Month: November 2022

Is Egypt safe

This section describes my experience in November 2022. Is Egypt currently safe? Overall, I think it is.

On the safety and security side, fortunately Egypt does not currently have any serious and well-publicized issues. No safety events involving foreign tourists lately. Overall, my perception is that the country is under strict supervision. However, the current situation is relatively relaxed. The road check points are everywhere but controls are lax. If that continues, it is unlikely you will encounter any serious safety issues.

However, in addition to Egypt’s security, there is one more important thing to keep in mind. Unfortunately, daily hassle for tourists is currently wide spread. Maybe it is because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which blocked tourism and severely reduced tourist dollars in 2020 and 2021. If it is, hopefully, 2023 and beyond will only get better.

It is also a difficult section for me to write, as little fun or positive personal memories.

However, when I return to Egypt (yes, I still want to go back), I will definitely read all this in detail again. I also hope you will find it useful.

And I also sincerely do hope that you will not be exposed to any of the stories below.

Overall, this article has the following sections below.

Safety

Overall, given the importance of the tourism economy, all corresponding areas are under strict and constant supervision. You will go through tens of police road checkpoints. You will see soldiers in full gear with guns watching you. You will see armored military vehicles with machine guns.

All this is normal.

In more supervised areas (e.g., Sinai, close to Libya), your driver will leave your name and country, and his license plate in some checkpoints. You will be tracked while travelling, especially if at night. When at a checkpoint, a simple “hello” or “salam” (same in Arabic) to the border security is usually sufficient.

When going to the desert in Sinai, or the west or the south of the country, you will absolutely need a guide. Non-negotiable for many reasons.

You probably do not want to make history and news headlines for any wrong reasons.

Hassle Factor

Unfortunately, this will be a longer section of this Egypt travel guide given the number and sophistication of different scams. Honestly, I was surprised by the frequency and sophistication of those techniques.

For Egypt overall, the hassle factor is 10/10. Egypt has been a big tourist destination for decades. However (or maybe because of that), you will be constantly a target for scams and just plain squeezing a few extra dollars out of you every day.

However, this hassle factor does differ across cities. Cairo and Luxor are probably 10 out of 10 (or higher if it were possible).

Aswan is probably 5/10 with most incidents around the promenade along the Nile, and the boats and feluccas there.

Abu Simbel is more relaxed with 3/10, where a polite “thanks”, “shukran” (the same in Arabic) or “la shukran” (“no, thanks”) will probably be sufficient.

Similarly, Dahab in Sinai is quiet and nobody will bother you much.

Be early and mention Arabic words

If you want less of this delightful exposure in Giza, Luxor or Aswan, travel early before the main tourist tours. At 6-8am there will also be fewer hawkers and potential guides.

As an additional remedy, please also learn a few words in Arabic. Some, which I found useful, are below.

In my experience, sellers would immediately become less pushy if you say something in Arabic, however mispronounced that might be (as in my case).

Thirdly, always carry a lot of EGP 1 / 5 / 10 / 20 notes.

Overall, no matter your nationality, language spoken, age or gender, you will be a target. You will be viewed as a rich tourist and a source of instant money.

In any case, some of the routine techniques are alive and well in 2022. Those are the main ones I have encountered. After reading them, hopefully you will not fall prey, as I did to some of them.

Tale of calculator errors

When paying for your accommodation, there will be frequently incorrect change given to you. Surprisingly, ALWAYS to your disadvantage.

If you point it out (as you should), another calculator will be taken and another calculation performed. It will generate a more correct amount, but still not 100% correct. And, yes, again, to your disadvantage. After a few cycles, especially after a long flight or drive, you will probably give up and expect it to be paid during your stay.

If you pay in foreign currency (pretty much all of them are being accepted in tourist centers), the exchange rate will be up to 10% worse than the market. You might want to avoid accommodations, which take payment on the premises. Most professional lodgings allow you to pay directly through the reservation website or app. Also, credit cards are accepted in higher-end properties.

Famous 50 or 100 pounds

In addition, all this might look a bit hilarious, except it might be pretty difficult to accept. “Hello, you still owe me 100 Egyptian pounds (about $4.50) when I booked the tour and you said you did not have change.” “Yes, I will give it to you”.

Next day. “You still owe me those 100 EGP.” “Of course, I will give it back to you.”

The moment of your departure from the city or even leaving Egypt. You guessed it. “Yes, I will give it back to you.”

Always lovely taxi negotiation

Ah, the lovely taxi price negotiation game. And I think this is truly a game. Overall, please do not pay inflated prices. Obviously, it will be better for your wallet. Secondly, you will do a favor to other tourists who visit in the future by not increasing the price levels. Thirdly, it seems that the Egyptian sellers invest much of their energy and skills in haggling with you, and do not want to lose their face. It seems they have to win in this game and squeeze even EGP5 ($0.20) to feel victorious.

During your stay you will probably take a taxi. Usually a quick Uber, Lyft , Grab or Yandex Go app order taking a few seconds. In Egypt this is a multi-hurdle process. In the end, you will probably pay a fraction of the initial quote, but also accept that you will pay more than the fair price paid by the locals.

Kom Ombo temple i Kom Ombo, near Aswan, in Egypt.
Kom Ombo temple near Aswan. Well-preserved engravings and no tourists. All this haggling was worth it.

INITIAL PRICES

NEVER enter a taxi and start the drive to your destination without agreeing on the price first.

Never accept the initial quote

Firstly, pretty much always, the initial price quoted will be 2-5 times too high (and sometimes even more). Secondly, the driver will ALWAYS ask you where you come from. Of course, he will want to greet you warmly on behalf of the whole population in Egypt.

In addition, after you reject the first exorbitant quote, he (I have not encountered any women taxi drivers on our trips in Egypt) will also ALWAYS ask you how much you want to pay.

Based on those things, he will try to evaluate your willingness to overpay. If your counteroffer is around the true cost, he will probably drop the price to your level plus around 50%. In other words, you are already making good progress.

Set your budget in advance

Unfortunately, the worst response is “I do not know”. Your negotiation opponent will conclude you are easy prey, and it will be harder to reduce the price. In other words, please ask a local in the airport arrivals hall or in the passport queue, or another passenger on the plane, train or bus. Any benchmark, however off, will be helpful.

Hotel vs driver payment

Another cute trick. When booking your taxi in advance through your hotel, your taxi driver might try to charge directly once again (“give me money now”).

Please do NOT pay. The best approach is to arrive at your hotel, go to the reception and ask who to pay. You booked your car through the hotel, so there is a paper trail. Secondly, you might have booked your hotel online and each reservation site has a ratings section.

In addition, you can always post a comment on Google or Yelp. Each hotel is interested in getting a good (or at least not a terrible) review from you. And all of us, your fellow travellers, will read your review carefully, because we want a trusted opinion.

I did pay the driver once in the car, and then got charged by the hotel again. Of course, the driver had absolutely no memory of receiving any money directly. Do not repeat my mistake.

DRIVING BEGINS BUT HAGGLING STILL ON

Let’s assume you have agreed on the final price for all passengers, all your luggage, and all tickets and permits. Congratulations, this has probably cost you a few minutes of agitated discussions and other usual taxi driver pleasantries (“the official fixed price at the airport arrival hall is old, don’t believe it”, “gas got much more expensive”, “nobody else is going in your direction”).

However, the driver might, as happened twice during our last Egyptian trip, try to renegotiate the price while driving.

Door handle screeching

Now, things are getting a bit iffy. He has gained some control of the negotiation as the vehicle is moving. However, when it stops (and if you have no luggage in the trunk), you might start opening the door. Just the sound of the door handle is usually enough. The driver might say something probably unpleasant in Arabic, but, fortunately, I did not understand it. The competition among taxis is fierce and he needs your fare. You can get off and another taxi will stop next to you, before you can spot it. Be firm with your initial driver and you will finish your journey at the initial price.

Even if you defended your initial price, at your destination the taxi driver might want to charge you for some (parking / government) tickets or permits (especially when your trip commences or finishes at an airport). It seems, the defended price is still considered as flexible in this delightful negotiation game.

Also, the same scam exists among the horse-drawn carriage drivers in Luxor. Some hotels even have warnings about the low initial price of a calèche. However, then there are some unavoidable additional exorbitant charges, which make the journey expensive.

The final technique, strangely especially among the tuk-tuk drivers. After the driving starts, he might say “it is further than what I thought. You have to pay more.” No fun. And you thought at least a small tuk-tuk would be different.

(Un-)happiness level

Overall, my experience has been that if the taxi driver or the bazaar seller in Egypt is genuinely unhappy, this is probably a good indicator you got a good price. Congratulations and thank you again on behalf of the future fellow tourists.

Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt.
Hypostyle Hall at Karnak temple at sunrise. All that nuisance was worth it.

Minibus ticket

If travelling in Central or South America or Asia, I do not remember paying a higher price as the other (local) passengers on the same minibus.

In Egypt please agree on YOUR price to YOUR destination with the DRIVER before you leave. Otherwise, you might have to pay 3-5 times more than local passengers.

Second thought: please fix the price with the DRIVER. NOT the other people who are loading the luggage on the roof. Or the hawkers just yelling the destination to attract the passengers, or their friends. They are not decision makers here, and they will probably not take the minibus anyway.

Train ticket

Now we are leaving the minibuses and cars and move to trains. Easier than the taxi drivers, but please be careful here as well.

Let’s imagine your plane, taxi or bus was late and you did not have a chance to buy a ticket at the ticket office. Or, as in our case, the booking system was down (allegedly happens on a regular basis).

A friendly gentleman in the ticket office told me in excellent English to board the train, explain it to the conductor, and pay an extra EGP20 (less than $1) to have the ticket issued in the carriage. Makes perfect sense.

However, various people dressed not as a train conductor will approach you with the usual dose of friendliness (“Welcome, my friend. Where are you from? Where are you going? Come, I show you”). He will show you the right train and the best carriage. Amazing. So what’s the catch?

In a few minutes he might appear with a used ticket and try to sell it to you. In our case, the previous owner crumpled the ticket pretty thoroughly. Moreover, the conductor crossed it when validating it. We would like to credit our helpful platform friend for carefully straightening the ticket and convincing us it is to our destination (“Look, to Aswan. Written in Arabic here.”)

Needless to say, do not buy it. You might say that you will buy your ticket from the train conductor and it will usually solve the matter immediately.

Sellers bombarding you with goods

When on a train or bus, hawkers will inevitably come and drop their goods on your lap. Snacks and beverages make perfect sense. However, a medium-sized bag of rubber bath plugs descended on me as well. Clearly I must have looked in dire need of those on this Luxor-Aswan train.

If you accept and open any of those items, you will have to pay for them. I noticed two different solutions. Firstly, ignore all of those wonderful things, and wait for the hawker to return and collect his goodies. The second one, which was pretty hilarious to watch, was a group of tourists in their early 20s, who would throw all their packages back at the sellers immediately. Not sure the best approach but definitely creative.

Tour / boat / camel / restaurant / hotel commission

Once you get to your destination, you will not be forgotten. Especially in the traditional tourist areas (e.g., major Luxor temples, along the Nile promenade in Aswan), countless people will approach you to book a tour. Or to put you on a camel or a felucca. Or to take you to a restaurant or hotel.

They will always make a commission on that. Secondly, you will probably pay a higher price than if booking directly. Thirdly, they will usually ask for a tip (“backsheesh”) as well.

Everybody is your guide

It will happen at any tourist site of any importance, from the pyramids in Giza to the smallest ruined temple around Aswan. You will be greeted tens of times, and people will start describing and explaining things around you. Even if the previous night you did read about this site. Alternatively, you might be offered a site (e.g., tomb), which is normally closed to the public.

