Egypt January 2, 2024 trip report

[calypso726]

I was crushed when DCL cancelled the Faroes for our cruise with you guys. That was my #1 bucket list place and I was so excited. I was able to get there a few years later, and it was fabulous. The vistas are incredible. LOL on EBC--it's not on many people's lists, but seeing Everest from the top of Kala Patthar at 18,519 (only 10.5k feet lower) ... priceless. Definitely a one and done though. I'm a Peninsula hotel girl nowadays and roughing it was a challenge. I suspect I'll do Kilimanjaro for one of my next hikes and get Africa that way. I'm with you on that, BTW.

I am even more interested now in hearing our perspective on the Sharm part of the trip as we are of like mind. And I totally get that calculus. I'm right there with you on BA taxes and fees. I buy an obscene number of RT Club or First tickets a year and I feel the same way--paying for economy or premium economy and flying business or first on miles.

Can't wait to hear more and a big hug/hello to plane princess from us!

I gave Planeprincess your message and he said to send hugs to you and the fam! Hugs to all from me too.

Oh no. I hadn't ever justified it like that, but let me tell you, that's GOOD. I'm pretty good at squinting and turning my head just right to make travel hacking math work out, in favor of the thing I want to do. This is going to be a dangerous new justification!!

Honestly, I don’t know enough about Egypt to plan a good trip. I figured ABD would have a better idea than I would on what the highlights to hit should be. Just got to Sharm this evening and I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, relaxing and having nothing at all planned while everyone else goes snorkeling at 10 am.

I didn't know that ABD was still doing the white elephant gift exchange. While we have always enjoyed it, we had a bad experience on our Peru trip. One of the moms that we had spent the trip with took dd's item, which she LOVED. Since the mom was one of the last to pick dd had no opportunity to get it back. She was almost in tears and I thought that that violated "mom code", but obv couldn't say anything (I did see her in a whole different light though). Mind you when her dd's were STARVING the next morning and the guides had run out of snacks, I gave each of them granola bars from my personal stash -- that I brought with me on the trip, but I did hesitate because I seriously doubt she would have done the same. I mean her dd's and my dd had been best buds the entire trip and we got on very well. But to show how good the guides are, they saw how distraught dd was and somehow were able to purchase the item (even though the stores were closed the morning we flew from Cusco back to Lima). Huge kudos to them.

We are on an adults only this trip and the guides repeatedly told everyone not to get attached to anything. They did switch up the rules from when we did it in China. Back then, stealing was endless. This time they said once a gift had been stolen twice, it was locked from being stolen again except by whoever went first when they get a chance to keep or steal after the last person in the group.

 

[calypso726]

This morning we had our white elephant gift exchange before lunch. It was a lot of fun! Bags had to be out by noon and we had lunch and left the cruise ship by 1 pm. We headed to the Valley of the Kings. Our tour tickets with ABD included two tickets. One for for the tomb of King Tut which is a separate ticket and the other ticket was for a visit to 3 different select tombs. Our first tomb we visited together as a group. It was the tomb of Ramses IV. The next tomb was King Tut and then we were able to visit 2 more tombs. The guides and Nermeen, our Egyptologist gave us suggestions. These first set of pics are in the tomb of Ramses IV.

 

[calypso726]

These pictures are from the tomb of King Tut. Now, I understand that most people who are going to visit the Valley of the Kings are going to want to see the tomb of King Tut. Much like most who go to visit the Louvre want to see the Mona Lisa. For me, it was the exact same experience and reaction The tomb, like the Mona Lisa is small. Only 10 people can go in at a time. The experience of seeing King Tut’s tomb was underwhelming just like seeing the Mona Lisa. I have zero regrets on either experience and am thrilled that I have had these experiences. I wouldn’t change any of it. They just didn’t wow me like I thought I’d be wowed.

 

[calypso726]

This part of our trip I am sharing is separate from what ABD includes. Due to how tightly packed the trip is and timing being very important there’s really no chance to see the Valley of the Queens and Nefertari’s tomb which I understand is supposed to be quite impressive. However, my TA who is traveling with us mentioned that the tomb of Seti I is also pretty impressive and apparently pretty close to the tomb of King Tut. So we decided to purchase a separate ticket to see the tomb of Seti I on our own. Once we completed our group tomb visits with ABD and they said we all had time on our own we went to visit the tomb of Seti I. The ticket was about $60 per person and had to be purchased in the visitor’s center before one crosses the turnstiles before the restroom. Even though we spent a good amount of time in that tomb we still had enough time to quickly check out two other tombs on our ABD ticket.

