
Transportation
Direct flight from Warsaw Chopin Airport to Cairo International Airport.
We used UBER in Cairo - super cheap and easy, but beware of traffic.
We took the night train from Cairo to Aswan (inc. breakfast and dinner - 80 USD) and then from Luxor to Cairo (inc. breakfast and dinner - 80 USD).
Our itinerary
Day 1 - 12.01.2023 - Cairo
- arrive in the evening
Day 2 - 13.01.2023 - Giza
- Cairo Highlights Tour - Pyramids and The Great Sphinx of Giza
- visit to the Museum of Egyptian Civilisation
- visit to the Khan el-Khalili market
Day 3 - 14.01.2023 - Cairo
- visit to the Egyptian Museum
Day 4 - 15.01.2023 - Alexandria
- all day Alexandria tour - visit to the The Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa, Pompey's Pillar, Roman Theatre, Fort Qaitbey and The Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Day 5 - 16.01.2023 - Cairo
- visit to the Citadel
- visit to the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha or Alabaster Mosque
Day 6 - 17.01.2023 - Cairo
- exploring the downtown of Cairo
- night train from Cairo to Aswan
Day 7 - 18.01.2023 - Aswan
- exploring Aswan
- visit to Aswan Market
- sunset at Old Cataract Hotel
Day 8 - 19.01.2023 - Aswan
- exploring the city
- visit to the Aswan Market
Day 9 - 20.01.2023 - Aswan
- boarding the Nile Cruise
- visit to the High Dam in Aswan
- visit to the Philae Temple
Day 10 - 21.01.2023 - Nile Cruise
- early morning drive to Abu Simbel
- visit to the Abu Simbel
- Nile cruising
- evening visit in Kom Ombo
Day 11 - 22.01.2023 - Nile Cruise
- visit to the Edfu Temple
- Nile cruising
- afternoon visit the Luxor Temple
Day 12 - 23.01.2023 - Nile Cruise
- visit to the Karnak Temple
- visit to the Valley of the Kings
- visit to the Hatsutep Temple
Day 13 - 24.01.2023 - Luxor
- visit to the Luxor market
- exploring the city
Day 14 - 25.01.2023 - Luxor
- hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings
- visit to the Winter Palace Hotel
- visit to the Luxor Museum
- night train to Cairo
Day 15 - 26.01.2023 - Cairo
- visit to the Al-Azhar Mosque
- coffee at the El-Fishawy Cafe
- visit and shopping at the Khan el-Khalili market
Day 16 - 27.01.2023 - Cairo
- early morning flight to Warsaw

Travel essentials
- travel: 12-27 January 2023
- Egyptian visa on arrival - 25 USD
- accomodation: Cairo Cosmopolitan Plaza Inn Hotel (5 nights) - Aswan Nile Obelisk Hotel (2 nights) - Nile Cruise (3 nights) - Luxor Sonesta St. George Hotel (3 nights) - Cairo Cosmopolitan Plaza Inn Hotel (1 night)
- currency: Egyptian pound = EGP
TIPS:
- tap water is NOT ok to drink - use bottled water to drink and to brush your teeth
- keep small bills for tips - everyone expects bakshish
- agree the price before the the ride - best to write it down!