Quickly, it will turn out it is not because of the kindness of their heart. You will be expected to pay, and sometimes significantly more that you think it was worth it. If you do not want it, a simple “thanks” in English (or even better “shukran” in Arabic) with a smile will usually do.

Backsheesh

Finally, last but not least, backsheesh. It will be an integral component of your Egyptian experience. It seems everybody expects you, as a rich foreign tourist, to tip or pay backsheesh.

Go on a tour, pay backsheesh to the drivers and the guide. Somebody shows you the way to the train station, pay backsheesh. A gentleman shows you a tomb closed off to the public, you have to pay a backsheesh. Your new friend takes you to a felucca, of course, another backsheesh to be paid. Loading your bag into the vehicle hold for your trip with Go Bus, a driver might demand a backsheesh.

All this sounds pretty annoying. And it actually is. But not much we as tourists can do about that while travelling in Egypt. Probably best to accept that this is an additional money (and mental) payment during your trip in Misr (Egypt in Arabic). Smile and move on.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EGYPT

Beyond this article if Egypt is safe, the overall Egypt information is below.

The pharaohs of the Abu SImbel temple in Egypt
Egypt
Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt.
Egypt itinerary

Useful Arabic Words

Those Arabic words will help on your trip.

sabah al-khayr: good morning

missah al-khayr: good evening

marhaba: hello

keefak: how are you? (what’s the news?)

shukran: thanks

la shukran: no, thanks

kwayees: good

mumtaz: excellent

miya: water

wahed: one

hamza: five

ashra: ten

ashrun: twenty

meah: hundred

WHERE TO GO NEXT

Beyond the Egypt travel guide, consider Algeria for an amazing Sahara trip around Djanet. Algeria also has almost no hassle factor, probably as the tourist numbers are much lower. Secondly, the country is a big gas importer.

Or Indonesia for a totally different experience. 17,000 islands, amazing snorkelling and diving, Komodo dragons and Bali temples.

For the ultimate remote location, fly to Easter Island with its enigmatic moai.

Another up and coming place is Uzbekistan and its stunning Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. Combine it with mountains and lakes in Kyrgyzstan.

For a list of places with lesser crowds (and how to avoid them): Avoid Crowds When Travelling – Top 21 Tips (2022).

Djanet

This Djanet travel guide describes a popular Sahara trip in southern Algeria starting in Djanet. It has the following sections:

Why Visit

If you like nature, and desert in particular, Sahara is one of the best. It is the largest hot desert in the world with 9.2 million square km or 3.6 million square miles. It is only smaller than the ice deserts of Antartica and the northern Arctic.

There are many types of deserts and everybody has their favorites. My top ones are Sahara, Atacama (Chile) and Kalahari (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa). Gobi in Mongolia and the Patagonian desert are still on the list, plus, of course, Antartica and Arctic. One day, as they say.

Massive rock formations around Djanet in the Sahara desert.
Rock formations around Djanet are massive. Notice the size of our truck with the Tuareg guides.

Sahara is huge

Overall, Sahara has it all. It covers parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia. Incredibly, it covers 25% of Africa’s landmass.

To put it in a perspective. 9.2 million square km is difficult to process, at least for me. The United Kingdom has 243,610 square km so it would fit into Sahara 38.6 times. Three Australias would get in there easily (Down Under is about 2.97 million square km).

Also, Sahara is almost as big as the United States or China.

In addition, we usually think about the Sahara as the vast amounts of tiny yellow sand. However, it is only one desert type. Sahara has sand seas, sand dunes, gravel plains, stone plateaus, dry valleys, salt flats, mountains, rivers, streams and oases.

Contrary to the sand seas in Morocco or Egypt, southern Algeria also has mountains, stone formations, dry valleys and oasis as well. And all within a drive from Djanet or Tamanrasset, a four-hour flight from Algiers, the capital of Algeria.

So where to go?

Tadrart around Djanet is considered one of the most beautiful deserts in the world. However, some prefer Assekrem around Tamanrasset, which is close nearby. In any case, they are both stunning.

When to Go

October to March are best as the summer is scorchingly hot. This Djanet travel guide recommends mid-October to November or mid-January to February.

Bear in mind this is a desert, which heats up during the sunshine quickly but drops at least 10-20 degrees Celsius during nights. In the coldest months of December and January the temperature at night may drop to freezing.

So you might be planning the New Year’s Eve without any crowds. Most likely, you will see no other soul when you are there that night. And when you are in the largest sand ballroom in the world, do not forget your gloves, hats, scarves and multi-layer clothing. Plus a good sleeping bag.

Do not make our mistake, it was utterly cold at night. But the days were perfect with 20-25C and sunny. And the evening fireplace with hot Tuareg tea and interesting conversations were awesome.

On your return flight you will probably still smell of that fireplace (as we did), but that only adds to the uniqueness of the place (as a fellow passenger on the plane told us politely).

Finally, if you can time it and arrive during full moon, this will make the trip even more impressive. A proverbial million shades of shade when you go to your tent.

Tadrart desert around Djanet at sunset.
Tadrart desert around Djanet at sunset.

Safety

Extremely important.

Before you depart for Djanet or Tamanrasset, please double check the safety and security situation.

As of November 2022, you are fine in travelling to Djanet and doing the itinerary below, including the stunning Tadrart.

However, Tamarasset is largely closed. You can only do day tours, and reportedly only on Wednesday and Sundays. And you have to have a military escort.

We did have a military companion with a real gun on earlier trips in Uganda or Egypt. Initially it felt exciting and a bit of an Indiana Jones experience. But longer term you feel more constrained and the early coolness factor disappears pretty quickly.

In any case, those regulations and the military escorts are here for a reason. Sahara around Tamanrasset is huge and has been a source of security accidents for years.

Finally, needless to say, you are not allowed to drive independently either around Djanet or Tamanrasset.

Which Tour?

So the next question is how to organize a tour. You have two main options.

(1) Book through a tourist company at home

You can book a tour at home before your departure. It will likely come with a specialist tourist company at home, which in turn will have a local company in Algeria. Most likely, the Algerian tourist office will in turn have a local Tuareg company or guide, who will, at the end, do the tour with you.

In other words, there are two intermediaries before you meet your polite Tuareg guide in Djanet. Ease of booking, a nicely formatted itinerary from your local advisor in America, China or Europe, and a (potential) peace of mind will come at a hefty markup.

Secondly, you will have little influence on the choice of your Berber company and guide.

(2) Book directly with a local Djanet company (this Djanet travel guide’s favorite)

The alternative is to search and contact some local companies. See their response time. Evaluate the quality and seriousness of their offer. Read their reviews. Everybody in the tourist industry seems to have a rating nowadays, even in the middle of Sahara.

Of course, mistakes are bound to happen. However, you will have a greater control over the choice of your guide, itinerary and any special requests. The guide business in Djanet (and everywhere else) is based on ratings and reviews. Your guide will be fully aware of that and will try to deliver the best possible experience for you. In addition to his traditional Tuareg hospitality.

Yes, we had made some serious mistakes while booking directly over the years. But they were few, and we learned a lot from them.

On balance, however, we definitely prefer the direct booking.

And on our Djanet trip we got very lucky. Our main guide was an older Tuareg gentleman with lots of experience, polite and with excellent French. Our junior guide was fluent in English and a great storyteller at the fireplace.

An unexpected meeting of the Tuareg traders. Sense of community has been critical to the survival of the Beduin over the centuries.
An unexpected meeting of the Tuareg traders.

This Djanet travel guide highly recommends supporting local businesses and contributing to the local economy (same as on all our trips). You will see the huge difference your tourist dollars, euros or pounds will make to Djanet and the Tuareg families living there.

Itinerary

So what are the itinerary choices?

Most tours starting in Djanet follow a similar path. There are two loops: the shorter northern one with Timghas, Tassili N’Ajjer, Essendilene Canyon, and Erg Admer.

The southern loop is longer and even more impressive, as it will include the large dunes at Tin Merzouga, Berdj Arch and the instagramable Tadrart.

Tegharghart can be done on either as it is close to Djanet.

Depending on how much time you have, you can do both or only one of the loops. For a 2-3 day trip you will probably go to the north, which will be great.

If you have 5-6 days, you will probably go south to Tadrart, which will be even more impressive.

Best of all, do both if your time allows.

Needless to say, all tours are flexible and your guide will adjust the itinerary to your time and personal interests.

Finally, there is also an option to walk with the camels from Essendilene to Djanet, but we did not do it.

Sahara itinerary around Djanet, Algeria.
Sahara itinerary around Djanet, Algeria.

Northern Loop

Day 1: Djanet, Timghas and Tassili N’Ajjer

Starting in the oasis of Djanet, a long drive through Timghas to Tassili N’Ajjer. Tassilli N’Ajjer is awesome with rock formations size of a building in every direction. Together with the sand they are changing color at sunset guaranteeing excellent photos.

Day 2: Tassili N’Ajjer, Essendilene Canyon and Erg Admer

The sacred canyon of the Tuaregs, Essendilene. You will probably walk through that. An easy hike taking approximately 40 minutes one way.

Overnight around the dunes in Erg Admer.

Day 3: Erg Admer, Tegharghart and Djanet

Driving back to Djanet with Tigharghart on the way. It is a rock of the “crying cows”. If you look closely, they do show cows which might really be crying.

Southern Loop (this Djanet travel guide’s favorite)

Sahara rock formations around Djanet in the southern direction of Tadrart.
Difficult to find a place which is not awesome.

Day 1: Tadrart: El Berdj Canyon

A long 200km drive to El Berdj. Overnight around those stunning stone formations.

Day 2: Tadrart: Moul’n’Aga

More stone structures with prehistoric drawings. Arriving in Wan Tabaraket with its imposing dunes. If you climb one of them, you will have an impressive view. Finally, you will get to Moul’n’Aga with more dunes, which you can scale up for the sunset.

Day 3: Tadrart: In Intihaq

Today you will see many amazing rock formations. A bit like Utah or Arizona, but on a larger scale. Arches of Tamezguida, Wan Izzawaten valley and the photogenic Inlagen arch.

Day 4: Tin Merzouga (this Djanet travel guide top place)

The previous days have been stunning. Unbelievably, Tin Merzouga will probably be even better. The “Circle” canyon and moon-like Bouhediene and Tin Merzouga views are stunning. You will have a chance to climb the dunes, about 90 minutes hike.

This is the creme de la creme of your tour. A long drive there but so worth it.

Day 5: Indjaren Canyon

After this peak, you will start driving back to Djanet through Bouhediene and its canyons, rocks and dunes. More rock drawings in the Indjaren canyon. Interestingly, there are amonites and trylobites imprints here, which suggests that there was a sea over here.

Day 6: Tegharghart, Djanet

Driving back to Djanet with Tigharghart on the way. It is a rock of the “crying cows” (same as in Day 3 in the northern loop). If you look closely, they do show cows which might be crying.

Sahara trip from Djanet in southern Algeria. Best visited Oct-Feb, otherwise 40-50C daily are normal. Two loops: northern Tassili N'Ajjer 2-3 days or southern Tadrart 4-6 days. Tadrart is even more stunning than Tassili N'Ajjer.
Your potential lunch stop at the shadow of the mountain.

Typical Day

You will be woken up around 7am, if you are not up by yourself to witness the sunrise. No matter the location, it is always picturesque with all the rock formations and dunes in any direction changing colors.

After breakfast and packing you will leave around 8-8:30am and drive for 4-5 hours making stops on the the way. Lunch and sjesta until around 3pm (yes, this dune climbing will burn lots of calories).

