What Should You Know Before Traveling to Egypt?

What's going on everybody? This is Alan Hopper TV. Today we're going to talk about the things to know when you visit Egypt. Let's do it! All right, let's talk about your arrival into Egypt. So we arrived in Sharm el Sheikh. Now there they had a different visa for the Cairo district, but you can actually get a 30-day all-Egypt visa for $25 per person. That's a visa on arrival. So with that visa you can go to Alexandria, you can go to Cairo, you can go to Luxor. If you don't get the all-inclusive visa, then you'll have to get a new visa if you plan to leave that district or that region. All right, let's talk about the best time to visit Egypt. So I would say from October to April is the best time because that's the best weather. July, the hottest month for sure. Right now it's September. Yes, walking around the pyramids of Giza, it's hot, especially in the midday. From like midday, 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock, very hot. You can avoid that kind of temperature. Yeah, so that's basically what you need to know about the best time to visit Egypt. All right, let's talk about general facts here in Egypt. First, the population, 102 million people. The currency used is the Egyptian pound. And the people who live here speak Arabic, so it's an Arabic nation. Most of North Africa actually is. Also, when you come to Egypt, please realize this is one of the cradles of civilization and humanity. Some of the oldest historical research data comes from here in Egypt. Did you know that there's two parts to Egypt? There's the old Egypt, like old Cairo, and then there's new Cairo City. Egypt is a tale of two different Egypts. There's the old world, which is about 60 years before time, and then there's the new modern Egypt. Did you know that? All right, let's talk safety in Egypt. As you can see, I'm right in the middle of Cairo right now, a very bustling place. They say, even the locals, that the daytime is the best time to go around. We are right now walking around without a guide. We've been walking around. People have been very friendly, but I'm also not foolish enough to think that there's not threats or risk around. So I'm not going to sit here and say that Cairo is entirely safe, or Egypt in general is safe, but it's not as dangerous as you might think, so you can relax about that. But I do recommend, if you have any hesitations or anything that makes you timid about walking around Cairo or Egypt, get a professional tour guide. That will really solve a lot of your stress and problems. All right, let's talk about the hustlers and the situation that happens here in Egypt when you come to the pyramids or when you're walking around a bazaar. Basically, they always say, we don't need to talk about price until after, from the heart. They always want you to make the decision afterwards. But what ends up happening from that is it's going to be from your heart, plus like 30%, 40%, and then there's hidden fees. So whenever you're able to, try to negotiate with no surprises afterwards. So you want to make sure you pre-negotiate and you let them know straight ahead of time that whatever the price is agreed upon at the beginning is the price you will ultimately pay at the end. You don't want any add-ons and no surprises at the end. That's the best way to negotiate. But if you go to your hotel and you talk to them about tours, that's probably the best way to avoid any of that because the tour guide is going to help you get away from some of the people out here trying to get extra money off you. It doesn't just happen here at the pyramids. It happens in some of the bazaars and the walking areas, but really here at the pyramids, that's the big ticket. You want to get a tour guide. They say if you shop here, no pressure, no hassle. No one can beat the price. That's what you get right here. All right guys, now let's talk about food. What can you expect from Egypt and the cuisine? Egyptian food is diverse and there's a lot of different options that you'll be presented. A lot of meat but rice stuffed vegetables. You'll have certain kebabs, shawarma, Egyptian salads that include tomatoes and variety of greens. You'll also have grape leaves, hummus, falafel. Yeah, about that falafel. The falafel is great. Also bread. Many different types of bread here in Egypt that I experienced. When it comes to Egyptian street food, I am a little bit more cautious about the sanitation, especially the water. So do keep that in mind when it comes to trying some of the local street food. Of course, everyone wants to eat street food. It's perfect, but if you travel enough, you know, you might get some bubble guts. The Cairo crud, it's possible. Sticking to cook kebab or some shawarma, always a good idea though. And when it comes to breakfast, I was getting my breakfast here at the hotel. They had a variety of different yogurts, cheese. They also had eggs, no bacon. Don't expect much pork bacon, I should say. And then here's a look at a grocery store out in New Cairo, which is very modern. Just looks like any other modern city grocery store you will find anywhere else in the world. And as we explored around New Cairo, we did come across way more corporate restaurants like Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, all that out in New Cairo. So there is like a tale of two different cities. There's Old Cairo and then there's