Egypt is a country that is steeped in history and culture, and there is no better way to experience it than through a backpacking road trip. From the Pyramids of Giza to the bustling streets of Cairo, Egypt has something for everyone. In this article, we’ll provide a 8-day Egypt backpacking road trip itinerary for those looking to explore this amazing country in 2023.
Unlike what people often say on the Internet about a chaotic Egypt, not safe for solo travel, I recently had a very happy and safe trip to Egypt. One of the most fun trips I’ve ever had.
👉 SECURITY: The issue everyone cares about. Why I want to talk about it first because after the 2018 boom, most people think it must be riots, but the reality is completely different, just move on the road, come to a junction, anyone can You will see a police station, as well in Aswan and Luxor, so everyone is completely assured of security and safety.
👉 VISA AND AIR TICKETS: I applied for a visa and started from the beginning of Dubai. Everything is smooth and without any problems.
👉 WIFI AIRPORT CAIRO: When going to the airport, almost everyone wants to turn on the internet and check messages, but Cairo airport wifi can’t get in (I tried many times with both phones) but Don’t be too impatient, there will be a counter selling 4G sim cards outside.
SIM 4G: After taking the luggage, go through the baggage scan counter again, there will be a counter selling phone sim cards, I have taken a picture of the price list, like I bought a package of $ 18 is 43G, 9 days to read news, up fb photos, go to fb continuously, but until the day of return, the traffic has not been exhausted, so everyone can refer to the most suitable package.
👉 HOTEL:
– At the pyramid, I booked the Guardian Guest Hotel for 2 nights, with a direct view of the sphinx and the pyramid ($80 / 2 nights, the room can accommodate 3 people, because I want to get a room with a nice view, so it’s worth it.) will be a little higher than the small room).
The hotel does not have an elevator, but the owner is very enthusiastic, goes down to the gate to welcome guests and carry luggage up to the guest room, the hotel does not serve dinner, but if If you want to eat, the owner will also cook noodles for you for free. People can refer to the Pyramid eyes Inn, the same view and 1 floor higher, maybe the terrace view will be more beautiful.
– At Siwa Oasis, I stayed at Mountain Camp: this is the most famous Camp area in the Oasis region, almost all passing groups stop to visit and take a lunch break here, the boss is very nice, finds himself walking alone Drink, fruit for me to eat continuously and for free, the little baby who took me to Salt Lake was very cute, a little bit asked me if I was cold, I took pictures for you if you liked it.
– Cruise: I stayed at Palace Cruise, the food and taste are diverse, the staff and the housekeeping staff are all very cute. When I arrive at the check points early in the morning, the reception will call me to wake up, prepare breakfast and when I come down, I just need to take it. When the boat cruises on the Nile at night, if you call to remind me that it’s too boring, remember to go to the deck to drink coffee and tea, it’s free, at 9.30 pm at the bar there will be disco and free drinks (all plus points) because the service attitude is really nice)
👉 LOCAL GUIDE: this is important. I recommend everyone going to Egypt to book a Local guide. The first is that they have a car, easy to take me to places, secondly, no matter where I go, having local people go with me always feels more secure. Before the day of the trip, I had a sister who told me that Tyher’s service was quite cheap and enthusiastic (after experiencing and comparing prices, I found it really cheaper than other places). much). I went back to Cairo from Siwa, almost 7 hours without internet, he didn’t send me my location until almost 2 am, in time for the flight at 8:30, he booked me a cabin. First class always without taking extra money. Local guide in Aswan, Luxor working with him is also very very enthusiastic, when he comes home at night, he sends a message to ask if everything is okay, satisfied, tell me if anything is wrong. Really, I’m very satisfied.
Day 1
I went to Cairo airport at 6:30AM, did immigration procedures (with PCR + vaccine check) to get my luggage and then went back to the hotel near the pyramid. I went to the Pyramids (bent, giza), (I only had a few Bent pyramids, and Giza was too crowded, so I skipped) riding camels, horse-drawn carriages, watching the sunset, and checking out the hotel to catch bus to Siwa, 10:30pm bus.
Day 2: Siwa Oasis
I arrived at Siwa Oasis at 10 am the next morning, checked in at Mountain Camp, rested and then went to Salt Lake Siwa at 3 pm, because the day I went it was very cold and rainy, so I just took pictures and returned without going to watch the sunset.
Day 3: Enjoy Western Safari Desert.
I also played with volunteers at Camp until the afternoon, then went to Western Safari Desert, played sandboarding, camping chilled and watched the sunset a bit in the desert and then returned. The day I went to Siwa was very cold and didn’t bring enough warmth, so I decided not to play in Siwa for long but moved somewhere else because it was too cold. I took the bus at 7:30pm back to Cairo to go to Aswan to take a cruise on the Nile River in warmer weather.