More driving until about 5pm where your new camp is being set up. Dinner and the atmospheric fireplace with Tuareg tea and stories afterwards. All this unpolluted fresh air is pretty exhausting, so you will probably fall asleep shortly afterwards without any problems.

The longest distance to Tin Merzouga is about 300km. You never drive when dark.

You will sleep in a tent provided by your guide. In colder months you will also get blankets and potentially a mattress.

Unlimited water from the water cooler. All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) are also included. They will be simple (e.g., some packaged naan bread with eggs and jam for breakfast, couscous with vegetables at dinner), but they will taste better than the Michelin-starred restaurants back home. The wonder of fresh air, movement and not overeating.

What to Take

You will be exposed to dry air and strong sunlight the whole day. And you will probably freeze (at least a bit) at night.

Secondly, the Sahara sand will get into your even smallest pocket by the end of your trip.

This Djanet travel guide recommends bringing the following:

  • Broad-rim hat
  • Winter hat
  • Scarf
  • Sunglasses
  • 50+ sunscreen
  • More 50+ sunscreen. You will be applying it all the time
  • Lip balm, otherwise your lips will probably crack
  • Eye drops
  • Warm sleeping bag
  • Dehydration powder to replenish nutrients lost as you will be sweating a lot on those dune climbs
  • Headlight (preferred) or flashlight
  • Binoculars
  • Wipes for your personal hygiene (showers available only in Djanet)
  • Antibacterial cream
  • Comfortable and sturdy shoes
  • Deodorant (solid)
  • Long pants / trousers with many pockets
  • Warm hoodie
  • Windproof jacket
  • Snacks
  • Power bars
  • Day backpack
  • Protective bag for your luggage (sand)

And, most importantly, enjoy! It might be one of the best experiences in anybody’s lifetime. Those small nuisances probably do not matter in the long run.

Forget the world, forget this Djanet travel guide, forget the do’s and don’ts of the everyday life.

Enjoy the silence, excellent views and time away from it all.

Algeria travel guide

For the overall introduction to Algeria with the visa, Covid restrictions, etc., please check Algeria.

Avoid crowds in other countries

You are probably interested (among other things) in solitude, nature and no crowds (difficult to find any in Sahara).

Beyond this Djanet travel guide, if you prefer to avoid crowds on your next trips, please check Avoid Crowds When Travelling – Top 21 Tips (2022). They include some fantastic lesser known countries, cities and destinations.

Easter Island is remote and stunning with its moai.

Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan are other great countries with amazing mountains, lakes and history.

For another different but amazing destination please check Indonesia, and especially the Komodo tour or Bena Traditional Village (Flores).

Egypt

This Egypt travel guide is based on my November 2022 trip. It has the following sections:

Why Visit

Egypt has been on the traveller’s target list for hundred of years. For proof, read the graffiti on the ancient monuments in Abu Simbel or Luxor.

However, there are good reasons for tourists’ permanent interest. The archeological sites are world-class and have been a magnet for visitors from all around the planet. Pyramids in Giza near Cairo. Temples and tombs in Luxor. More temples and tombs in the more-relaxed Aswan. The chaotic metropolis of Cairo, which usually inspires either love or hate (or both at the same time). Less visited Sinai with the desert and St. Catherine’s monastery. Alexandria established by the founder of one of the biggest empires in the history of mankind (Alexander the Great). Siwa, Dakhla or another oasis for the ultimate Egyptian Sahara experience.

Moreover, in the peak tourists season of October-February, the weather is awesome with 20-25C during the day and around 10-15C at night. Sunny, with little rain and no fog (hello, London).

Some Egyptians are truly nice, hospitable and ready to help, when met in a private setting. Those conversations were some of the highlights of my Egypt trip.

Unfortunately, in spite of the steady tourist flows, you will also encounter a significant hassle factor in Egypt. The unemployment rate here is high and everybody needs to feed their family. I tried to consider that as an additional price to pay for the impressive archeological sites and the balmy weather.

And then, months or years later, you will probably want to come back to Egypt. This uncontrolled chaos with those stunning ancient Egyptian monuments along the Nile is pretty alluring.

Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt.
Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple in Luxor at sunrise.

Egypt in Numbers

Population: 107 million

Capital: Cairo

Language: Arabic (English widely spoken in tourist areas)

Currency: Egyptian Pound

Exchange rate (November 2022): USD 1 = EGP24.50, EUR 1 = EGP25.40, GBP 1 = EGP29.20

Electricity: standard European 230V with 50Hz frequency, standard European plugs

Covid-19 Restrictions

As of November 2022, NO Covid-19 restrictions.

NO Covid-19 vaccination certificates requested at the arrival.

Also, NO Covid-19 tests (PCR or antigen) requested at the arrival.

Visas

Most countries require a visa.

Easily obtainable at the arrival airport for $25 per person. You simply go to the bank office before the immigration booths, pay $25 (USD or other currencies accepted) and obtain a payment confirmation.

Afterwards, you will go with this slip to to the immigration desk, where you will get your visa on the spot.

Important: my photo and finger prints were taken at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport during the COP27 conference in November 2022. I assume this was a one-off measure during this event.

According to the seasoned Egypt travellers, this is NOT a standard practice in other airports in Egypt (e.g., Cairo). Thank you for pointing this out.

In addition, you will also have to fill out a small customs form with your name, flight number and your accommodation name. At exiting Egypt you will have to fill a similar card again.

Overall, an uncomplicated process. Just anticipate the inevitable lines at the bank counter and immigration booths (again, probably because I arrived during the COP27 conference).

Edfu temple near Aswan, Egypt
No tourists at the impressive Edfu temple near Luxor.

When to Visit Egypt

October – February is the best. The day temperatures will be 20-30C, sunny and clear skies. December and January will be cooler, a hoodie or jacket required.

Due to the high temperature differences between day and night, please take both flip flops and a jacket and a scarf.

For Sahara camping, you will need hats, gloves and a warm sleeping bag as well.

Safety

Sadly, Egypt has had safety and security issues, some also involving the foreign tourists. However, there are currently no highly-publicized safety accidents including visitors.

Overall, given the importance of the tourism economy, all corresponding areas are under strict and constant supervision. You will go through tens of police road checkpoints. There will be see soldiers in full gear with guns watching you. You will see armored military vehicles with machine guns.

All this is normal.

In more supervised areas (e.g., Sinai, close to Libya), your driver will leave your name and country, and his license plate in some checkpoints. You will be tracked while travelling, especially if at night. When at a checkpoint, a simple “hello” or “salam” (same in Arabic) to the border security is usually sufficient.

Also, your vehicle might be scanned also underneath on a special platform for any hidden cargo, for example in Sinai when approaching the Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

When going to the desert in Sinai, or the west or the south of the country, you will absolutely need a guide. Non-negotiable for many reasons.

You probably do not want to make history and news headlines for any wrong reasons.

Hassle Factor

For Egypt overall, the hassle factor is 10/10. Egypt has been a big tourist destination for decades.

However, this hassle factor does differ across cities. Cairo and Luxor are probably 10 out of 10 (or higher if it were possible).

Aswan is more relaxed with 5/10 with most incidents around the Nile promenade and the boats, feluccas and ferries there. A polite “thanks”, “shukran” (the same in Arabic) or “la shukran” (“no, thanks”) will probably be sufficient. Smile and move on.

Dahab is quiet and nobody will bother you much.

Moreover, if you want less of this delightful exposure in Giza, Luxor or Aswan, travel early before the main tourist tours. At 6-8am there will also be fewer hawkers, your potential guides, and their friends (and their friends).

As an additional remedy, please also learn a few words in Arabic. Some, which we found useful, are below.

In our experience, sellers would immediately become less pushy if you say something in Arabic, however mispronounced that might be (as in our case).

Top 5 Things in Egypt

So after all this tough stuff, one of the nicest topics. Planning your next trip. No Egypt travel guide can be without a top 5 list, so here is my attempt.

I think there are actually two separate Top 5 destinations in Egypt.

Traditional must sees

Firstly, those which you have to see because they simply have to be seen as so unique in the world. Pyramids in Giza near Cairo and Luxor with its temples and tombs are on this list.

However, Karnak in Luxor is vast and impressive, but severely ruined over the centuries.

Karnak Temple in Luxor at sunrise
Karnak temple at sunrise.

Moreover, pyramids and Luxor will be congested and you will face a lot of hassle in those places. Everybody will want to take you on a tour or boat, put you on a camel, horse-drawn carriage or a sunset felucca, or just sell you all the usual indispensable tourist t-shirts, necklaces or Nefertiti miniatures.

Excellent lesser known sites

Now, once you ticked off all those must-see destinations above, you might do what you really want to do. Go to some amazing temples outside of Luxor, which are in a good condition, less damaged over the centuries and with almost no tourists. Also, given there are no visitors, there are fewer hawkers. Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, Edfu or Philae temples are excellent examples. Most are located in stunning locations on the Nile. Moreover, when driving to Abu Simbel, the Sahara views are already great.

(1) Aswan in the south of the country as a spring board for Abu Simbel and the adjacent temples of Philae, Kom Ombo or Edfu

Edfu temple in Edfu near Luxor in Egypt.
Amazing Edfu with few tourists at 2pm.

(2) Sinai for a different desert experience, diving in Dahab and a visit to Saint Catherine’s Monastery

(3) Luxor with its Karnak and Luxor temples on the East Bank, and Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and temples on the West Bank

Inner sacred chamber at Edfu temple
Inner sacred chamber.

(4) Pyramids in Giza

(5) Sahara oasis (e.g., Dakhla, Siwa)

Itinerary

This itinerary is based on those top 5 with several options depending on your available time.

Four chunks of Egypt

  • Sinai (Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, St Catherine’s monastery)
  • Must sees in the middle (pyramids in Cairo, Luxor temples and tombs)
  • Additional great lesser known in the south (Aswan, Abu Simbel)
  • Optional north (Alexandria, Siwa Oasis).
Egypt itinerary
Egypt itinerary 2-3 weeks.

The optional north (Alexandria, Siwa Oasis) is interesting but time consuming. It takes 9-12 hours on a (night) bus from Cairo to Siwa Oasis. The oasis is allegedly great but those are a minimum of two nights on the bus. You would probably stay there at least two nights, so 4 nights / 5 days total. If you have two weeks for your Egypt trip, probably skip it. Having said that, I do want to visit on the next trip as all the main sites are done.

The south with Aswan, Abu Simbel and the adjacent temples (e.g., Kom Ombo, Edfu) is absolutely amazing. Great sites set in stunning locations plus in a more relaxed environment than Luxor or Cairo. This was my favorite area on my trip. And this is the place I want to return, not sure about Cairo again.

Sinai is totally different from the rest of Egypt. It is more about excellent diving and snorkelling in the Red Sea, beach, hiking and the St Catherine’s monastery. Dahab there is probably the most relaxed tourist town in all of Egypt where nobody will bother you much. This, by itself, is a big advantage.

Cheap flights from Europe

You might have noticed the unusual arrival and departure airports in this itinerary. Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada are traditional beach resorts, which are less interesting for independent travellers.

However, their biggest draw is the cheap flights from Europe. Wizzair and Easyjet are flying there from many countries, plus the regional airlines as well. For example, with some planning and luck, you can buy flights from London for £20-50 one way.

Alternatively, you can fly from London to Cairo and Luxor-London open jaw with Egyptair for £400-600.

In other words, if coming from America or Asia, it is cheaper to fly to and spend a weekend in London. Then hop on a budget Wizzair or Easyjet flight from London Gatwick or Luton. A free weekend in London is always nice.

Transportation

Once in Egypt, how to get around this huge country?