- best deals in Egypt all come down to negotiating like a pro - learn how to haggle 🙂
- as in most muslim countries alcohol is only available in some hotels and restaurants
Favourites
Our favourite local food





































Favourite places to eat and drink
Cairo
- Pomodoro - great seafood restaurant
- Oldish (Restaurant & Cafe) - cool place for coffee and food
- Karam El Sham - great fast-food joint - good food, cheap, lots of locals
- Lebanese Street food - shawarma and chicken wraps
- La poire Cafe - coffee and cakes
- Cafe Riche - cold beer, slow service
- El-Fishawy Café - famous place on the Khan El Khalili Market
Aleksandria
- Branzino restaurant - nice waterfront restaurant
Aswan
- Old Cataract Hotel - amazing place for drinks
Luxor
- Aboudi Break - great breakfasts and coffee

Some prices
At the time of our travel:
100 Egyptian pound (EGP) = 3,06 euro = 14,57 zł (PLN)
Cairo
- SIM card - 602 EGP
- taxi from the airport to the hotel - 15 USD
- Cairo Highlights Guided Tour (1/2 day, Pyramids, Great Sphinx, Kah el- Kahim Market - 120 USD)
- Museum of Egyptian Civilisation - 240 EGP
- Salah El Din Citadel and Alabaster Mosque - 200 EGP
- Egyptian Museum - 200 EGP
- Egyptian Museum Guide - 300 EGP per hour
- single metro ticket - 5 EGP
- XL chicken wrap - 50 EGP
- black coffee - 51 EGP
- latte - 60 EGP
- chicken shawarma wrap - 75 EGP
- day-trip to Alexandria with private guide - 100 USD
- tabboule - 35 EGP
- Stella beer - 125 EGP
- Sakkara beer - 25 EGP
- glass of house wine - 125 EGP
- coffee - 60 EGP
- pepsi - 30 EGP
- shrimps and pasta at Pomodoro - 220 EGP
- small bottle of water - 2,5 EGP
- night train from Cairo to Aswan (inc. breakfast and dinner) - 80 USD
- airport breakfast for 2 people - 615 EGP
Alexandria
- whole day trip - 100 USD
- The Pompey's Pillar - 80 EGP
- The Bibliotheca Alexandrina - 70 EGP
Aswan
- ticket to High Dam - 100 EGP
- Philae Temple - 200 EGP
- drinks at Old Cataract Hotel - 500 EGP per person (voucher against the bill)
- taxi to the train station - 50 EGP
Kom Ombo
- Kom Ombo Temple - 160 EGP
- beer on the Nile cruise boat - 78 EGP
Edfu
- Temple of Horus - 200 EGP
Luxor
- Luxor Temple - 180 EGP
- Karnak Temple - 220 EGP
- Luxor Museum - 140 EGP
- Valley of the Kings - 260 EGP
- Hatshepsut Temple - 160 EGP
- breakfast for 2 people - 215 EGP
- falafel in the street bar - 10 EGP
- 1/2 chicken grilled - 150 EGP
- cola - 20 EGP
- mint tea - 15 EGP
- chicken sandwich - 40 EGP
- breakfast set at Aboudi Coffee Break - 55 EGP
- beer at Winter Palace Hotel - 150 EGP
- cola at Winter Palace Hotel - 60 EGP
- hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings - 80 USD
- night train from Luxor to Cairo (inc. breakfast and dinner) - 80 USD
Extra excursions
We booked all organised trips on the Viator website:
- 1/2 day trip Cairo Highlights Guided Tour for 2 people (private car, guide, all entrance fees, lunch) - 120 USD
- all day Alexandria trip for 2 people (private car, guide, all entrance fees, lunch) - 100 USD
- Nile Cruise - (4-days/3-nights accomodation on the boat, transportation, entrance fees to the temples, 3 meals per day, private guide) - 400 USD per person
Travel tips
❗ GENERAL
- Dress - an Islamic country, so dress rather conservatively - pants and long sleeves recommended
- Weather - we visited in January - in Cairo we wore a fleece, in the evenings a jacket because it was blowing cold wind; The south you go, the warmer it is, but only then until the sunset
- Water - you have to be VERY careful with water (in the drink, in ice in drinks, in the teeth cleaning) – drink ONLY bottled water
- First Aid - first aid kit - it's worth taking Loperamide with you (for the famous pharaoh's revenge)
- Electricity - the same sockets as in Europe
- Cash - the ATM only allows you to take 4000EGP at a time
- - it's worth having USD in small bills (1 or 5USD) for tips - interestingly our hotel did not take the older 100USD bill (before 2009), but I don't know if it's a common practice
- Credit Cards - cards (Revolut) works hotels, restaurants, etc
- Food - you can eat deliciously for little money - Shwarma with the drink 40EGP, small water 2.5FGP, Stella beer 125EGP, nescafe in the cafe 10-15EGP, mint tea 10EGP; coffee at Costa Coffee 80EGP
- Alcohol - sold only in some hotels and restaurants
- Security - at the entrances to hotels, subways, etc. there are gates and x-ray machine for luggage - in some cases they ring and they don’t do anything about it 😀
- Egyptians livelihood is tourism - if we are not interested in buying / trip / ride - it's worth arming yourself with a smile and politely refuse - usually after a few attempts they give up trying to sell you stuff
✈️ Cairo International AIRPORT
- visas on Arrival - after landing, you fill in the small print (as a place of stay - just enter the word HOTEL), buy a visa for 25US and take it to passport control
