2. Garbage is Everywhere

It’s sad to see but no one picks up after themselves. This hit hard coming from Toronto, Canada. Especially when we are often referred to as the clean New York. Everyone tosses things out car windows and on the ground. There is no care for the look or curb appeal of the area around them. Citizens do not take on responsibility for beautifying their cities or communities. It holds no importance.

But this is how they grew up. They saw their parents do it and this behavior became acceptable.  Yet, when visitors from North America, Europe and Australia visit, we are in shock. How can there be so much garbage pilled up on the streets all the time?

Are more trash cans needed? A visit to Japan can show you that a lack of garbage cans is not the issue. If someone cares at all they hold on to their rubbish until they can dispose of it. That doesn’t change when there isn’t a garbage can in sight. If your headed to Egypt, expect this and don’t let sour your trip. Many were not raised to care. They weren’t educated on the importance of keeping neighborhoods clean and rubbish free. It’s a cultural difference that is quite shocking. But there is no need to take part in it.

Cruises can be difficult to find. Its best to book them in person if you aren’t too picky. Prices are much more affordable. The agents now are charging quite a bit more than they use to and most cruises remain in Aswan and Luxor for 3-4 days. So, you have a few days to talk to them to check their departures. We had a local friend of a friend walk us up to 2 boats and check it out. We could have seen a few more but we liked the 2nd one and agreed to arrive at check in with the money. With this option US cash was needed and they wouldn’t take card. But it saved us a ton and we got a nice room that took us down the Nile. Much fancier than we were expecting with a show every few nights. If you have the time to do so, we recommend this approach. You can avoid paying for any hotel in Aswan if your able to cruise hunt upon your arrival. Some cruises are docked next to the train station. But they are scattered all down the Nile and they are not walking distance from one another. But you will only need to view a few to snag a good deal. Don’t waste too much time on this. Go out and explore Aswan, this can be done in 1 day. 

3. Entrance Fees Not Included

Most tours don’t include your admission to the sites, it’s extra. You would be hard pressed to find one that includes an entrance fee. What do we mean? If you schedule a guided tour of the pyramids or any other site, the tour doesn’t include entrance fees to the site. Not the pyramid grounds, entrance into any of the pyramids or the site you are being guided within. Its an extra fee.

This was odd for us because we are not use to this. What’s the point of getting a guided tour if you can’t get into the site your guide is providing information on? It always felt like we were being tricked into paying more.

Every time we got a quote, entrance fees were always an extra charge. But this was not always made clear.  That felt shady and trapped some people into paying because they were already at the gate with the group.

When it’s not made clear, it feels like a scam. I overheard many upset tourists that didn’t understand this. They were not told that entrance fees were extra, and they did not come prepared as a result. This is something you can expect when preparing for your trip to Egypt. Always assume that there are more charges and budget for them. Always bring cash as card is rarely accepted.

Don’t let this come as a surprise as it did for so many tourists. Don’t assume any entrance fees are included with you guided tour, your cruise, or your tour package. Unless it explicitly says that the entrance fee for a specific site is included, assume its not. Even with that information you will probably be told the brochure has not been updated. So be prepared to be sideswiped. 

4. Many Sites Have Extra Fees

I know when I pay the entrance fee to a site or attraction, I expect to be able to see everything. Well, that isn’t what you should expect in Egypt. Extra or hidden fees are typical.  What type of extra fees? Extra ticketed areas of a site such as access inside of a pyramid or entry to extra tombs cost extra. A lot of sites also charge fees to use your camera or recording devices. Some will allow your phone for free. But these costs are only mentioned at the ticketing booth and often come by surprise.

Tips are expected and should be added to extra fees to consider when visiting sites. Boat fees for access to islands or temples on islands.    

Sites like the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens have extra tickets you can buy to see more. Don’t assume all is included. Extra or premium tombs cost extra. They are not cheep. The Valley of the Kings and Queens have some expensive extras.

So be prepared if you want to see more that it will also cost more. Each site will have extras that are behind another ticket barrier. If you’re willing to pay for them such as seeing king tuts tomb or entering the inside of the great pyramid. It will cost you.

5. Booking Direct is Difficult

Egypt is built of a tight knit community of people who use each other to get whatever they need. This means that they all have a “guy” that can get you a balloon flight, a taxi, a tour guide, or a cruise. But they are all getting a piece of the action and they all need to be paid. 

It is hard to not involve a 3rd party when making a booking. You must book through an agency, your hotel or hostel. You may know someone with a connection or find someone on the street. But no matter the case, you are not cutting out the middleman to save a few dollars. That is rare and if you manage to get that done, I want to hear from you. You have then made the impossible a reality. If you find someone willing to do this, they don’t want this information shared.

Despite your best efforts, booking tours, accommodations or cruises directly can be difficult. Middlemen don’t like being excluded. Walking in off the street on the day of arrival can increase your chances of success of eliminating them. It is possible, but quite difficult.

6. Pricing is Different for Tourists

Yes, I know that many North Americans don’t find this practice to be fair. But this type of pricing strategy is normal in other parts of the world. It is used to encourage locals to see historical local places. They otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford or wouldn’t otherwise not be interested in these sites. The prices are targeted with the local income in mind. Not tourist dollars.

Expect to pay more than the locals. The local’s fee is much cheaper than the tourist entrance fee. Think of it as a government subsidy. They receive it to encourage them to see more historical significant monuments. Don’t let this upset you or think it’s not fair. Expect it.