Overall, there are good transport options with flight, trains, long-distance buses and minibuses. Taxis, minibuses and tuk-tuk available for shorter distances.

Fly, if possible

Egypt is a vast country. Secondly, its main tourist sites are spread out. Giza pyramids to Luxor temples is a day (or night) train, or a long-distance bus away. Luxor to Aswan takes approximately 4 hours one way. Aswan to Abu Simbel another 4 hours one way. Cairo to Siwa oasis in the western Sahara, 9-12 hours on the bus. Dahab to Cairo: 10-12 hours by bus.

Taking one or two of those is usually no problem. However, constant travelling across those distances is exhausting. If possible, take a domestic flight. It might be not more expensive if you incorporate the additional hotels and extra days lost. For example, AirCairo has one direct flight per day connecting Sharm el-Sheikh and Luxor. 60 minutes on an ATR turboprop will save this 10 hour bus ride to Cairo and then another 10 hours to Luxor. Depending on when you book, you can buy this one-way flight for $35-80.

Second option: trains

Trains take approximately the same time as buses or series of minibuses, but are more comfortable. Bear in mind, the Egyptian railways cannot boast the same punctuality record as some of their cousins in Europe, and not to mention Japan. It is not unusual for a train to be 30-90 minutes late. However, the solution is straightforward: the previous train is probably also late. Therefore, it turned out I was travelling from Luxor to Aswan on the previous train which departed around the time my original train was supposed to.

Secondly, there are a few types of trains in Egypt. Ordinary, which tourists are not encouraged to take. “Spanish trains” are more spacious but look relatively vintage of the 1980s variety. However, for their advanced age they are still pretty agile and comfortable. Just do not expect a Spanish Talgo train as in Uzbekistan, as I had mistakingly done.

Moreover, they are inexpensive. Luxor-Aswan costs approximately EGP70-90 ($3.20-$4) depending on the train.

Finally, the Egyptian railways has a good and intuitive website with a good schedule information and an English option. Their website is here:

https://www.enr.gov.eg/Ar/

Third option: buses or minibuses

Long-distance buses. Go Bus has many connections and is usually preferred by tourists. Blue Bus is another ok option. Good news that the tourist and local prices are usually the same. Buy a ticket in advance in the office or online to avoid any issues later. Please note some drivers demand an EGP 5-10 fee to load a piece of luggage.

Also, buses offer a pretty reasonable pricing in comparison with taxis as well. You will pay EGP200 for one way ride with Go Bus from Luxor to Hurghada, which takes 4-5 hours. Even after negotiations, a taxi would be multiple of that.

Minibus. They are everywhere and will take you everywhere (if not this one alone, maybe another two or three). Usually the same price for tourists and locals. However, agree the price with the driver before the journey starts. Otherwise, you might be surprised to have to pay a higher price than the local passengers (my experience on my first minibus trip). Secondly, paying in exact change to get the agreed-upon price is always a good idea.

And they are inexpensive. A local minibus in Aswan or Luxor is EGP2 one way. Aswan-Kom Ombo takes approximately 1 hour and costs EGP15 ($0.70), Kom Ombo-Edfu again 1 hour and EGP15. Edfu-Luxor takes 2 hours and costs EGP30 ($1.40).

Taxis: expensive lesson in negotiation skills

Taxis. After the 2022 gas price increases, not a bargain anymore. Sharm el-Sheikh to Dahab one way is $35-40. Dahab to St Catherine’s monastery return with one hour at the destination is $70. Warning: as per the Hassle section, taxi drivers will try to charge you significantly more than the local prices.

Some good tours

Tours. Usually expensive and geared towards tourists. Many Egyptian companies are offering daily or multi-day tours. Pricing depending on the number of passengers.

However, there are some excellent and reasonably priced tours as well. For example, Gandhi at the excellent Go Inn Backpackers in Aswan is organizing a daily trip to Abu Simbel for EGP400. You will be travelling in a modern, clean and punctual Toyota minibus with other tourists from China, Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Also, the always helpful Omar at the Bob Marley hotel in Luxor is organizing good Luxor West Bank tours for EGP150 per person.

Kom Ombo temple i Kom Ombo, near Aswan, in Egypt.
Kom Ombo temple near Aswan. Well-preserved engravings and no tourists.

Accommodation

Given high tourist numbers for decades, a wide variety of hotels across the price spectrum. International chains (e.g., Hilton), mid-range or budget options are available in every tourist site.

All are available through the standard reservation sites. All the main ones are available both outside and inside Egypt (unlike, for example, in Turkey where one major site is not available).

Food

No Egypt travel guide would be complete without a food section.

As on any trip, food is a critical component of traveller’s happiness. Or, as Napoleon might have said, “a soldier is marching on his stomach”.

Breakfast

Breakfast in many tourist accommodations will include the inevitable omelette (a thin version with no vegetables, cheese or meat inside). As in the other Middle Eastern countries, excellent white cheese (labneh) with tomatoes, cucumbers and some fruit (e.g., melon). In addition, you will see yoghurt (plain or flavored), honey, (super sweet) jams and butter. All with the local round pita bread.

Lunch and dinner

Lunch and dinner might see a popular street food dish of falafel served either in a pita as sandwich or on a plate. Some freshly-made falafel with salad, tahini and eggplant in a fresh pita is delicious, especially after your temple visit. Also as in the neighboring countries, kebab (lamb, kofta) or lamb shank are popular. If fresh and prepared well, amazing. In the cooler months, lentil soup with fresh pita and lemon is comforting and warming up. The healthy Western imports of burgers and pizzas are everywhere, including McDonald’s and KFC.

Sometimes, there is also an unexpected treat such as a good international restaurant. Not of the Burger King variety, but for example KAM Thai in Luxor. Clean and authentic as the excellent cook is a Thai lady from the south of the country.

Street food

Traditional bakeries are everywhere and are great. Croissant, pastries, pitas, bigger round ones similar to focaccia but without abundant fillings are awesome. Imagine walking back from your first temple visit in the morning, and an enticing smell of freshly-baked croissants is wafting in the chilly and crispy air. Difficult to resist and costs much less than $1.

Street food is usually good. Falafel stands are everywhere and this boiling oil is probably going to kill everything, which might hurt your stomach. Also, in Aswan there are excellent local pizza stands. Dough made fresh on premises (= on top of the cart) with a formidable-looking oven next to it. Served savory (e.g., with cheese, tomatoes and peppers) or sweet (honey, chocolate spread and then sprinkled with extra sugar if you need it), they are warm, nice and filling.

The traditional tea (“shai”) is excellent, especially with fresh mint (nana). A good way to finish your dinner in colder November, December or January.

Fruits and vegetables are good. Be careful though, you HAVE to wash them well before eating. Otherwise, bananas are probably the best choice. Same approach as in sub-Saharan Africa.

Internet

Wifi widely available in hotels and hostels, speeds can vary. Working (including Zoom, etc.) is not always possible but it is usually free.

Overall Tips

(1) Bring cash. USD and EUR have the best exchange rates. Egypt is still largely a cash economy.

(2) Wash your hands frequently. Luckily, after Covid liquid disinfectants or wipes are everywhere. Many tourists are suffering from digestive problems. No fun while facing another ten-hour journey. Heat, rubbish on the streets and flies everywhere in Egypt are not a great combination for the unprepared tourist stomachs.

(3) Drink filtered or bottled water.

Costs

Tours vs independent

There are two alternatives, and the choice is yours.

If you use tourist higher-end hotels and pre-arranged tours, your trip will be relatively expensive.

If you are using local transportation, local restaurants and mid-range tourist hotels, your trip will be unbelievably good value.

As an example, you can visit the amazing Edfu and Kom Ombo temples on your way from Aswan to Luxor within 8-9 hours. You would pay $70-110 with an Egyptian tour agency, excluding the entrance tickets and the inevitable tips (“backsheesh”) for the driver.

Or you organize the trip yourself. You travel on the local Toyota minibuses or a train, and get tuk-tuks to the temples. And you pay approximately $8 for the same but more colorful experience.

Entry tickets

The entry tickets to the individual temples or tombs have increased a lot recently. All the examples below are as of November 2022.

The cheapest one I paid was EGP60 ($2.70) to the tomb of Sirenput II in west Aswan. Kom Ombo is EGP160 ($7.30). Edfu EGP200 ($9.10). Abu Simbel EGP275 ($12.50). Karnak EGP220 ($10). Luxor temple EGP220 ($10). Cairo pass $100. Luxor Pass $100 again. Premium Luxor Pass (Luxor Pass + tombs of Seti I and Nefertari) $200.

Passes are valid for 5 days.

If you are going to visit all sites in Luxor, the Luxor Pass or the Premium Luxor Pass are worth it. I did not, and opted for the individual tickets.

Egyptian Beliefs and Architecture

Symmetry everywhere

On the last Egypt trip, all temples started to look similar. They all seem to have two entrance gates or pylons, some with parallel or square colonnades. They all seem to have symmetric design of statues or walls. If there are obelisks, there are usually two of them (unless one was taken to Paris). Two Memnon colossi. Four statues of Ramesses II in Abu Simbel, two on each side. Stable stand-alone pylons.

And let’s not forget the eye-pleasing symmetric pyramid shapes.

This symmetry seems everywhere. And all this feels heavy, stable and long-lasting. Compare this with the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao in Spain or Hundertwasser designs in Austria.

Pharaohs never age

Also, the pharaohs and their entourage always seems young and strong. No signs of frail or ill rulers. A little bit like the “Vikings” series on Netflix where the main characters never get old.

Given the Egyptians have been building those structures literally for thousands of years, that is not a coincidence. Rather, it is a well-planned expression of their religious and political beliefs. Which then begs the question, what was their religion? And what role did it play in their society? And why did they spend such enormous effort and resources over the centuries on those structures?

Egyptian beliefs

According to the Egyptian religion, at the beginning of time, nothing existed except the waters of black chaos. Gods created everything, they were ever-present and controlled all aspects of everyday life.

Egyptian religion was not monotheistic as Judaism, Christianity or Islam. Instead, a pantheon of gods existed. God Osiris made the river Nile overflow its banks and deposit its nutrients-rich soil feeding Egypt. When the sun was setting every day, it was god Ra in his barge going down to the underworld. Egyptians prayed that he would rise the next morning and the sun would be present again (by the way, a solar eclipse must have been a disaster for them). Goddess Hathor was present in the trees. Bastet protected the home. Powerful Isis raised her son Horus in the Nile swamps and protected all mothers. Ptah was the god of the underworld.

The most perfect of worlds

Those gods provided the most perfect of worlds to the people of ancient Egypt. And its perfect nature was expected to last forever.

And, if you believed that, who would not like to live in the most perfect of the worlds?

Also, if that perfect universe were to collapse, that would be truly catastrophic and you would probably try to prevent it.

Requiring constant offerings

Consequently, in order to gain gods’ favor and preserve the perfect world, Egyptians practiced a complex system of rituals, prayers and offerings.

That formal religious practice was focused on the pharaohs, who were believed to be intermediaries between their people and the gods. In return, gods would preserve all-encompassing energy, order, truth and harmony (ma’at) and not let the perfect world of the Egyptians collapse into chaos (isfet). Ma’at was in constant threat of disintegrating into isfet, so all society was required to maintain it through religious practice, offerings and obedience.

Hierarchy, hierarchy, hierarchy

The pharaoh was key in maintaining ma’at by maintaining harmony in the society and making offerings to the gods. And after death, he (as most of the pharaohs were men) was deified.

Pharaoh Ramesses II among other gods in Abu Simbel.

