Hello! I posted a few weeks back about having some apprehension with regards to Middle East travel. We have decided to go to Cairo and possibly Petra this October. We have been watching YouTube videos and are getting some ideas. What I would like now are recommendations from the forum group for hotels and tour groups near the pyramids and Petra. I am assuming right now that 3 days will be enough in the Cairo area and probably the same or less in Petra. All ideas are welcome. Thank you in advance!
Posted by
London
524 posts
We visited Petra in 2019 and stayed at the Petra Guest House Hotel, which I really liked. It's right at the entrance to the siq (the long valley trail that takes you into Petra). We didn't use a tour guide as we found the site relatively easy to navigate on our own but I'm sure there are quite a few options.
In Cairo we stayed in two different very small hotels near Tahrir Square. The second one was a bit nicer (Valenica Hotel) but nothing fancy. For tours of the pyramids, we just used TripAdvisor to find a guide. If you have time I would also visit the pyramids at Saqqara.
For timing, one night in Petra was enough for us- it just takes one day to see the site and there's not a lot else to do in Wadi Musa. If you have time I would also go down to Wadi Rum and spend a night in the desert, which is magical (sunrise camel ride in Wadi Rum is one of my favourite travel memories). For Cairo, you could easily spend a week there. We had three full days, including a half day tour each of Giza pyramids and Saqqara, which was enough to see all the major sites (Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili, Coptic Quarter, citadel, etc.) but there were still things we didn't see. Good luck with your planning.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
871 posts
In Petra we stayed at the Petra Moon Luxury Hotel, which is right around the corner from the entrance to Petra. We were only at Petra for one full day (two nights). We spent the morning at Petra and then stopped at Little Petra. We were traveling with my mom, who is in her late 80's, so we didn't try to hike up to the monastery. In the evening we went to a hamam, and then went with our driver for an absolute feast at a local restaurant. Maybe we could have spent longer there. I dunno. We arranged our private tour, which included Israel and other parts of Jordan, through Egypt and Beyond (https://www.egyptandbeyondtravel.com).
In Egypt we stayed at Mena Marriott in Giza on two separate trips, and we were very happy there. It's directly adjacent to the pyramids, and so you get a great view from the hotel. I think 3 days is reasonable for Cairo. One day for downtown Cairo, one day for the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids, and one day for Dashur and Saqqara. (I really liked doing a deep dive at Saqqara. There's a lot to see there.) Both times we traveled with Djed Egypt (https://www.djedegypt.com). Since then, our guide, Moustafa, has launched his own tour company here: https://adventour-travel.com.