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Author Topic: Egypt Master Thread  (Read 28270 times)

Offline Emkay

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #60 on: December 27, 2016, 05:05:19 AM »
how recently has anyone been there. is it still safe to go to?
By there do you mean Taba? Or Cairo?
I personally would go to either but they are very different.

Offline readicculus

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #61 on: December 27, 2016, 05:07:17 AM »
By there do you mean Taba? Or Cairo?
I personally would go to either but they are very different.
sorry, I meant to write Cairo

Offline Saulius

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #62 on: December 27, 2016, 08:03:13 AM »
how recently has anyone been there. is it still safe to go to?
I have been in Cairo a few times. Do a search for  "Cairo bomb" on http://news.google.com . There have been a recent terrorist bombing by the road to the pyramids, and a bomb explosion by a Coptic church that left many dozens dead.

E.g. http://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/742701/egypt-news-cairo-bombing-isis-news

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/741644/Egypt-Giza-Great-Pyramids-bombing-dead-attack-entrance-tourist-attraction

Cairo is a very large city, and the security forces are out, but from time to time unfortunately things happen. One must decide if it's worth the risk.

Although, l would say the biggest dangers are the Egyptian drivers and crossing the street.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2016, 08:28:47 AM by Saulius »

Offline high end hobo

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #63 on: December 27, 2016, 10:08:25 AM »
how recently has anyone been there. is it still safe to go to?
Yes I have, I felt safe
Safe is a subjective term, so I cannot properly answer your second question

Offline Saulius

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #64 on: December 27, 2016, 10:32:53 AM »
Yes I have, I felt safe
Safe is a subjective term, so I cannot properly answer your second question

I travelled the underground metro system, walked for hours, etc. Just one should be cautious around the pyramids especially, as there are tons of aggressive Egyptians offering rides on horses, camels, offering to take a picture of you, etc. Telling them No even Arabic doesn't help. Make sure to negotiate on prices beforehand, know that nothing is for free, even if they say so. Plus, they have their tricks, e.g. negotiating a price of fifteen, and then afterwards they argue it was fifty. 

Also, wikitravel should be a good resource:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Cairo/Giza
http://wikitravel.org/en/Cairo

Offline readicculus

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #65 on: December 27, 2016, 10:59:28 AM »
so I assume little to no risk just connecting there? I'd like to take advantage of some of the cheap deals from CAI right now. I will be in Israel, any issues flying from Israel to Cairo, only to hop on a round trip flight a few hours later. obviously doing the same on the return.

I would love to see the pyramids. but I'm not sure it's worth the risk

Offline readicculus

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #66 on: December 27, 2016, 10:59:50 AM »
and thank you guys for the info!!

Offline high end hobo

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #67 on: December 27, 2016, 11:02:02 AM »
so I assume little to no risk just connecting there? I'd like to take advantage of some of the cheap deals from CAI right now. I will be in Israel, any issues flying from Israel to Cairo, only to hop on a round trip flight a few hours later. obviously doing the same on the return.

I would love to see the pyramids. but I'm not sure it's worth the risk
Correct.
You get a free tour if you have a long enough EgyptAir Connection

Offline readicculus

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Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #68 on: December 27, 2016, 11:04:29 AM »
Correct.
You get a free tour if you have a long enough EgyptAir Connection
free tour with armed guard??
besides, I'm not sure that will help, I'll be flying into Cairo and then originating another trip from there

I'll be on my way to a honeymoon.

Offline Saulius

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #69 on: December 27, 2016, 07:17:31 PM »
free tour with armed guard??
besides, I'm not sure that will help, I'll be flying into Cairo and then originating another trip from there

I'll be on my way to a honeymoon.

Other than the Pyramids, check out the Egyptian museum. One can spend days in there! It's right by Tahrir Square.
Also to see is the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Ezra_Synagogue)

Now that you mention that you are hoping on another flight in Cairo, if your layover is only a few hours, I wouldn't recommend going into town, as during the day the traffic can be horrendous. (Although, last time I was there, I arrived very early in the morning, and my taxi driver jetted into town, and flew through every red light without braking! ) I guess they only stop at green lights for the other professional Egyptian taxi drivers.

Offline readicculus

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #70 on: December 30, 2016, 01:17:21 AM »
im still a bit worried about staying the day or even overnight. how often do jewish people go to cairo?