Priests enjoyed a high status in the Egyptian society due to their ability to read, write and possess knowledge passed within the temple walls. Their positions were also lucrative and powerful, and passed within own family (or after long legal battles). In some periods, priests were also state officials further strengthening the bond with the government.

All this was sanctioned and supported by the state, which dedicated huge resources to temple and tomb construction, and the regular religious festivals.

Everybody contributing

In summary, the Egyptian vision of the world was highly hierarchical and was supposed to last forever. The gods were at the top, with the pharaohs as intermediaries in the middle . Priests as his representatives with court, with the military and state administration in the middle. And the rest of the population (about 80%) beneath them. Finally, slaves were at the bottom of the pyramid.

Everybody in the hierarchy understood their place and what was expected and required for their own success and that of the kingdom. Consequently, all work was considered noble and respectable and contributing to ma’at. Unfortunately, social mobility was not encouraged or happened much. That would be against the established ma’at.

It worked until this social contract broke down

Overall, as long as the pharaoh and the upper levels provided peace, food and work to the broader population, the others complied, worked and paid taxes. The country was stable and functioning.

However, once this system broke down due to the cost of military campaigns or food shortage, the ma’at social contract weakened and Egypt has started losing its dominant position.

Stable and symmetric architecture followed

So the stable and symmetric architecture of ancient Egypt was supposed to solidify and demonstrate this pyramid ma’at vision as a correct relationship between the population, pharaohs and gods.

Egypt Overall Rating

A must-see destination, not only for the history buffs.

Those pyramids, temples and tombs are impressive and unique on a global scale.

Nile is stunning pretty much anywhere in Misr (Egypt in Arabic).

Visit, have fun and accept some inevitable nuisance.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EGYPT

All major tourist sites in Egypt
Egypt Independent Travel
Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt.
Egypt itinerary

Useful Arabic Words

In addition to the core travel information in this Egypt travel guide, those Arabic words will help on your trip.

sabah al-khayr: good morning

missah al-khayr: good evening

marhaba: hello

keefak: how are you? (what’s the news?)

shukran: thanks

la shukran: no, thanks

kwayees: good

mumtaz: excellent

miya: water

wahed: one

hamza: five

ashra: ten

ashrun: twenty

meah: hundred

WHERE TO GO NEXT

Beyond this Egypt travel guide, consider Algeria for an amazing Sahara trip around Djanet. Bonus: no tourist hassle.

Or Indonesia for a totally different experience. 17,000 islands, amazing snorkelling and diving, Komodo tour, Mt Rinjani (Lombok) Hike or Bena Traditional Village (Flores).

For the ultimate remote location, fly to Easter Island with its enigmatic moai.

Another up and coming place is Uzbekistan and its stunning Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. Combine it with mountains and lakes in Kyrgyzstan.

For a list of places with lesser crowds (and how to avoid them): Avoid Crowds When Travelling – Top 21 Tips (2022).

Easter Island

Similar to all tourist destinations, Easter Island was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic hard. However, the recovery has been speedy. Expect many tourists, and book your accommodation well in advance, especially if you arrive during the peak in early February. This Easter Island travel guide has the following sections:

Why Visit

Who does NOT want to visit Easter Island?

One of the most remote places on earth. 2,250km away from the closest inhabited island of Pitcairn. 3,752km to Santiago on the Chile mainland. 6,921km to New Zealand. 14,300km to Fukuoka in Japan.

Secondly, everybody has probably seen the Easter Island statues on TV or in books If you watched it as a small child, it might have become one of the items on the lifetime bucket list, similar to the Kyoto temples in Japan, pyramids in Egypt or Machu Picchu in Peru.

Given its importance, the Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island is a UNESCO Heritage site:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/715/

Not only moai

Easter Island is home to the unique moai, the intriguing monolithic stone statues, which made the island world famous. You can view them still neatly standing at Ahu Tongariki, fifteen of them peering into the distance.

Only 23km at longest stretch, the island is triangular with the extinct volcanoes protruding from each corner. You can hike to the largest volcano Rano Kau and will be rewarded with nice views of its collapsed caldera against the blue ocean backdrop.

And the language is exotic and melodic. The original people called themselves Rapa Nui, the moai statues standing on their ahu. Even the Spanish name “Isla de Pascua” sounds nice.

It will leave a mark and you will want to return.

Brief history of Easter Island

No Easter Island travel guide should skip the history of the enigmatic Rapa Nui. According to the current estimates, the original inhabitants of Easter Island arrived from Polynesia around 800-1200AD. They have created a thriving and industrious culture, which was able to construct the enormous moai. However, by 1722 the Rapa Nui population was estimated at only 2-3,000.

Let’s think about this for a second. Not millions or hundreds of thousand of people, but a tiny society on a tiny island was able to design, construct, transport and erect those stone mammoths. Pretty impressive.

The first recorded European to visit was a Dutch naval commander Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday in 1722. Similar to the approach in other places (e.g., Christmas Island, Ascension Island), Rapa Nui was then named “Easter Island”.

Commodore Roggeveen spent only one day on the island, but recorded the presence of the “particularly high erected stone images”. 52 years later the famous British Captain Cook (of the HMS Endeavour fame) stopped by the island to cure the scurvy among his crew. He also recorded the existence of the “stupendous figures”. However, many of the statues were already on the ground.

By 1825 all of the moai had been destroyed.

So what happened?

Interestingly, if all the moai had been toppled, it probably means that no single clan won the long and brutal war. Otherwise, their statues would have survived intact.

In other words, similar to many other conflicts in the human history, there were only losers coming out of this war.

But what might have caused the war in the first place?

The current scientific consensus is that the land clearing for cultivation and the excessive resources dedicated to the moai construction led to hunger and tribal infighting for the scarce resources. In addition, the European slave traders and the introduction of TB and smallpox reduced the population to 111 by 1877.

Critically, because Rapa Nui has not had any written history, a crucial part of the island’s culture and collective memory was lost. The last ariki henua (main chief) and moari (keepers of sacred secrets) perished without passing their centuries-old knowledge to the next generation.

Chile annexed the depleted Easter Island in 1888. Since then Rapa Nui has been a special territory (“territorio especial”) and part of the Valparaiso region.

But what are moai?

Those statues were carved by the Polynesian colonizers between 1250 and 1500.

Strangely, all moai have large oversized heads making 3/8 of their overall size. What is the reason for that? The scientific consensus is that the statues are living faces (aringa ora) of deified ancestors (aringa ora ata tepuna).

They are similar to their Polynesian counterparts with large heads, large broad noses, oblong ears, heavy torso and indistinct legs. Almost all of them have been carved in the Rano Raraku quarry and are made of the volcanic ash.

Easter Island Ahu Tongariki
Ahu Tongariki next to the Rano Raraku quarry.

4 giraffes stacked on top of each other

There are on average 4m (13ft) high with a weight of 13 tonnes each. They are truly massive. The tallest moai, called Paro, was 10m (33ft) high and weighed 82 tonnes. One unfinished sculpture in Rano Raraku is 21m (69ft) weighing about 150 tonnes.

But what is 21m in real life beyond the moai in this Easter island travel guide?

In the U.S. this is more than the distance between the baseball home plate and the pitcher’s mound.

Among the living creatures, the tallest land animal on our planet is a giraffe in Africa at around 16 feet (5m) tall. In other words, you would have to stack 4 giraffes on top of each other.

Finally, most U.S. two-story homes (ground floor and first floor to the Europeans) are approximately 17 feet (5m) tall. So this largest moai would be again 4 average two-story houses stacked vertically.

Pretty incredible.

900+

In total, there are approximately 900 moai, out of which a staggering 394 are still in Rano Raraku in various stages of completion. Let’s think about this for a second. Rapa Nui must have worked on many statues at the same time. Secondly, they also must have abandoned completion of some in favor of the others.

So who made it to completion and the coveted space on the ahu platform?

Archeologists believe the statues represent the ancient Polynesian ancestors. They were symbols of power and authority, both political and religious. In addition, they were believed to preserve the sacred spirit or mana indispensable in daily life. In the Polynesian mythology, mana is the a supernatural power of force and energy. The more mana, the better your everyday life.

You will notice that most moai face away from the ocean. They are watching inland and protecting their people. The exception is the seven statues on Ahu Akivi facing the sea to help sailors find the island.

And for this protection, the ancient Rapa Nui were willing to spend an enormous amount of time and resources to build, transport and erect those monoliths.

Enter competing clans

They were also ancestors of the individual clans protecting their own. This might explain the sheer number of the sculptures. Secondly, in the clan infighting in the 18th and 19th century when the European ships started visiting, the moai protectors of the opposing families were toppled. They would no longer be able to offer the sacred spirit and protection to their families.

In the time-honored tradition of megalomania across thousands of years (e.g., pyramids in Egypt, Mayan temples in Tikal, Angkor Wat in Laos), bigger moai were considered to have more mana and be more powerful. Consequently, the larger the mana of the moai on the ahu platform, the more mana for the chief who had commissioned the sculpture.

Finally, mana was believed to reside in moai’s hair. Therefore, some statues have a cylinder on top of their heads symbolizing the topknot with the sacred energy. Archeologists believe that it was painted red, which is still the sacred color in some communities in Polynesia. This cylinder is made from a light rock, but it is still heavy.

How were they constructed?

No matter how we look at them, moai were expensive to construct, transport and erect on their platform. Archeologists believe that a distinguished group of professional carvers with a high status in the community conducted the work. Also, the Rano Raraku quarry was divided among various clans each working on their sculptures.

In the quarry you will be able to see many sculptures not finished. They were chiselled out of the rock face until they were attached to it by a thin keel along their spine.

Once completely detached and further processed (eyes, smoothing, coloring), they were transported to their ahu platform.

How were they transported?

Nobody really knows. But the consensus bet is that they were travelling on wooden sledges or on top of rollers. This might explain the oral tradition talking about the statues “walking across the island” to their platform.

In other words, a similar technology supposedly used by the Egyptians in transportation of the stone blocks for the pyramids. Although nobody knows for sure either, how they did it in detail.

Final step: erect it

So let’s imagine the statue was transported intact without any major damage, which was probably a big assumption in the first place. How to erect it? And secondly, how to erect it without causing any damage in the process?

In 1955 Thor Heyerdahl, a colorful Norwegian adventurer criss-crossing oceans in papyrus boats, challenged the island’s mayor to raise a fallen 25 tonne sculpture at Anakena beach. 18 days later 12 islanders did raise the fallen structure by using two levers and placing layers of stones under the statue as it was being tilted. Finally it slid into its place on the platform.

The final engineering thought for the impressive moai masters from approximately 800-1200 years ago. The (red) stone cylinder symbolizing the topknot on their heads. Assuming they had no modern cranes, how did they raise and put it on the moai head at precisely the right place?

Which also begs the question, how did they measure and confirm the balance of the moai in the first place, so that the prized topknot does not fall down? All this for some topknots which are 2m in diameter and weigh 11 tons.

Correct, nobody knows that for sure either.

One recent hypothesis is that the Rapa Nui used a ramp and a rope technique. They might have built an upward-going ramp with a moai leaning toward it at the end. Then they would roll the round hats until the statue, where the hat would be placed on the statue. Finally, the would tip the moai upright.

Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island, Chile
Among the fifteen moai on ahu Tongariki, one still has a topknot preserving mana.

The end is near

Suddenly, around the time of the arrival of the first Europeans in the eighteenth century, this delicate clan-based society collapsed. Carvers abandoned their tools at the Rano Raraku quarry abruptly. Many obsidian weapons were manufactured suddenly. Archeologists found remains of skulls with violent cracks. Caves were used as refuge places at that time. Oral tradition is also talking about cannibalism during this troubled period.

