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Ramadan is an annual month-long festival, during which travel can be a rewarding cultural experience, however some regular services may not be available during the day, such as restaurants or cafes, and occasionally travel can be disrupted by events. Your leader will adjust the itinerary accordingly, but please consider this when selecting your travel dates. You’ll find dates and further information in the ‘Climate and seasonal information’ section of the Essential Trip Information.

1. A complimentary airport arrival transfer is included; valid if you are arriving on Day 1 or if you have booked pre-tour accommodation through us. You must provide your flight details to your booking agent at least 14 days prior to travel.
2. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights of your trip and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information. 
3. This trip includes domestic flights. The luggage allowance is 23kg for check in luggage and 8kg for carry on.
You can store excess luggage at the start point hotel.
4. Departures between January and August 2022 will visit the exterior of Fort Qaitbey rather than Al Montazah Palace & Gardens on Day 4, due to renovations.

What you need to bring will vary according to the trip style you have chosen, the countries you are visiting and when you are travelling. We recommend you pack as lightly as possible, ensuring that you are able to carry and lift your own luggage and walk with it for short distances or up or down a flight of stairs. Help will be on hand in most locations, but there may be times you need to handle your own luggage, for example in airports and train stations.

A lockable suitcase with wheels is ideal for this trip. It is recommended that you keep your main luggage weight around 15kg and certainly no more than 20kg. A small or medium-sized backpack (45-50 litres) is another good option.

You'll also need a day pack/bag to carry water, camera, jacket, etc. when you’re exploring during the day.

Below is a link to our ultimate packing list, a guide to get you started:, https://www.intrepidtravel.com/packing-list, DRONES
Drones are generally not permitted to enter or be used in Egypt, neither for personal nor professional/commercial use. If you are considering taking a drone with you, please check local laws and with your airline.

BINCOULARS
We do not recommend bringing binoculars into Egypt. Having binoculars often results in extended searches by airport security, which can result in multi-hour delays, and confiscation.

A basic level of fitness is required to be able to enjoy this trip to the fullest.

Hyatt Regency Cairo West, km 22 Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road Pyramids Heights Business Park, Giza, Egypt, 8655, Cairo, EGYPT, Phone: +202 235362061

Alternate Joining Point

A complimentary airport arrival transfer is included; valid if you are arriving on Day 1 or if you have booked pre-tour accommodation through us. You must provide your flight details to your booking agent at least 14 days prior to travel.

For your confirmed arrival transfer, you’ll be met before you reach immigration by a representative holding an Intrepid sign. This representative will assist you in obtaining a visa on arrival if required, before guiding you through immigration, luggage collection and to a waiting vehicle. In case of flight cancellations, changes, if you experience severe delays at any point, or if you are not able to find the representative, please contact the transfer operator directly: +20 12 2100 5565. You can also reach our local operations team on +201096811067 for further assistance.

Alternatively, you can take a taxi from the airport to your hotel. The journey will take approximately 45mins, depending on the traffic, and cost approximately EGP300.

Steigenberger Hotel El-Tahrir Cairo, 2, Kasr El Nil Street Down Town, Tahrir Square, Cairo, EGYPT, Phone: +20 225750777

The Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir is ideally located in the heart of Cairo down town, within walking minutes to the Egyptian Museum, and Khan El Khalili. The hotel offers modernly furnished rooms and hotel facilities including free WiFi, 24 hour in-room dining, an all-day dining and lobby bar, swimming pool and fitness centre. Rooms feature; fully equipped bathroom with a shower, sound-proof windows, interactive LCD TV, in room safe and free WiFi 512 MB

Alternate Finish Point

Steigenberger El Tahrir hotel

Address :2 Kasr Al Nile, Ismailia, Qasr El Nil, Cairo Governorate 4272111

Phone: +2 25750777

Breakfasts included: 14

Lunches included: 6

Dinners included: 7

While travelling with us you'll experience the vast array of wonderful food available in the world. Your group leader or local representative will be able to suggest restaurants to try during your trip. To give you the maximum flexibility in deciding where, what and with whom to eat, generally not all meals are included in the trip price. This also gives you more budgeting flexibility. As a rule our groups tend to eat together to enable you to taste a larger variety of dishes and enjoy each other's company. If you have dietary requirements and/or food allergies, please let your booking agent know prior to departure.

