I have long been interested in ancient civilizations.
Egypt has been on my horizon for years-the oldest destination on earth. Before the ancient Greeks and Romans. Egypt's lifeblood is the Nile River. Almost the entire population of the country is crammed onto the narrow fertile plain fringing the river. It was so during the ancient Egyptian era, when the temples and cities of the pharaohs rarely strayed from the life-sustaining area of the Nile's banks. Today the best way to experience Egypt is to explore the Nile from the pyramids on the outskirts of the capital of Cairo to the north, to the great temples in the far south of the country. The Nile has shaped Egypt's character and development. It has created diverse cultures and peoples. Religion is in every aspect of daily life-from that of ancient Egypt to modern Islam and Christianity.
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Map of Egypt
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PLANNING. I had a 1992 travel guide to Egypt that I read to help me come up with an itinerary of sorts. I also bought a 2009 travel guide book that focused on Cairo and the Nile. I had gotten some names of agencies from Trip Advisor Egypt travel forum that were recommended as being able to put together an amazing experience. I contacted a few giving my desired itinerary to get price quotes. I was torn between Lady Egypt and Freelancers.
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Travel guides
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I ultimately decided to go with
Freelancers as they were able to best accommodate my wishes with a good price. Total price for the 2 of us was $8935.00. The price included all hotels, the Nile cruise, domestic flights, sightseeing tours, entrance fees, transfers/meet and greets. We would have a private driver and guide. I had first contacted them on 11/6/2010. I weeded out the numerous Nile River cruises down to Sonesta's Moon Goddess. It had a Tuesday departure from Aswan so the itinerary would be built around being able to start the Nile cruise on a Tuesday. On 1/5/2011 a deposit of $3200.00 was paid. The final payment of $5735.00 was paid on 5/1/2011. Shortly after I had paid our deposit the political situation in Egypt got dicey. I was reassured by Freelancers that if the US had a travel advisory prohibiting or advising strongly against travel to Egypt my payment would be refunded or the trip could be rescheduled if we wanted to do that. I did register us with the US Department of State. We tweaked the itinerary a bit but Freelancers was always quick to respond and was able to give me the itinerary I wanted. Freelancers even got us upgrades for our hotels in Aswan, Luxor at no cost to us. They took into consideration and made happen my request to sit on the left side of the plane, window seat, to Abu Simbel. Also an upper deck cabin on the starboard side of the Sonesta Moon Goddess for the Nile cruise.
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Ultimately we decided to proceed with our trip. I booked our international air with American Airlines. Buffalo-Chicago-London and return. Then Egypt Air from London-Cairo and Cairo-Athens. Cost was $1297.30 per person. We would depart Buffalo on Sunday, May 15, 2011 arriving in Cairo on Monday, May 16, 2011. Then we'd depart Cairo on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 arriving in Athens on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
Final itinerary. Destinations-Cairo, Bahariya Oasis/White Desert, Aswan, Abu Simbel, 4 nights Nile cruise, Luxor, Sharm El-Sheikh. We'd have 24 days/23 nights in Egypt. I chose our accommodations, the number of nights at each, sightseeing tours. I even put in time at Sharm El-Sheikh mainly for my husband to scuba dive while I relaxed on the beach or at the hotel pool. I was also really looking forward to the Bahariya Oasis/White Desert excursion. We'd be sleeping under the stars in the White Desert! I think I put together a fantastic trip to Egypt with the help of Freelancers.
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| Nile cruise |
I printed out blank calendar pages for May, June 2011 and filled them in with our trip information. I also bought a small notebook where I entered all information about our flights, tipping policies, sightseeing, hotels......... I should note that it's very important to know the tipping policies. Egypt, more than any country we've visited, is very much a tipping country. Tip-baksheesh.
PREPARATION. More or less the same as for our trips to China, Africa, London, Costa Rica from few years prior to this trip. Fortunately because of immunizations we had to get for prior trips we didn't need any for this trip. A first aid kit containing bandaids, neosporin, tylenol, and more. Disinfectant wipes, a roll of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, my own washcloth. Dental hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash. Sunscreen, insect repellant. Sore throat lozenges. Our medications. Probiotics. OTC meds for allergies, upset stomach, diarrhea, etc. Small sewing kit, eyeglass repair kit. Travel paks of kleenex. Camera and video gear. Snorkel gear for me and scuba gear for my husband. Travel clock, duct tape, travel digital luggage scale, luggage TSA approved locks. Adapter plugs. It seems like a lot but if something happens I'm prepared.
CLOTHING. This always gives me a challenge. What to pack. We knew the weather would be hot so I packed accordingly as well as taking into consideration respect for the culture and religion of modern day Egypt. For myself-modest bathing attire, few pairs of almost to the knee shorts, knee length capri pants, short sleeve tops, a few skirts, underwear, nightgowns and a bathrobe, light weight wraps, shawl that could be uses as a head covering, sandals, walking shoes, flip flops. For my husband swim trunks, knee length shorts, a few pairs of lightweight slacks, collar short sleeve shirts, pullover T shirts, underwear, sandals, walking shoes, flip flops. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting some things we took as I'm doing this blog 9 years after our trip.
Passports still valid so I think we're good to go!
