Female Safety

Re: Female Safety

Hello Cara,

Let me assure you that you will be quite safe. Just dress conservatively & use common sense & you will be fine. Wearing loose fitting Tshirts & longish slacks is the way to go. So no plunging necklines, bare shoulders or knees. Sit in the back seat of taxi's as sitting in the front seems to be an invitation to be groped. Buy bottled water & carry it with you all the time. Carry wet wipes or something similar as the money stinks!!...don't know what they do with it ....not certain I want to!! Carry tissues as you will have to pay to use the toilets & it costs extra for paper, easier to carry tissues than toilet paper!!!

When you travel to Egypt, pack an open mind & don't forget your sense of humour!!

With your 2 spare days you might like to visit Khan El Khalili, where you can shop til you drop. Or perhaps travel out to Saqqara (the first pyramid built) or Dashur (earlier than the Great Pyramids of Giza), both are further out than Giza. Or perhaps you might like to visit the Citadel, there are many, many things to see & do. Or you might likr to go horseriding near the pyramids.

I have used my debit card in Cairo, but had to try 2 different ATM's before I got one that worked.

I haven't ballooned at Luxor, wouldn't mind doing that myself, so if you get to do this let me know as I might fit this in on my next trip.

To my knowledge you will get to enjoy a felluca cruise at Aswan, which really is beautiful. I love the Nile river at Aswan, it is just so serene & it's beauty is truly haunting. I know I will never forget the time I have spent there.

Have a wonderful holiday,wish I could be there too.If I can help in any other way, just drop me a line. All the best......Debbie.

Re: Female Safety

Thanks heaps Debbie you've really helped me out. Just another question how much money should i take approx? I've been told that gold jewellery is fairly cheap is there a particular town or is it in general everywhere?

I'm a little apprehensive at the moment because i haven't received any final documentation from Imag Trav yet and my travel agent is on holidays SOULD I BE CONCERNED?

Thanks again Cara

Re: Female Safety

Hi Cara,

Visa & Mastercard etc are pretty much accepted anywhere in Egypt. I know for certain that Cirrus based debit cards work in Egypt (look on the back of the card and see if the Cirrus logo is there or ring your bank). Gold is pretty cheap anywhere (the Khan al Kalili especially). If your flight goes through Dubai THERE IS THE CHEAPEST place in the world to buy gold!! Gold price plus about 5% for work. Even Dubai airport is pretty cheap. Ballooning in Luxor? Hope you've got lots of money! I think it's about $250USD. In January, we allowed about $65AUD per day for drinks, meals and general spending. It was about right. It depends on how much you want to spend on souvenirs etc and how good a haggler you are. (30-50% off the starting asking price is about as good as you will get).

Hope all that helps.

Have a fabulous time. Egypt is amazing!!!!

Russell

Re: Female Safety

Hello Cara,

How much money to take is always a difficult one to answer, as it's depends on the traveller. On my first trip I took about $2,500 (from memory) & bought heaps & had some money to spare. On the second trip I took about $2,000 but took another $300 out via ATM as I bought a saddle. Still had alittle money to spare & brought heaps of things home.

I found that if you show no interest in items & just keep saying "la shukran" (no thank you) the price will just keep dropping until you feel that it's an OK price, often MUCH more than 50% less. Of course you will often find that they would have taken less, but it's almost a game to them... except that this is their income & they will lighten your pocket as much as they can. Things have been tough for the Egyptians (& many other countries) since 9/11 & they are feeling the pinch.

You will find gold jewellery everywhere & it is cheap. Ask to have it weighed in front of you as you pay by weight. Check that it is gold by rubbing it on glass....if it screeches it isn't gold. Im Trav recommend a shop in Luxor which I have bought from & am happy with items! But have also bought elsewhere. In Aswan I bought some beautiful silver earings with lapis lazuli & turquiose inlays in the shape of scarabs that I wear constantly. VERY cheap!!!....very happy!!

If I remember correctly my travel vouchers didn't arrive until fairly close to my departure date. You may need to contact your travel agent in regards to this or perhaps Kelly or Brendan could help??

As Russell has already mentioned Dubai is also a shoppers paradise.

By the way the food is very good, so enjoy!! Try the aubergine salad...yum yum. Or the egyptian version of pancakes at Khan El Khalili (banana).

You might like to see the sound & light show out at the pyramids, before you start your tour.

Have a great time, I am really jealous....not really but maybe just a tad.

All the best..........Debbie

Re: Female Safety

Hey Russell and Debbie thanks heaps for the info you've put mine and mums mind at ease. I really appreciate it thanks guys!!!! Cara

Re: Female Safety

Hi Cara,

I forgot to say that if you are swimming in the Red Sea at Dahab, ANYTHING seems to go. Teeny bikini's, topless!! So you can pack your usual swimming attire. I wish I had known that when I was there xmas day last year!! Oh well I know now.

Have a refreshing lemon juice for me or a hibiscus tea.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with........Debbie.

Re: Female Safety

Hi

I'm going on the Felucca Journey trip in 2 weeks time. I would like to know how much money i will need to spend on essentials e.g. food, water, entrance fees for my 2 week tour. I was planning on taking about US $250 then some extra for spending, but I was shocked to read $2000!!! Is this because you spent loads on shopping?