Your group leader or representative will endeavor to cater for specific dietary requirements where possible. Please note that Gluten Intolerances and Vegan can be more challenging in some parts of the Middle East, you may wish to speak to your trip leader at the group meeting to alert them of this so they can help you throughout the trip in planning suitable meals.

Your group leader or representative will endeavor to disclose to their fullest knowledge the main ingredients in dishes being consumed. It is, however, your personal responsibility to ensure that you do not ingest any foods to which you are allergic.

SUMMER IN EGYPT
As the days get warmer, temperatures can start to soar, particularly in Upper Egypt (Luxor and Aswan). From April to October, to avoid the midday heat, some days start very early (for example - 5am). Please be prepared for this - our schedules are designed to make touring as comfortable for you as possible.

RAMADAN
The important month of Ramadan will be in progress 10 March to 08 April 2024 and 1 March to 30 March 2025 and  and the Eid ul-Fitr festival will be held directly at its conclusion for 3-4 days. Ramadan is a festival of sacrifice where the devout refrain from eating or drinking during daylight hours. During Ramadan, business hours are shortened, including opening hours at some tourist attractions. Alcohol is not permitted during daylight hours and many restaurants will be closed. While you should expect some delays and inconveniences during this period, the month is a fantastic opportunity to travel in a Muslim country and witness this unique period, particularly the nightly celebrations when the sun sets and the fast is broken. Please note that although the Eid ul-Fitr festival can also be a fascinating time to travel it's a period of national holiday. Most government offices and businesses will be closed and some tourist site opening hours may be affected.

While we always endeavour to provide the best possible holiday experience, due to the nature of travel and the areas we visit sometimes things can and do go wrong. Should any issue occur while you are on your trip, it is imperative that you discuss this with your group leader or local representative straight away so that they can do their best to rectify the problem and save any potential negative impact on the rest of your trip.

We recognise that there may be times when your group leader or local representative may not be able to resolve a situation to your satisfaction - if this is the case, please ask the group leader or local representative to speak to their direct manager.

You may also choose to provide details in your online feedback, which we ask you to complete within 30 days of the end of your trip. Please do be aware that it is very difficult for us to provide any practical help after the trip is completed, so informing us while still travelling will give us the opportunity to resolve the issue in real-time.

For general contact details please use the following page: http://www.intrepidtravel.com/ourtrips/contact/

In case of a genuine crisis or emergency, you can reach our local office on the numbers below:

Intrepid's Local Operator: +201 09681 1067

The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation.

Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available.

SECURITY WHILE TRAVELLING
Occasionally you may experience a Tourist Police Escort in your vehicle and whilst not common convoys between select towns or regions are possible. This practice has been implemented by local authorities to monitor the safety and security of visitors to Egypt.

NILE RIVERBOAT
You will be staying on a riverboat for the Nile River section of this itinerary. The company we work with has a large fleet of boats and the actual boat can’t be confirmed until 30 days before departure. However you can expect the following facilities; restaurant, bar & sundeck. Most boats will also have a small swimming pool and in that instance, swimming towels will be available for use.

All cabins have ensuites, air conditioning, and windows to enjoy the views of the Nile. Accommodation during the cruise is on a full board basis, often in the form of a buffet. Drinks can be purchased from the bar or restaurant. Bottled drinking water and tea and coffee are available but are not included so please ensure you check prices on board.

Internet is mostly charged at an additional fee. We recommend purchasing a local sim card for your data requirements, please refer to the Communications section of this Essential Trip Information document.

You will have the opportunity to disembark the boat each day as we explore some of the ancient sites included on the itinerary. The boat will also be anchored at port each evening. Only on the odd occasion would it sail at night depending on the water traffic at Esna Lock.

Most often when in port there can be many boats and you may be berthed side by side with another ship. Riverboats have anywhere from 50-70 cabins and you will be sharing the facilities with other travellers not on your tour.