However, the most apparent evidence are the fallen moai across the island. The warring families toppled hundreds of statues trying to desecrate each other’s sacred places. That would remove their mana protecting their families.

Scary stuff.

Moai on Easter Island toppled during the clan wars in the nineteenth century.
Moai toppled during the clan wars in the nineteenth century. Notice the red round topknot on the left-hand side.

How did this happen?

Many sophisticated civilizations collapsed over the centuries (e.g., Mayan in central America, Khmer in Asia). Also in Easter Island archeologists believe that the collapse was due to the overexploitation of the island in quest to build ever more moai at the expense of the daily survival.

In a society that small spending such a significant amount of scarce resources on creating more sculptures de-forested the island, so impairing the critical ocean fishing and agriculture. This might have occurred at the time of a weather change led to prolonged hunger. All families were desperate to capture scarce food, arable land and shelter.

And faced with a threat to their very survival, the clans did what we humans usually do in such circumstances.

They started a war.

Easter Island in Numbers

Population: 8,000

Capital: Hanga Roa

Language: Rapa Nui and Spanish

Currency: Chilean peso (CLP)

Exchange rate (November 2022): USD 1 = CLP 919, EUR 1 = CLP 919, GBP 1 = 1054

Electricity: standard European 230V with 50Hz frequency, standard European plugs

Covid-19 Restrictions

Restrictive. You have to take a PCR test with a negative result within 48 hours of boarding your flight in Santiago to Hanga Roa.

On 1 October 2022 the Chilean government eliminated all Covid restrictions (vaccination passes, face masks and mobility passes).

However, this does NOT apply to the Easter Island as of today.

This Easter Island travel guide recommends checking the Covid-19 restrictions before your departure. As we have all learned during 2020 and 2021, they have been changing quickly. Nobody wants to have any problems when boarding your flight in Santiago.

Visas

Because Easter Island is part of Chile, citizens of USA, EU, Canada, Australia, and Japan do not need a visa to enter.

Chinese passport holders need to apply for a visa at the local Chile embassy.

Other Arrival Requirements

Similar to other countries living off tourism, Rapa Nui has additional arrival requirements. They are designed to protect the island, and generate employment and revenue for the local population. This is similar to mainland Chile.

You will pay for three main things: (1) SERNATUR-registered lodging, (2) National Park tickets and (3) a National Park guide.

SERNATUR-registered accommodation

BEFORE boarding a plane in Santiago, you must show a proof of a lodging booking in Rapa Nui. All accommodations on the island are required to register with SERNATUR, so you will automatically comply with that.

National Park Tickets

All non-residents must buy a national park ticket to enter the archeological sites. It is valid for 10 days. Secondly, you can enter Rano Raraku and Orongo only ONCE per ticket. No limit on other sites at present. Similar to mainland Chile, there is a two tier system, where foreigners pay 3.5 times more than Chileans.

Current prices:.

  • Non-Chilean adult: CLP 72,000 ($68)
  • Non-Chilean child: CLP 36,000 ($34)
  • 0-6 years: free

You can buy tickets at the airport, online (site is only in Spanish) or in the central market in Hanga Roa town center.

At the airport the National Park booth is after the luggage claim but before the arrival hall.

In central Hanga Roa you can buy the ticket at the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community Central Office.

National Park opening hours:

  • Summer: 09:00 – 20:00
  • Winter: 09:00 – 18:00

National Park Guide

In addition, you will have to have a licensed National Park guide. Yes, they introduce the history and help protect the sites (who wants to see some lame graffiti scribbled on a moai?). However, it is also an employment- and revenue-generating program for the local population.

You can satisfy this guide requirement in two ways. Firstly, join a tour group. Secondly, hire your own guide. Neither is cheap as everybody knows you will have to pay and there is no way around it.

A six-hour tour of the island, which covers all sites, is approximately CLP 130,000-200,000 ($123-190) per person. This might be the whole island, or just the northern or southern side as described below under Itinerary.

When to Visit

The weather on Easter Island is pleasant year round with average temperatures of 64-73F (18-23C). Late January and early February are the most popular due to the annual Tapati Rapa Nui festival.

Beyond the weather, please consider the cruise ships schedule. Similar to other locations (Venice, Split) they regularly send crowds to the shore. Those are usually day tourists who will clog the main sites on Rapa Nui as well.

Cruise ships are regularly docking at Rapa Nui and you can find their schedule on the web.

Safety

This chapter in the Easter island travel guide is easy.

Given Easter Island completely relies on tourism, violent crimes against tourists are unheard of.

As a hotel owner in Zimbabwe eloquently said “You do not shoot walking dollars”.

Top 5 Things in Easter Island

Given the small size, you will see all the main sights within two full days. However, given it is expensive to get here, you might as well stay for another one or days and take it easy. The island is remote, the air unpolluted and clear, and the ocean views in every direction magnificent.

(1) Visit the Rano Raraku quarry and the Ahu Tongariki close nearby

This is my favorite. Rano Raraku is located on a low hill with many moai in the ground or still unfinished in the quarry. Then it is a great short walk to the 15 statues on the Ahu Tongariki

Easter Island has impressive everywhere, including the moai on the famous Ahu Tongariki.
The stunning location of the Ahu Tongariki.

(2) Hike the Rano Kau volcano and the neighboring Orongo

Having seen all the moai, it is is a picturesque easy hike to the volcano. The caldera collapsed creating a nice view to the ocean.

Ranu Kao, Easter Island
Ranu Kao collapsed volcano, an easy hike from Hanga Roa.

(3) Sit on the Anakena beach and peer in the direction of Maccu Pichu in Peru

(4) Return to Hanga Roa along the southern shore through Akahanga, Vaihu and Vinapu

Junction to Rano Raraku quarry and Tongariki moai
No junctions like this in NYC, London or Paris.

(5) See the sunrise on the beach with a moai in Hanga Roa

Sunrise in Hanga Roa
Sunrise in Hanga Roa: crashing waves, a lonely moai and not another soul out there.

Itinerary

This itinerary will take at least 7 hours, and more if you want to stay longer in individual sites or walk some sections.

Except the volcanos, the island is flat so easy walking.

Many tour companies or individual guides will want you to split this around-the-island tour into two separate ones done on two days. This is also an excellent idea, especially if you do it with different guides to hear their take on the history and culture.

However, as you would expect, the cost will be approximately twice.

Standard loop with extension

This is a standard itinerary that all whole-day tours are following.

A loop with an extension to the Rano Kau volcano and Orongo in the south. You have a choice in this extension.

You can either start or finish at Rano Kau, some do it for the sunrise. Or you can finish the tour around sunset which will be nice as well. But if your time allows, probably the best option is to go to Orogno and Rano Kau on another day.

Finally, the tour companies and individual guides split the loop into the northern and southern routes on separate days. They backtrack on the same way to Hanga Roa.

In addition to the tour(s), please also just walk around the island. Those are easy hikes with firm and flat surface with no mud, aggressive insects or potholes. The views are pretty spectacular and outside of the main tourist sites, there is usually nobody around.

Te Ara O Te Ao trail on Easter Island.
And who does not want to hike the Te Ara O Te Ao trail?

Transportation

Flying to Easter Island

Ouch, there is no way around. Getting to the Easter Island is a pain.

Yes, this is the reason why there are not so many visitors. But it is not much of a consolation to your body when you are sitting in a cramped airplane seat for 18 hours straight.

Secondly, the Chilean airline LATAM has a total monopoly on the flights from Chile to the Easter Island. In other words, we are at their mercy when they fly and at what cost ($1700 from New York is considered a “bargain” according to the online alerts).

Oneworld frequent flyer miles?

As LATAM is part of the oneworld alliance with American and British, you can try to use your frequent flyer miles. Two thoughts based on our experience, given there is no competition on this route. Firstly, you will need a lot of miles. Secondly, LATAM sometimes just refuses to sell for miles and cash is the only way to book your seat.

Again, if flying directly from the U.S. or Europe with no overnight stay in Santiago (SCL), just get ready that getting there will take a long, long time. There is little reason to check the clock because it still will be hours away. Just hunker down and accept it. This aluminium tube with two engines attached will get there at one point of time in the future.

But then a miracle happens. Everybody is visibly upbeat when the plane is already descending for the touch down.

Ground transport

Given the island size, you will rely on a tour vehicle, a rental car and walking.

If arriving at the peak early February, book a rental car in advance. There will be crowds for the Tapati Rapa Nui festival.

Easter Island has only one town, Hanga Roa.

Hiking (favorite of this Easter Island travel guide)

The island is small and flat with spectacular views pretty much in every direction you look. The weather is moderate with no excessive sunshine or rainy season as in the south-eastern Asia.

Accommodation

Given the constant tourist numbers, a broad range is available. A private room is $70-150 and up. Few budget options but they do exist.

All lodging is located in or around Hanga Roa.

The usual accommodation booking sites cover Easter Island.

Food (favorite topic in this Easter Island travel guide)

As you might expect on this tiny island, seafood is abundant and excellent. A special mention goes to Tuna Ahi cooked over red-hot volcanic stones near the shoreline. Tuna ceviche is also amazing.

And do not forget the empanadas piping hot straight from the oven in a panaderia.

Internet

Wifi available in hotels and homestays, speeds can vary.

Overall Tips

This Easter Island travel guide learned it the hard way to bring enough cash. Do not make the same mistake as we did.

(1) Bring cash. USD is widely accepted on the island. Caution: at different exchange rates. Check the USD to CLP rate on your arrival to avoid scams.

(2) We are aware of three ATMs on Rapa Nui. One at the airport (opens two hours before the plane arrives and closes when plane departs). Banco Santander and Banco Estado in Hanga Roa have one each, both working 24/7.

(3) Bigger restaurants and shops accept credit cards.

(4) Tap water is chlorinated. Drink filtered or bottled water if you have a sensitive stomach.

Costs

Given everything has to be imported from the Chilean mainland, everything on the Easter island is expensive. Food, accommodation, car rental, gas.

Fresh fruit and vegetables can cost 3-5 times more than on Chile mainland.

Restaurant prices will be similar to the US or Europe.

Easter Island Overall Rating

Highly recommended, probably a once in a life time experience for most of us.

Far away, but those moai in this remote setting do make an impression.

Other countries?

Beyond this Easter Island travel guide, you might like another another enigmatic site Göbekli Tepe in Turkey (Sanliurfa and Göbekli tepe (11,000 years old!)). Allegedly 11,000 years old, which makes it much older than the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge in the United Kingdom.

In addition, another unique Greek monument close nearby is Guide to Nemrut Dagi, Turkey (2022).

And when you are in the neighborhood, you might also like Uzbekistan with its magnificent Bukhara and Samarkand. Also representing the peak achievements of another culture, they are merely 9,700 kms or 6,000 miles away from Rapa Nui.

Other excellent historical venues is Tikal, Guatemala, for the stunning Mayan pyramids in the jungle. Or across the border, Copan Ruinas in Honduras.

No Crowds?

In addition to this Easter Island travel guide, this website cares deeply about avoiding excessive crowds. The list of tips learned through our travels is here Avoid Crowds When Travelling – Top 21 Tips (2022).

Avoid Crowds When Travelling – Top 21 Tips (2022)

Overtourism and crowds belong to the top 5 factors when deciding where, when and how to travel. I definitely do that as well. This list of top tips how to avoid crowds when travelling is based on my earlier mistakes.

Please don’t get me wrong. I have met some incredibly interesting travellers, who have been a joy to meet and listen to. And I was lucky because some of them even have become long-term friends. Meeting and sharing stories with those fascinating tourists is one of the biggest advantages of travel.

