Top 7 Things to Do in Egypt at Night

Egypt is one of the greatest holiday destinations in the world and draws tourists in mammoth numbers every year. Its popularity refuses to die, with the pyramids getting more and more exciting with each passing day. Just like a wine gets better with age, it seems like these pyramids too are getting more and more enigmatic with the passage of time. But the country is not just about pyramids or the sphinx or the Nile! There are plenty of Egypt tourist attractions and some of them are centered on the night time. So, even after the sun switches itself off, you can continue your journey of excitement and bliss.

Here are some of the favorite things to do in Egypt at night:

i. Shopping: If you are spending your whole mornings and afternoons in sightseeing, then you can choose the night for exploring the shops. The country has some fascinating local markets which are epitomes of traditions. The famous bazaars of Cairo are must-visit for everyone. It is not just the lure of the souvenir which would pull you to these places. It is also about the silent culture which resides at these corners.

ii. Dinner cruise on Nile: Most tours for Egypt feature a cruise on the Nile. And the star-lit nighttime is surely the perfect time for exploring the beauty of this river. It is the longest river in the world and one of the most charismatic ones. Taking a dinner on a ship or dahabeya over this river will be an experience which would be hard to shove out of the memories.

iii. Watch belly dancing: Egyptian culture is extremely famous for its traditional belly dance form. It is an art which has literally hypnotized the entire world. Cairo's restaurants and theatres have some of the best belly dancers in the world. It would be a treat to the eye to watch a live performance.

iv. Evening show at the pyramids: While it is fascinating to stand beside the pyramids under the afternoon sun with the parched desert at the backdrop, it is equally alluring to witness the light and sound show organized every evening. The pyramids are the top Egypt tourist attractions. So, it makes sense to know a bit about their history in this fascinating show.

v. Dancing: There are some renowned dance clubs in Cairo. If you love to party at night and burn the dance floor with your electrical moves, then these places would play the happy host. Some notable ones include 'Cairo Jazz Club' and 'After Eight'.

vi. Drinking: If you love your share of wine and your fill of whisky, then there are some bars waiting for your footsteps. Places like Pub 38 and La Bodega are definitely must-visit bars for sipping the sinful liquors and for soaking in the trendy ambience.

vii. Music: If you are a music buff, then make sure to head to some music festivals.

Places like the Cairo Opera House and Arabic Music Institute are incredible venues which host shows in the evening. You can thus add some soulful melody to your tours for Egypt.

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Snorkeling Vacations on Egypt's Red Sea Coast

Sharm El Sheikh - Marine Life Paradise

One of the highlights of a trip to Egypt is a "beach break" on Egypt's Red Sea coast.

Sharm el Sheikh, on the eastern Gulf of Aqaba is home to some of the best underwater adventures. This magnificent resort area is famous for its snorkeling and scuba diving sites, its glistening white beaches, its warm crystalline waters and its abundance of marine life. The multi-colored reefs, the fantastic array of colorful fish and the underwater activity here is some of the most spectacular in the world. The sun's rays, glistening on the azure blue waters of the Red Sea, against the backdrop of the yellow-red-brown stark Sinai desert with take your breath away.

Sharm el Sheikh has something for every age and every interest. The sheltered beaches and calm waters make it one of the best family vacation destinations and a paradise for multi-generational adventure travel holidays. Here families can enjoy the rest and relaxation of a breathtaking beach destination as well as underwater adventure geared to every level.

The shallow barrier reef, accessible from the beach, is an ideal location for snorkeling or the novice diver. Splendid red, blue, green and yellow coral towers hundred of meters deep, colorful exotic fish, moray eels more than 2 meters long and the occasional reef shark greet the underwater visitor. For non-swimmers, a glass bottom boat trip or just wading knee-deep into the shallow waters of the beach and gazing into the crystal clear waters below unveil a veritable amazing fish tank.

Though known for its underwater activities, families can enjoy a multitude of overland adventures outdoors here - desert safaris, camel trips, dinner in the desert under the star-studded sky or a trip to St. Catherine Monastery are just some of the options available.

Sharm el Sheikh is one of the best of the world's snorkeling and dive sites with marine life beyond what the most creative mind can imagine.

Hurghada - A Red Sea Beach Vacation for Everyone

Situated on the Gulf of Suez is the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada. Whether looking for diving and water sports, a great beach, sports, historic sites or an active adventure vacation, Hurghada has something to offer everyone. The western coast of the Red Sea is a popular draw for windsurfers and kite boarders as well as families. Here again, the natural beauties of the Red Sea are striking - from coral reefs to abundant colorful marine life. The region offers a great experience for families with young children, who cannot swim by themselves, yet want to see what's out there! From here, Egypt's ancient sites such as Luxor or the Valley of the Kings are easily accessible.

Young or old, family or couple, "guys" or "girls" getaways, whatever the circumstances, Egypt's Red Sea coast offers something that everyone will love. On land, the red-yellow hues of the Sinai desert, with its breathtaking sunsets, crystal clear star-studded skies - underwater, the rainbow of marine life colors - come together to create an out-of-this-world contrast in a region not to be missed.

