Islamic Cairo Attractions

Usually you need to apply to your local Egyptian Embassy or Consulate General for a pre-entry tourist visa but if you are from North America, Western Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Brazil/Argentina or Hong Kong/Japan/Macau/Malaysia or Singapore you can get your tourist visa upon arrival in Egypt.

If you hold a residence permit in the country you live in you can apply to the Egyptian Embassy/Consulate General in that country, otherwise you have to apply to the country that issued your passport.

Though many nationalities are exempt from requiring a visa for the many Sinai resorts, a full tourist visa is required if you come to any place in Egypt that lies to the west of the Red Sea/Suez Canal.

Though many nationalities are exempt from requiring a visa for staying in Hurghada, once you leave the confines of the town a full tourist visa is required.

Yes, as soon as you leave Egypt your visa will be stamped and so you will require another one. If you are from a country that can get their visa upon arrival in Egypt, you can get the new one when you re-enter the country, but if you require a pre-entry visa you should apply for 2 of these, using the second one when you re-enter Egypt.

A tourist visa can be extended if required. To do this you have to apply to Mogamma, in Tahrir Square, or to the equivalent offices in Alexandria, Luxor or Sharm El-Sheikh

The star ratings get higher as the facilities and overall standard of the accommodation gets better and so it is easier to imagine 5 star deluxe (or any suffix added to 5 star) as being 6 star

If you are only in Cairo for a few days it is a lot easier for you to see the sites starting from a base in Giza. The traffic from downtown to the pyramids can cause the journey to take over an hour, which means an early start if you want a full day’s experience, especially if you require to enter the Great Pyramid, when you have to be at the plateau before 0800. If you are in Cairo for a while, the Hotels at the Pyramids are all on a resort basis, built in acres of land with outdoor swimming pools and relaxing areas, something which Downtown hotels cannot really provide. This is why you tend to find that the Downtown hotels are built like towers; very tall and narrow, while Giza Pyramid hotels are limited in height, but cover more ground.

Cost also comes into the equation as a simple 4 star Hotel in the Downtown area is more than often more expensive than a 5 star resort in the Pyramids area. Cairo is like most major cities in the world in this regard as city centre property is a lot more expensive. Though it may appear that Downtown hotels do afford the luxury of being able to wander around the area for shopping and restaurants, etc. most of the Pyramid hotels offer free shuttle buses to allow you to do the same, plus taxis are not expensive and will still work out cheaper in the end.

Bed and breakfast means that only breakfast is supplied.
Half board means that breakfast and dinner are supplied
Full board has all meals supplied (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
All inclusive means that all meals and drinks are supplied; some hotels also supply alcohol. This latter point should be checked when making the booking.

No, definitely not, and we would encourage you to go out and enjoy the culture of Egypt. Many packages are full board, which tends to make people think they have to stay imprisoned in their hotel, but the sights and sounds of Cairo, especially, are too great to be missed. Why stay in the same hotel, with the same faces, when you could go out and have your dinner on a cruise boat sailing around Zamalek Island, accompanied by either a belly dancer or a Whirling Dervish; or sometimes both. This is your holiday, so enjoy every minute and get out and explore.

All Hotels and Cruises have safety deposit boxes, sometimes even in your room/cabin. All you need do is ask at reception and they will give you instructions on how to use them, or will safely put away your valuables until you need them.

The main bus depot is called Cairo Gateway (El Torgoman) bus station and is situated just off the city centre. Any taxi will be able to take you there.

The bus station in Luxor is situated behind the Luxor Temple.

The bus station is situated in Hurghada town centre.

The bus station is on the outskirts of the town on Freedom Road. You will require a taxi to get there, though many hotels do have shuttle buses which can do this.

There is no online facility for this but you can order them by telephone. Call El Watania on +20225749474 or +20225749274, or fax them on +20225749074. You will be given a booking reference and you can pay and pick the tickets up at Cairo station at least 24 hours before departure.

Many travel books mention the road and bus service between these two towns, but these are not advised for tourists and the buses will often refuse admittance. The advised route is to get the bus to Luxor and then the train to Aswan.

Though these buses are air-conditioned and are good to use, tourists are advised not to and will be very lucky to either obtain a ticket or even be allowed to board the bus. This journey, for tourists, is restricted to trains or flight.

You can, but you are advised to get your tickets at least 24 hours before travel, if possible. If you wait until the last minute you may find that you cannot get seats that are next to one another, or they may even be at separate ends of the bus. Not a good idea if you have children with you.

Car hire is available and many of the world’s major car hire companies are in Cairo. Car hire is NOT advised for those who have not been to Egypt before and therefore do not understand the level of driving employed by Egyptians.

Unless you are used to the way that Egyptians drive, it is not advised to attempt this. Lane etiquette is unknown, cars will cut across you to make a turn, and the use of lights during the night is very seldom done. Though some road signs are in English and Arabic, the majority are in Arabic alone and there are simply not any good road maps, especially town ones.

NO!! If you were to do this you could find yourself paying more for the ride than the fare by bus/train would have been.

Yes, there are many places that will allow this but before you do so please remember a couple of very important things:

1/ as the day progresses so does the heat, so by the early afternoon it can be exceedingly uncomfortable. Do you really want to be cycling for miles in this, with very little chance of shade? This is especially important for children, who will tire a lot as the day progresses because of the heat.

2/ there are no cycle lanes and so you are sharing the roads with all other forms of vehicular traffic, which is not the best thing to experience. Many cyclists have been injured because of other road users not noticing them.

Sadly the links between Alexandria (and Port Said) and other Mediterranean ports are not available right now due to the ongoing problems in Palestine and Israel. It is hoped that these will be resumed in the not too distant future. Commercial ferries are available, some of which carry passengers, but you would need to contact the relevant port authority for information on these.