- SIM Card - before leaving the airport we bought a SIM card (Vodafon - 20GB - 301EGP), apparently Orange costs 160EGP for 16GB, but we couldn't find the shop
- Airport UBER / Taxi - from the airport you can take an UBER to the center (150EGP) but as we get there at midnight we went by taxi for 15US (negotiations started from 500EGP)
? TRANSPORTATION
- UBER - super cheap (rides costs 2-5 zlotys), super comfortable but unfortunately there are huge traffic jams in Cairo - sometimes it's faster to walk a few streets
- it's also good to have an app for cheap Taxi – “Careem”
- metro in Cairo - cool option - one ride costs 5EGP; we bought 10 cardboard tickets at once so that we don't have to stand at the ticket office each time - well-marked lines
- ticket validation gate at the entrance - gate at the exit where you put the ticket again 🙂
- in the subway there are separate cars only for women - couples/families can ride in those for men
- TRAINS - we took a night train Cairo-Aswan and then Luxor-Cairo; 80 US for a ticket, the ticket is personal - you need to show your passport when buying; cleanliness is not a great advantage of this train (or rather, we got the dirtiest train we have ever travelled) but the bedding is fresh; dinner and breakfast included - the conductor brings you trays (dinner - hot: rice, chicken, vegetables; plus a bun, cheese, fruit and juice – in general it is still better than on the plane 🙂 you can buy cold and hot drinks from him; toilets are so-so (without paper) but in each compartment there are 2 beds and a sink, so you can brush your teeth 🙂
? CAIRO
- The Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx - insane! We just bought a 1-day trip, but it's worth coming early in the morning and wandering around - then buses full of people come down, it's worth going to the viewpoint - where you can see 3 pyramids align
- Museum of Egyptian Civilization - not too big but very pleasant - two floors - 22 mummies of Egyptian pharaohs downstairs - no photos allowed
- Kah el-Kahim Bazaar - a labyrinth of streets and shops; market mainly for tourists but also has charming pubs and cafes; you have to be very careful about pickpockets; and you have to bargain hard; it is worth looking up because some shops are in beautiful old buildings
- Egyptian Museum (200EGP) we spent half a day; the new museum will be open soon, the atmosphere of the building is dusty, but it's still worth it - we also took a guide in English (1h - 300EGP) he told great stories and patiently explained everything, there is a small cafe at the exit behind the shop - you can return to the museum for the same ticket after a break for coffee 🙂 on the first floor there is also an exhibition of Tutankhamun 🙂 they close at 17:00,
- Mahammad Ali Mosque - (common ticket to the Citadel 200EGP) – highly recommend, you need to dress appropriately, it's worth having your own scarf for your head (women) - additionally in the Citadel there is a small war museum and a police museum
- Al Azhar Mosque - next to the market, a beautiful white courtyard, free entrance, even though I had long pants and long sleeves, the lady at the entrance packed me in a tunic anyway - she didn't want money
- POMODORO Restaurant - rather a bar, but they have amazing seafood - spaghetti with a plate of shrimps 220EGP
? ALEXANDRIA
- 3 hours drive from Cairo - we chose the full day guided tour
- Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa - interesting ruins
- Pompey's Pillar - all around in ruins, but the column is standing, if anyone is interested, it can be interesting, but not crazy (80 EGP)
- Roman Theatre - ruins, beautifully preserved; quite sparse but interesting
- Library of Alexandria - amazing 🙂 super modern building - included in the price of the ticket (70FGP) a tour with a guide who tells great stories for 40 minutes, then you can stay alone until closing at 19:00
- the city itself is quite crumbling, heavy traffic jams, very loud
? ASWAN
- we arrived by night train from Cairo (couch + two meals 80USD)
- a very nice market along the road from the station to the centre - it's worth coming in the morning around 9:00, to sit down with coffee and watch people bustle and open businesses
- much calmer than in Cairo, warmer (January - 25c), but a lot more flies
- UBER does not work - probably there is no such option
- Old Cataract Hotel - 5* hotel where Agatha Christi wrote her novel "Death on the Nile", a legendary place for sunset; you have to buy a ticket for 500EGP - later you have 500EGP to spend at the bar; unfortunately there are no brilliant drinks, beer 130EGP, coffee 90EGP, popular High Tea - sandwiches and snacks in London style 490EGP
? CRUISE ON THE NILE
- we chose 4 days (3 nights) - on the spot it turned out that the first 24 hours are rather stationary - a bus takes you around, but it is still so worth it!!
