Advice for travel to Egypt?
Margarita D asked:
I will be traveling in Feb for 2 weeks with my 24 year old son and a tour group of 8 & 3 guides. I purchased travel insurance. Do I need to get any vaccinations? Do you have any advice you can share from personal travel experience? We will be traveling Cairo, White Desert, Black Desert, Crystal Mountains, Luxor, on Nile, riding camels, etc. Any warnings, i.e. since we are US Citizens? Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Thank you all for answering my questions. Each of you has been very informative and caring. Blessings to all of you and a joyous & prosperous New Year.
I will be traveling in Feb for 2 weeks with my 24 year old son and a tour group of 8 & 3 guides. I purchased travel insurance. Do I need to get any vaccinations? Do you have any advice you can share from personal travel experience? We will be traveling Cairo, White Desert, Black Desert, Crystal Mountains, Luxor, on Nile, riding camels, etc. Any warnings, i.e. since we are US Citizens? Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Thank you all for answering my questions. Each of you has been very informative and caring. Blessings to all of you and a joyous & prosperous New Year.
Margarita
Peter
July 21st, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Dale
im egyptIAN AND I LOVE THAT PLACE
i miss it soo much..
just be ready to go into cairo cz some people we know come back and they say oh… was really dirty. so get prepared for that i gues.. and the noise in cairo
July 24th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Cynthia
Make sure you brining all the medication that you usually take, make you know when the U.S. Embassy is located, security is some issue recently in Egypt when numerous of club and heavy tourism place has been attack, you wanted stay indoor most of time if possible. Don’t eat thing you normally don’t eat back in state, might cause food poison.
July 26th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Veronica
You will NOT get food poisoning any more than you would in other circumstances. The tour guides know where to lead you to restaurants that have umm..better sanitary practices. You may however get diarrhea and an upset stomach simply because you’re not used to the bacteria there. Bring along some immodium and it should pass in a day or two, if you get a problem at all.
Typhoid, Diptheria and Hepatitis A are recommended but in all honnesty, it’s rarely a problem if you’re going around the regular tourist circles. I’ve lived there (DH is Egyptian) and never had trouble there.
Explore, but be cautious at the same time! You’re biggest threat (crime wise) will be pick pockets, so keep your money safe and don’t carry too much at a time.
July 29th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Yolanda
I would rethink don’t get me wrong Egypt is great but right now be careful
July 31st, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Robin
hey
My advice will be
Don’t bring any medicine
Egypt is very cheap and in any big pharmacy people is speaking english and will give u cheap medicine if you need, just go to a pharmacy
regarding going to a dessert
my advice will be try to wear things that will prevent your eyes and hair from the sand
so simply wear a sun glasses with a rob or anything to avoid it to fall if you will ride camels or horses
and any piece of cloth around your head to protect your hair
and enjoy it
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:42 am
Harry
Margarita,
I am a US citizen in the Sinai.
It is cold right now, so bring a mixture of clothes that perhaps you can layer as the weather changes.
The US Army vaccinates its personnel for the following items:
TYPHOID
1) PPD - Tine Test - TB Test
2) Hepatitis A
3) Hepatitis B
4) Tetanus - Diphtheria
5) Oral Polio Vaccine (if not taken in the last 10 years)
6) MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella)
7) Meningococcal Vaccine
Yeah, you probably aren’t going to need all of that, but it wouldn’t hurt to call your primary care physican.
I would CERTAINLY take your prescribed medications and NOT rely on purchasing them in Egypt. You have no idea of the actual product you are buying!
Drink only bottled water and bring hand sanitizer or hand wipes from bath and body works. Everywhere in Egypt is filthy!
I have sited the US Embassy in Cairo below. Remember the situation in Gaza/Israel is hundreds of Kms away, but many people blame Egypt for not helping Gaza. Just remain aware of your surroundings and read the sources I have listed.
Be safe, and enjoy Egypt.
Feel free to PM me for an specific questions!
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Paul
It’s an amazing country, I hope you like it when you visit it. Also, don’t forget to visit the famous Egyptian singer “Tamer Hosny”, he’ll entertain you for ages, you’ll love him too!!
Some Egyptian airport workers are retards, be careful, maybe ask an expert, because I don’t know too much.
Be careful though and good luck for visiting, you will love Egypt though!! the pyramids, the weather, the beaches, Oh you will just love it.
And don’t forget, if you are going to Cairo, you can meet the famous singer “Tamer Hosny” and please tell him I miss him and i want to see him again, tell him his new album “Arrab Kaman” was the best album in the world, and tell him i love him sooooooo much” - Thank You
have a nice holiday
Oh, and tell Tamer Hosny that I think he is better than Amr Diab by miles, he will be over the moon!! but it’s true, tell him i think amr diab sucks and you (tamer hosny) are much better!! he will get soooooooooo happy. AND DON’T forget! my name !!!!!
it’s Shakaib, make sure you mentian that too, very important, otherwise he wont know who i am!!!!
Thanks a lot!
EDIT: Tamer Hosny is the best singer in the world
August 6th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Peggy
–When riding a camel, do not wear a sanitary napkin in your panties, because it will hurt your vajay like whoa. Camels not only look bumpy, they walk bumpily and grindily.
–”La, shukran” means “no thanks”. It can become a mantra.
–The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is disorganized but chock full of absolutely amazing things. I believe it costs 50 pounds to get in and an extra 100 to see the royal mummies (Ramesses II, Seti and so on). If your son happens to be a student, he can get discounts to things like the museum or Giza by having an International Student Card. Be advised you are not allowed to have cameras in the museum (you can get them in, actually, but you get in trouble if they see you using them).
–Eat koshari. There’s a place near the Museum in Cairo called el-Tahrir (the name of the square) with some purple stripies over the name, which has awesome koshari. You can order the amount of koshari by price; 1 pound would be a very small bowl, 5 pounds a very big bowl. I think it’s on el-Tahrir street.
–Be prepared for masses of people all over the place.
–Egyptian guys harassed us a lot (I, as a college age girl, was with a group of college age girls). There was no touching but a lot of shouting. In most cases it’s harmless, just annoying.
–Deserts at night in February are cold.
–If you go to Mt Sinai at night in February, it is really, really cold.