascinated by its dimensions, and we started strolling through the hundreds and thousands of stalls. Next to cheap souvenirs, some stalls also offered some really nice handicraft. If you are looking for those typical Egyptian colourful lanterns and copper lamps, Khan-el-Khalily is your place! Be prepared for a hard bargain though, as sellers will try to put 300% or more on the actual worth of the things. After a few hours at the market, I happily left with two copper lamps, a golden mirror-plate and several pyramid-souvenirs. Due to all the lamps that are sold at the market, it also serves as a beautiful background for your pictures <3. Furthermore, in between the shops you will always find some pretty restaurants or food stalls. 

Taxis are really really cheap in Egypt, and we covered all shorter distances with them. As a reference, we paid 100 EGP, for a one-hour taxi ride within Cairo, so, absolutely affordable.

As we were both craving for some relaxation and sunshine, Hurghada was our next stop. But how to get there? Cheap flights were already sold out, so we took the night bus instead. Go-Bus offers several rides per day, and the busses were quite modern – and it’s really dirt-cheap, we actually paid no more than 9€ per person, and there was even a lunch package :D. Bus rides are never really relaxing, but neither are flights, right? Go-Bus offers transfer to and from all Egyptian cities, here you can check their schedule

As you might know, we are usually not the types for an all-inclusive resort, but if you want to spend some time at the beach in Egypt, you got no choice :D! We spent hours looking for a resort that fits our needs, and we finally came across Meraki Resort. In the headline it said “Adults only” – don’t get me wrong, I love kids…but well, not on holidays. Furthermore, the resort offered not only the typical buffet-food, but also five separate a-la-carte restaurants. Another plus was that you could easily escape from the oh-so-hated animation team and its activities. Well, CONVINCED and BOOKED.

When we arrived there, we were surprised by the modernity of the resort, and although it was only 7 in the morning, our room was ready. We changed our city clothes for bikinis and trunks, and went straight to the beach. The resort includes 2 huge beach areas and it has its private bay, with palm trees, hammocks and everything else that makes you feel like in the Caribbean <3 we were absolutely surprised by the beauty of the Red Sea – the water was perfectly clear and gleaming in the deepest shades of turquoise. For those who need a swimming pool, there are 2 big swimming pools, one of them with heated water ;). For us, the gym is always a main criterion for choosing a hotel. The gym at Meraki resort is not really big, but it is actually well-equipped, with everything you need in order to stay fit and fight all those all-inclusive calories :D

Unfortunately we didn’t get one of the newly renovated rooms, and ours was rather old. However, it was clean and we had a balcony (with sea-view), so everything was fine.

The food: as food is often a problem in Egypt, we want to emphasize that the food at Meraki resort was really lovely. The selection at the buffet was enormous, and that’s still an understatement, and, more importantly, it was absolutely delicious! We also tried the Burger Restaurant, the Italian Restaurant, and the Asian Restaurant, and they were all great and offered high-quality food. Contrary to expectations, we never had any problems with digestion during our stay, which usually cannot be taken for granted in Egypt. 

--> HERE YOU CAN BOOK YOUR STAY AT MERAKI RESORT

First things first – as soon as you are in Hurghada, you are treated like a brainless all-inclusive tourist and organizing stuff on your own can be very tricky up to impossible… We really wanted to go to Luxor, but all we could find were guided group tours, but we really could not cope with the fact that we would have to sit in a bus with 20 other people for hours and being shooed around the temples by a guide with a terrible German accent…NO WAY! Finally we found a small agency that offers private day tours to Luxor, and it was only 20€ more than the group tour. And that’s what we booked then! A private driver picked us up very early in the morning, and we could sleep through the 4-hour-drive to Luxor on the backseat. When we arrived, we had our private (English-speaking) guide, and we could choose 4 temples or sights that we wanted to see. Everything was very flexible, and when we said that we were not interested in any factories, we just skipped it. Everything was really relaxed, and we can recommend doing a private tour to everyone.

Things that we can recommend in Luxor:

• Karnak Temple: a really old and huge complex. Don’t miss the Hypostyle Hall, a big hall that consists of 134 massive columns, each of them showing sacrifices to Amun-Re, the god of Kings
• Luxor Temple: so much history within one temple. It was conquered by Alexander the Great, and the giant statues at the entrance are really impressive!
• The Nile: try to put in a short stop at the huge river, or cross it on a small boat J
• Hatshepsut Temple: named after the only female pharaoh, Queen Hatshepsut, this temple is built into rock and really beautiful.
• Colossi of Memnon: two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, close to Hatshepsut Temple