Avalon Egypt

[Los_Pepes]

Thinking about doing an Avalon Egypt trip in 2016. Does anyone have any thoughts on itinerary, quality, safety etc.

 

Open to any and all insight.

[jpalbny]

No experience with Avalon here but A&K really put on a great tour for us when we went with them in late 2012. We never felt unsafe. Egypt takes tourist security very seriously and we felt that both A&K and the guards, soldiers, etc, were looking out for us.

 

From what I've seen most of the itineraries are generally along the same lines - Cairo for a few days, then a river cruise in the stretch from Aswan to Luxor, then finish up in Cairo. The length of the river cruise may vary, and some push further north from Luxor to Denderah for a few more temples that are worth visiting.

 

Abu Simbel is a detour (even further south than Aswan) but it's well worth the visit and I would make sure you get there. I think most itineraries include it, but sometimes it's a optional excursion.

 

I don't know if tourism numbers have recovered yet in Egypt. That could be to your advantage; if the number of visitors is still below average, then the sites will be less crowded. We visited the bent pyramid, for example, and we were the only ones there. It was awesome!

 

Egypt is an amazing place and one that definitely should be on your list.

[Hydrokitty]

Thinking about doing an Avalon Egypt trip in 2016. Does anyone have any thoughts on itinerary, quality, safety etc.

 

Open to any and all insight.

 

No experience with Avalon but did Egypt pre-Arab spring with vantage and it was wonderful. I know some companies are going to Egypt again but I would want as much info as possible. We had armed guard with us at all times but saw no sign of needing him. I would imagine that is still requrired. In all of the unrest I have not beard of ANY tourists being hurt or threatened but with the current ISIS problem I honestly don't know if I would go anywhere in the middle east or northern africa right now.

[Los_Pepes]

Thank you for the thoughtful replies. I like the way the trip looks but I am just a little scared of the situation right now. Hopefully someone who has been there this year can chime in for the current 411.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I will be there this year, but not yet. We go this October with Uniworld. I have read that tourism hasn't really recovered, they need us to go, and thus it's a good time to go to avoid crowds.

 

That being said, the cruise line offered us cancellation insurance, and added a clause that provides "rebook on a different cruise for any reason". With this we are content, and knowing that if the situation changes before October, Uniworld would probably cancel themselves.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Have you seen "Breaking Borders"? I believe it's on The Travel Channel. They did an episode in Egypt and until that episode, I was gung-ho for Egypt. I don't scare easily, have been to some "iffy" countries and am a proponent for travel, often traveling alone, but that show really opened my eyes.

 

You can have armed guards all around you, but if a site you're visiting is suddenly bombarded by terrorists, what good are a few rent-a-cops going to do against AK47s and whatever else the terrorists have?

 

I don't want to discourage you, but just weigh both sides carefully and get insurance in case things take a quick turn for the worse there.

[hobse]

We were in Egypt last November (2014) with A&K. Absolutely no problems and did not feel unsafe generally. Some of the vendors can be aggressive though, just keep walking (they are supposed to be working on this issue). But they really need the money. Had armed security with us (required for U.S. tourist groups). Occasionally we had police escorts that were very beneficial in getting us through traffic jams. You will still be discouraged from walking around on your own in Cairo.

Our Egyptologist said that tourism was still way down at only 20%. Some sites we had all to ourselves. It was great.

Abu Simbel definitely worth the trip.

[Hydrokitty]

We were in Egypt last November (2014) with A&K. Absolutely no problems and did not feel unsafe generally. Some of the vendors can be aggressive though, just keep walking (they are supposed to be working on this issue). But they really need the money. Had armed security with us (required for U.S. tourist groups).

 

Abu Simbel definitely worth the trip.

 

Some things will never change...and vendors is one of them. While they are aggressive, generally they are not threatening, although beware if they offer to take your picture with YOUR camera....this will guarantee that you pay to get it back! when we were there it was comical because they only knew a few English phrases like "Obama, Obama, we love Obama.....and welcome to New York". They do understand No thank you though and usually give up after the second or third "No". They do really need the money though so a little generosity doesn't hurt and my Grandson really liked the headdress and plastic camel I bought for $5!!! As for the armed escorts, our tour guide told us it was Egyptian Law that ever since the German tourists were attacked every foreign group has to have armed guards. It also helps put people to work. Our guard was very pleasant and told me that he and most of the others were ex-military. But we never felt threatened, even crossing the desert on a bus to Abu Simbel, which as pp said if you can go, is not to be missed. After you've booked your trip we'll talk about things you need to know to visit Egypt. There's lots of good information on this web site, although it's a couple of years old since for several years companies weren't going to Egypt. There is absolutely NOTHING that will prepare you for the traffic in Cairo!! :D

Edited April 14, 2015 by Hydrokitty

[jpalbny]

There is absolutely NOTHING that will prepare you for the traffic in Cairo!! :D

 

Oh, how right you are... Five million cars in the city (according to our guide) and no functioning traffic lights. When you get to an intersection, you just go for it. It is a madhouse! You see mule carts on the shoulders of limited-access highways. People crossing the main streets (4 lanes of traffic in either direction) seemingly heedless of traffic - cross a lane, wait for a gap, cross again. It reminded me of the video game Frogger!

Edited April 14, 2015 by jpalbny

[Hydrokitty]

Oh, how right you are... Five million cars in the city (according to our guide) and no functioning traffic lights. When you get to an intersection, you just go for it. It is a madhouse! You see mule carts on the shoulders of limited-access highways. People crossing the main streets (4 lanes of traffic in either direction) seemingly heedless of traffic - cross a lane, wait for a gap, cross again. It reminded me of the video game Frogger!

 

And you left out the camels and herds of goats!! Our hotel was on the corniche but across the street so we asked the concierge where the best place to cross was since we wanted to take a walk along the Nile....he gave me a look of utter horror and said "Oh no, madam, you cannot cross the street, let me call you a taxi":D