Viking III & Lurox multi trip

[jodenice]

We are very excited and have just booked our first trip to Egypt at the end of September. We are going for 7 nights on a cruise and 7 nights by a pool!

Our nile cruise is on the viking III and is all inclusive of food, soft drinks, local alcohol, teas/coffees.

Our hotel is the sofitel karnak and is bed and breakfast based.

I'm trying to figure out how much spending money we'll need. i know you need to tip the boat and guide staff. What is a reasonable amount to take.

I've been reading the rest of the forum with interest - can you tell me if I have got this right..

Clothing: Loose, cool and not too revealing. A cardigan may be useful - but I can still wear 3 quarter length shorts and skirts. What about tops?

Money_ Loads of ATMS out there but also OK to take sterling and travellers cheques (I may need to do this as my bank has said it may stop my card if I use it in egypt on suspicion of fraudulent activity!)

I'm really looking forward to it!

[jodenice]

that should of course say Luxor! Doh!

[HW tenpin]

Hi Jodenice,

Welcome to HW hope you enjoy the forums, do come back during the week sure you will get good replies from our Iain.

Corrected spelling easy to miss hit keys.

[redster]

Hi Jodenice

If you are going out to visit the town a short sleeved top that covers your shoulders is fine. We were in Cairo a few years ago and I wore a polo type top and 3/4 length trousers to visit a mosque. The guide we had said I was fine. We also did a nile cruise - only one word to describe it - fantastic. Hope you have a great time

Redser

[phaser]

Hi
I cannot tell you about the viking III but this us how we found things on a different boat, I would think they are all very similar.
You will need very little money on an all inclusive Nile Cruise and if you do they accept Egyptian pounds, English Pounds, Euros, Dollars just about anything, you will probably need a few pounds for buying things and tips on the trips, the reception desk on the boat will change some money for you if you wish.
When you get to Luxor it is very similar, they accept just about anything but they round thing up so paying in LE will save you a bit of money and small LE notes are better for tips, Personally I dont bother with travellers cheques but thats up to you, There are ATM's all over the place, hotels, banks etc and you will get a much better rate than changing money in England.
A nile cruise is probably the best holiday I have ever had, It is wonderful experience.
Hope that helps

[steveB298]

