Egypt geographically lies at the intersection among Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. As a westerner in this Islamic country, I felt very much “at home” and plan on returning.
Also very relevant: because I was a low-budget traveler, I loved traveling in Egypt.
I spent a week in Egypt and only stayed in Cairo. Which obviously is a huge wtf moment for me. Ok quick mini-story time.
At that time, I cut my Egypt trip short for a girl I was chasing after in Germany. And right now, I’m very mad at 24 year old Wilson for making that dumb decision because a) I got rejected in the end and b) I denied myself an opportunity to explore more of Egypt. But yolo.
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For this trip, I took an Egyptair (Star Alliance, yeah!) flight from Addis Ababa to Cairo.
Anyways. Here are my top 3 recommendations for Cairo, Egypt.
1. The Pyramids of Giza
Basically, when you go to Cairo, you go here, right? Duh. Every single “top places to visit in Egypt” that you google search must include or at least mention the Pyramids, close to the capital city. The Pyramids was an incredible experience. Here are some pictures (that didn’t quite make it onto my Instagram).
Pose with Pyramid
Camel Riding
But, goes without sayin’. I didn’t just come here for the gram (promise). There’s a lot of incredible history that the tour guides went through while we were riding on a camel.
I signed up to do a tour through the Miami Cairo Hostel. From what I remember, we didn’t pay more than $60USD for a 2-hour tour per person. And something I will tell myself the next time I arrive to the Pyramids and I’m shopping for souvenirs, always – Always haggle.
2. Nile River Sunset Dinner Cruise
I signed up for a sunset dinner cruise at my hostel for $30USD because why not. WOW. Again, I want to say it again – because I was a low-budget traveler, I felt like I received a huge value out of traveling in Cairo in comparison to other places around the world.
Sunset Dinner Cruise
There was a buffet with Pita, shawarma, sausages, chicken, noodles, fruits and salad… and obviously I pigged out.
Buffet
Belly-Dancing Show on the Boat Afterwards
And oh, there’s more. Because I’m the kind of person who likes delightful surprises. I thought the sunset dinner was amazing, but then there was a belly-dancing show on the boat afterwards.
Docking Station - Hookah Bar
After the show, we started heading back to the docking station. From there, I went to a hookah bar with the people I met on the boat. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience that night.
3. Salah El Din Al Ayouby Citadel
When you have 15K+ google reviews with an average rating of 4.5/5.0, you must be spectacular.
Salah El Din Al Ayouby Citadel
We took an uber all the way here in sunny, hot weather. When we went to the top, we had the panoramic view of Cairo in the background. On this trip, I made friends with a Chilean and another American.
Panoramic View of Cairo
Cheese.
Where I Stayed
I stayed at Miami Cairo Hostel.
Pros: they have the perfect location and offer great deals on tours. Oh, and $6USD/night wasn’t bad.
Cons: The downside is privacy – it was sort of loud around the area.
Otherwise – I couldn’t recommend it more.
By the way, I wrote a separate article on How I Choose Where I Stay when I Travel.
If I had more time, I would have…
Well, I only checked out Cairo. Unfortunately, I arrived at the Cairo Tower way too late, and it was already closed when I wanted to visit.
Next time, I will visit Alexandria. It’s a coastal city in the North, and it’s the second largest city in the nation.
If I’m really feeling adventurous, I would like to visit Aswan in the south as well. My friend visited there and really liked it.
I had another friend who did a tour of Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan. Maybe I’ll do that. But again, only if I have the time to be twirling my thumbs and find an unlimited checkbook.
Closing Remarks
Gosh, there’s so much to see in Egypt. I will say this for the third and hopefully last time, but traveling is expensive – so when I am able to genuinely enjoy an experience without having to sacrifice a lot of my budget, I’m happy.
One really cool thing about the culture in Cairo that I learned is that it’s quite liberal and very tourist-friendly. I heard Lebanon was kind of like that too – that’s a country I’d like to visit soon. I don’t say this about every place I visit, but I really liked Egypt. (Yes, italicized on purpose.)
