Advice for single mom and daughter in the med

[dawgpound099]

Can anyone give me some helpful hints traveling in the med. My daughter (22) and I (55) will be cruising the eastern med in Dec. I've read many people do excursions on their own--is it safe for a single to do? Also any advice on Athens, Egypt, or Rhodes will be greatly appreciated. We would like to do the Camel caravans in Cairo but Ive not seen too much on this tour. We will travel on the Brilliance of the Seas!

[RachelG]

If you will list your specific ports, it will be easier to answer your question. Athens is certainly doable on your own. They have a good subway system, and it is perfectly safe to walk around by yourself in the tourist areas. I highly recommend visiting the Acropolis and archeological museum.

Rhodes is a great place to do on your own. The ship docks right by the downtown area. Just get off and start exploring. Totally safe to explore on your own.

My oldest son lived in Egypt in Cairo for awhile. While he walked everywhere by himself and had no problems, that is one place I would not venture off on my own. He is, for one thing, male and also very fit. I think a female foreigner who isn't familiar with the city might not be totally safe. I am actually waiting to visit there till my son can go with me.

[GSPLover]

Can anyone give me some helpful hints traveling in the med. My daughter (22) and I (55) will be cruising the eastern med in Dec. I've read many people do excursions on their own--is it safe for a single to do? Also any advice on Athens, Egypt, or Rhodes will be greatly appreciated. We would like to do the Camel caravans in Cairo but Ive not seen too much on this tour. We will travel on the Brilliance of the Seas!

 

Rhodes is definitely a DIY port. However you might want to look at the ships excursion to Lindos. ½ day there and ½ day in Old Town.

 

Athens you can do on your own. Keep in mind that the land is far from level and there can be some fairly steep climbs.

 

Egypt - definitely a ships excursion or a private excursion. We did the Caravans on the Sand in 2007 and loved it. You can read our notes on the day (and the other ports) at http://www.ftroute.com/cruises/med_cruise/Alexandria.htm

[lst]

My response is specifically for Cairo. I have travelled the world - mostly on my own - and don't allow myself to feel intimidated. A couple of years ago I visited Cairo with my parents & for the first time EVER did I feel I needed a mans presense when I wanted to go anywhere. On our first day, Mom & I took a taxi ride to do some shopping. We felt extremely uncomfortable in the shop - we decided that it would be best to buy something - anything - and get out of there! I'm sure they wouldn't have harmed us, but made us feel SO uncomfortable.

 

For the record - I was in my 30's.

 

I would therefore recommend any type of excursion where you would have male companionship.

[dawgpound099]

Thanks to all for the info. I'm beginning to think the Egypt part of the cruise is going to be "scary". I hope I won't regret this part of the cruise.

[bellagirl]

Please don't let Egypt scare you-it is a beautiful place and if I were you and your daughter, I would just opt for either an excursion from the ship or see if someone on your roll call will share an excursion with you. That is what we did and I think there ended up to be about 15-20 of us altogether.

The vendors are aggressive but I never once felt unsafe. In my opinion, the papryus shops and rug shops are to be avoided, but that is just my opinion-you may enjoy them. For me, the highlight of the trip was seeing the pyramids and the sphinx. Anything after that was icing on the cake!!

Enjoy your trip! Shelly:)

[RachelG]

My son loved living in Cairo, but again, he is male and not easily intimidated. He also speaks Arabic fluently and is quite dark, so can blend. I wouldn't be scared to go to Cairo--I just wouldn't go by myself or without male companionship who could speak the language.

[sandinmyshoes]

We did the Med Oct. '07 and found every port to be safe. Of course, every town is probably going to have it's sketchy areas, but the main tourist destinations are safe. Just watch your belongings and have them in a zippered bag hung over your opposite shoulder. We did this and didn't have any problems with pick pockets. There was once around the Spanish Steps in Rome I found my zipper partly undone, but whoever tried to get my stuff couldn't get to it fast enough so they moved on without taking anything. After that, I started putting a safety pin through the zipper pull and into the bag material for an extra hassle factor and no one ever touched it again. The peace of mind was worth the little bit of extra effort it caused me.

 

Another idea would be to go on your roll call and see if anyone has a private tour group they are looking to add people to. This is a great way to get a personalized tour with a small group of people for a reasonable price. (Usually $100 - $150Euro) per person for an all day tour with a group of 6 - 10 people. I only found a few ports with tours on our roll call, so I started researching and found a private tour company who does tours through out Italy with a great reputation on cruise critic and set up my own tours. I then asked on our roll call for others to join our group and got the number of people we wanted without any problems. It made our private customized tours cheaper than the big bus tours through the cruise line. It was amazing. You can check out my other posts if you want to know what co. we used. (They were far better than the other companies we used by joining others groups, but we still had positive experiences and got so much more out of our ports than we would have on our own.) Definelty a great way to go and it adds a feeling of safety to have a private guide and a few others joining you.

Good luck!

[AmoMondo]

Most of the med ports are perfectly safe for a woman to do on her own (I've done it often). With another woman with you - no problem at all. if you are going to big cities just be careful as you would in any big city at home. Egypt however is an entirely different ball game and I'd tend to go for a shore's excursion.

[cruisemom42]

Please don't be scared about Egypt. I have done it as an overnight from a cruise ship, with a small tour group, and even spent a couple of nights in Cairo on my own (as a solo woman) after my tour ended. I really don't understand why anyone would feel unsafe -- there is very little crime. You might have to deal with persistent vendors, etc, but certainly nothing at all "unsafe".

 

That said, it would be difficult, given the logistics of cruise stops, to DIY in Egypt. I would certainly have no hesitation booking a private tour though. Most often people end up sharing them with other folks on their roll call. The Egypt/Middle East board here has a lot of recommendations for private tours.

 

I love Egypt and hope you'll enjoy it when you go.