This was my favorite of all the tombs we’ve seen. It’s unique because it is a vaulted tomb. It is also unfinished because Seti I died prematurely. So you can see some of the chambers with stenciling that was done before chiseling begins.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

This part of our trip I am sharing is separate from what ABD includes. Due to how tightly packed the trip is and timing being very important there’s really no chance to see the Valley of the Queens and Nefertari’s tomb which I understand is supposed to be quite impressive.

Yep, this is one of the biggies for DD and why we looked at other tour companies. Seti's tomb is also on the list. Love your pics. I hope you said, I see "wonderful things" when entering Tut's tomb

 

[calypso726]

Yep, this is one of the biggies for DD and why we looked at other tour companies. Seti's tomb is also on the list. Love your pics. I hope you said, I see "wonderful things" when entering Tut's tomb

Well Valley of the Kings is the same day as the flight to Sharm. I can’t see that it would be impossible to blow off Sharm and stay on your own or pick up a tour from there. In hindsight, I’d do ABD for the Sphinx access alone. As cool as, only our group inside pyramids is, and seeing Luxor Temple after hours with just our group, the day we did the Sphinx was the highlight of this whole trip. I literally said, I could go home right now and be super happy. Anything else from here on out is a bonus as far as I’m concerned.

Unlike Carter, I wasn’t as impressed. Seti’s tomb was impressive. I think I said, Huh. Which is probably exactly what I said when I saw the Mona Lisa .

Glad you are enjoying the pictures!

 

[calypso726]

Adding some further thoughts here. In hindsight, I kind have wish we would have blown off the last morning on the boat and figured out how to get to Valley of the Queens. I think the time would have been better spent seeing the Valley of the Kings early in the morning, grabbing lunch and then going to see the Valley of the Queens and specifically Nefertari’s tomb. I’ve been looking at the pictures online and it is absolutely stunning. It would have made for an adventurous day but we’d already one day of sleeping in after the last one. This is by no means a complaint at all. The trip is amazing, I’m just thinking of what a cool experience that would have been.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Well Valley of the Kings is the same day as the flight to Sharm. I can’t see that it would be impossible to blow off Sharm and stay on your own or pick up a tour from there. In hindsight, I’d do ABD for the Sphinx access alone. As cool as, only our group inside pyramids is, and seeing Luxor Temple after hours with just our group, the day we did the Sphinx was the highlight of this whole trip. I literally said, I could home right now and be super happy. Anything else from here on out is a bonus as far as I’m concerned.

Unlike Carter, I wasn’t as impressed. Seti’s tomb was impressive. I think I said, Huh. Which is probably exactly what I said when I saw the Mona Lisa .

Glad you are enjoying the pictures!

Yes, the Sphinx pictures and access are amazing and I can see how that would be worth the price of admission And ROFL on Carter. Although to be fair, I suspect you weren't peering through a small hole with a candle at all those gold pieces intact! BTW, the pictures of that tomb did look a little underwhelming. But still a must see just for the history.

Adding some further thoughts here. In hindsight, I kind have wish we would have blown off the last morning on the boat and figured out how to get to Valley of the Queens. I think the time would have been better spent seeing the Valley of the Kings early in the morning, grabbing lunch and then going to see the Valley of the Queens and specifically Nefertari’s tomb. I’ve been looking at the pictures online and it is absolutely stunning. It would have made for an adventurous day but we’d already one day of sleeping in after the last one. This is by no means a complaint at all. The trip is amazing, I’m just thinking of what a cool experience that would have been.

Now that's an interesting idea ... I wonder how amenable ABD would have been to that and how much risk would have been involved in missing a connection?

 

[mathgeek]

I didn't see you mention it, but did you get to Hatshepshut's Temple? I feel like that was kind of a bonus stop for us. We went there after Valley of the Kings before flying to Sharm (summer 2022). It was one of my favorite stops, and I'm glad we had the chance to go there.

BTW, Sharm was my least favorite part of this trip. It was nice to snorkel in the Red Sea (like you, one more snorkeling stop with ABD along with Great Barrier Reef, and I'm doing Galapagos this summer), but it was a long way to go for basically just that. I would've been happy ending the trip after our last day in Luxor.

