| Cairo |
Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Tue December 30, 2003 06:49 PM UTC
Transport by taxi!!! Learn to haggle, for they will sence a tourist from way beyond!! Within downtown Cairo 5 EP is OK!! Going beyond that 10 to 15 pounds is accurate!!
When in Cairo???? See Gizeh, Sakkarah, the Citadel, Khan el Khalili!! (my favourite!!), The Egyptian Museum, Just walk around and meet the people of Egypt!!! They are the most atractive part of Egypt!! Take a felukah and experience the noise of the city disappear when sailing on the Nile!!
Oh, my God!! Cairo captured me!!! The people there swallowed me!! Cairo is like my second home!!!
Love, Dora.
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| Cairo |
Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Wed December 31, 2003 04:42 AM UTC
Hi Carole and welcome to Egypt.
My golden advice is that you stick with a travel agent, if you're not already with one!!
Being with a travel agent will save you A LOT of time and effort, and will let you see MUCH MORE in such a very short time. This will also save you a lot of money that could be wasted in individual transportation, fees, tips, etc.
How do do that?
Your hotel should have dozens of 1-day and multiple-day touristic packages in Cairo and outside. Take whatever price they give you just to get an idea, then go downtown Cairo (Tahreer Square, Talaat Harb Street, and Asr El-Neel Street) and the many travel agencies there will give you the exact same packages for less than half the price of a hotel--hotels put a big premium.
Ask me if you need further info, and have a fantastic trip to Egypt.
Aliaa
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| Cairo |
Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Wed December 31, 2003 04:51 AM UTC
Hi again.
Plus what Dora suggestd I would add:
1. Coptic Church and Coptic Museum: Take a metro from downtown to Mar Girgis station. This is where the church is. Friday early mornings are great both for transportation and the church service.
2. The great Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Sun Boat Museum inside the Pyramids area.
3. The Saladdin Citadel and Mohammad Ali's Mosque. You have to take a cab. Early morning is also recommended here, before school trips start to storm the place with pupils and noise!
Both activities above are daytime activities, best between 6:30 and 15:00
Salaam.
Aliaa
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| Cairo |
Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Wed December 31, 2003 06:03 AM UTC
Hi Carole,
You can reserve a Taxi, or rent a car which I recommend more than a Taxi because of its reliability in time and accountability to the company from which you rented the car, although it will be more expensive.
You can also go around with any of the VT members...
Mongy
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| Cairo |
Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Wed December 31, 2003 07:13 AM UTC
There is a lot to see in Cairo and the guys have suggested many places that i think more than enough for 5 days. Concerning transportation the travel operator is the most expensive but will let you make the best of your time and hassle free. Taking a cap is the cheapest and you can make a deal for several days. But u need to have a set plan for visits and schedule. i don't advise driving in Cairo it has its own rules. Make up your mind and i might be able to help. Have a nice time in Cairo.
Essam
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| Cairo |
Re: Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Wed December 31, 2003 07:51 AM UTC
About Travel agents,
It depends if you want hassle free, quick look and organized schedule then Travel agent will be good, however the most expensivce choice.
If you want deeper interaction with the culture and visiting places that many tourists do not go to and explore unbeaten, and at the same time cheaper, then travel agent is not the right choice at all.
The other two choices would be making a deal with a Taxi driver as Essam suggested, or having some local people with you. About the Taxi alternative it is not preferable because it is not reliable in terms of schedule, and also he would still charge you more than what trips deserve.
I suggest you to possibly have a combination between travel agents for two days seeing the most important places, and in a week end or something when the people in Egypt are not busy at work, you can have some of the VT members taking you around.
Concerning places to visit in order of priority (IN my opinion):
1. The pyramids
2. Egyptian Museum
3. Islamic Cairo
4. The Citadel
5. Old CAIRO (cHRISTIAN cOP[TIC cAIRO)
6. The Cairo Tower
7. Ibn Tulun Mosque
8. Ibn el Ass Mosque
9. Art Galleries and Museums
10. Dead city.
There are also many things to do in Cairo, it is a city full of hang outs, Cafes, restaurants, and very vibrant at night...also having a feluka (Local boat moving with wind) in the Nile...
You can manage to see the most important things in 2 or 3 days (without getting deep into everything), so I guess 5 days if well organized you can see a lot.
Regards
Mongy
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| Cairo |
Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Thu January 8, 2004 02:04 PM UTC
Well Carol, I am not so sure of renting a car. At least not from what I've of traffic in Cairo. It would be smart to use taxi, but if you decide to connect with a touristic agency, "Misr Travel" is very good. If you want, I can ask around about their exact addrese or phone number.
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| Cairo |
Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Thu January 8, 2004 02:27 PM UTC
We hired a taxi for a week whilst we were in Cairo. I cant remember how much it cost, but I know it must have been a good deal as we were backpacking at the time. I personally wouldnt hire a car in Cairo, the driving is manic, & in places there are so many lanes, its chaos. I think the must sees have been covered above................have a wonderful time, I Know you will!!!!..........Nicola
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| Cairo |
Re: Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Thu January 8, 2004 09:49 PM UTC
Driving in Cairo??? I said it before: you must be a dare devil or severely depressed!! Even an experienced taxi driver in Cairo told me that you should have a very strong heart in order to survive the traffic in Cairo! And that doesn't go just for the driver!!!!!
I have spend some terrifying events, no Bond movie could copy, over there, just sitting in the passenger seat!! So, please, do yourself a favour: just take a taxi drive and than decide whether you would like to take the steering wheel.
I am sure you will refuse the honour. Our best friend is a professional truck driver, used to be on the road for 5 days a week, 12 hours a day. He utterly refuses to drive in Cairo!!
Driving outside Cairo??? Not to be recommended also!! Specially at night!! Drivers in Egypt seem to think they will have to pay for their car lights with their energy bill. In short: it seems a habit in Egypt to drive at night without lights.
And many roads are only accessible within a convoy or with police guidance. Just to make sure you are safe!
Just hand over transportation to the local people and you will have a safe, wonderful vacation!! An experience you will never forget!! And I am sure the traffic in Egypt will be a big part of the wonderful stories you will tell your family and friends after you returned home!
LOL!! Love, Dora.
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| Cairo |
Re: Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Fri January 9, 2004 05:50 AM UTC
Well Theodora,
You are right driving is crazy in Cairo, but I have seen worse, and the rate of accidents inside the city is not among the highets in the world.
The rate of accidents outside the city is also not among the highest, for example the rate is more in most of the European countries outside the city.
For you it is an adventure and Taxi drivers like to exagerate to make a story, it is risky, but at the end people have special codes and conducts that is very difficult for people even living outside Cairo to undetrsand it, there is even a language with the horn that we understand in CAIRO, THAT IS WHY THEY SUCCEEDED IN BANNING HORNING IN aLEXANDRIA AND NOT IN cairo because it is one of the esseces of driving in Cairo.
Yours
Mongy
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| Cairo |
Re: Re: Cairo Transportation and Must See Places! Posted: Sat January 10, 2004 09:39 AM UTC
Here's top 10 inputs, in ordered from most recommended to least recommended:
1- Use a travel agent
2- Use a travel agent
3- Use a travel agent
4- Hire a taxi or van for the entire trip (also doubles as a travle guide)
5- N/A
6- N/A
7- N/A
8- N/A
9- N/A
10- Make your own trip using on-the-fly transportation (taxi, metro, etc.) You will waste more time and money here, and will not be able to see much.
As you can see, driving is not on my list. Any travel agent (even if you're so very unfortunate to hit a miserable one) would save you a lot of hassle and time.
Have a great time.
Love
Aliaa
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