But excessive masses of fellow tourists can spoil even the best destination. And it is not necessarily anybody’s fault. It is just that there are so many of us travelling everywhere, specially after the Covid-19 restrictions.

However, I also firmly believe that, with some planning, you will have a great experience on your next trip, wherever you go. Even on a visit to Paris, Rome or Florence in July. In other words, it is possible to enjoy even the top sites without being overwhelmed by the tourist crowds.

Finally, if you avoid crowds when travelling, it will also save time and money. Similar to the airlines practice of load-based pricing, many railways and museums have various prices for the off-peak timeframes.

So what are the time-tested tips to avoid the crowds when travelling?

(1) PLAN YOUR TRIP

Spontaneity is excellent and sometimes a welcome change from a rigid itinerary. Who doesn’t like to wake up, listen to the body and decide what to do?

However, planning is essential to avoid crowds when travelling. You will prioritize your destinations, and adjust their sequence and length based on the plane / train / bus / hotel / museum availability. Thus, you will have an itinerary better suited to your interests. In addition, you will probably select timeframes when bookings are available and at reasonable rates. Stated differently, you will travel when there are fewer tourists. And you will save a bunch of money.

Moreover, the Australian surveys show that travellers are happiest BEFORE and AFTER the journey, but tired and frequently stressed during the trip.

So why not plan your itinerary when it is rainy and cold outside? Day dream about all those cool places you will see and all the excellent restaurants you will enjoy. This will definitely help during tougher moments at work at home in January.

(2) SWAP “TOP” FOR “LESSER KNOWN”

This is obvious. There are countless destinations, which will offer an amazing experience without the congestion. Some of those “second” places have been our most memorable sites.

“Second” cities to avoid crowds when travelling

In Italy, go to Pisa, Padua or Bologna instead of this long stay in Florence. Or leave Tuscany and Veneto altogether and head for Piemonte or deeper into Emilia-Romagna. Or even further still, stunning Sicily or Sardinia.

In France, Carcassonne, Beziers or Limoges instead of Lille or that long stay in Paris.

While in Spain, swap Barcelona for Cordoba, Granada, or Zaragoza.

Mezquita Cathedral in Cordoba in southern Spain
Mezquita Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain.

In Portugal, leave Porto and Lisbon for the beautiful Madeira.

When visiting Eastern Europe, head for Budapest after a short peek in Prague.

For the ultimate remote place with world-famous history, visit Easter Island. Those moai are enigmatic and impressive in this tranquil place.

Easter island moai
Moai statues in the Rano Raraku quarry on Easter Island.

In Indonesia, instead of Bali consider Lombok, Flores or Sumba.

Indonesia Mt Rinjani
Rice fields and the Mt Rinjani volcano with few tourists in Lombok, Indonesia.

While in Thailand you might prefer Chiang Mai to Phuket.

For an ultimate Sahara experience, go to Djanet in Algeria. The Tadrart and Tassili N’Ajjer deserts are some of the most beautiful in the world.

Massive rock formations around Djanet in the Sahara desert.
Tassili N’Ajjer around Djanet in Algeria. Notice the size of the truck and the Tuareg guides next to the mountain.

When in Peru, the incredible Nazca lines instead of the overcrowded Machu Picchu. Arequipa and not Cusco.

In India head for the spectacular temples in Tamil Nadu instead of Taj Mahal.

“Second” countries

Luckily, there are entire countries with few visitors. If you like desert, Sahara in Algeria is incredible.

Colombia with its mountain, sea and zona cafetera instead of Peru.

Guatemala or Honduras instead of Cancun in Mexico.

Stunning Zimbabwe (yes, really) and not South Africa.

Algeria travel guide
No other tourists in any direction in Sahara, Tassili N’Ajjer, Algeria.

For excellent hiking, consider Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan instead of expensive Switzerland.

Uzbekistan Tajikistan
Tranquil Seven Lakes in the Fann mountains in Tajikistan.
Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan border dostyk
You will meet more cows than tourists in the Kyrgyzstan mountains.

For the Old World charm with little jet lag from the US or Canada, go to Buenos Aires in Argentina. An impressive city with stunning Art Nouveau architecture on par with Paris, and excellent grill (parrilla), and Spanish and Italian restaurants.

El Ateneo bookstore in Buenos Aires
El Ateneo in Buenos Aires, probably the most impressive bookstore we will ever visit.

“Second” attractions to avoid crowds when travelling

The same “second” approach also applies to museums, temples or markets. Of course, everybody wants to see Notre Dame and Sacré-Coeur in Paris, or Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s cathedral in London. Their fame is well-deserved, but comes at the expense of permanent congestion.

In Egypt, the Karnak temple in Luxor is vast but plundered and ruined over the centuries. Consider Edfu, an impressive temple merging the Ptolemaic and Egyptian cultures 90 minutes away from Luxor. Excellent condition and impressive engravings. Best of all, you can wonder around at leisure as almost no other tourists around.

Edfu temple in Edfu near Luxor in Egypt.
Edfu temple, even at 2pm almost nobody here.

Pompei in Italy is unique for an entire Roman town being excavated after the Vesuvius covered it with lava and ashes in 79AD. However, the Roman mosaics are more impressive at the Zeugma museum in Gaziantep, Turkey. Secondly, there is only a small fraction of the visitors there.

Gaziantep Zeugma
Look at the gypsy girl (or Alexander the Great as some claim) at the Zeugma Museum in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Alhambra in Spain is justifiably the top tourist attraction in Spain. However, please do not skip the Royal Alcazar in Seville close nearby. Smaller in size and less known but impressive with its well-preserved colors.

Alhambra Palace in southern Spain

Even the baths there are mesmerizing.

Bathrooms of Maria de Padilla, Royal Alcazar, Seville, Spain.
Bathrooms of Maria de Padilla, Royal Alcazar, Seville, Spain.

There are countless other similarly impressive but uncrowded places. For example, in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, walk for 15 minutes from the old town center and visit the stunning and recently-renovated Qo’sh madrassah, which you will have for yourself.

Sorrento, Italy, is nice but touristy, especially when a cruise ship arrives. Instead, stay in Santa Agata up the hill, and you will be awarded with incredible views from your window.

Sorrento, Italy
No crowds in Santa Agata, Italy.

In the busy Machu Picchu in Peru, climb on Huchuy Picchu, the mountain nearby overlooking the village remains. The views will be spectacular and way fewer people there.

If you are going on a safari to South Africa, instead of the Kruger Park please consider KwaZulu Natal or the malaria-free Pilansberg. Yes, the bragging rights will be less, but those anti-malarial pills have some serious side effects for some of us.

Or leave South Africa altogether and head for the incredible Tanzania’s Selous, Zimbabwe’s Hwange or Zambia’s South Luangwa. If you time it well and manage to visit Kenya or Tanzania during the annual animal migration, all other humans will appear inconsequential in this festival of nature.

(3) AVOID THE CURRENT TOP DESTINATIONS

Every year many major news outlets and travel publishers announce their top super awesome undiscovered destinations for the next year. They are definitely interesting and we always consider them.

However, we would never travel there the same year.

Why? Many other tourists would follow their advice and hit the road immediately. Absolutely, let’s go there after the next edition comes out. Last year’s places are not as popular or overhyped anymore.

In other words, you might want to look at last year’s or earlier recommendations.

As a reference, in late October 2022 National Geographic revealed its top destinations for 2023. Its Best of the World 2023 list per category is here:

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2022/10/best-of-the-world-35-destinations-for-2023-and-beyond

Similarly, the Lonely Planet published its best 2023 places:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-in-travel-countries-2023

(4) AVOID MAJOR HOLIDAYS

Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, Easter are usually the most expensive times of the year to travel. Fortunately, those peaks are usually short lived.

The Christmas season starts around 17 December when the prices quickly skyrocket. And they usually collapse as vehemently after the first Sunday in January.

Why? Most people can’t take more than two weeks off from work in one go.

Interestingly, November, first half of December and post-holiday January are usually inexpensive times. No school breaks. Cold, short and dark days in the northern hemisphere mean few passengers for the airlines and hotels. In return, they slash their prices to attract few visitors. Moreover, those are the flights when you book a single economy seat, and discover you have all three adjacent seats free all for yourself.

Therefore, if you can go away for a longer timeperiod, a great strategy is to leave just before Christmas at a good fare and no crowds. Park yourself in an exotic country with warmer weather, excellent food and great scenery, for example India or Colombia. Return in January after the crowds have already dispersed.

(5) UNDERSTAND FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

Unless you specifically want to see some incredible festivals in India, Japan or Papua, avoid them. Secondly, in addition to all major international holidays above, each country has its own specific ones.

For example, in the United States avoid Thanksgiving, Independence Day and Labor Day. The airports and roads will packed with higher prices to pay.

Timkat in Ethiopia is fascinating to see but the word got out a long time ago. In addition to the local crowds, there are many tourist tours being scheduled just for this event.

In Japan, sakura (cherry blossom in the spring) or koyo (colorful leaves in the fall) are spectacular. The whole country is following the TV reports about their progress across the islands. Watching the trees has been a national pastime in Japan for centuries. The temples in Kyoto are truly stunning, but the local and international crowds are huge. If you are not interested in this nature’s spectacle, you might consider shifting your travel outside of those timeframes.

Kyoto Japan
Golden Pavilion in Kyoto during koyo.

However, the overcrowding crown should probably go to the Golden Week in China. We made a mistake and did not pay attention to this important public holiday. We had enjoyed travelling in the lesser-visited Guangxi and Yunnan in south-western China. Suddenly, all flights became three-five times more expensive and the accommodation places literally disappeared overnight. Lesson learned.

(6) AVOID WEEKENDS

Another obvious one how to avoid crowds when travelling, regardless of the destination.

Weekends are the busiest and most expensive parts of the week with many local and international tourists traveling. The Komodo tour in Indonesia, Tayrona National Park in Colombia, or almost any interesting satellite town around major cities will be packed and more expensive.

Secondly, for example the national parks in Indonesia have higher prices (up to 50%) during weekends. You would pay more and there will be more people there. Why do it if you can avoid it?

(7) TRAVEL DURING SHOULDER SEASON

Another obvious one, but much harder for families with children attending school. However, even in that case there are still choices. Paris will be less hot during the October school break than in the 36C (100F) heat in August.

The U.S. national parks will be almost deserted in the spring in comparison with the peak summer months. Yes, it will be chilly, but air will be crisp with good light and few tourists.

Bryce Canyon USA
Chilly but deserted Bryce canyon in Utah in April.

The hurricane season in the Caribbean is a gamble. All weather forecasts will be helpful and might tip the balance in your favor. If predicting correctly (or some would say, lucky), travelling to Turks and Caicos, St Lucia or St Nevis will be much cheaper and tranquil, as many tourist would stay away.

In Asia, after your Komodo tour in Indonesia, visit Riung (Flores) in September or October, and have one of the islands to yourself.

Riung Flores Indonesia
Your private island for two hours in Riung, Indonesia.

Moreover, many countries are operating peak vs off-peak season pricing (e.g., Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan). Exact months differ but always check when planning your trip.

Finally, shoulder or low season (e.g., January and February) in one place (e.g., the U.S. or northern Europe) is prime time in e.g., India before the heat and monsoon arrive. The temperature will be pleasant with no excessive humidity.

(8) STAY OVERNIGHT AND AVOID DAY CROWDS WHEN TRAVELLING

That’s a great strategy.

If you can stay overnight, YOU will decide where and when to avoid crowds when travelling.

The reason is that many interesting places are visited on day trips. Once the dreaded day tours are gone, you might have the place all to yourself.