Sylvia is a trip consultant, planner and manager who creates unique intercultural adventures for families and loves to impart information,tips and personal experiences especially related to family adventure travel.

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Egypt - A Place to Avoid, Or Enjoy in the Comfort of Your Own Home!

Egypt - I expect the very name conjures up romantic images of camels, deserts & ancient monuments, as it did to us before we went. 

Unfortunately, although the Pyramids, Sphinx, Karnak, etc were interesting we felt Egypt was the pits.  We had been warned that Cairo was very polluted and that was certainly the case, but the rest of the country was about as bad. It was quite the filthiest country I have ever visited and that does not refer to the ever present dust that one expects to find in a predominately desert country.  

Rubbish was everywhere, even built into the banks of some canals and pushed down the banks of the Nile.  The attitude to litter seemed to be, if you empty a packet of food or cigarettes in the car, just chuck the rubbish out the window.  If you have household rubbish in a bag, leave it in an empty allotment nearby, or sweep it down an embankment.  If you use a tissue on the street, just dump it in the gutter or on the pavement.  The people in the tourist areas were greedy, grasping pests, service was poor & the food was pretty ordinary too - not a patch on Thailand or Turkey (see my earlier articles). 

It was very obvious that graft was a way of life, with those at the top of the food chain getting the biggest slice of the action, so everyone was keen to fight their way up the ladder.  

Tourists were at the very bottom of the food chain and aggressively targeted.  

The star system of grading hotels & tourist boats reflected either a very low standard compared to the rest of the world, or that stars could be purchased, probably both.  We stayed in a 5 star hotel, which would probably rate 3.5 star elsewhere & only 2 for service.  The Nile cruise boat was graded 5 star and although it would again probably rate 3.5 star, I would grade it a bit more for the fact that the toilet was, thankfully, near the bed!  The 3 day cruise itself from Luxor to Aswan was OK, but nothing to write home about. 

The name of the game throughout was RIPOFF; eg at the Egyptian Museum which you paid to enter, you had to pay extra to get into the section containing the mummies of the kings.  A sign at the museum of Alexandria said it all: 'Foreigners LE35 , Foreign Students LE20, Egyptians LE2, Egyptian Students LE1'.  In other tours we have taken in India & Turkey, the tour guide doubled as the tour leader as well.  It was obvious that in Egypt the system was set up to ensure extraction of tips to the maximum number of people with a tour leader & then guides at every location visited.

General comments on the tour organised through a company I will not bother to name are:

- The Al Kalili market/bazaar was nowhere near as good as the one in Istanbul we had just visited, or that in Tehran that I visited in 1968 & we were constantly pestered, which put us off completely.  Egyptians just do not have the pleasant way of enticing tourists to part with their cash that the Thais have.

- The Citadel museum was a joke with most of the interesting bits closed off.

- The tour didn't cover the Step Pyramid & museum, which I did on my own later & which I found most interesting.  But avoid Memphis which is usually part of that option in a tour, where the only interesting thing was the great statue of Ramses II which was certainly not worth the LE35 entry fee (rip off).

- We did an overnight train trip from Cairo to Luxor (& returned the same way) on which we were advised dinner & breakfast would be served as part of the so called first class service.  Don't use the train!  If you must do it, make sure you take adequate food with you as that served on the train is inedible, (which our tour leader admitted when we caught him buying his own rations at a nearby stall!)

- The optional Nubian Dinner of the tour suddenly increased from the advertised LE40 because we had to pay the driver to take us from the out of the way hotel we were dumped in to the river, then the boat trip, then the tour of the village, then tips on top.  Also, we were too far out of the town to visit the Nubian museum without paying for a taxi. Another rip off!

- Because my partner was sick we visited the Gayer-Anderson museum in Cairo on our own after the tour, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for us.  It contained some lovely items & was a time capsule of a bygone era in an old style house no longer existing in any areas we saw in Cairo, to that city's detriment.

- One of the things I look forward to on any trip to foreign destinations is experiencing the food of the country.  In Egypt the food was pretty awful, especially after Turkey.  The bread was generally stale, choice & flavour were poor.  One of the best meals we had was at the Nubian village with freshly baked bread & home cooked servings of vegetables and meat.

- Naturally, the tour leader did not refund us the cost of entry to places that were included in the price of the tour, but which we had missed because of sickness.

We were both sick on the trip, my partner quite badly, despite taking every precaution.  This was the first time either of us have been sick on any of our trips in Europe, India or the Far East and we were not alone - all our tour group were either sick or feeling off at one time or the other.

My advice to anyone contemplating a trip to Egypt to see the ancient monuments is to visit your local library, borrow a book & DVD & enjoy them in the comfort of your own home. 

If you must visit the country, make sure you allow plenty of extra cash for the ripoffs you will encounter, ensure you have plenty of medication with you for stomach upsets, and make sure your travel insurance has good accident and health cover!  

Also, research where you want to go thoroughly, plan the shortest & quickest route between points & be very careful what you eat, so you are in & out of the country in the shortest possible time.  That way you may avoid being pestered too much & getting too sick, (although I wouldn't bet on the last).

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