New Cairo. And there's also several other new cities around Egypt where they will have restaurants like TGIF and other Western food chains. Now, when it comes to accommodation, you have to keep in mind that the number two largest industry in all of Egypt is travel. That's just behind the taxation and income that they make off of the Suez Canal, which is their number one industry. But the hotels in Egypt are very abundant and many of them are resort style hotels all across Cairo, Luxor, even down in Sharm el Sheikh, where they have the most resorts. And we're talking resorts that you find all across the world like Hyatt. There's Marriott. There's St. Regis. They've got a four seasons. So do expect a resort style experience in most of the areas of Egypt if that's what you're looking for. They also have Airbnb. For those of you who are looking for Airbnb, you can find as cheap as $20 a night for an apartment. But before you go jumping into a $20 apartment, try to do some research on the area to make sure it's located next to the places you're going to want to see and visit. Also, making sure it's a safe neighborhood because you don't want to get too carried away. Also, getting cheap accommodation and then ending up on the wrong side of town where you're unable to get public transport or you're unable to get a private car or a taxi out of that area to where you want to go. So keep that in mind when you're booking your accommodation. And in case you're wondering, this Sheraton that you're looking at in Sharm el Sheikh, that was $75 a night for a nice room. All right, let's talk transportation in Egypt. Things that you need to know. So if you're trying to go long distance, say from Luxor to Cairo, you can do it two ways. You can take a plane or you can take a sleeper train. If you're trying to go short range, say from Cairo to Alexandria, you can rent a car, but I don't recommend that. You can also get a private car or a bus. Now, buses in Egypt are known to be hit or miss. You could get a bus that makes it all the way or breaks down along the way. So I do recommend talking to your hotel about getting a private driver to, say, drive from Cairo to Alexandria. And if you are looking for a private driver, you can contact Adam here. Hello! Yeah, he's taken us around for three days right here in Cairo. But when you're getting around to these destinations like Abu Simbel or Luxor, when you're on location going from your hotel to the Pyramids of Giza, I do recommend getting a tour. Private tours are probably better than the big bus tours, but you can do either one. And if you check the comments below, he will comment and leave his contact information. And when it comes to activities, it's going to vary depending on where you're at. If you're on the ocean, you're going to have activities like parasailing in Sharm el Sheikh or Hurghada. You're also going to have snorkeling. You're going to have other activities that are including boats. And bear in mind, the Red Sea is one of the best places in the world for diving and snorkeling. So be sure to look that up before you actually head to a place like Sharm el Sheikh to see if you can get a boat tour. And then there's of course some free activities like just taking a simple walk on the beach, where you will also be approached about possibly renting a banana boat or an inner tube or even a jet ski. And definitely get used to these floating docks like you see right here. And they are quite easy to walk on except for when the waves are really pumping, so do keep that in mind. And of course the big ticket in town, Egypt's history, the ancient Egyptians riding a horse or a camel through the pyramids of Giza, if that's your thing. Also taking a boat ride down the Nile. They have river tours and then they also have river cruises, so keep that in mind. If you do choose to do a Nile river cruise, they're going to have live entertainment and buffets typically on those river boats. Also keep in mind there is a big dam in Aswan that may impede your route up to what is called Upper Egypt. And when it comes to adding places to the list of where you want to visit, check out the Temple of Horus, go to Luxor, go to Abu Simbel, a lot of these places down by Aswan. And aside from ancient Egyptian history, there's also Mount Sinai, which is called Moses Mountain. You can hike up there. Typically those expeditions start in the morning time around 1am so that you can catch the sunrise and avoid the intense heat of the afternoon. For me, it was all about the history in Egypt. That was what really caught my eye. Obviously the most visited place in all of Egypt is going to be the Pyramids of Giza. You can also find the Sphinx there. Those are in Cairo and the Valley of the Kings, which are of course in Luxor, which I already mentioned before. And when it comes to water activities, I already said that the Red Sea is one of the best places in all of the world for coral reefs that are untouched and still in great shape. The beach towns to add to the list, Sharm el-Sheikh, Hergada, Gouna, Marsa Alam, Taba, Dahab. So many different beach towns in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. And on that note, I hope you guys all enjoy your vacation to Egypt. If you're on the fence about going, I would say definitely go. Enjoy yourself. And if you guys like watching videos like this, you can watch some more of our other videos on this channel here.