I am going to Egypt in April for 11 days starting in Cairo where I will be meeting up with a tour. This is my first time and really looking forward to it and have heard it's an amazing place. The tour includes 2 nights on a felluca on the Nile and optional tour to Abu Simbel which I will be doing. Has anybody else been and had a good experience?

Juliet

Hi Juliet,

Yes, I visited Egypt a few years ago - did the standard cruise down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan and back, then spent a couple of days in Cairo.

A fascinating country - as a tourist you'll be following a very well-worn trail, and you might find yourself overdosing on tour-guide history accounts after a while! I found the heat exhausting, but I was there in July; perhaps it's more bearable in April.

Cairo is a frenetic place, but the Antiquities Museum and the Pyramids are obvious must-sees.

All in all I think you'll have a fantastic time!

Pete

Juliet

We did the Nile Cruise thing last April - wonderful in almost every way - beautiful weather and tremendous sites and lovely people (even most of the hassle was quite good natured). I'll plug one of my own birdwatching trip reports for the second time today and recommend you to look at my report on the www.birdtours.co.uk site - it's easy to navigate to and I hope provides more than just a narrative about birds. If nothing else, it might inspire you to take a pair of binoculars and try to get a look at Nile Valley Sunbirds. They're quite common and truly gorgeous.

And Cairo? Amazing, breathtaking and maybe a little bit intimidating.

Have fun

Chris Cameron

Hi Julie,
I went on my own last year and i found it a real eye opener,i stayed in a hostel on Tahrir square and one of the guys arranged to get me a student id for only $us15, which was a bargain for tourist sites and also cosidering im not a student.When in Luxor, go to Elephentine Island and contact Captain Jamaica!! he will bring you and your friends on a felucca to Aswan, 2 days and two nights of crystal clear nile water without the expensive and noisy cruise liners!! Buy Rough Guide to Egypt and your way ahead!! any qs jus email me

I hate to sound pedantic but I think Elephantine Island is in Aswan rather than Luxor. Nevertheless it's very beautiful and well worth a visit.

I don't know if Paulk is maybe thinking of Crocodile Island which is a couple of miles south of Luxor and also rather lovely. It's home to the Movenpick Hotel and there is a boat dock.

I have to say I quite enjoyed our sail on the tourist cruiser but we also had a day in a Felucca and it's certainly a nice way to travel.