Egypt Air - Is it safe and is Cairo worth a visit and for how long?

Question

On my way to South Africa from London and considering a stop over in Cairo: Firstly need to know if its safe (Flown on Sudan airlines before.... No Comment) - Also heard rumors you can still smoke on the flight????
And Is Cairo worth a stop over and how long is enough for the city?

Thanks

Answer 1

Well I flew Egypt Air quiet a few times it is good arilines in terms of planes saftey and so on service isn't the best , but it is deffenitly better than Alitalia and Iberia. and Cairo is a really nice city if you don't get intimdated by the trrafic and the polution. and there is a alot to see there and is very cheap . so you can see the pyramids the nile and lot of amazing architacture in islamic cairo also the Bazars (khan el khalili) are amazing. really nice night life. Just stay away from the tourist people they are horrible , generally ask random people in the street for directions and so on. well cairo is deffenitly worth a visit. but a day is not enough at least 3 days to feel it.

Answer 2

Yes No and yes. I fly to Egypt regularly and often use Egypt Air. I find it preferable to alternative charter flights. E.g. monarch. The airline is quite professional and comfortable I have never felt unsafe on their flights. No you cannot smoke on their flights, though I think they were later than other airlines in banning it, only stopped smokers about 4 or 5 years ago. But it is completely banned now. Many Egyptians smoke and I think this is why.
Yes Cairo is definitely worth stopping over , I think the ancient history there is amazing, though I have to stay that the city itself is very busy, traffic is dreadful and it is not my fav place. But for the pyramids alone, it is worth it.

And I am sorry if that offends Egyptians but your capital city very busy and yes the traffic is awful… don’t believe me? Go and have a look for your selves at other cities.

How long to stay in Cairo. Difficult question and depends on how much you want to see. I am assuming that it is the ancient history you want to see. In which case you will want to go to the pyramids in Giza, that takes about half a day, minimum and the Cairo museum where the Tutankhamun treasure is kept also a minimum of half a day. In theory one day is sufficient. But I would recommend longer at least two days. The museum can easily take a full day if you find it interesting. I would also recommend visiting Khan el Khalili the medieval shopping area of old Cairo, an evening visit is fun. There are also many Islamic historical sights as well as the Coptic quarter (some of the oldest Christian churches in the world )there are also other sights close by like saqarra and dashur. I hope you enjoy your stopover.

Answer 3

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RE:
Egypt Air - Is it safe and is Cairo worth a visit and for how long?
On my way to South Africa from London and considering a stop over in Cairo: Firstly need to know if its safe (Flown on Sudan airlines before.... No Comment) - Also heard rumors you can still smoke on the flight????
And Is Cairo worth a stop over and how long is enough for the city?

Thanks

Answer 4

I was in Egypt for three weeks backpacking and we had a great time. I do agree don't spend more than 3-4 days in Cairo, it is very dirty but hey that's part of the experience of travelling. I would recommend Aswan, Luxor and most especially South Sinai, it was fantastic, we stayed in Dahab. I must say even though they try to make buck off you ever chance they get, they are quite friendly and I felt extremely safe (Female travelling with boyfriend). Egypt is super cheap and you can stay at very nice mid range places for practically nothing. You can barter on everything even a bottle of water at the local store, do not drink tap water. If you do end up staying in Egypt and are flying out with Egypt air I would highly recommend confirming your flight the night before you leave, as they will most likely just move to you another flight(days later). They will make an assumption you are not on the flight because you did not confirm, we learned this the hard way, barely made back to Canada. Other than that wonderful learning experience and great story to tell friends we had no problems and had a great time.

Answer 5

Yes, Cairo is worth a stop over and be sure to visit the most important things in Cairo, for example the Pyramids, (The Pyramids are really great) Cairo Museum, khan El khalily, City Stars, and many more. I would also recommend visiting Luxor and Aswan, they are fascinating. Especially when you take a cruise, or a ship to Aswan, and of course to see the ancient Egyptian stuff in both Luxor and Aswan.

If you're planning to visit Luxor and Aswan then you should stay in Egypt for approximately two weeks, but if you are going only to Cairo then 4-5 day's would be abundant.

Don't worry, It is safe in Cairo just have fun and don't bother anything bad that comes to your mind.

Answer 6

I flew to Cairo twice. Once on Air France and once on Egypt Air. Air France is known for it's world class service, so I was spoiled by them. The service on Egypt Air not as good, but I like going straight to Cairo with no stops. You cannot smoke on any airline or flight anymore, but I thought it was funny that Egypt Air has not removed the little ash trays in the armrests. Other airlines have completely removed these from their planes. Maybe that is the basis for the rumor you heard. Egyptians smoke anywhere and everywhere (grocery stores, shopping malls, movie theaters). Also interesting to note is that Egypt Air does an additional search of your carry-on as you go through the bording gate. This is in addition to the one that will happen by airport security. Egypt is not without its problems and those who do not properly research before going often experience a greater "culture shock". but I love it and plan to move there within the next two years.

Answer 7

its very safe in cairo the only thing thats not safe is your money keep away from the guides and touts, motto get it off the tourist before someone else does.only pay 50le to taxi into centre but I believe there is a bus service now. egypt air are as good as any and better than the charter flights.
you need at least an 8 hour stop over to see the pyramids and the musium, back to the taxi make sure he speaks english ask a question where is sakara or whatever if he answers properly you will get by with him then ask, giza sakara, museum and back to here by x time how much if he says 200le -20£ thats ok no more, pay him half up front the rest on getting back at the airport that way he will make sure you are ok no stopping at papyrus or any other shop, he will want to make commision on your purchase just refuse to get out of the taxi. cannot blame them for trying,

Answer 8

I'm South African and visited Cairo in 2005 and it was an awesome experience, highly recommend it! Some of the places we saw: The Pyramids, The Sound and Light Show, Saqqara, Memphis, Nile dinner cruise and even took a day trip to Alexandria (what an amazing city!).

Answer 9

It's nice making trip from London to South Africa. About Cairo and Sudan Airlines I don't know about it.
Cairo is a such a big and very interesting city and very very dirty. You need for Cairo more than few days. I was there long long time ago, but in this time we don't had all this stuff with terrorism. I just want to say go there and look for yourself you love this place. Have fun on your trip..

Answer 10

I have flown from South Africa to Egypt in 2000 and I had a miserable experience (I also flew from Egypt to Israel with them). When we landed in Egypt, we were surrounded by ambulances and fire brigades. We learnt that the plane was actually flying with only one engine! We could hear a lot of noise during flight, the floors were very hot, and my mother swore she saw smoke! And the air hosts and hostesses knew something was horribly wrong, because they shivered when they poured our coffee. I vowed never to fly ever again with Egyptair, since other people had similar experiences.

Cairo can be interesting. I was disappointed when I visited the pyramids in Giza, they don't look that impressive. But you should definitely go to the Cairo Museum. It was incredibly interesting but also very busy. Also look into the Mosque of Mohammed Ali: its really very nice inside. There are many markets to visit too and you should also try to go on a cruise on the Nile. Some restaurant boats are really nice, with good food and spectacular views of the Cairo nightline. So I would say it's worth it. Stay 3-4 days, that will allow you enough time to see the important things, enjoy the food, and do some shopping.