Cairo was a place that I never thought that I would get to. It was always on the list because of the history and some of the most known archeological sites in the world. I would even say it was on the bucket list but it was always intimidating. A different world. We have been to places that put us outside our comfort zone, but making the trek to Egypt felt far beyond what we could accomplish. Being naive and honestly, a little anxious, it just kept getting pushed aside.

Then in 2022 we went on our first river cruise on the Danube with Viking River Cruises and and fell in love quickly with river cruises. We learned that they had a Nile river cruise and my mom mentioned that it was number one on her bucket list. She was going to turn 80 the next year and wanted to do it for her birthday. How could we say no? It was the best situation, as we would have everything planned for us, not miss the most important sites and hopefully we could enjoy a new country without thinking about security, a misstep or knowing what we should and shouldn’t do. We were aware that it is a city with fewer places for the tourist even though hospitality/tourism is the second largest market for Egypt. The first part of the river cruise is a few days stay in Cairo, along the Nile.

We provide tips for anyone traveling to Egypt at the bottom. You will want to be aware of them all!

Cairo Day 1

Viking River Cruises has a great schedule for your days exploring Cairo.

Salah El-Din Citadel

Salah El-Din Citadel is a medieval Islamic-era Fort. Built in 1176 it has been used by governments, residences, military garrison and now a tourist destination. If visiting, you are not allowed to have shorts on and they request that your shoulders are covered. You also have to put booties over your shoes unless you walk barefoot or in socks. This was our first glimpse of the many straw dogs and cats in Egypt. They roam the grounds with their puppies looking for food from the locals. This is also where we got our first glimpse of our first pyramid!

The pollution in Cairo made it so it was barely visible but it was still amazing to see past all the buildings.

Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum is your next stop. Not to be confused with the National Museum of Egypt. While smaller and older, it held some pretty amazing artifacts. From sarcophaguses and actual mummy’s to artifacts from King Tut’s tomb. You are not allowed to take pictures and if they do see you taking a picture, they will watch you delete it. Or will do it for you.

The mummy below is Thuya, you will hear him mentioned later in the river cruise!

Cairo Day 2

The second day in Cairo is amazing! You will get to experience your first tomb, the first prototype pyramid and some history.

King Teti Tomb

King Teti’s Tomb is available to walk down into. It is a steep walkway with very small doorways and passages to go through. You can marvel at the hieroglyphics and actually see the tomb.

Saqqara – The Practice Pyramid

This was one of my favorite stops. Saqqara used to be a village and is home to the very first pyramid. More of a pyramid prototype. Djoser Step Pyramid was the first pyramid ever built in Egypt. It is called a step pyramid because it isn’t smooth looking like other pyramids and the Pyramids of Giza, however, it was the first “step” to the future.

This area is the first spot where you will experience the harassment from vendors and camel riders. They will literally walk along side you, start putting their product on you, take your camera to take pictures or pretend to give you a tour. All for $ and they will blatantly ask you for it when they are done. It is recommended to say no or wave them away. It was difficult for some people and they do take advantage of nice people who have a hard time saying no.

Cairo Day 3

This was a great day! Visiting some of the most known and oldest sites in the world!

The Great Pyramid and Pyramids of Giza

I am pretty sure that everyone has learned about the Great Pyramid, which is part of the Pyramids of Giza. It was an amazing moment seeing them. It took 2.3 million cut stones to make the Great Pyramid. I am 5′ 7″ and the stones are almost as tall as me, so they are not small. Transporting those stones alone is a great feat for that time. Built over 4,600 years ago, it still stands in great condition. The Great Pyramids of Giza are the last standing of the 7 wonders of the world. You have the opportunity to pay extra to step inside The Great Pyramid. I was not willing to do that!

There are a lot of vendors but there are more camel, horse, carriage and mule rides here and we were happy that people were NOT partaking as much as we thought. The animals did not look good, nor did they look like they were handled well. Your picture on instagram is not worth what these animals have to go through. You will have to walk through the swarm of vendors trying to sell you stuff to where there are just camels tied to the ground with a bunch of crap on their face and back. They are such an amazing animal, so please marvel at them without riding them.