Day 4:
The car returned to Cairo at 6:00, I took the 8:30 flight from Cairo to Aswan, took my luggage to the yacht to check in, that afternoon I rested on the yacht, walked around Aswan Marina, took photos sunset (lunch and dinner on the cruise).
Day 5: Tour Abu Simbel and Philae Temple
- Abu Simbel is more than 300k from the center of Aswan, it takes more than 3 hours to travel, so they will pick you up from 4 am and around 1:30 pm will return to the cruise. The temple has a very unique architecture and is the pride in the architecture of the Egyptians. Over thousands of years, the temple has almost remained the same in terms of architecture and patterns on the reliefs.
- Philae Temple: located more than 3km from the marina, I have lunch and rest for 3 hours before moving to the temple, sightseeing and watching the sunset. To enter the temple, you will sit by canoe with a very beautiful view.
Day 6: Tomb of the Nobel and Nubian Village
- The Tomb of the Nobel with a bird’s-eye view of Aswan is extremely beautiful, everyone should not miss it.
- Nubian village is a village with all kinds of extremely beautiful brightly colored houses and very beautiful natural scenery. At 3pm the yacht started running, I didn’t have time to finish Nubian, so it’s a pity.
Day 7: Ombos Temple
The whole day just rest, enjoy the wind and enjoy the scenery, drink chocolate on the deck. The yacht ran until 6 pm the next day to dock at Ombos, for the first time I was able to admire a temple lit up in the evening, extremely beautiful and magnificent.
Day 8: Hot air baloon Luxor + Valley of the King+ Kannark Temple
- Hot air baloon Luxor with extremely beautiful and peaceful view. If you haven’t been to cappadocia to watch a hot air balloon sky, this is not a bad experience.
- Valley of the King: The valley of the kings is currently only open to 3 tombs for visitors, visitors are very large, to take pictures, people have to wait a long time.
- Kannark Temple is the largest ancient temple complex in the world.
My schedule should have been 5 more days, going to Sharm Elsheikh, camping in the White Desert with a Brazilian delegation, going to the hundred-year-old market of Khan El Khalili, but due to a problem with the ticket from Cairo to Cairo. another country, so I had to cancel the next 5 days and rush back to Dubai. Sorry and confused, but it will be a reason for me to come back to Egypt one more time.
The total cost of my days in Egypt is about 1500$ (not including air ticket, including local guide + tip + cost of going to Abu Simbel, Nubian village + ticket to hot air baloon + food and juice)
Notes
- If you come to the Pyramids on the weekend, there will be a light show in the evening, lighting up all the pyramids very nicely, everyone should not miss it.
- I go in mid to late March, the weather in Egypt is still very cold, but in Luxor it is very hot, everyone remember to wear a hat, especially sunscreen and moisturizer. I think it’s cold and I don’t pay attention to the sun protection on my hands, the result is sunburn on both hands.
- To enter the attractions, they will all go through the security check, the Pyramids and some temples, tripods are not allowed.
- Drones (flycams) to the airport are still allowed to enter, (My drone still passes through the scanner and enters normally, or maybe because of the cheap type, the scanner does not come out :))) but not allowed to operate on the whole territory, violations will be severely fined, or may be imprisoned, everyone pay attention.
- The price for a camel laugh or rent a horse-drawn carriage at the Pyramids is 20-30$, the camel driver will take pictures for you, also quite professional.
- From Cairo to Siwa, the bus departs at 10:30 pm, will go through 3 police points to check the original passport and visa, return to Siwa Cairo bus at 7:30 pm, will also go through 3 check points like the afternoon about everyone pay attention.
- Go on the street, in the temples do not answer the invitations of the shops, even if you say “No”, the more people will follow, it is best not to shake or nod or answer, they go. Follow 5,10 steps and you’ll leave
Bags for storage: I, like other girls, go out and pack my stuff, so before I went, I specially bought a cloth tote bag, which can hold a lot of things and is still safe, to avoid being peeped. - Preserving cash: I divide cash into 4 wallets and store them in 4 different locations. When I go out, I carry the most convenient wallet, keeping all the small denominations so that it is easy to buy things and not be noticed much.
- Preservation of identity papers, passports: everyone can rest assured to put them in the hotel, put them in a small locker with a lock, lock it to be safe.
- Slippers with anti-slip: hotels, yachts in Egypt do not have slippers in the room, the bathroom has a small flow of water, the drainage is also poor, so it is not slippery when bathing, everyone should bring 1 Anti-slip shoes for safety.
- Toothpaste, toothbrush, toothbrush: as well as slippers, most hotels do not come with the above, everyone should be prepared.
I go with the criterion that don’t put too much emphasis on checking in too many points, resting and eating comfortably is the main, so the cost everyone can refer to, go in a crowd and know how to adjust the target accordingly. For the purpose of the trip, it will be much cheaper.
In the end, for me this was a great experience. Hope it gives you more motivation to touch the Pyramids and have a happy and safe trip.
Author and photos by Phương Mai Nguyễn. You can follow her at : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003826041886
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