Also, about how to take the money, is it best to take most in travellers cheques and only a small amount in egyptian pounds, are dollars accepted everywhere, and will i get a worse deal for taking dollars? do places charge commission on cashing travellers cheques?

Thanks

Re: Female Safety

The 2000USD was for everything. Additional meals, transport, drinks, souvenirs, additional entry fees, camera fees etc etc. How much you spend depends on how many extra things you want to do. You should check the type of travellers cheques as some are apparently very hard to cash in Egypt. Your cash card is easy to use in most places. I know Cirrus cards are accepted (see earlier message). USD are accepted everywhere, AUD are acceptable but the Egyptians prefer USD, GBP or Euros.
I haven't used travellers cheques when travelling for years so I don't know about commissions. Sorry.

Hope this helps,

Russell

Re: Female Safety

Hello RZA,

The amount I quoted was in Australian $. But I spent heaps & had to get another bag to bring things home in. Also I was there for almost a month.

$250 US is about 1500 egyptian pounds. You could probably spend about 100 pounds a day with out a lot of trouble. Especially if you are intending to buy a gold cartouche or the like. Some these go for 400 egyptian pounds. Remembering that you will have to pay for your tour kitty before the tour starts. Any extra side trips you wish to take, meals, drinking water, washing, phone calls home(VERY expensive)etc, etc have to be accounted for. Then there is the extras that we all buy to remember our holiday, such as tshirts, alabaster pyramids & the like, apart from jewellery.

I took travellers cheques in US $. Very easy to cash, just ensure you take your receipt with you, ie paperwork from the bank you purchased from. As I said, how much money to take is a very individual thing, as it varies from traveller to traveller. As I was flying over from Australia ( flight cost almost 2500 aussie dollars) & may never be able to afford to come back again, I was making sure I had enough on me to buy what I wanted. The saddle I purchased made a big dent in my finances as did a book I purchased. These 2 items costing almost 2,000 E pounds alone.

If you are a student, take your student card with you & purchase an international student card in Egypt. Costs about 60 E pounds, but is well worth as you can save heaps on entrance fees to sights. If you are a teacher you can get a teachers card.

I have exchange Aussie money in Egypt with out any problems in the past.

Hope you have a wonderfult, it really is a fantastic place to visit. All the best.....Debbie.

Re: Female Safety

Hi, Debbie I was surprised myself when I read that you spent 2000.00 AUD!! I thought oh my god, we must be cheap..Although we only did the Nile Safari and stayed on 3 extra nights, I took for the 2 of us $700.00 U.S, which at that time was around 1000.00 CAD and we did not spend it all..We bought tons of gifts, cartouches, rings, and other junk (trust me)...It got me thinking as we are taking the Delhi to Kathmandu tour in October and taking $1000.00 U.S. for the 2 of us if it will be enough..But after reading further, I guess you really out did yourself...But what the heck..I have done that before!!

Re: Female Safety

Hi Debbie,

I am interested in how you got your saddle home Did you ship it separately? (if so I would be very interested in the details as I suspect from my reading that I might find furniture items over there that I would love to bring home that wouldn't do well in hand luggage...)

I am the same as far as flight costs go - it usually costs as much to *get* wherever I am going from Australia as it does to stay or tour once I arrive at my destination. And in my travelling history I find my biggest regrets are the purchases I didn't make rather than the ones I did. I get so much joy from the memories that the souveniers evoke (be it tacky or classy!) that after the first few misses I swore I'd never talk myself out of something again!

As far as purchases go:
Russell noted that Dubai is cheapest for gold jewellery. After that is it the Khan? Or Luxor? Or does it depend on whether you want jewellery or cartouches?

Are the ImTrav guides on tour allowed to give suggestions on where to buy items to avoid price rip-offs and to avoid buying fakes? Particularly things like papyrus, statuettes (I've love a little black one of Bastet!), alabaster, jewellery, cartouches etc.

Do the shops in the Khan and merchants in Luxor and Aswan take credit cards ? I suspect that all markets would prefer cash?

Last but not least - the temperature guide on the ImTrav site suggests that even in Nov Aswan has temperatures of 34/20. Is this the average or maximum? Makes Jan/Feb look more comfortable...

Megan

Re: Female Safety

Hi Megan,

I read in your question to Debbie Comini that you're interested in purchasing jewellery as well as some statuettes. Our Im Trav guide told us where the most reasonably priced and reputable places were to buy these items in the various places we stopped at.

We saved purchasing gold and silver jewellery until we arrived in Luxor and everyone in my group was very happy with their purchases. Of course gold is sold by weight and hence you cannot really negotiate the price.

Most of our group purchased papyrus' at the papyrus museum following our journey to the Pyramids. I've heard many people say this is a bit of a rip off, but at least we were confident with the quality of what we were buying and they have an outstanding selection to choose from.

We found that most places preferred cash, but many items are cheaper than you think so carrying a bit of cash around is not a problem.

My rule of thumb was to buy anything I laid eyes on that I really liked, as most of what you see you'll never find anywhere else. All up, for food, tipping, shopping and entrance fees I spent around

Re: Female Safety

Hello Cara,

I have just found copies of when I purchased travellers cheques. I did NOT take $2,000 Aus as I have stated earlier.

I took $1,000 US. ( approx $1,300 Aus). I am sorry if this has created more stress for fellow travellers.

I have been unable to read the last few posts on this topic, so please don't think I am ignoring you if I have been asked a question.

All the best..........Debbie.