We did Valley of the Kings in the morning - didn't get to sleep in that day. Then to Hatshepsut's Temple, then lunch, then on the flight to Sharm (through Cairo with a long layover in Cairo).

As a side note, I did South Africa this past summer, and it ranks up there as one of my top 2 trips, with Egypt being #1. I really enjoyed all aspects of it.

 

[Longhorn Pookie]

I didn't see you mention it, but did you get to Hatshepshut's Temple? I feel like that was kind of a bonus stop for us. We went there after Valley of the Kings before flying to Sharm (summer 2022). It was one of my favorite stops, and I'm glad we had the chance to go there.

BTW, Sharm was my least favorite part of this trip. It was nice to snorkel in the Red Sea (like you, one more snorkeling stop with ABD along with Great Barrier Reef, and I'm doing Galapagos this summer), but it was a long way to go for basically just that. I would've been happy ending the trip after our last day in Luxor.

We did Valley of the Kings in the morning - didn't get to sleep in that day. Then to Hatshepsut's Temple, then lunch, then on the flight to Sharm (through Cairo with a long layover in Cairo).

As a side note, I did South Africa this past summer, and it ranks up there as one of my top 2 trips, with Egypt being #1. I really enjoyed all aspects of it.

May I ask if your South Africa and/or Egypt trips were with ABD? And what is your consideration for ranking egypt above S Africa? We are looking at those two options for our first ABD trip (with two kids 6 and 7).

 

[jimmymc]

Adding some further thoughts here. In hindsight, I kind have wish we would have blown off the last morning on the boat and figured out how to get to Valley of the Queens. I think the time would have been better spent seeing the Valley of the Kings early in the morning, grabbing lunch and then going to see the Valley of the Queens and specifically Nefertari’s tomb. I’ve been looking at the pictures online and it is absolutely stunning. It would have made for an adventurous day but we’d already one day of sleeping in after the last one. This is by no means a complaint at all. The trip is amazing, I’m just thinking of what a cool experience that would have been.

While I haven't been on this particular trip, Disney does occasionally build in what I've heard is "forced down time" on some of their trips, and that's what the white elephant seems like to me. Let everyone sleep in and stay on the ship for a morning so they don't get exhausted. I agree they should have some way to see more sites while you're there.

 

[mathgeek]

May I ask if your South Africa and/or Egypt trips were with ABD? And what is your consideration for ranking egypt above S Africa? We are looking at those two options for our first ABD trip (with two kids 6 and 7).

Both trips were with ABD. Egypt was high on my bucket list b/c I love the study of the Egyptian ancient civilization. So seeing all of those sites that I had studied in person was just an amazing experience.

I honestly can't see doing Egypt with younger kids unless they have a familiarity with the history. I feel like many of the stops would be lost on them. The youngest on our trip was in high school and had traveled extensively internationally. South Africa we had a 6-year old, and she fell asleep on some of the evening game drives but got a lot out of the trip with all of the animals. South Africa was a first ABD trip for a number of families on my tour, where Egypt had all return travelers.

 

[calypso726]

Yes, the Sphinx pictures and access are amazing and I can see how that would be worth the price of admission And ROFL on Carter. Although to be fair, I suspect you weren't peering through a small hole with a candle at all those gold pieces intact! BTW, the pictures of that tomb did look a little underwhelming. But still a must see just for the history.

Now that's an interesting idea ... I wonder how amenable ABD would have been to that and how much risk would have been involved in missing a connection?

That’s fair. No peephole with gold and a new discovery lol Absolutely a must see for the history. So no regrets and yes it needs to stay part of the itinerary.

I think it’s a matter of flights. This afternoon, while everyone was snorkeling I slept in and did nothing much besides watching the last two episodes of Reacher. I was also looking at seeing if it were possible to get flights tomorrow from SSH-LXR same day to go see the valley of the Queens and Nefertari’s tomb on our own. Sadly, everything available had a connection and all direct flights were gone. It would have been fly out at 8 am and not get back until after 11 pm. One flight cancellation could have really thrown a monkey wrench into things. Would have a been a fun adventure but not worth it. We decided we will go to Petra at some point and when we do, make a pit stop in Luxor for the day and go see Nefertari’s tomb plus the tomb of Hapshepshut. So, I suspect that much depends on the flight schedules and adding it in could make things dicey. We have heard that Egypt Air has a saying, “if you have time to spare fly Egypt Air.”

