My Trip to Egypt

For decades I have had a fascination with ancient secrets, historic mysteries, mythology, astrology, and numerology. So, visiting the ancient temples and tombs of Kings and Queens from 3,000 years ago in Egypt was a dream come true.

My journey started at the airport in Cairo where I met my Uniworld concierge, Ehab. I literally walked off the plane and before I made it to the immigration line, I felt like a VIP with a warm Egyptian welcome smile with Ehab’s unique Egyptian sense of humour that had me belly laughing within minutes. What a welcome! Ehab took my passport, completed my declaration forms for me and just like that he collected my luggage, and we went out into the delicious warmth of a Cairo evening. It was a dream arrival into a new mysterious country.

The traffic in Cairo is renowned for being hectic, but compared to Sydney, our journey to the Four Seasons Hotel had our Uniworld Mercedes mini-van flowing like a boat on a river across one of the longest road-bridges in the world. I arrived a day earlier than the Uniworld itinerary was due to start which gave me a day to do some extra exploration on my own. Ehab offered me some tours which I booked and paid for from the car. I opted for a trip to the Egyptian Civilisations Museum and of course some shopping at the bazaar. It was a wonderful day. The local Uniworld team encouraged me to eat in the hotel to avoid any risk of illness, but I was naughty and ate everything that called to me—no, I didn’t get sick, and yes, it was all delicious! Pro tip: if you stay at the Four Seasons like I did, have dinner by the pool one night for the most amazing people watching!

The next day I met my new best friends and fellow Uniworld guests from around the world and we had a full day of group touring. That first day on my own was just so great that I didn’t think things could get any better, but day 2 was a standout and I went to bed excited for what tomorrow would bring. This was a theme that continued for me in Egypt.

A highlight in Cairo is a morning in Giza at the pyramids with pretty much the place to ourselves. I decided not to go into the tomb in the pyramid because I was having way too much fun having my photo taken by the locals (give them $1 and they know how to get all the best angles!)

Onto the Nile—we flew together as a group on a short flight to Luxor, where we had 2 ships docked side by side in our own Uniworld port. The River Tosca and the S.S. Sphinx are both gorgeous and Egyptian in style with a capacity of around 80 guests. I stayed on the Sphinx but was able to walk around the Tosca too as we cruise in parallel most of the time.

On the first cruise day in the afternoon, we cruised north to Dendera. Uniworld is the only line that cruises in this direction and it really gave us an edge as we were in the Dendera Temple before all the coaches from Luxor arrived. It was heavenly to be there with hardly another person to be seen!

Back in Luxor, we visited 2 incredible temples of Kings and Queens that reigned 2000-3000 years ago. You almost become desensitized to how old everything is!

Next stop was Kom Ombo for the incredible temple to the most revered Queen Hatshepsut cut into the mountains of the Valley of the Kings. Wow! There are 110 tombs of ancient Egyptian kings, including King Tut’s mummy, and they believe there are likely to be many many more that are still undiscovered. Our Uniworld Egyptologist, Saleh, had all the insights to bring these tombs to life.

From Kom Ombo the cruise continues south to Aswan where we spent a few days, which turned out to be my highlight! What is so special about Aswan is that it’s a small city with around 1.5 million people, and you literally can picture baby Moses in his basket floating down the Nile here—it felt so familiar! Here, the Nile is so clean and clear you can swim. With very few passenger boats further north on the Nile, this is where you find feluccas, a very relaxing mode of transport. I also loved our high tea experience at the classic Old Cataract Hotel. I recommend you dress to impress for this as the location is so picturesque and a great spot for a photo shoot!

My biggest overall Egypt tip:
Say YES to everything! Should you add the optional excursion to Abu Simbel? Say yes! Should I get up early for birdwatching in Aswan? Say yes! Should I dress in a Galabeya for the Egyptian party on board? Say yes! Should I try the okra in a tajine? Say yes! Do everything and try everything. You won’t regret it.

My verdict:
This is an action-packed cruise but with plenty of time for relaxation by the pool. Between Cairo and the towns along the Nile, there is so much to see and do in Egypt. The value of this cruise is incredible! If you are going to do Egypt, I would say to do it well and do it with expert Egyptologists. Having someone waiting for you at the airport to help navigate immigration and customs was priceless. Our group never had to queue for anything, and our guides had local-only intel, which made the excursions even more interesting. Did I feel safe in Egypt? YES. I felt safer in Egypt than in my hometown of Sydney. Tourism is of massive importance, and the Egyptians take tourist safety very seriously and I felt it. The people are so welcoming, and you can feel their kindness. But most of all, they are funny! Expect to laugh, a lot!

Note: The contents of this article are accurate as of the publication date. Uniworld itineraries and inclusions are subject to change at any time.