Sendt: 2/3/2020 | 3. februar, 2020
Et af landene højt på min “must besøg” liste er Egypten. Som en elsker af historie længes jeg længe efter at frigive min indre arkæolog og udforske de mange ruiner af landet. Mens det kan være lang tid, før jeg kommer derhen, har min pal Jeremy Scott Foster fra Travelfreak besøgt et par gange. I dette gæstepost vil han give dig sine bedste tips til at spare penge på din næste check ud til Egypten!
Jeg har været i Egypten to gange. På min første tur for fire år siden rejste jeg Sinai-halvøen langs Aqaba-bugten, opholdt sig i delte vandrerhjem for $ 5 USD pr. Nat og tog overnatning busser, der koster lige så lidt. På min seneste tur sidste år rejste jeg fra den nordlige del af Egypten i Alexandria syd til Kairo, og derefter længere sydpå langs Nilen til grænsen til Sudan.
Og i hele det hele falder jeg dybt forelsket i dette land, hvor udenlandsk opfattelse af vold holder så mange på armlængden.
Turistindustrien i Egypten føler stadig smerte som følge af den politiske omvæltnings-, civile uro og terrorbekæmpede aktiviteter, der har ødelagt sin seneste historie. Da turistnumre er faldet, og konkurrencen for turistkollaren er blevet hårdere, har rejsetilbud proliferet.
Men hvad de fleste besøgende savner, er, hvad du kan vinde – fri for folkemængder og for små penge også.
Fra kaoset i Kairo til den mere tilbagelagte Vibe of Luxor, er Egypten en optimal destination for budget rejsende.
1. Sådan sparer du penge på indkvartering
Generelt er indkvartering i Egypten relativt overkommelig. Der er dog et par værdifulde tricks, der kan reducere dine udgifter.
Bo i vandrerhjem i stedet for hoteller – Typisk kan du forvente at finde en seng i et fælles sovesal (med 4 + senge) for mellem $ 5-8 USD pr. Nat eller et komfortabelt privat enkeltværelse til omkring $ 15 USD pr. Nat. Du vil sandsynligvis nødt til at dele et badeværelse, men i det mindste har du dit privatliv.
Brug Hostelworld til at søge efter de bedste priser. Jeg anbefaler Dahab Hostel i Kairo og Al Salam Camp i Luxor.
Brug Booking.com til at sammenligne priser på hoteller – hvis du leder efter billige hoteller eller gæstehuse i Egypten, anbefaler jeg at tjekke Booking.com. Et privat værelse i et gæstehus eller et hotel går til omkring $ 40 USD pr. Nat.
Priserne er generelt opført pr. Værelse, ikke pr. Person. Så hvis du rejser med en ven, kan du spare endnu flere penge ved at splitte omkostningerne.
Kig efter overnatningssteder, der tilføjer tilbud lidt ekstra – jeg fandt også det, kombineret med indkvartering, det var temmelig almindeligt for værter i gæstehuse at tilbyde ekstraudstyr som morgenmad og lokale ture til meget rimelige priser. En af mine utrolige værter kogte en traditionel varm morgenmad med te og kaffe til kun $ 1 USD. Bedst af alt, han var mere end glad for at anbefale nogle økonomiske lokale steder at spise og købe mad.
Se ud over de konventionelle hotelværelser til overnatningsmuligheder – Airbnb og Vrbo er fantastiske muligheder for ferieboliger, da de har tilsluttet budget rejsende og husejere siden 90’erne. VRBO er gearet til folk, der ønsker en ordentlig ferieudlejning, så du kan forvente et fuldt møbleret hjem at bo i, som er fantastisk for længere ophold.
På disse platforme kan du også finde muligheder for at blive i et lokalt hus. Du kan normalt finde nogle smukke glamourøse lejligheder, der starter fra $ 50 USD pr. Nat.
Opadrettede er, at du har fuld adgang til dit eget køkken, hvilket betyder, at du yderligere kan reducere dine omkostninger ved at lave mad hjemme.
2. Sådan sparer du penge på mad
Hold dig til de lokale spiser og gadefoder – hvis du vil spare penge på mad, mens du rejser i Egypten, gør dig selv en tjeneste og tørre fri af de vestlige kædefødedag. Mens en cheeseburger er omkring halvdelen af prisen på, hvad du betaler hjemme, er det stadig dyrere, mindre velsmagende og langt mindre eventyrlystne end at opleve det lokale køkken.
