Alexandria Travel Forum

We are doing a cruise and have only 1 day at Alexandria. We wish to see the pyramids, should we do a cruise excursion or do it another way?

Karen, New Zealand

Pyramids in Alexandria ?

I think you had better go back to history classes...

I've never travelled to Cairo from Alexandria so I don't know the travelling times, I'd imagine it would take all day looking at the map. There have been some new museum openings in Alexandria, very good judging by the press coverage. I vote for a day in Alexandria, the pyramids will have to wait for your next trip - they'll still be there.
PS Buy a DVD on the pyramids, you can see more on the DVD than if you go there in person. The lighting is dim inside the open pyramid (they are not all open at the same time), but they turn the lights up for a film crew.

I vote to see the Pyramids.

There are things to do in Alexandria but going to Egypt and not seeing Cairo and the Pyramids? NZ is far away and you may not have plans for a next time. You should see them.

It can be done on your own but with your short stay, it will be easiest to do with the ships tour. If I remember correctly, it takes a few hours each way of travel time.

Going to Cairo from Alexandria is best done by train. It will take you 2,5 hours and will cost about 25LE. That is 2,5 GBP. From Ramses train station in Cairo it is best to hire a taxi for the entire day. Bargain a price of about 150 to 200 LE; that will be a fair price.

Seeing the Pyramids will take you half a day. As said the inside of a Pyramid is nothing special, just don't miss the Solar Boat Museum!! Entrance fee is about 20LE I think.
TOTALLY IGNORE THE TOUTS!!! Don't make eye contact or react on what they are saying! There are many over there; offering camel- or horse rides (once you bargained a cheap price and are up a camel they will ask for more and since you are depending on them to get off.....), offering all kind of cheap souvenirs etc. All I do there is changing their Euro coins into paper money, but I think you will have no Euro's at hand.

If you have time left take a visit to the Egyptian Museum with the treasues of Tut Anch Amun. It is not far from the station. Or have a felluca sail on the Nile.

If this is to much of a fuss to you you can contact my friend in Cairo. He can organize this trip for you at a price that will beat the price the cruise is charging. His name is Mohamed Bahaa:

bahaa94@hotmail.com
m.bahaa2@usa.net

Good luck, Dora.

If your stay in Alexandria is as short as the usual cruise ship stay at any other port i.e. about 8 hours, then you wouldn't have time to do as the previous poster says. With a 2.5 hour journey, there and back is 5 hours travel time and then you have to get to the pyramids and back .........I'd do the cruise excursion, which will be expensive but at least you will be able to count on reaching the ship before it departs Alexandria. As another poster says, I would stay in Alexandria...

150-200 EGP for a taxi when all you want to do is see the Giza pyramids ?? For your information, a taxi from Ramses train station to Hiza pyramids costs... 20 EGP, and then 20EGP again to travel back. Taxi trips within downtown cost maximum 5 EGP...

I was talking as a tourist and talking about hiring a taxi for the entire day.

I know that taxi trips around downtown Cairo are about 5LE, but, as I visit Cairo as a tourist (even though I have been there many times), I still find it hard to get a taxi for that price! From Tahrir to the Citadel we bargained 5LE. But we had a very angry and shouting taxi driver when we tried to leave the taxi without some extra baksheesh. I give him 1LE extra and left doing my own things ignoring him. But people who aren't used to these kind of practices can be very intimidated by this. Easier to hire a taxi for the entire day and don't have to deal with the constant bargaining!

Just one more advice: when you are bargaining with a taxi driver tell him upfront that you aren't interested in perfume, tapestry, papyrus or alabaster shops! Otherwise he will inevitably try to take you there!