Luxor - Advice Needed

[hamptoncourt]

Hello Mumsnetters!

I am planning to take DS 14 to Luxor with me for a week next February.

We will stay in a very good hotel, stick to tourist areas. We really want to do Karnak, Valley of the Kings etc etc.

Anyway, I suspect XH is going to raise some concerns about safety. Can anyone advise me in this respect who has been to Luxor in the past 18 - 24 months?

I am pretty intrepid but will be travelling alone with DS. Although I am a confident traveller, obviously I wouldn't deliberately put either of us at risk.

Your thoughts/advice will be much appreciated.

TIA

My son aged 14 and I went on a Nile cruise over Easter 2013. It was fantastic. We went to all of the sites, that you want to see, with an egyptologist guide. The guides also make sure you are safe. Also, when I wanted to go to the bank, the ship manager insisted that the ship security guard went with me. It was sad to see all of the empty Nile cruisers due to the fall in holidaymakers but it did mean that the site were less busy. The egyptologists have to do a degree and then pass other exams and a lot of them will be out of work along with the boat staff. Anyway, we were going to go in 2012 but didn't because of the trouble. After they had had the democratic elections things settled down and we went when it was settled. Not long after we went the political situation changed again. I wouldn't go now.

Hi there, we took our 5 kids (currently aged between 2 and 11) both in Easter 2013 and Easter 2014, and travelled both times right round the country. Having young children is a plus as Egyptians can't resist them!

We had most sites to ourselves except Hatshepsut's Temple, and Luxor and Karnak Temples - there are lots of Russians bussed in daily from Hurghada to those. Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Esna, Dendara, everything around Aswan and the Ramses Temple at Abu Simbel were deserted - we had the most brilliant time. The only time we were a little alarmed was at Abydos where the site guards called the army to escort us out of the desert as apparently there are some cross tribes there.... We were the lone tourists there and it was a bit of a shlep so you might not be going there anyway.

We've already booked flights for next Easter hols; the people are really struggling to survive, but despite their situation are some of the kindest, most helpful people we've come across. Everyone wanted us to have a great time and did everything they could to ensure that happened. I would book flights with a company that you can change to another destination if necessary (Easyjet) and watch the Foreign Office advice carefully. We fly in/out Hurghada or Sharm and have a few days snorkelling to begin and end. Hurghada is good for Luxor as it's only 3 hours by taxi so no internal flights - EgyptAir is pricey). We also taxi between Luxor and Aswan as there are sites en route. There may be direct flights to Luxor next year again cheaply (think EgyptAir may have an expensive one currently - Easyjet last Easter was £1100 return for all 7 of us to Red Sea - I booked the day the seats came out; the seats for Easter normally come out early September).

Definitely recommend - now is the time to go if you like crowdless places!

Thanks so much! yes I do like crowdless places so that was part of my reason for going now when it will be less packed.

The reason I doubt myself is because I know I am far more blase than most people about safety abroad so I wanted to canvas some MN opinion. I have travelled in Kenya alone for example.

I think I will run it breezily past XH and hope he doesn't kick up. He doesn't read the papers other than the back page much anyway

Egypt perfectly safe and Egyptians very hospitable with children. I have travelled there many times, last trip Dec 2013. I can recommend Sonesta St George on outskirts of Luxor. Have stayed there twice- independent, Egyptian run hotel '5 star' by Egyptian standards.

I saw this thread as I was going through the travel threads and it is really nice to see people having gone last year even.

I was there with DS in 2011, July I think.... flew to Luxor and stayed in a fabulous hotel with a swimming pool on the Nile. We did our own trip to the Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple son et lumiere and even went on a day trip to Cairo. The pyramids were pretty deserted, apparently before the Arab Spring there would be 5000! people there a day in high season.
The Tutenkahmen (sp?) exhibition was well worth the extra price in the Cairo Museum.

Anyway, I want to go to Aswan and Abu Simbel so it's good to see Egypt is not much in the news these days.
Maybe I'll make it this winter

We went at Easter 2011 I think - just after the riots and we travelled about Cairo, Aswan and Luxor very safely with our DC. We did have to get a cab back to Cairo from Luxor as the railway line was shut due to demos, but we were never in any danger.

I don't think there is currently anything going on there and I wouldn't be too worried about your DS at 14 - he will love the adventure! Are you doing it independently or as a package?