Hvorfor genere med en burger, når du kan spise den mest lækre Falafel i verden for $ 1 USD?
Naviger de smalle gyder på ethvert travlt Kairo-marked (som Khan El Khalili eller Mohammed Ali Street) for at søge den bedste Shawarma ($ 2 USD). Eller tag en fyldt falafel sandwich fra en gadeforhandler på vej fra en gammel relik til en anden ($ 2 USD). Du kan bogstaveligt talt finde arabisk brød til 5 cent. Det er alle lave omkostninger og meget påfyldning.
Og hummus. Det er så. Darn. Godt.
Hvis du bor på et gæstehus, er det almindeligt praksis for dem at tilbyde fuld middage for omkring $ 10 USD. Sandheden er, at de rent faktisk bare sourcerer maden fra restauranter i nabolaget og tager et snit, så ved at søge dine egne madmuligheder, forventer at bruge omkring ¼ af prisen.
Med det sagt, vær ikke bange for gadefødevarer eller gadeleverandører, især hvis maden er kogt foran dig. Og hvis der er en skare af lokalbefolkningen, så er chancerne for, at du er på en god ting.
Spis på en kosheri – en kosheri er en lille, lokal restaurant, der serverer generøse portioner af pasta, kikærter, lentils, etc. typically for less than $1 USD! There’s no menu, you just select the size of your portion and then you’re served this mishmash of deliciousness.
Cook your own meals – As mentioned, preparing your own meals while traveling is also a terrific money saver. If you have access to a kitchen, just ask your host to point you in the direction of the nearest market. They also have the lowdown on where to eat for cheap, so take advantage of their local knowledge!
3. how to save money on Transportation
Bargain with your taxi driver – In most Egyptian cities, taxis are an economical and convenient way to get around.
Now, when I say convenient, I mean they’ll get you to where you need to go relatively quickly. but I would be remiss if I didn’t add a few disclaimers.
Taxi drivers can be aggressive on the road, leaving you white-knuckled from hanging on for dear life. I’ve never experienced a more heart-stopping journey than a Cairo taxi ride.
Furthermore, while Cairo does have metered taxis, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Meters are notoriously unreliable or rigged, and drivers frequently “forget” to turn them on. It’s one of the oldest travel scams in the book.
The best practice is to use an unmetered taxi and agree on a price with the driver before getting in. (Outside Cairo, most taxis are unmetered, so no matter what, always agree on a price upfront.)
If you’re not sure how much is an acceptable price, ask someone at your hostel or guesthouse for a pricing recommendation, and then start your bargaining at about ½ that price. often even they will give you a higher estimate than is normal (it’s locals helping locals), but the real price should be about ¾ of what you’ve been recommended.
For longer-distance trips, hiring a automobile with a driver is the most cost-effective option. The price will be the same whether you’re traveling by yourself or with a group of four, so round up some travel buddies and split the cost.
But of course, be prepared for some aggressive haggling to get the best price. Be clear about where you want to go and for how long you will need the driver. Don’t worry if negotiations break down, though. When it comes to haggling over price, never be afraid to walk away. There are plenty of drivers available, so just move on to the next one.
Take the local train – Taking the train between Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan is the most popular mode of carry for this route.
If time or budget is a concern, you can take an overnight train. By taking the sleeper train from Cairo to Luxor or Aswan, you’ll save a night’s worth of accommodation in a hotel. A deluxe sleeper cabin for one is about $110 USD, while a two-berth cabin is $80 USD per person. Cabins are secure, and fares include an airline-style dinner and breakfast. The food is basic, but it’s edible.
But for a real bargain, you can book the day train between Cairo and Luxor or Aswan for as little as $10 USD. However, there’s one caveat: for safety reasons, the Egyptian government prohibits foreigners from purchasing day train tickets for this route. officials say this is because only the night trains have armed guards in case of a terrorist attack, but this is an incredibly rare occurrence.
It’s easy to get around this, though. You’ll need to book tickets online at enr.gov.eg (you’ll have to register an account but it’s easy to do) or ask your guide, host, or driver to book the tickets for you. They will likely oblige for a small fee.