I didn't see you mention it, but did you get to Hatshepshut's Temple? I feel like that was kind of a bonus stop for us. We went there after Valley of the Kings before flying to Sharm (summer 2022). It was one of my favorite stops, and I'm glad we had the chance to go there.

BTW, Sharm was my least favorite part of this trip. It was nice to snorkel in the Red Sea (like you, one more snorkeling stop with ABD along with Great Barrier Reef, and I'm doing Galapagos this summer), but it was a long way to go for basically just that. I would've been happy ending the trip after our last day in Luxor.

We did Valley of the Kings in the morning - didn't get to sleep in that day. Then to Hatshepsut's Temple, then lunch, then on the flight to Sharm (through Cairo with a long layover in Cairo).

As a side note, I did South Africa this past summer, and it ranks up there as one of my top 2 trips, with Egypt being #1. I really enjoyed all aspects of it.

We did not and it is pretty amazing that you did!

Yup same. Sharm is my least favorite part of this but I knew that going in it wasn’t for me. I was glad to have a day of doing nothing and not needing to be anywhere to decompress. So there’s that.

 

[calypso726]

While I haven't been on this particular trip, Disney does occasionally build in what I've heard is "forced down time" on some of their trips, and that's what the white elephant seems like to me. Let everyone sleep in and stay on the ship for a morning so they don't get exhausted. I agree they should have some way to see more sites while you're there.

Yup they do. But the day before we go to Valley of the Kings was one of those. Nothing planned until 2 pm. Granted the day before our sleep in day was crazy and so that day with nothing planned until 2 was definitely appreciated. This is why I think the following day would/should have been fine to squeeze in Valley of the Queens. Now I say that not know the logistics of doing that. So take it with a grain of salt. Again, let me stress that these thoughts are by no means a complaint or disappointment at all. I came into this wanting to see pyramids, Sphinx and cross off my last continent. I would do it again in a heartbeat even knowing what I know now. It is an amazing trip!

Both trips were with ABD. Egypt was high on my bucket list b/c I love the study of the Egyptian ancient civilization. So seeing all of those sites that I had studied in person was just an amazing experience.

I honestly can't see doing Egypt with younger kids unless they have a familiarity with the history. I feel like many of the stops would be lost on them. The youngest on our trip was in high school and had traveled extensively internationally. South Africa we had a 6-year old, and she fell asleep on some of the evening game drives but got a lot out of the trip with all of the animals. South Africa was a first ABD trip for a number of families on my tour, where Egypt had all return travelers.

We have one or two first timers on this trip as well. Most have done ABD before though.

 

[jimmymc]

Yup they do. But the day before we go to Valley of the Kings was one of those. Nothing planned until 2 pm. Granted the day before our sleep in day was crazy and so that day with nothing planned until 2 was definitely appreciated. This is why I think the following day would/should have been fine to squeeze in Valley of the Queens. Now I say that not know the logistics of doing that. So take it with a grain of salt. Again, let me stress that these thoughts are by no means a complaint or disappointment at all. I came into this wanting to see pyramids, Sphinx and cross off my last continent. I would do it again in a heartbeat even knowing what I know now. It is an amazing trip!

Your report is still selling me on this trip. I've got some decent travel experience, but everything I read points towards going to Egypt with a group, and ABD is stepping up with some of these extras.

 

[calypso726]

Ok so we got into Sharm yesterday. For the overpackers and those like me with a pre and post ABD trip in a totally different climate be aware.

ABD does clearly state we should only bring one checked bag and one carry on less than I forget how many pounds. If the flight from Luxor is on Air Cairo into Sharm and you plan to pay for an extra checked bag because you also brought a personal item/backpack or your carryon weighs more than 7kg, they do not take credit cards. Yes, I know that is insane. My carryon weighed more than 7kg and I also had a backpack so I planned to check my carryon in addition to my checked bag, pay for it and bring my backpack on board. Had to pay cash. The airline counter said they aren’t set up for credit card payments. It was $31 per extra checked bag. Our guides said they can be strict about the one only carryon and weight. With that said, I did see several passengers on the flight with both a carryon and a backpack that did not get pulled aside and forced to check the bag. Anyhow just an FYI.

Here are a couple of views from the resort taken from outside the spa area which seemed to be the highest point.

 

[calypso726]

Your report is still selling me on this trip. I've got some decent travel experience, but everything I read points towards going to Egypt with a group, and ABD is stepping up with some of these extras.

