We spend a lot of time going around Aswan, Luxor and Cairo. It is easy and cheap to travel on your own. Prices below are for a double room, including breakfast, most of the time with airconditioning and toilet/shower on the room.

Our favourites

Cairo

The pension Roma downtown Cairo (63 EL) beats all other budget options, (we went to five different ones in downtown Cairo). You have to make reservations.

The most “atmospheric” is the Hotel Housseini (80-100EL) at the square Houssein in Chan Al Khalili; it is next to the suq, and esp. on Friday nights people are eating, and celebrating, and making lots of noise until four o’clock at night. Don’t go to sleep, just join them at midnight. Just around the corner (turn right when leaving the hotel) is the famous Fissawi Coffeehouse; it is open 24hours a day, and every time of day has a different atmosphere; try them all.

Luxor

The Mina Palace Hotel is on the Corniche next to the Luxor Temple. You have a beautiful view over the Nile; the corner rooms have two balconies, tv, fridge. (80-100EL)

The hotel Phillipe is further to the north and a little bit more expensive, but apparently much more luxurious and with a swimming pool (100EL)

Hotel Venus is cheap (30EL) but we found it a bit too scarce.

We tried several restaurants and found the Amoun restaurant the best value for money; for a cold beer, we went to the garden next to Ali Baba restaurant (belonging to the Luxor hotel).

Westbank/Thebes

Hotel Marsam is said to be very good (50EL) and clean, and lies very conveniently close to the ticket office.

Our favourite restaurant is Mohammed, it is 100 meters from the ticket office in the direction of the Ramses III temple (just keep walking past the ticket office).

What to see in Luxor (we spend two weeks here, and still want to go back).

1st: Valley of Kings; Temple of Ramses III; Tombs of the Nobles (esp. the higher ones which are not often visited); Karnak; Luxor Temple; Hathor Temple in Deir Al-Medina

2nd: Valley of Queens; Hatsepsut

3rd; temples of Seti I and Ramses II

4th; just start all over again or do some of the remaining tombs

Aswan

Al-Salaam hotel (60EL) on the corniche

Happi Hotel (100EL) on at-Tahrir a little south of Sharia al-Matar

Restaurants

Aswan Moon on the corniche, beautiful views over the Nile

Nubian Restaurant, we did not go there, but it lies beautifully on a small island just south of Elefantine island.

What to do

Go to Abu Simble from here (by plane is the easiest way; otherwise the hotel can arrange for a bus, make sure it is a luxurious one with airconditioning and not one of the normal minibuses).

Visit Philae Temple from here; arrange for a taxi, they take you for half a day to Philae and a couple of other sites for around 40EL for the taxi. A lot of the reliefs have been destroyed, but the location is superb.

Take your Felucca trip here, make sure you define a route and not a time (they can be exceptionally slow if they want to) and make sure there is some wind. A trip should cost about 15 to 20 EL for a trip of 1 to 1,5hours. It is fun to see how well they sail their boats, with current and wind.

I hope you all like Egypt as much as we do, and love to hear comments.

Pauline de Bruijn, Chris de Klerk

s/y Zeeling

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