For example, Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina with its famous bridge turns to a serene and atmospheric town once all tours buses depart back for Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Mostar panorama with Old Bridge, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Old Bridge in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When visiting a well-preserved Silk Road town of Bukhara in Uzbekistan, stay overnight. On your evening walk you will be rewarded by some fantastic views with few people.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Bukhara, Uzbekistan at night.

And if you continue to Samarkand (highly recommended), some other tourists do not matter when you have a view like this.

Uzbekistan
Magnificent Registan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

(9) TAKE PARALLEL STREET

This is one of the all-time favorites. When walking in NYC, unless you have a good reason, you probably do not walk along the busy 42nd street but rather sprint for the 43rd with an easier door to Grand Central.

Same in Rome. When walking from Forum Romanum, Pantheon or Piazza Navona to Vatican don’t walk along the busy and noisy Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Take the parallel Via del Pellegrino, an atmospheric cobbled street with many trattorias excellent for lunch or dinner.

Or when in London you are getting back from the always-popular Notting Hill Saturday market to central London, do not take the uber-touristy Hop On Hop Off bus. Not only will you save, but you will also walk through one of the nicest parks in London, Hyde Park. You can even stop by the Kensington Palace and the Italian Gardens on the way back.

In Mardin: ancient Silk Road town, Turkey, please walk 5 minutes up the hill from the main touristy road. You will be rewarded by vast Mesopotamia views in complete silence.

Mardin, Turkey
Mardin, Turkey, overlooking the Mesopotamia plains.

The parallel street may also extend to a ferry ride with spectacular views. Instead of driving from Sorrento to Positano in Italy, you might want to take a ferry (speedboat). It takes approximately 60 minutes and will be one of the most stunning ferry trips ever.

Positano
Approaching Positano on the Sorrento ferry.

(10) UNDERSTAND DOMESTIC TOURIST CYCLES

The domestic tourism clock in the southern hemisphere will be different from Europe, America and northern Asia.

Northern hemisphere largely is in the off-season mode, whereas this is absolutely the best time to visit the archeological sites in Egypt (October-February). In comparison, the Valley of the Kings in Luxor will be routinely 50C in July and August.

For example, South Africa, one of the favorite destinations on the continent, the top holidays occur during the Christmas period. For prices and congestion this is the worst time to visit.

Please look at the local school calendar when planning your trip. It is a good indicator of the travel seasonality in a particular location.

(11) UNDERSTAND ENTRANCE GATES AND OPENING TIMES

This is another all-time favorite. Please look at the map of your next overcrowded destination and understand your top places, entrance gates, their opening times and parking lots. Most sites have an official (or semi-official) route. If possible, you want to travel in the opposite direction, preferably starting at your top venue.

For example, Ephesus in Turkey, which is hugely popular with tour groups. There are two entrances: upper on a hill and lower. As you might expect, the large parking lot for the tour buses is next to the upper gate. And it makes sense, because it will be easier for the groups to descend than to climb up.

However, the top two Ephesus attractions, the picturesque Celsius library and the amphitheater, are located next to the lower gate. In other words, if you are at the lower gate at the opening time of 8:00am (in the summer), you are almost guaranteed to be the first person to arrive at the library by 08:05am, and take those stunning unobstructed photos. The tours descending will start arriving approximately 30-45 minutes later.

A supremely private experience in a supremely overcrowded site for the remainder of the day. Here are the other Ephesus Visit – Top Tips.

Celsius Library, Ephesus, Turkey
Unobstructed view of the Celsius Library at 08:05am.

Similar in London at the always-popular National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Do not queue at the main line in front of the building, but take the side entrance on the left in the Sainsbury Wing.

(12) TIMED ENTRY TICKETS

The Louvre is Paris is more complicated because there is one main entrance under the lovely glass pyramid. Secondly, Louvre is currently not selling any pre- or post-open tickets at higher prices.

However, the regular tickets are timed and separate lines are being formed by the museum staff. You want to buy the tickets online in advance for the opening time AND arrive at least 30 minutes earlier. You probably want to be the first people in your line to get through the security barriers to the museum. This almost guarantees that you will see the ever enigmatic Mona Lisa first. After that you might want to rush to Venus of Milo, who probably will be still relatively deserted, as Mona Lisa is the top attraction according to the Louvre staff.

Once those two top items are crossed off your bucket list, you can enjoy the rest of this excellent museum almost at leisure.

Similarly, the Mezquita Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain, will look tranquil and different without the crowds later in the day.

Mezquita Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain, no crowds at the opening time.

(13) BOOK PRE-OPEN OR POST-CLOSE TICKETS

Some venues are selling higher priced tickets for before the regular open or after the regular close.

True, you will not skip the crowds altogether but you will skip main crowds during the peak periods. Burj Khalifa in Dubai operates prime vs non-prime hours with preferred tickets sold. More expensive but sometimes worth it.

(14) BOOK TICKETS IN ADVANCE

Another obvious one.

However, how many times did we forget to book the attraction ticket after the flight and hotel bookings?

Buying in advance has obvious advantages. Wider selection, more available timeslots, and the prices might be cheaper. Moreover, there is usually a separate desk to pick up your pre-ordered tickets with a much shorter line. You will bypass all the queues to the spot ticket sales. In Seville, you will be rewarded by a tranquil Alcazar (the Royal Palace) with no tourists (granted, during the winter months).

Royal Alcazar of Seville

(15) CHECK BUSY PERIODS

Google Maps is offering real-time analytics on how busy a museum, street or restaurant is. They are probably using the count of cell phones using Android or any of the Google apps. Given almost everybody is using a Google product, it is a good indicator for the crowds at any given location.

Google is also providing the average busy periods per hour. Please incorportate this good indicator when planning your trip ahead of time.

Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt.
Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt, at sunrise. No other tourists in sight at 6:30am.

(16) CHECK CRUISE SHIP ARRIVAL CALENDAR

Anywhere the large cruise ships arrive, the local shop and restaurant owners in the Caribbean or Mediterranean are checking the ship name and the number of passengers. They are an excellent indicator for the upcoming crowds in the tourist attractions.

We did try to time our visit to Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia between two days with three cruise ships arriving. It was still busy but supposedly much better than the adjacent days when the Diocletian’s palace was completely full.

Also, Kotor in Montenegro is nice. However, when the inevitable cruise ships dock, the tiny town will be overflown with their guests. Better still, stay in the neighboring Perast or Herceg Novi, atmospheric and full of Venetian architecture without the port docks.

Montenegro
Say hello to the cruise ship from your homestay in Perast, Montenegro.

Similarly, when coming to Funchal in the stunning Madeira, stay up the hill in the eastern part of town. Great views will greet you in the morning, far away from the packed city center below. Sometimes there are four or more cruise ships arriving with not enough docking space in the Funchal harbor. And each of those ocean cruisers has around 3,000 passengers.

Funchal Madeira
Quiet around the Lazarete viewpoint in Funchal, Madeira.

There are several websites providing the cruise arrival calendar per location. Moreover, some even calculate a helpful daily crowd index, which incorporates cruises and local school and public holidays.

(17) START EARLY

Especially on vacation, everybody likes to start the day after a leisurely breakfast. As this applies to all of us, most places are less crowded in the mornings, with late mornings and early afternoons most packed.

So the best option is either to start early or start late.

Starting early is preferred, as it is more difficult for most people than to stay late. Secondly, it is more difficult to plan for the late start and you might run out of time.

It is a different feeling to see the spectacular Registan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, at 08:00am when the gates open. You will have the stunning Tilla-Kari to yourself for the first 15 minutes. Just a completely different experience when you gaze at the elegance and workmanship of this Islamic school (madrassah) in complete silence. In other words, I was sitting on my bottom on the floor gaping at this artistic masterpiece in complete silence. What a difference it made.

Tilla Kari, Samarkand
Deserted Tilla-Kari in Samarkand, Uzbekistan at 08:00am.

Similarly in the ancient Egyptian archeological sites of Abu Simbel and Luxor (e.g., Karnak and Luxor temples on the East side), start early.

If you are starting for Abu Simbel in the lovely Aswan, you will have to depart by 4am. Depending on the road congestion, it will take at least 3.5 hours to get there. You will be rewarded by three things: (1) Abu Simbel is impressive, especially when tranquil, (2) the road is largely straight and in excellent condition, so you will be able to sleep most of the ride, and (3) should you decide to wake up for the sunrise, the views (and photos) will be amazing. When you arrive, there will be few other minibuses or tour buses, if any. Two hours later when you probably leave, both parking lots will be choke full.

The pharaohs of the Abu SImbel temple in Egypt
Pharaophs at Abu Simbel in around 8am before the tour buses arrive.

In Luxor, if you show up at the gate of the Karnak and Luxor temples at 6am, you will have those world-famous sites almost to yourself. In the peak tourists months of November-February, do not forget a jacket or a hoodie, though.

(18) STAY IN LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS, NOT TOURIST HUBS

Starting early will also be interesting in some local neighberhoods when, for example, the Verona or Lyon locals wake up and go for the morning coffee or croissant.

Every major city has a few areas, where tourist tend to congregate. The accommodation and restaurant prices are higher, locals are less friendly and sometimes you might feel like you are in NYC, Tokio, Shanghai, London or Munich.

However, there are usually some local neighborhoods close nearby. They might be across a busy road, highway or park. They are more quiet, authentic, with lower hotel and restaurant prices, and definitely better food.

On the other hand, you do not want to stay too far away and waste precious time, especially in the morning. If you want to avoid crowds when travelling, that has its price as well. Check the online maps for the distance and the best connections.

(19) AVOID MOVING AROUND DURING PEAK HOURS

Another intuitive way to avoid crowds when travelling.

Peak hours differ across countries, climates and cultures. The yellow “busy area” spots on Google maps are helpful to plan around them. Secondly, ask a local who will usually be happy to assist. Who doesn’t want to show their local knowledge to this new tourist?

Hit the top tourist attractions outside of those periods and park yourself in a second-tier place at peak times.

In some countries, it is still customary to take an extended break in the middle of the day. Shops close up and the streets empty up. And it makes sense in the hottest weeks.

However, the siesta is frequently also celebrated during the cooler months. This is the best time to avoid crowds when travelling around Italian or Spanish cities.

(20) CHOOSE YOUR AIRPORT WELL

We usually select flights into the country’s capital.

Why?

They are frequently most numerous, cheapest and we recognize their names first. Secondly, we frequently start planning our trip at the capital.

And some capitals are justified to be on our itineraries.

However, that is NOT always the case. For example, Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, offers most flight connections. However, the city has limited tourist appeal.

You will probably come to Uzbekistan to visit magnificent Samarkand and Bukhara. It turns out they also have growing airports with daily international flights. Secondly, those airports are close to the city center.

So what is the trade off?

Tashkent flights are usually cheaper. However, you will probably pay for the hotel for the arrival night and lose a day from your precious holiday. You will also have to buy a train ticket for Tashkent-Samarkand or Tashkent-Bukhara.

Secondly, if you fly out from Tashkent, you will pay for all those again and lose another day to return.

In other words, it might make sense to buy a higher-priced ticket to the local airport if the price difference is not exorbitant and you do not have many days.

(21) BUY OPEN-JAW FLIGHT TICKETS

Beyond the city breaks, if you are travelling longer across few locations you might consider an open-jaw flight ticket.

Arriving in one airport but leaving from another at the end of your itinerary will save time and money. You will not have to backtrack to your arrival site, which will eliminate the need for the transportation back and probably one (or even more) accommodation nights.

THIS LIST IS DEFINITELY INCOMPLETE

Beyond those tips how to avoid crowds while travelling, there are countless others. How do you avoid crowds when travelling? Your comments below will help all of us.