Egypt is among the oldest countries in the world, and is the home of the last remaining Wonder of the Ancient World!
We have now visited Egypt as a family twice now. Both trips were truly amazing, though our focus for each one was significantly different.
Our first trip was based out of Luxor, Egypt and lasted about 4 months. During that time we made frequent trips to other parts of the country to see as much as we could, though we mostly focused on the archeology and history of Egypt. This country’s fascinating history and ancient ruins captivated us, while the low cost of living and laid-back atmosphere we found in Luxor’s West Bank made it possible for us to explore to our heart’s content! We didn’t know if we’d be coming back, so we tried to see everything. It was a good try, but there was just too much to see in a single trip.
We took things much slower on our second trip. This time we decided to stay in a small town on the coast, called Marsa Alam. Where the large cities on the Nile are filled with people and history, Marsa Alam is a fairly new and small area that was built to support the local gold mining industry. However, its location on the Red Sea means it is an amazing location for exploring Egypt’s aquatic biodiversity! Plus, there’s a pretty cool worldschool hub that’s located there, which was great for my family.
And, while nothings in the books yet, I fully suspect that we’ll be coming back to Egypt soon.
My recent posts on Egypt
- My Picks for the Top 10 Best Places to Travel with Kids After 10+ Years of Family Travel
- 7 Incredible Places that *should* be Official World Wonders, but somehow aren’t
- Abu Simbel With Kids: Visiting The Temple That Moved
- Awesome Fiction Books about Egypt to Inspire Kids
- Best places to visit as a family in Aswan, Egypt
- Visiting Wild Camels and Cleopatra’s Emeralds in Wadi el-Gemal
- Coral, Dugongs, and Dolphins – Why Marsa Alam, Egypt is perfect for a family-friendly snorkeling adventure
- Fun and Unique Things to Do in Egypt: 12 Incredible Water-based Activities
- 10+ Amazing Snorkel Gear Options for Families with Kids
- The Complete Educational Guide to Egypt
- What not to eat in Egypt (plus some amazing meals you shouldn’t miss!)
- Finding Egypt’s hidden desert whales in beautiful Wadi al-Hitan
- 17 amazing things to do in Luxor, Egypt
- A Good Guide to the Great Pyramid
Egypt Travel Resources
Tours and Guides
It’s surprisingly easy to visit most places in Egypt without joining a tour or getting a guide. For most places, it’s as simple as getting a taxi and buying an entrance ticket. When you go by yourself, there’s an amazing amount of freedom, and you can spend hours just wandering around these monuments that have stood for centuries. However, unless you yourself are an experienced Egyptologist, you’ll be missing out on quite a bit of the history knowledge!
If you do decide to go with an organized tour, it is important to make sure that you’re getting your money’s worth! Here are some of the absolute best Egypt tours available.
Best Choose Your Own Adventure Tours
If you still want a great guided experience but want a little more control over your itinerary, I recommend choosing a tour from Get Your Guide. They have a wide variety of short tour types using local guides who know their stuff.
Different trips vary in length from shorter half-day tours all the way up to multiple-day tours that let you experience a wide variety of the best activities in Egypt. It’s a great way to find exactly what you’re looking for while skipping places that didn’t catch your interest.
Places to Stay
If you are planning on exploring Egypt over a longer period of time, I highly recommend setting up a base of operations in Luxor and taking shorter trips out from there. Not only is Luxor filled to bursting with amazing things to see, but it’s also one of the least expensive places to stay in Egypt.
Plus, since there are so many tours going through, Luxor ended up being one of the easiest cities in Egypt for us to navigate as English speakers without learning any Arabic.
It’s a win-win-win!
The West Bank of Luxor has a ton of great places to stay, and, if you’re feeling brave, it’s quite possible to find an apartment to rent by simply walking into one of the local restaurants and asking if anyone knows of an apartment for rent. There’s a decent chance that they’ll know of a place.
But personally, I prefer having a place to stay well before I show up somewhere. Booking.com has a ton of great stays available on Luxor’s West Bank for affordable prices, which is why I typically start my search there.