Reaching out to anyone experienced with Cairo logistics……
Realistic to travel by Uber from the Egyptian museum to the NMEC (new museum) at 1PM on a Wed (jan8). Assume by Uber since I understand that NMEC closes at 5PM? Then back to Conrad Cairo hotel.
Alternative would be to visit NMEC from 6-9 PM ( on Friday 1/17….they appear to have special Fri hrs) To and from intercontinental hotel city stars.
Safe to do as a couple?
THANKS SO MUCH.
I have been to Egypt three times and love the country. Last time was two years ago on a Gate 1 Tour.
Not sure how safe Uber is in Egypt. Not even sure Uber is available.
I recommend taking a taxi approved by your hotel. Also, have the hotel take down the name of the driver, cab number and cab company. When I visited Egypt years ago, my Egyptian friends told me that the airport started taking down the above information from taxis since some people had been taken out to the desert, robbed and left there.
Egypt is safe if you take tours, just be careful doing stuff on your own.
By the Egyptian museum, are you referring to the old Egyptian museum in Tahrir Square or the Grand Egyptian in Giza? You should have no issues getting from the old museum to the NMEC. I would probably count on an hour or so to get from the Grand Egyptian to the NMEC.
The NMEC is not large, and you should be able to see it in an hour, two hours tops. If you get there by 3 p.m. you should be fine.
The new museum in Giza is now open. You specifically stated the new museum.
We were in Cairo early 2020 and used an Uber. Much nicer car and better driver than the taxis. Taxi's require haggling over price and even if your hotel helps one way, you will have to deal with the return ride.
@geovgriffith - I think the OP was referring to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, often abbreviated at NMEC, which reasonably new and is not the same as the recently opened Grand Egyptian Museum. Because the "Egyptian museum" could be referring to either the GEM or the older museum in Tahrir Square, I thought it reasonable to ask which one he was referring to.
Confusing.
10 years ago there was only the Egyptian museum.
Then over the last 2-3 yrs I gather that both the GEM and the NMEC have opened with the Egyptian museum contributing their King Tut exhibit to the GEM and then their dynastic mummies to the NMEC.
My Viking cruise coming up only includes the original Egyptian museum and even their descriptions miss these recent key transfers
It seems that the GEM is not to be missed and more significant than the NMEC……so I will have to figure how to get to DIY from the Conrad hotel on the river.
I agree that it's confusing. When I was in Egypt in 2020, the only museum was the one in Tahrir Square. The NMEC, which now houses the mummies, opened in late 2020 or 2021. Then, the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza just opened -- or it may even still be in a soft opening. I imagine that there will be plenty of fanfare for the official grand opening.
They were moving a lot of things from the old museum to the the Grand Egyptian in 2020, and when I returned in 2021 it was almost empty except for the Tutankhamun artifacts, the tiny statue of Khufu, and the big statues. My understanding is that they plan to keep the old museum open, and I heard rumor that they are planning to display a lot of artifacts from Tanis, which they haven't had the space to display publicly. It will still be interesting, but it won't be the draw that it was just a few years ago.
The NMEC covers the entire history of Egypt from pre-dynastic times to the present. The mummies are the main draw at the NMEC. They had a huge parade through Cairo when they moved the mummies from the old museum. Honestly, having already seen the mummies while they were still at the downtown/old museum, I was a little underwhelmed by NMEC.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is a big deal. It looks out over the pyramids, and will display the entire Tutankhamun collection, which they didn't have space to display in its entirety at the old museum. They started construction in 2005 and they are just now finishing. That's the must-see museum now.
IMPORTANT ADDITION: You might want to find out where the Tutankhamun items are currently. I read fairly recently that the main hall is open at the Grand Egyptian, but the Tutankhamun exhibition is not. The Tutankhamun items will probably be the last things they move from the old museum. So, they might still be at the old museum.
