Middle East Travel & Tourism, which took over the Best Hotels of Egypt list for EgyptTravelBlog in 2022, has released the latest Best Hotels of Egypt list for 2024. Continuing with its new system of awarding between one and five diamonds to hotel properties based on the level of quality, value, and service offered to touristic visitors, MET&T reviewed a total of 40 properties all over Egypt this cycle and provided detailed feedback on the factors that led to the rankings for each property on the list. New this cycle was the addition of an Honorable Mention category, created to recogni ..read more

The old Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square has been the home to Egypt’s most prized archaeological treasures for more than a century. Until recently, its vast open halls resembled more of a warehouse than one of the world’s most important museums, with tens of thousands of artifacts crammed into every nook and corner of the two-story, late-19th century pink building. Now that the Ministry of Antiquities has started moving many pieces of lesser significance over to the new Grand Egyptian Museum in anticipation of it’s grand opening in 2024 (check out this site for more on that ..read more

What is Egypt’s local currency and what is it really worth compared to foreign currencies like the US Dollar, Euro, or British Pound? What’s a fair price to pay for various products and services in Egypt? How much cash should you bring to Egypt… or should you at all? Is it safe to use credit and debit cards across Egypt? How common are ATMs that work with foreign cards? All of these questions and so many more are not only answered, but discussed in depth in this episode. This episode is also available on The Egypt Travel Video Podcast on The Egypt Travel & Culture Channel on YouTube. And a ..read more

Blindly following ChatGPT and new travel planning tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) might be ok for travel in places like North America and Western Europe, but this tactic can cause you to run into some big trouble on the ground in places like Egypt. In this episode, John reviews and talks through several Egypt itineraries that ChatGPT has spit out based on detailed prompts and explains what’s good about them, what won’t work for reasons ChatGPT can’t know, and what it tells you to do that’s downright dangerous. This is a good one! Enjoy. This episode is also available on The Egypt T ..read more

An announcement of the new video podcast episode that’s all about the latest updates on the Grand Egyptian Museum. The full video episode can be found at: https://YouTube.com/@DreamingOfEgypt And make sure you subscribe to this new YouTube channel, The Egypt Travel & Culture Channel – for more exclusive updates and new insider videos about travel to and around Egypt from John Navarre and The Egypt Travel Podcast. Episode Transcript Hi, everybody. It’s John Navarre here with… sort of a special announcement about an important announcement… or at least an important update.  I know that ..read more

Prolific travel writer and globetrotter, Whitney O’Halek of www.QuickWhitTravel.com, and I sit down over lunch in Luxor to chat about her impressions of Egypt before and during her extensive first trip around the country with her husband, Steve. Whitney’s insights and observations about traveling around Egypt are particularly helpful given that this was her 59th country visited. Visit www.QuickWhitTravel.com for all of Whitney’s detailed post-trip articles about traveling to and around Egypt in 2023. And please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning ..read more

In the far south of Egypt near the remote and desolate border with Sudan stands one of the most recognizable monuments in the world – the temples of Abu Simbel. This small but magnificent temple complex, which is dedicated to the gods Ra, Ptah, and Amun, is a testament to the power and wealth of ancient Egypt, and specifically to the majesty of Ramses the Great. It is also a symbol of the timeless appeal of this fascinating ancient culture and a reminder of the incredible achievements of its people. The history of Abu Simbel dates back over 3,200 years to the reign of Ramses II who reigned as ..read more

Egypt is a timeless destination – one in which the scenery and sites, in many ways, have remained unchanged for thousands of years. But for a place with such staying power and permanence, Egypt’s hotel scene is quite the opposite — ever-changing and ever-evolving. In Egypt, new properties are springing up and opening up every year, and previous stand-out hotels sometimes allow the dust to collect as standards slip over time. A view of several of central Cairo’s most prominent hotel properties along the Nile. The land of the pharaohs and the pyramids is also a land of mirages on the hospitality ..read more

Ashely and her father just finished spending over 3 weeks in Egypt exploring nearly every corner of the country together. In this super detailed guest interview episode, Ashley talks about her pre-trip research and planning, their impressions of each place they visited, what surprised her and her dad after they arrived in Egypt, and along the way she gives LOTS of insightful and very practical advice for anyone considering visiting Egypt in the near future. For more travel advice on trips to and around Egypt, check out all the other episodes of the Egypt Travel Podcast. And please feel welcome ..read more

So far, virtually all photos of the new Grand Egyptian Museum have focused on what the unique facade of the building looks like during daylight hours. After all, that’s when nearly everyone will visit the new museum and see its award-winning architecture that’s becoming nearly as famous as its contents. However, the GEM has yet another surprise for you in-store. Its dramatic nighttime lighting will be as stunning as its daytime appearance. I recently scaled yet another half-finished apartment building in Giza whose roof overlooks the GEM to capture dramatic photos of the GEM’s facade lit up at ..read more