The Great Sphinx of Giza

This was a spot that I have wanted to see for as long as I can remember. Most people know it from seeing a picture of it from a Pizza Hut that sits way across the road. We were able to get as close as you are allowed along a walkway. There are so many myths as to why the nose is missing but recently they have come to realize that it was intentional vandalized by chisel. As you learn more and more about their history and beliefs, Pharaohs, Gods and Kings were thought to take over a monument and if you cut off their nose, they would die. They could not return.

The Sphinx is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt. It is about 4,500 years old but some try and argue that it is much older. Made of Limestone it has stood the test of time through floods, wind storms and rain (little rain). It has taken a lot of excavation to see it like it is today. It was almost completely covered by sand in the early 1900s.

It is a full three days of amazing exploration. I am very happy that we had everything set up for us and scheduled with transportation. We got as much time as we needed at each location and never felt rushed. Here are some tips to exploring Egypt if you are heading there. We were not aware of some of these, even with being with Viking.

Tips and Things to Be Aware of While Visiting Cairo

If you are planning an extended stay in Cairo, here are some tips that you definitely need to know about and we would have liked beforehand.

Visa – Arriving in Cairo and making your way to customs is quite easy. However, you must get a Visa before you get into the customs line. There are two spots right before you get into line that will sell you the $25 Visa. Cash only and they don’t provide change. If you do not get your Visa before making your way to customs you will have to get out of line, get in the Visa line and then get back into the customs line.

Transportation – I would highly suggest having your transportation set up before you arrive. This isn’t the easiest airport to hail a cab, or get an Uber. It works differently here. Same with all your tours. I would have all your transportation set up with the tour company or use a tour company to have it set up for you.

I am not saying it cannot be done, but it will depend on how comfortable you are getting into cramped quarters and potentially getting someone that doesn’t speak English and you will have to learn the system. Cash only. You could be waiting a long time and the schedule might not actually be the schedule. The hotel concierge will be able to help you, but even they might recommend having them call a private van.

Tours – As I mentioned, I would have most of these set up ahead of time. Which is usually just transportation and then you can request a guide. We saw very few people without guides. I would say we saw 90% of people with a tour guide. There were a few places that people went to on their own because there wasn’t a tour. The Great Pyramid of Gize and the Sphinx both didn’t have tours. You walked up to them and that was it. Have a tour company set up your ticket and entry time. We saw people getting turned away or tickets were not sold to them. Getting through security and the ticket line was also easier with a tour guide.

Camel, Mules, Horses and Carriages – DO NOT PARTAKE. Take a picture but do not ride these animals. They are not well cared for and instead of allowing them to live how they should, they are bought and then you are told they are “domesticated.” Not out of necessity but out of greed.

Hotels – We stayed at the Fairmont Nile City Hotel and loved it. It was right along the Nile, was attached to a very small mall with restaurants and had a great pool on the roof. We were told that Viking used to use The Nile Ritz-Carlton but that it is in a busier part of the city. This made it louder at night but it was still right along the Nile. We were incredibly happy with the Fairmont.

Cash and Tipping – If you want to buy anything like trinkets or items at a stall, you will need $1 bill. They mostly asked for USD. Very few stalls will take credit cards and even then, we were told to not always use them for buying goods. Everything is negotiable, but honestly everyone asked for $1. If you need to use the restroom, you will need $1 to tip whomever gives you toilet paper. Bring your own toilet paper, but you will still have to tip $1. If you want to use USD in hotels or businesses, they will not take ripped or discolored bills.

The USD is strong against the Egyptian Pound as of this post. That is why most people ask for $1.

Water – We were told by multiple people, including our guides to only drink bottled water. Showering and brushing your teeth are fine but make sure to never swallow the water. We had originally brought a Hydroflask but it wasn’t needed due to the fact we were constantly given new bottles of water. On the river cruise we were told that they make ice and cook with bottled water.