- HIGH DAM - ticket 100EGP, going up - taking pictures – coming back; nothing special
- PHILAE TEMPLE - we went after lunch by a small bus, admission 200EGP, you can reach the temple only by a small boat, beautiful at sunset
- ABU SIMBEL - on the second day the bus took us at 4:30 in the morning, journey time 3h, ticket 275EGP, one of the temples that was moved higher because of the dam - absolutely beautiful place; actually two temples side by side
- then we returned to the boat and sailed to Kom Ombo
- the boat itself is a floating hotel - quite large rooms with bathrooms, 3 meals (hotel buffet - delicious food), a small swimming pool on the top surrounded by deckchairs, a bar
- each group has its own guide (there were 11 of us in total)
- unfortunately, all boats probably have a similar program - when mooring at a temple, a crowd of boats was waiting for us - but it's a good way to see as much as possible with little time
- KOM OMBO TEMPLE – beautiful temple with interesting little museum with mummies of crocodiles (160 EGP)
- EDFU TEMPLE - we were early in the morning, access to the temple by carriages (200 EGP)
- LUXOR TEMPLE - super illuminated at night, if you stay in Luxor it's worth going again - at 9 am there were only a few people inside, 180 EGP
- KARNAK TEMPLE - connected avenue of sphinxes with Luxor Temple, 220 EGP
- VALLEY OF THE KINGS - approx. 40 minutes from Luxor, entry to 3 tombs included in the price of the ticket (there are 10 open tombs in total, so you can choose; tombs - e.g. Seti, Tutankhamon - are paid extra) by electric go-kart for 10EGP - there is a bar and shops, but toilet only by the cash desks; 260 EGP
- HATSHEPSUT TEMPLE - access also by electric go-kart (160 EGP)
- along the way, it is worth stopping at the Colossi of Memnon
? LUXOR
- a charming city on the bank of the Nile, in the centre of the Luxor Temple ruins - beautifully illuminated at night (180 EGP ticket)
- on the other side of the Nile is much quieter, more local restaurants - boat ride costs 5EGP
- in addition to taxis, there are small carriages around the city - you need to agree on the price before the ride
- Luxor Museum is worth visiting, small but very interesting (closed 14:00-17:00 I don't know why, 140 EGP)
- in the centre there is a market for tourists - one street, you have to bargain hard
- behind the station and behind the tracks, there is a second market - more local, there are fruits, spices, etc
- a lot of interesting bookstores with good books and old photographs - I recommend especially the one next to the Winter Palace Hotel - it was established as a photo studio in 1908, amazing black and white photos
- Winter Palace Hotel - a magnificent Victorian building, where Howard Carter announced to the world that he had found Tutankhamen’s Tomb; it's worth stopping in for a drink in the evening at the bar and listening to the piano playing, the prices are not scary (beer 180EGP)
- cheap street food - falafel in pita 10EGP
- Recommended - one of the available attractions that I highly recommend is a BALLOON FLIGHT over the Valley of the Kings - for me it was the first time and it was absolutely BRILLIANT - they picked us up from the hotel at 6:30 (there is also a 4:30 flight - but it was foggy), they prove place, explanation of the procedure, the flight lasted 45 minutes, the pilot tells us what we are passing down there - amazing views!!! - super safe and professional; (80USD per person - we booked via Viator) due to the weather, the balloons can only fly until 8am - they dropped us off at the hotel at 9am - amazing experience ❤
✈️ AIRPORT - RETURN
- we drove 40 minutes from the centre (7 am) by UBER for 93EGP
- at the entrance of the gate and x-ray of luggage and you move to the passport control
- A few shops at the airport (souvenir craze) cafes and Burger King
- ATTENTION - at the entrance to the Gate again the gate and x-ray of luggage - I think alcohol in the Duty Free bag will pass, but they ordered to leave water