Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile Safari!

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Hello Fozzy,

Wish I could join you, but just can't make it!! I haven't had the pleasure of the the Alexandria & Siwa Oasis tour (yet) but I went on the Nile Safari tour in March '99.

I enjoyed this tour very much. It was a good combination of free time & group time. The guides & tour leaders were very informative & tours were very well organised.

I would recommend the side trip to Abu Simbel, whilst in Aswan. The artwork was superb & just so enormous!!

The cruise down the Nile aboard Amy was just heaven, relaxing away in between stops to visit sites. The food was lovely, I hope the chef is still making that carrot soup....was the best I have ever tasted. At some stage while you are in Egypt, you have to try the lemon juice...it is just sooo refreshing.

Hope you have a wonderful time, wish I could join you.

[ 23. May 2003, 09:29 AM: Message edited by: Debbie Comini ]

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Fozzy I did the Alex and Siwa tour and it was excellent. Not much to see until you get to Siwa and its so small. Palm trees everywhere and the town surrounded by sandunes. Great people totally amazing desert and many lazy days. Its worth the long journey from Cairo.

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Thanks for the feedback Debbie and Karl...

I'd like to know the quality of the hotels that these tours place us in... The Alexandria one is rated "Adventurer"... Does this one even have air conditioning?

The Nile Safari is a "Traveller" trip, so I'm assuming that the hotel should be quite decent.

Fozzy

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Hello Fozzy,

When I did the Nile Safari tour we started out at the King Hotel, but I think it now starts from the Indiana. From there we went via overnight sleeper train to Aswan ( has been changed since then,I think the train now goes to Luxor).

Whilst in Aswan we stayed at the Cleopatra Hotel, which was being renovated at the time. The foyer was spectacular. The rooms were clean, had good showers, toilets worked & linen was clean ... what more can you ask for?

From Aswan we sailed down the Nile onboard Amy(air conditioned). I believe Amy has been renovated since I last saw her in March '99. At that time it was quite comfortable onboard & meals were excellent. We stayed onboard Amy whilst in Luxor & then overnight train back to Cairo.

Before your train trip buy plenty of water.(check the seals are intact).. do not drink, clean teeth...or anything else with the train water. You have no idea where it came from or how long it has been in the tanks. Be prepared for the toilets to become very grubby & perhaps take some toilet paper or tissues with you.

Hope you have a great time, look forward to hearing all about it.

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Fozzy,

I recently returned from the Nile & Beyond tour which is a combination of Beyond The Pyramids and Alex and the Siwa Oasis. The meeting hotel, in Cairo, is the Indiana Hotel and it does have air conditioning. If possible, request a room on one of the higher floors as they have been recently renovated.

The hotel in Marsa Matrouh also has air conditioning. If you are given to option to go to the Libyan bazaar, I would pass on it. There are much better bazaars in Aswan and Luxor.

The hotel in the Siwa Oasis does not have air conditioning, only ceiling fans but it helps if you keep the balcony doors open to let the air circulate. Be prepared to hear the call to prayer very clearly - if memory serves correctly, right at 4AM.

The hotel in Alexandria (Hotel Mecca) does have air conditioning and fabulous views of the Mediterranean.

If you have any other questions regarding Alex and Siwa, please don't hesitate to ask. Have a fantastic trip, I am sure you will fall in love with Egypt as I have

cheers,

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Thanks for the info on the hotels, Debbi and sassygirl. I'll be sure to give an update when I return.

Now my next question is on mosquitos and diseases. I read that most of Egypt is relatively safe from malaria. Only in the el-faiyum area is really rated as a risk (which we aren't going to as part of our trip).

I was curious about Siwa, as I heard that Siwa has lots of mosquitos, do I need to worry, especially as the hotel probably wont' even have air conditioning there?

I was planning on buying a cheap mosquito net ($6 at Canadian Tire!) and carrying some insect repellant... Also my friends and I all plan on dressing modestly (as the 4 of us are all female) so we'll all be wearing either pants or long ankle-lenth skirts with loose half sleeve shirts and 3/4 sleeve shirts will probably be worn most of the time. We all plan on carrying a head scarf in the purse for use whenever we wander into a conservative areas. Should that be enough to help lower the risk of mosquito bites as most of our bodies will be covered anyway?

What about the West Nile virus? I live in Toronto so West Nile is definately a concern living here and especially at dusk or near wooded areas. Would the risk be the same in Egypt as in Toronto?

One final concern is that would there be a risk that the Egyptians may prohibit us from entering as we are from a SARS risk area (I'm hoping it's all cleared out of here by August!!)

Fozzy

[ 05. June 2003, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: fozzy ]

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Fozzy

You may not be at risk from malari in that part of Egypt, but you will certainly be at risk of getting bitten so I would highly recommend a mozzy net and good repellent - I didn't take any when I was there a year ago and paid a heavy price. I have never been bitten so badly before in my life - over 250 bites (yes, we counted)! Although I'd say about 90% of those were from the Qattara Depression there were certainly some around Siwa. Word of warning, they will still bite you through your clothes if the material is thin. A later trip to Egypt that year saw me take a mozzy net and more repellent than I could sensibly fit into my luggage...I learnt my lesson!

Conservative dress is a must for Siwa. Also, if you have female friends and they want to go swimming there they will need to wear shorts and t-shirts to do so. When I was there a girl was swimming in her bikini and she had quite an audience...not a good move.

Anyway, have a great trip - it's fantastic out in the Western part of Egypt and a great contrast to Cairo and Luxor.

Suzanne

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Fozzy, since I am a fellow Canadian (from Ottawa), I have attached a link to the Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade for your reference. It should tell you there whether or not you are permitted entry into Egypt being from a high risk SARS area. I don't think it should be a problem.

[url=http://www.passages.gc.ca/menu-en.asp]http://www.passages.gc.ca/menu-en.asp[/url]

I would highly recommend you take a mossie repelent with a high concentration of DEET, I would suggest you take OFF Deep Woods. Also, you definitely want to bring along AfterBite.

You definitely need to cover up in Siwa but I had no problems with "an audience" while wearing a bikini in Cleopatra's bath but then again I was there during the second week of the war on Iraq and there were not many people around to begin with.

I hope you have a fab vacation and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to send me an email, here is my address:

tinatunes2003@yahoo.ca

Cheers,

Re: Aug 31-Sept 14 going on Alexandria and Siwa Oasis AND Nile S

Thanks for the info sassygirl!