People Selling Souvenirs – This goes from slightly annoying to slightly terrifying. If you engage in the least bit you will be swarmed by dozens of kids, women, and men trying to sell you stuff. We had a few people actually almost get knocked over from them and we also witnessed multiple fights between the vendors and a man hitting a young boy. This is like nothing I have ever experienced. People will grab you, touch you, follow you, yell at you and push things in your face. Instead of selling, they think of they are pushy enough you will just give them money to go away. Do not engage in it.

Driving – We would not suggest driving, especially in Cairo. It was chaotic to say the least. There were very few stop lights or signs and the lanes were a bit of a suggestion and not always followed. There is constant honking and I mean constant until 3am. It wasn’t used as a tool to notify someone they may hit you, it was everyone letting everyone know that they were there or coming into the lane. There is insurance but not very many people have it and cannot afford to fix anything.

Restaurants/Food – Just like traveling anywhere, we wanted to indulge in the local fare. Find a market or fun street but this isn’t the case here. There were specific markets you were told to go to if you wanted to be out after dark and better to be in a guided group. Pretty much everyone on the boat had problems with their stomachs getting used to the food. Major restaurants or restaurants in hotels were fine to eat at but you were warned if you left the touristy areas.

Alcohol – Egypt is almost 90% Islamic which means they do not drink. You will not find local bars to hang out in. It is mostly just hotels that have a bar with alcohol. There are thousands of markets to find sodas, but it isn’t as easy to grab a beer and hang with the locals. If you are there during Ramadan or another religious holiday, places may not even open until 6pm. Without alcohol and they will only provide water.

Ramadan – Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic calendar. This month is usually the beginning of March through the beginning of April. Observed by muslims to fast and pray. They pray 5 times a day but there were a few more calls to prayer during this time. They do not fast the entire day, just sunrise to sunset. No water or food. This also means that businesses may have different opening times and some pay not even open until 6pm. They may close early to allow employees to go home to eat with their family when their fasting breaks for the day. There is a lot of celebration in the streets until the early morning hours as well.

Schools for Carpet Making or Papyrus – We were bussed to a School for Carpet Making and a Papyrus store. The school was an open room with kids around 10 working on wood benches. It was a culture shock to see since we would expect them to be in school. But children still learn trade here that they will do for the rest of their life. You are then brought upstairs where they show you the finished products. Egyptian cotton and silk rugs priced from $100 to $10,000+. It is an awkward situation since there was about 16 of us and 20+ sales people surrounding us. The Papyrus store was in Aswan and after learning a little about Papyrus you can purchase some items but if you are not into buying anything they allot about an hour + at the store. You can’t go back to the bus because they have to move and when you leave it is a hot spot for waiting vendors to sell you stuff.

Walking Around – This isn’t a thing that you can do. In the small towns there isn’t anything to see and you will be harassed by carriage owners and taxi drivers. The guides said that it would be safe, but there were a handful of things you shouldn’t do and this was a local. We decided it wasn’t worth it, especially since there wasn’t a spot to walk to.

Cell Service/WIFI – If you are traveling on your own, I highly suggest confirming that you will have service wherever you go in case you need something or get into trouble. Otherwise, most hotels have decent wifi and river cruises do as well. We have Verizon so we could pay $10 to have service but it still doesn’t equal the service you get in the states.

Animals and Animal Tourism – There were so many stray dogs and cats. A lot of them were actually looked after but it doesn’t seem like communities or the country is doing anything about spaying or neutering them. They started vaccinating which is good but some of the dogs were really aggressive. Others were friendly but scared of tourists. They didn’t look for food from you since the locals did it occasionally. Our river cruise concierge says that some of the boats leave food for them from the buffet!

Smoking – This is what I wasn’t expecting when we arrived. They smoke everywhere. Hookahs are very popular as well. Not just outside but inside restaurants and bars. When you are having dinner at a nice place in a hotel or mall there is smoking in the restaurant without separation and even Hookahs. We love hookahs, but it gets a bit intense with all the smoke when you are not used to it inside. Just be aware.

Items you will want to bring: Toilet paper in a zip lock bag, Snacks from home that you are used to, sun block, medications that you are used to for anything you may go through (migraine, muscle pain, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, etc.) and cash (local and your currency if you use USD or Euros).

Let us know if you have any questions!

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