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Egypt Tour extensions?

mazalea

Since the Egypt tour begins and ends in Cairo, we're exploring extensions., but not Petra/Jordan or Israel as we've been there. Wondering if others have done side trips in/out of Cairo? We've had notice of possible waitlist clearance for January so are hustling for info. Thank you!

Comments

BKMD

I'm going on this trip in about a month. I'm arriving 2 days early and doing a day trip to Alexandria.

MCD

I, too, did a day trip to Alexandria.

AlanS

Maryanne, It depends on your interest- Alexandria is sure an option. We didn't do it but I wish we had been able to. The Red Sea resorts is another if you are into sun and relaxation.

If you are into archaeology and ancient Egypt there is plenty to see. In the Alexandria area you have a number of sites including the massive Taposiris Magna and if you are interested, athletic enough, and certified, I believe you can now SCUBA dive on the sunken ruins of the port city of Thonis-Heracleion located east of Alexandria just off Egyptian shore in Aboukir Bay. It is amazing what has been found and still sitting there just like it was when the earth sank.

A little less adventurous, but no less amazing are the ruins at Abydos and Dendera north of Luxor. It would be a bit of a trek to get there, however.

Of course, you don't have to go too far to see ancient sites- we went by car to Meidom to see the first of three pyramids by Sneferu. It is believed it may have had a true pyramid shape before the exterior crumbled away, leaving a step pyramid core. As result of this failure Sneferu went on to also build the Bent Pyramid and the first true pyramid, the Red Pyramid, at Dahshur. He could be considered as the patriarch of the dynasty of the great pyramid builders- his son, Khufu, built the Great Pyramid at Giza, his grandson Khafre built the next pyramid at Giza and his great grandson, Menkaure built the third one.

Tauck barely scratches the surface at Saqqara, you can easily spend a full day or more there, especially if you enter the subterranean chambers and corridors of the Step Pyramid (there are supposedly 3.5 miles of them!) We spent a full day at Saqqara and Dahshur and still only saw a fraction of it.

Most other extensions like to the western dessert and Oasis would be a bit of a stretch.

mazalea

Oh, thank you! Very helpful. Alan did you rent a car and drive to Saqqara, or book a guide/driver? Isn't this the place they've just made new and large discoveries? Imagine, after al this time, still finding things. What's your guess the GEM will be open in January? I'm not betting on it, but would be a great surprise. Not sure if waiting for it to open is worth passing on this opportunity til next year.

AlanS

I would NEVER attempt to drive in Cairo!! Crazy traffic that follows its own rules!

Your, schedule will likely change once the GEM has opened. My guess is that it will happen sometime between 4 - 26 Nov 2022 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of discovery of Tut's tomb and the date the tomb was first opened by Carter. That being said, lately the Gov't of Egypt has been really quiet about it, especially since the grand opening of the GEM is being planned as a major international event with head's of state and other dignitaries invited. The grand opening has been forecast several times over the past few years, so who knows.

I just read this disappointing article from yesterday,

"To honor the centennial of this landmark moment in Egypt’s long history, Hawass will headline a conference on Nov. 4, with hundreds of scholars at the Grand Egyptian Museum on the Giza Plateau outside of Cairo, where he serves on the Board of Trustees. This is where he hopes to announce the truth behind King Tut’s death at age 18.

Marking the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the ancient Egyptian language, the Grand Egyptian Museum is expected to open to the public next year, said Hawass, the world’s leading expert in Egyptian hieroglyphics."

We booked a guide, driver, van months earlier. We were on J&E so had the afternoon free before the farewell dinner and all the next day (fly home day) since our flight didn't leave until after midnight the following night. The first day, after we got back to the hotel from seeing Old Cairo, our private guide picked us up at the hotel and we drove to Meidom which is all we did that afternoon. To save time we picked up sandwiches at "On the Run." We returned to the hotel about 45 min. before the farewell dinner. The next morning we first headed to Dahshur with our guide to see the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid (and from afar, the Black Pyramid), then drove to nearby Saqqara. I entered the Bent Pyramid all the way to the dual burial chambers. It was tough on the legs!!!! We ate sandwiches again on the way to Saqqara since the site closes at 4:00 pm. Though we saw a lot- Mastaba tomb of Ty, Serrapeum,, a nearly intact section of the causeway leading to the Pyramid of Unas, and a few more tombs, etc.- I didn't have enough time to enter the Step Pyramid.

There has been a boatload of new discoveries in Saqqara, but I doubt any are open yet. We came across one near the Serrapeum when I saw a guy with what looked like a tripod emerge from somewhere I couldn't see. During a brief conversation he said he was a photographer and worked for the BBC, PBS, Nat Geo, etc. While he admitted he was photographing something very significant he wouldn't tell me what.

I exchanged emails with the guide for a month or more before we went to fine tune what I wanted to see and refine our schedule. Here is the link to my (multi-page) trip report: https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/15494/on-the-road-again/p1

Send me a PM if you want the name of our guide. (I got his name from a guide who had been recommended by a TD but was unable to fit us in his schedule). He was extremely knowledgeable and spoke excellent English.

BKMD

If you search GEM opening online, some articles state opening planned for 2011 (!), so I wouldn't hold my breath.

AustinGirl

We are preparing for our Feb 2022 Jewel of the Nile trip, and I've been studying your comments. We are going four days early, and I want to spend a day in Alexandria. Can any of you suggest a tour company that you would recommend? I looked up Viator, our old standby when we travel, and they have only one that will pick us up at Meana House, but it did not have a good review. Before I commit, I wanted to see if you had better suggestions.

BKMD

The one I booked was via Tripadvisor, which booked it thru Viator. The name of the company providing the tour was egypttoursonline.