Hi
We have just got back from a week on the MS Sherry and a week at the Sofitel Karnak. Just a few tips for you, regarding the boat, check before you go if there are any restrictions on the drinks that you are expecting to be free as some people were telling us that it was restricted to certain times or didn't include meal times etc. You are better off not taking travellers cheques as no one really wants them in Egypt. Try to get as much small change as you can by changing down large notes wherever you go, we found the boat hardly ever had any small money as they only deal with credit systems on board and not cash but wherever you go you will end up giving out 1 LE as tips everywhere. We told our bank about going away to Egypt and we used our Mastercard to pay for a lot of stuff, especially gifts and extra trips, and a Visa Card to get money out from ATM's without any problems. You are ok to wear most things when out and about especially when visiting the temples etc which get very hot. Shorts are ok in fact pretty much anything just not revealing, my wife used a light scarf to cover her shoulders and head more to keep the sun off than anything else. The people are very friendly and funny, if you are good natured with them even when saying no to their constant demands for baksheesh or when trying to sell you stuff, they will be good natured back.
Regarding what we all called the 'crocodiles' the street sellers if you don't want to buy anything just walk past them and ignore them or say la or la shukram and they will generally leave you alone. However, bartering with them is part of the fun of the holiday and can be immensely enjoyable and fun. If someone tells you that something is 1 egyptian be warned they mean 100 egyptian, a lot of people were caught out in the beginning with that trick, once you agree a price or shake hands they will expect you to complete the deal. Never pay what they ask, if they are asking 200 egyptian they are likely to sell for 10 to 20 egyptian. We purchased a hand made large bed throw which started at 3,500 egyptian for 200 egyptian!
Regarding the hotel, we also stayed at the Sofitel on bed & breakfast which is a fantastic place. Regarding meals, fill yourself up at breakfast, you can get virtually anything you want and the egg chef will cook you fresh pancakes, omlettes, fried eggs anything. Room service prices are pretty reasonable for evening meals, generally about £2 for soup and rolls to £4 for large cheese burger and chips and all brought to your door which you can eat on your balcony or on your veranda. They have a barbecue restaurant by the pool which serves the same or egyptian food for the same price which is very good and another restaurant which is more expensive. We never used the pain restaurant, Opet, for dinner as we were told that the food was pretty much the same every night although they have a different theme night i.e texan, oriental etc. At lunch time use the pool side bar to get chips for £2 etc. Drinks can be very expensive to buy at the hotel, £1.20 for a large bottle of water, £1.50 for a can of cola and £2 for beer. We purchased all our drinks at local supermarkets for 20p for large water, 20p for cans and £1 for beer which you can only generally purchase at some places at night or at local bars during the day. We sneeked these back into the hotel everyday but be warned they don't mind water being brought outside but don't take kindly to everything else including food being brought in. However, the easy way is to get the ferry boat back because there is no security where you disembark but at the main entrance there are guards and a metal detector and sometimes they check bags.
Luxor is a fantastic place to walk around and totally safe especially at night when the local people are out and using the parks etc in the cool. If you want a reliable taxi you can't go far wrong with Mr Fish (real name Sayed and his brothers) tel 0102060871, he can be found parked opposite the Kings Head Pub and will charge 30 egyptian to take you back to the hotel (tell him Steve said hello) he will also take you to his cousins supermarket to buy drinks on the way if you ask.
The shuttle bus goes to town in the morning then stops after 12 until 4pm and then stops again at 7.30pm. The hotel is a long way out of town but that can be a god send as there is no hassle. If you want internet access it is £4 for half an hour in the hotel or £1 for half an hour in the internet cafe outside the entrance to the hotel.
There are a lot of restaurants in town and the english pubs, Red Lion and Kings Head are ok for food or english company (owned and run by egyptians) but don't expect a real pub! If you go to the Kings Head the owner will play a game of pool with you for a drink (he's better than he makes out)!
One last thing, when at the Sofitel go and see the crocodile they keep near the entrance to the hotel, it's only a baby but not many people know it's there.
Hope this all helps and you will have a wonderful time, post again if you need to know anymore.

[jodenice]

Oh wow what a fantastic reply Steve, thank you so much, so great to hear from someone who's been in the same place as we are going! I think I'll stock up on some duty free when we are at the airport and just take it in in my suitcase!

I did wonder, does anybody know how much the trip to abu simbel costs as I need to work this into my budget!

[steveB298]

Hi again jodenice
I think you will find that to fly to Abu Simbel will cost around £120 - £140 sterling, sometimes a coach trip is offered which I think is about £80 but it depends on your boats itinerary.
You can also book trips through the many tour operators in Luxor much cheaper, Jolleys are reliable but I believe they may be moving from the Winter Palace.
We decided to leave the Abu Simbel visit and went for a day visit to Cairo instead during our second week which cost us £175 sterling each with Traveline which included a private minibus, Egyptologist and lunch. We saw the pyramids, sphinx, Cairo museum and the Sooq.
It was well worth every penny and certainly rounded off a fantastic holiday.
There are also other trips which you can do as extras such as the sound and light shows, Nubian village tour and also visits to jewellery, papyrus, alabaster and perfume factories which your guide can arrange.
Remember also that you will be expected to tip each driver about £5 - 10 Egyptian per couple per trip plus a tip for the boat staff and guide at the end of the cruise of about £15 sterling per person for both.
Hope this helps and if you have any other queries just ask.
p.s. When you stay at the Sofitel you won't need to tip anyone, but we chose to tip our room cleaner £10 Egyptian every day and he couldn't do enough for us.

[jodenice]

OK cool so how much did you end up tipping on the boat altogether?

I'm even more excited now!

[steveB298]

Hi
We tipped the guide £25 and the boat £30, we also tipped the room cleaners a couple of pound each and our 13 year old son tipped the restaurant manager and a waiter £3 and £2 as they were particularly good with him (they would make sure he had a plate of chips with every meal and were always playing games and having a joke with him).
The guide will tell you what you are expected to tip but you should be guided by the level of service you receive. The guides are usually paid quite well whereas the boat staff are paid a pittance and they appreciate any tip.