We travel quite a bit on our own. We are pretty comfortable going most places on our own and I love the challenge of travel hacking my way someplace and doing it all on points and miles. Planning to do Kenya that way in the next couple of years. ABD is the only group travel we’ve ever done. I love that they can squeeze in way more than I ever will into a specific timeframe and do a decent job of hitting the highlights and adding in some mind blowing special access.

I have seen that they do shield us from a lot of annoyances. The bathroom tipping issues they take care of every single time and at every single stop. They are the ones talking to the bathroom people and letting them know to leave us alone and they will tip them for all of us. They manage to get us through the endless gauntlets of people trying to make a living by selling their souvenirs which can be pretty overwhelming. They prepare and explain how to deal with the locals that are going to try to scam you into tipping them for anything and everything under the sun at the sites and how to avoid it. They know where it is safe to eat and let you know when you can and can’t have ice or a salad so you don’t get sick. They do A LOT to try and make this an enjoyable stress free trip. From what I read on that NatGeo Egypt trip, the tour leaders didn’t seem to do near as well as ABD does just getting you through Egypt and the various sites to see.

 

[calypso726]

I can now officially say I have set foot in The Red Sea. Yesterday, Advetures by Disney took the group on a snorkeling excursion. I opted out but saw video and pics afterwards and the water is very clear and pretty. Instead, as I mentioned earlier, I slept in and watched the last 2 episodes of Reacher This is the first time I’ve been able to actually relax and have a vacation from the Adventures by Disney vacation. The resort is a lovely all inclusive with a huge beautiful adults only infinity pool and other adult only areas. There’s lots of colorful bougainvillea around and everything is clean and tidy. Plenty of other areas for families to enjoy as well.

Swim attire here is what you typically see at any resort in the US and some some that you always hope not to see I’m all covered up because I am very fair skinned and don’t want more suspicious areas cut out of me if I can avoid it, that’s all.

This afternoon there is an optional opportunity to go to a market and shop. I will definitely be doing that.

Tomorrow we have a late flight at 9:30 pm. We were able go to registration this morning to request a late check out (6pm) for an additional $70 or $75 USD. I forgot the amount.

Laundry is super cheap in the boat when you are in the Nile and at this resort as well compared to the Ritz. I sent our 4 bags of laundry in the boat and it was about $18. Here at the resort you can fill a bag for 30 dollars but I don’t know if it’s USD or Egyptian pounds. I’ll find out tomorrow on check out. I sent out a bag and to my surprise got it back the same day which was nice.

 

[calypso726]

Tonight was our farewell dinner and our Adventures by Disney trip has come to a close. It was a fantastic journey and packed way more in than I anticipated. The magical moments were beyond my expectations and definitely hard to beat. I am pleasantly surprised to see this trip make my top 3 ABD trips.

For those that wanted my thoughts on Sharm. It’s a tourist only city. The resort is nice and the beach is too. I live in south Florida about 15 minutes away from the beach. I am not impressed by beaches. I don’t go swimming in the ocean. I did enjoy the pool. I could have easily done without the Sharm portion of this trip but am glad to have had the time to decompress and relax from the rest of the ABD. No complaints, I knew what I was booking and was fine with it. I will say that the market shopping here is different than the other places we visit beforehand. It’s more like knock off western brand name stuff. If you see something you like in Cairo or Luxor get it there because you may not find it in Sharm.

In closing, this ABD is a phenomenal experience and like China, I am glad I did not have to handle any logistics to make it happen. The ABD exclusive experiences are very much “the juice was worth the squeeze” in my opinion. In our group of 5 travel companions (one of which has 22 ABDs under her belt) we all felt this was an amazing trip. We also unanimously agreed that the Sphinx between the paws access with only our ABD group was the top highlight even though it wasn’t the only magical moment. Thanks for those who followed along. As always, happy to answer any questions.

 

[AquaDame]

How did the folk who went snorkeling find it..? Did your husband (partner?) go, or did he hang around the resort as well? Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for us - while ON vacation no less! I feel like the beginning of the trip was a heck of a ride, but remain unconvinced about the use of time there at the end. Decisions decisions... for now I'll keep our Viking booking as it hits those temples you'd wished you had time for, and continue some minor soul searching. It seems we can book both the between the toes Sphinx tour and into the pyramid tour on our own on day tours if we were dead set on that. I need to do more research.