Their economy might be in the dumps, the political situation fairly unstable and the US government has issued a travel warning against it, but for savvy travelers who want a Four Seasons experience for Howard Johnson prices, Egypt is the best deal going right now.
Recently, Condé Nast Traveler columnist Wendy Perrin was asked by a reader if it was safe to travel to Egypt. Her recommendation? Put Egypt visits on hold.
As a woman who just got back from a solo trip to the country, I whole-heartedly disagree.
Lest you think I’m crazy, I did my research before traveling to a region whose reputation has been tarnished by months of violence and demonstrations, following the end of overthrow of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
My friend, journalist Monique El Faizy, had moved to Egypt with her two young children in August and assured me she felt safe in her new home.
Monique directed me to SEEgypt, a travel agency in Cairo used by many of the embassies in town, which is owned and operated by two women, May Sedky and Susan Torgersen.
But I had serious concerns. First and foremost: cash. As a rule, if a country’s culture is far different from my own, I prefer to stay in high-end accommodations, which typically adhere to liberal, international customs (rather than local). This would be particularly crucial as a solo female traveler visiting a conservative Muslim nation. Problem is that those rooms usually come at a steep price.
As for journeying on my own, Sedky assured me Egypt safe. She also noted that it was an ideal time to come as, “you have most of the archeological sites all to yourself, and the rates are down.”
And were they ever down.
Abercrombie & Kent, a well-respected, luxury travel agency, is charging $3,495 (regularly $6,995), not including airfare, for a 10-day trip that includes a five-day Nile cruise on the deluxe Sun Boat 3. I did the exact same trip at the end of October, even traveling down the Nile on the exact same boat used by Abercrombie & Kent, for far less. I booked my own flight on Kayak and the tour through SEEgypt for a grand total of $2,000 — $1,495 for the tour, and $551 for the Lufthansa flight from to Newark to Cairo via Frankfurt. The tour included internal flights, English-speaking guides, the boat trip, several meals and transport to and from the international and domestic airports.
I stayed with my friends in Cairo, but rooms at the historic Mena House were going for $115 online (regularly $250) and rooms at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza were down to $170 from $280.
Egypt turned out to be one of the most magical trips I’ve ever taken — almost like I was on a private, VIP tour of the country. Up to 5,000 people used to visit the Giza pyramids every day, but when I went, the attendance was so low I was able to wander around inside the Great Pyramid by myself for an hour.
The next day, during my tour of the Citadel and the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, I was stopped repeatedly by locals who told me, “Thank you for coming — we love you! Please come back!” During a stroll on the Palace Road, I was invited into one of the 800-year-old madrassas (Islamic schools) that normally don’t allow non-Muslims to enter — and was even treated like an honored guest.
While there were demonstrations and marches going on during my stay in Cairo, I never saw them, as the taxi drivers knew where they were and how to avoid them.
After Cairo, I embarked on a Nile cruise. I was joined by eight other travelers, and over the next four nights we sailed down the river, visiting the temples of Luxor, Karnak, Dendera, Edfu and Kom Ombo — which were, for all intents and purposes, empty. In the Valley of the Kings and Queens — 300 miles south of Cairo — we walked around Hatshepsut’s tomb and those of several kings unimpeded by crowds.
The boat ride ended in Aswan, where I flew in a sparsely filled plane to the UNESCO heritage site of Abu Simbel and was one of only ten tourists exploring the temples of Nefertari and Ramses II.
The downside (and isn’t there always a downside?) is that people in Egypt’s tourist industry haven’t worked on a regular basis for several years, giving the country an aura of desperation.
Tourism, which employs nearly 12 percent of Egypt’s workforce and once provided revenues of over $11 billion, is, according to Sedky, down 90 percent since the dawn of the Arab Spring in 2011.
And after Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi was overthrown last summer, things have gotten even worse.
“Since the revolution it has been very slow,” said Osama Ahmed, the A&K guide on the Sun Boat told me. “But since July? Nothing. No one. Last week, we did this cruise with two people on board, that’s it.”
The result is that at every historical site there is a gauntlet of overeager hawkers, desperate to make a living and attempting to sell temple trinkets. For the most part, it was fine — only in Kom Ombo was it overwhelming — but for those who are easily freaked out, it is something to be aware of.
Otherwise, if you dress appropriately (cover your shoulders and knees), abide by curfew (1 a.m. every day except for Friday, which is 7 p.m.), avoid demonstrations, stay at high-end hotels and use reputable tour operators, Egypt right now, is the experience — and bargain — of a lifetime.