I wish we also did this in North America because so many locals don’t see what’s in their own backyard. Not only when we go with a school tour.

The separate pricing is posted so it won’t come as a surprise. The price difference is quite different so be prepared for sticker shock.

7. Everyone Wants to” Help.”

Everyone in Egypt asks how they can help you. Building rapport in this country is important. Its part of business. The goal is to build trust with you so you will book something with them later. Relationships are what makes them money. Sometimes it’s just a quick tip. Sometimes this leads to more fruitful rewards.  But, deciding to not book a tour with someone you have spoken with, daily or in passing can be very insulting. It is often taken personally. If you found a better price you should have asked if they could match it or given them the opportunity to do better.

This got so annoying, we stopped asking for help and become very self reliant. We didn’t want to owe a favor to anyone. We didn’t want to upset anyone or get involved in an argument. So we often ignored anyone looking to talk to us and booked things we wanted online. Sometimes even asking a previous guide for a recommendation.

Yet, the good thing about this is that, should you need something. There is always a contact that can find it for you. Need a drink from back home and can’t find it, these guys will for a price and have it delivered to you. If its rare, don’t worry. If its hard to get, they have a person who knows a guy that can supply it for you.

Yes, the “Help” can be annoying and frustrating. But, if you’re in need of some service or product, there is a guy for that. So, I say “help” because it is sometimes helpful, if even for self profitable gain.

8. Towels are Small

This is a strange thing to bring up, but I know that some people find this to be important. I know that I find a stay to be much more luxurious based on the comfort and size of their towels. So, I can’t be the only one.

When I say the towels are small, I mean everywhere. Even at fancy hotels. This included our stay at the Marriott Mena house. Towels could not fit around my whole body. You would be hard pressed to have them fit around a small child. The yellow and white stripped towels at the pool were large and I tried to use these instead. But they are not supposed to be taken to the rooms. White towels in the rooms were a big let down. Which was surprising for such a luxurious stay with views of the pyramids.

Some budget hotels only had hand towels. No towels for your body or hair to use. You had to use the hand towels to wipe all the water away. So, it was cold when you got out and the air of the A/C hit you.

We travel with our own microfiber Dock and Bay Travel Towels, so we were fine. But if you don’t, you need to confirm towel availability when booking and expect what’s provided to be small. Don’t expect any excess towels either.

If you go in knowing what to expect, you will be more prepared mentally.

9. Food is Good and Affordable

As a couple not very familiar with what Egyptian food was, we were pleasantly surprised. Yes, we were familiar with Arabic foods, spices, and flavors. But no dishes distinctive to Egypt.

We learnt that you will not go hungry here. The food was all great. We loved Egyptian Falafel, Koshari, Kofta and Kebab, Chicken, Shawarma, Baklava and more. All tasting a little different than you may be use to. You must try local bread and dips such as hummus, tahini and Baba Ganoush, there are so many options. Try even more foods with Fiteer Baladi (Egyptian Pizza) or Bamia (The Egyptian Okra). Then try Malfuf Mahshi (Cabbage Rolls) and Molokhia (Egyptian Soup). It was all great. Do not eat western food like burgers or any dish with cheese here. Its awful. Stick to local foods and flavors and you can’t go wrong. It was great.

Going to a fancy place will cost you a bit more. But stick to the busy local establishments and check the menus before you sit down, and you can’t go wrong.

The best tip we got when eating out was to learn the Arabic numbers. This was to make sure we were charged the same price as the locals and that we were not being charged extra as tourists. This got us out of a few scams where the bill came in as higher. Pointing to the correct numbers of what you ordered made them realize I was not going to be taken for a fool. So, make sure to not let your guard down.

10. Catcalling and Ogling is Practiced Openly

Catcalling and Ogling isn’t something hidden or shun. It doesn’t matter if you are a single female traveler or with your partner such as I was. This is a cultural normality. Tourist or local, it still happens. Even with our Egyptian friends married to non-Egyptian women, they get ask if he can loan out their wife. So, its not something locals get away from either.  Men would not only catcall but stare for long times without breaking eye contact. This made Johnathan keep a closer eye on me and stay much closer than he would elsewhere. This practice isn’t hidden or shunned.  It doesn’t matter how modestly women dressed, this continued. So be prepared.

11. You Need to be Assertive with Private Guides

Tour guides will want to rush you through sites. This is sometimes out of necessity when you have limited time. For us we found it was because we were taking longer than the average time they spend with tourists. Or at least tourist that we look and sounded like. This frustrated them because they had an expectation of how their day would go. They had an expectation of how long tourists form different parts of the world explored the sites. How long Americans, Germans, Chinese, Spanish, French and more would be. The more we acted outside of the norm, the more we were unpredictable. Then their frustrations became obvious.

When we book guides, we tell them we like to take our time visiting sites and that we plan to spend the entire day out. We look to be the first people at a site. We do this to ensure we are priced accordingly. Guides daily price is often based on 8–10-hour days. Our days are closer to the 10-hour mark on average. When tours near the 6-hour mark, guides start rushing you and try to start ending the tour and to head back to drop you off. This practice was quite frustrating. We hired personal guides to make sure we could see and learn about sites at our own pace and not at the pace of a group tour.  

You need to be firm about your expectation to make sure you are not loured away from the sites you want to see early. Most are ok once you put your foot down but remember that you are paying them to be there. Leaving early or ending the tour earlier than agreed is not acceptable. We loved our guides pictured above.

If you are looking to book your own private tours, check out Get Your Guide.  They even have cruises too.