Egypt is unlike any place I’ve been before. Flying in, you can immediately see how much of a city it really is as it is packed with stone apartment buildings. We had to catch on to the culture pretty quick here because there’s a lot to learn and a lot to be weary of. I think there are a lot of pros and cons to visiting Egypt. The pros mostly surrounding the history and just how amazing to see things built thousands of years ago. Cons are the way tourists are treated in Egypt – they are mostly treated and seen as a way to get money. The city itself could also use a lot of love, buildings were in disrepair and it didn’t seem like there was any sort of garbage pick up.
It was a huge traveling learning experience and I’m so grateful because we got to see things some people only read about in text books and it was incredible.
Places we went:
- Step pyramid in Sakkara
- A tomb in Sakkara
- Memfis open air museum
- Pyramids of Giza
- Sphinx
- Pompey’s pillar
- Catacombs
- Alexandria gardens
- Alexandria library
- Egyptian museum
- Bazaar
My advice:
1. Get a guide. It seems impossible to get around in Egypt without a travel guide. If you don’t have one, people will try to get money out of you any way they can and you will have a very hard time getting around or even knowing what you’re looking at when you get there.
2. Do research. I had to do a lot of research on the culture, money, and tipping. I wore long pants or skirts with shirts that covered my shoulders to be respectful. Even with the research I did, I felt very lost.
3. Be firm. Almost everyone gets a tip in Egypt and it’s important to know how much to tip them or if you should tip them at all. I followed this rule of thumb from tripadvisor.
4. Get ready to learn. While we had time to relax with some pool time or hookah time, the meat of this trip is visiting historical places and learning.
I’m still in awe that I had the chance to go to Egypt. My boyfriend and I are not great (or are really great depending on how you look at it) tourists and are easily sold on many things. We saw a lot of amazing sites that I’m not sure will even last for too long. We may have spent a bit too much, but it was truly a trip of a lifetime and I’m going to brag about my Egyptian essential oils, handmade carpet hanging, papyrus print, and Egyptian cotton pants forever. 😂
Go to Egypt now while the history lasts and the tourism is doing well – it’s more than worth it.
