| ProfileMagic Carpet Tours.PhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
23 December Your Options for Travelling in EgpytFor many the thought of travelling in Egypt can be quite a scary one. As a foreigner living in Egypt now for a number of years I can tell you this fear is totally unfounded. Egypt is the safest country I've ever been to.
When it comes to travelling around Egypt you have 3 possible alternatives:
Backpack Independently: If you have lots of time and little money then this is always the option we'd recommend, no matter what country you travel to. For the ultimate experience throw away your Lonely (Phoney) Planet and put your trust into those you meet along the way, both locals and other travellers alike. With the language difficulties and the annoying beaurocracy of the country you will need to bring a fair dose of patience but the rewards will totally outweigh the frustrations.
Book a Tour when you arrive: Every hotel and street hustler in Cairo will be vying for your business in the hope of getting you on their tour. Very few have their own networks of contacts and instead sell you a tour with one of the dodgy operators at whatever they think you can afford. Once you have bought in, they get a cut on every single activity or souvenir you purchase ensuring that you pay a premium and in general get some pretty nasty service, transport and accomodation along the way. It is these tactics that have given Egypt a bad name amongst many seasoned backpackers and why Magic Carpet has been set up. We offer fixed price tours at approximately half the cost of the big companies (because we are soley internet based with no overheads to pass onto you) yet still use only premium hand picked hotels and operators. Click on "View Profile Details" for more info and our service guarantee.
Book on a Tour with an International Travel company: For many backpackers and travellers this is a pretty nasty option but one many undertake due to the many perceived uncertainties of travelling in Egypt and the Arab world in general. No matter who you travel with, you will be playing passenger and leader lotto not knowing what sort of personalities will be with you for the entire duration of your trip. It only takes one whining know it all to destroy your vacation. If this is the way you want to go, try someone like Intrepid Travel, whose leaders are forbidden from taking commissions from their passengers and who have a strong ethic in Responsible Travel. Comments (3)
TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://magiccarpetegypt.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E44E03530818EE5D!144.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
|
|
|
