Roast our September trip plan
Hi all,
My girlfriend and I are be going to Egypt from the 17th of September (arrival at 9PM) to the 27th of September (we leave at 11.30AM). A plan for such a small amount of time is pulling my hair out at the moment and would love to have your advise on the matter !
Our current idea is that, as soon as we arrive in Cairo, we take a night bus to get to Luxor (take a bus at 1AM so there is some room if the plane is late, and if there is a queue for getting our Visas).
Then, at Luxor, we are unsure on what to do. We are not interested in doing the cruise, but we are interested in the same sightseeing as the cruise. The idea was the following:
- Day 1 (Thu 18 Sept): Arrival at Luxor. Visit the Luxor Temple at night. Book the balloon for tomorrow morning and get a West Bank guide/driver.
- Day 2 (Fri 19 Sept): Balloon + West Bank.
- Day 3 (Sat 20 Sept): Karnak, then drive to Aswan via temples. Karnak could be skipped. Sunset felucca on the Nile.
- Day 4 (Sun 21 Sept): Philae Temple. Unfinished Obelisk (optional). Afternoon at Elephantine Island / Kitchener's Garden.
- Day 5 (Mon 22 Sept): Transfer Aswan → Luxor, overnight Luxor. OR, direct Aswan→Hurghada bus.
- Day 6 (Tue 23 Sept): Luxor → Hurghada.
- The remaining of the trip is in Hurghada as we do our Open Diver PADI certification. We plan on leaving the 27th at night to see the pyramids in the morning before leaving. We have friends who told us that the Cairo could be skipped so we chose to not stay at all there, apart for the pyramids.
This trip feels chaotic and definitely not the classic road, and this is the reason why we would like to have your opinion on the matter. We are young and in a backpacking vibe, but my girlfriend is scared that this will feel rushed and we therefore would not enjoy it too much. I feel like this could be done, and we will be able to rest in Hurghada. I'm just scared of the temple overload. Also... I do not know if Abu Simbel should be add (by removing some part of the plan, or directly leaving from Aswan instead of doing an overnight at Luxor).
So please, feel free to roast our trip ! In the hope that the roasting will come with some advise as well.
Take care <3