EGYPT ITINERARY

Crossing out Plan A and writing Plan B on a blackboard.

EGYPT: TENTATIVE ITINERARY

There is a famous quote from the Dreigroschen opera by Bertold Brecht, the German playwright of the early 20th Century:  Ja, mach nur einen Plan  sei nur ein großes Licht  und mach dann noch 'nen zweiten Plan  gehn tun sie beide nicht.

Roughly translated this means: 

Sure, make a plan, be a big shot.  Then make a second plan - but none of them will work!

That's how I feel.  I spent so much time mapping out distances, choosing sites, deciding on possible roads and checking out available transportation and now there are riots in Cairo...  The first obstacle will be that I will arrive at 6:40 PM - one hour after the curfew that has just been imposed on the capital city.  Oh well - being flexible and going with the flow will be the order of the day once again.  Foreign travelers have not been restricted as of now.  I will put my trip into Ganesh's hands.    Here is the plan I made.  Let's see how close to this I will come:

30 Day Visa at Entry – 27 Overnights (27 days)

Time Frame: Tuesday, February 1 through Monday, February 28

In green: First choice Hotels. In red: UNESCO monuments and Must-See sites.

Flex days for illness, extra time for sites, for writing the blog, or unexpected delays.

Arrive in Cairo (3) by plane from Frankfurt (1) at 6:40 PM

Pension Roma Hotel Historical Cairo (2+3) Mosques, Nilometer! (Island of Rodha), Museum, Coptic SitesTransit Cairo to Abu Simbel (4) by plane (4) Hotel Abu Simbel Exploration of Abu Simbel (5) Boat Excursion of Lake Nasser and visit of Amada/Wadi el Sebwa/Derr (6) Flex Day (7) Transit Abu Simbel to Aswan (5) by bus (8) Hotel BabaDoul Day trip to Philae

and exploration of

Aswan

Sites (Dam, Quarry, Nilometer!) (9)Day trip to

Kalabsha/Qertassi/Talmis

by bus/shared taxi (10)Day trip to

Kom Ombo

(Nilometer!) by boat (out) and bus (back) (11)

Coptic Sites

 (12)

Transit from Aswan to Luxor (7) by bus (13)

West Bank Hotel

Visit of

Luxor

Temple and town (14)Day trip to

Karna

k (15)Excursion to

Thebes

(Valley of the Kings/Queens) (16)Excursion to

Edfu/Esna/El Kab

by boat/bus (17)Excursion to

Abydos/Dendera

by boat/bus (18)

Coptic Sites

 (19)

Transit from Luxor via Hurghada to Dahab-Sinai (3) by bus/ferry (20)

Bishbishi Garden Hotel

Day trip to

St. Catherines

(21)Hiking trip up

Mount Sinai

(22)Flex Day (23)

Transit from Dahab via Suez Canal to Cairo (3+) by bus (24)

Pension Roma

Day excursion to

Saqqara and Memphis

(25) by busDay excursion to

Meidum and Dashur

by bus (26)Day excursion to

Giza

by bus (27)Spend saved flex days in

Cairo and Vicinity

. Fill in missed Coptic Sites.

Missing: Amarna, Alexandria, Fayyum, Rosetta, Delta.

Transit from Cairo to Istanbul by plane (28), March 1, at 1:45 PM