Offline Emkay

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #71 on: December 30, 2016, 03:37:33 AM »
im still a bit worried about staying the day or even overnight. how often do jewish people go to cairo?
Other enough. There are Jews that live there.

Offline B.D.Da'ehu

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #72 on: December 30, 2016, 04:00:46 AM »
so I assume little to no risk just connecting there? I'd like to take advantage of some of the cheap deals from CAI right now. I will be in Israel, any issues flying from Israel to Cairo, only to hop on a round trip flight a few hours later. obviously doing the same on the return.

I would love to see the pyramids. but I'm not sure it's worth the risk
How do u plan on flying from Israel to Cairo?

Offline Emkay

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #73 on: December 30, 2016, 04:03:35 AM »
How do u plan on flying from Israel to Cairo?
I'm assuming you are aware of the flight and want to know how he's ticketing it?

Offline B.D.Da'ehu

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #74 on: December 30, 2016, 04:04:38 AM »
I'm assuming you are aware of the flight and want to know how he's ticketing it?
I'm aware of it, just don't know how it's done.

Offline B.D.Da'ehu

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #75 on: December 30, 2016, 04:09:35 AM »
Is all this still accurate?




Air Sinai does still fly direct flights between Tel Aviv and Cairo. El Al does not. We have done this twice in the past few months. The flights are short (1:10) and infinitely more convenient than connections through
Amman, Istanbul, etc. They don't fly every day, but ~ five days per week in each direction. You can get the tickets through a travel agent, but their fees are way high. So I tried doing it myself. The process is not complicated, but does require some leg work


1) Send an e-mail to Air Sinai (airsinai_tlv@hotmail.com
with the date(s) you want to fly and the full names of the passengers. Yes, I realize the address looks bogus, but it's not. During office hours (10-3) they usually reply very fast. You can also call them on 03-5102481 /82/83 (inside Israel). They will let you know if they fly the day(s) you want, and what the prices are. Yes, they speak English.


2) You will need to take cash (USD or NIS) to their office in central Tel Aviv (a five minute walk from the USA embassy, and near the beach), where a counter agent will confirm all the details, and take payment. You MUST have the passports of the people who are traveling.




3) You will receive a receipt for your cash payment, and you will receive paper copies of your electronic reservations. Don't fret, the reservation is on the Amadeus system, and you also will get an Amadeus e-mail with all your ticket information.



4) Arrive at TLV three hours early, as for all international flights, and look on the departure board. The Air Sinai flight is up there just like all the others, and they use a regular check-in desk just like all the other carriers. Be sure to bring the same passport you used to make the original

booking.


That's it.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2016, 04:22:37 AM by B.D.Da'ehu »

Offline Saulius

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #76 on: December 30, 2016, 04:18:40 AM »
How do u plan on flying from Israel to Cairo?

Air Sinai  -- a subsidiary of EgyptAir – Egypt's flagship carrier – but is not listed on the airline's website.

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Sinai
http://www.info.flightmapper.net/flight/Air_Sinai_4D_55

From South Africa, many families fly Egypt Air to Tel Aviv via Cairo - as it's usually half the price of El Al, and they allow two suitcases.
El Al usually runs the TLV-JNB leg on their Boeing 767, which is over 25 years old. http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b767-24953.htm

Offline Saulius

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #77 on: December 30, 2016, 04:29:04 AM »
Is all this still accurate?

It is accurate. In Israel, you can contact Air Sinai by e-mail airsinai_tlv@hotmail.com

Their flights do not show up on kayak, but they do show up on http://www.travelstart.co.za/

However, TLV to Cairo route alone is no bargain, it's expensive. There are buses from Jerusalem,

http://www.mazadatours.com/Home/mazada-bus-line
« Last Edit: December 30, 2016, 05:01:22 AM by Saulius »

Offline readicculus

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #78 on: December 30, 2016, 06:40:16 AM »
How do u plan on flying from Israel to Cairo?
stopover in Jordan.

https://www.google.com/flights/#flt=TLV.CAI.2017-03-01.TLVAMM0RJ343~AMMCAI0RJ503*CAI.TLV.2017-03-08;e:1;sd:1;t:f;sp:..52585

Offline B.D.Da'ehu

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Re: Egypt Master Thread
« Reply #79 on: December 30, 2016, 07:05:38 AM »