November 24, 2003 -- Misr Travel, which has specialized in taking visitors to Egypt since 1934, is offering an extraordinary deal through next spring. An $899 base-price buys you a seven-day/six-night itinerary spent at the historic Mena House Hotel, a ten-minute walk from the pyramids and Sphinx; another option, the downtown Ramses Hilton, puts you in a room with a view of the Nile. The package includes your roundtrip airfare on Egypt air, tours of the pyramids, Sphinx, the Egyptian Musuem and Khan el Khalili Bazaarr. Departures are every Tuesday from now through December 9, 2003, and again every Tuesday from January 6 through April 30, 2004 (excluding January 13, 20 and 27, February 3 and April 6). The price is per person, double occupancy, with a single supplement of only $100. Departure tax (now $65) from the US is not included, nor are Egyptian visa fees, meals other than breakfast, tips and personal items.
For an extra $400 per person, you can explore the Valley of the Kings and the great temple complexes of Luxor on a three-night Nile Cruise, or you take a three-night break on the Red Sea coast for some great scuba diving and snorkeling at Sharm el Sheik for an extra $300. If you have plenty of time and the extra money, combine all three offers for a comprehensive view of the best Egypt has to offer starting from $1,599.
On the Nile Cruise, you board the chain hotel Oberoi's Sheherezade or Nepthtis ships, where you'll stay for three nights on the river. You visit the temples of Karnak and Luxor, Edfu, Kon Ombo and Philae, as well as the tombs in Luxor's Valley of the Kings and the terraces of the Queen Hatshepsut Temple. All meals are included during your stay aboard ship, as are local airfares from Cairo to Luxor and from Aswan to Cairo, including transfers.
If you opt for Sharm el Sheik, you'll fly there to three nights at this seaside heaven. Also included is a visit to the remote Monastery of St. Catherine's, where Moses is said to have witnessed the Burning Bush. Included in your stay at the Hilton Fayrouz Village on Na'ama Bay are daily buffet breakfasts, the roundtrip local airfare and all transfers.
Contact Misr Travel at www.misrtravel.org, e-mail misrtravel@aol.com, phone 800/223-4978 or 212/332-2600, fax 212/332-2609.
Safety Concerns
There have been no attacks on tourists in Egypt since November of 1997, when 27 German visitors were killed at Luxor. Since September 11, 2001, our own State Department says, "heightened security throughout Egypt has made it more difficult for extremist groups to conduct terrorist operations. However, the threat has not been eliminated."
The State Department suggests that American citizens be "vigilant and exercise good security practices while in Egypt, and to contact the Consular Section of the US Embassy in Cairo for the most up-to-date information about the situation." Consular Information Sheets on all countries can be seen at http://travel.state.gov.
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