There are no reports of ticket attendants kicking any foreigners off the day train, so you’ll be fine. and if not, you’re only out $10 USD.
Get the flight Pass – The fastest way to travel around Egypt is by plane. Egypt Air is the national carrier and star alliance member serving most major domestic destinations. Its flight Pass is a cost-effective option that allows you to lock in low fares for domestic flights even if you haven’t determined your travel dates.
All you have to do is purchase a minimum of four flights (or credits) and choose a time when you’d like to travel in the next 12 months. You can then book your flight up to seven days before departure.
On the downside, you’ll have to always fly back to your original departure point. That is, instead of flying from Cairo to Luxor and Alexandria, you’ll need to fly Cairo to Luxor and back to Cairo before going to Alexandria. That said, the flight Pass is still about 30% cheaper than booking the same multi-destination flights with other airlines.
The flight Pass is super customizable. You can select the number of flights (e.g. four, which is two round-trip flights) for a period of time (e.g. within one month), and also how early you can book your flights (e.g. one week before travel). This means that if you pick Cairo as your origin, you can select two round-trip flights to Aswan, Luxor, Alexandria, Sharm E Sheikh, or Hurghada. Each flight is $73 USD one-way.
But if I were to book a flight from Cairo to Luxor for one week from now, that same leg would cost at least $142 USD!
You can play around with this pass. For example, if you purchase a similar pass to the one above but select “one month” for how early you can book, the flights become $66 USD each per one-way.
If that’s too much of an inconvenience for you, there are plenty of other airlines offering affordable flights. When it comes to finding low-cost flights on other airlines, I use Skyscanner. By being flexible with your dates, you can save up to 50%. keep in mind, though, that you might be traveling at inconvenient times, like the middle of the night.
In the Skyscanner search bar, instead of entering specific dates, select the “Entire Month” option. This will show you a calendar with fare prices for departing and returning flights for each day of the month. This also works for one-way flights. However, it does not work for multicity flights.
4. how to save money on tours and Guides
The best money-saving tip I can offer here is to avoid booking online before you arrive in Egypt.
If you’re a type A traveler who needs a plan in hand before you even arrive, you’re not going to like this. but online agencies charge massively inflated prices, and you will end up paying a lot less if you deal directly with the tour company or guide locally on the ground.
Add in the feel-good factor of your money going directly to your guide, their family, and community (and not to some middle person, agency, or large corporation) and you’ve got yourself a win-win situation.
You may need to be a little more flexible with your dates. but you will have the added advantage of being able to negotiate (haggle, in reality), which translates to overall savings.
Tours, private drivers, and the quintessential cruise down the Nile can all be booked locally at significantly lower prices than booking in advance. So, if you can stomach it, wait until you get your boots on the ground before booking your tours.
Guides, in my experience, are an indispensable source of local knowledge and information. They have the inside scoop on the best vantage points for photos at all the epic landmarks. In addition, they’re terrific at dealing with those persistent and sometimes aggressive street vendors.
The best guides can be found by asking for recommendations from other travelers who have used their services, but I always recommend my Egyptian brother, Rami.
Back in 2015, on my first trip to Egypt, Rami and I connected by way of a mutual friend. We hit it off, and ever since then, I’ve helped him to grow the little tour business he and his family-run. It feels good to be able to help a local family in such a positive way.
He’s honest, affordable, reliable, incredibly communicative, well connected, and did I mention honest? That’s one of the difficult parts about traveling in places like Egypt: when people are selling you things, it’s hard to know who you can trust.
But Rami is my man. send him an email at ramielshaer2@gmail.com and let him know Jeremy sent you (there are no commissions here — this is just a valuable referral to a well-deserving friend). He will sort you out or put you in touch with someone else in your preferred destination.
5. how to save money on entrance and Admission Fees
Get the international student identity Card – entrance and admission prices for almost all monuments and attractions in Egypt are set as advertised. However, you can get discounted tickets with an international student identity Card, including 50% off some of Egypt’s best museums (including the Luxor).
Get a travel pass – You can get a Cairo Pass or a Luxor Pass (multi-entrance discount passes) from the Ministry of Antiquities, the Egyptian Museum, or the Giza Plateau for about $80 USD. You’ll save about 50% off entries to over 30 attractions in Cairo and Giza. You’ll find very little information about these passes online, howe