I visited Cairo and Giza in March of 2019 and it was one of the most amazing and enriching experiences of my life. We were able to visit The Great Pyramids of Egypt without breaking the bank. Below is my step by step guide to Visiting The Great Pyramids on a budget!
Growing up, I was always watching National Geographic and was fascinated by The Great Pyramids and the ancient Egyptian culture. Egypt was one of those travel destinations that was consistently at the top of my bucket list, but that I never thought I would actually make it to.
When I was planning my semester in Milan, Italy for the spring of 2019, I knew that I wanted to go out of my way to see some really unique places. My boyfriend loves travel too and he had been planning to visit me in Milan for Spring Break. We were throwing out random ideas of places we could go and Cairo was one of them. Milan happened to be one of the only airports in Europe that flies direct to Cairo at the time, so we booked it!
Flight & Logistics
We flew round trip from Milan to Cairo nonstop on Air Italy for less than $200 USD each. Before flying to Egypt, we did have to purchase an Single Entry Tourism Visa. We read that you can also purchase it at the airport, but we didn’t want to risk anything. These visas last for three months and we bought ours from iVisa about two weeks before our trip. We did need to show these visas upon arrival in Egypt, so we were super happy we had them! A lot of countries in Africa and The Middle East require visas, so be sure to do your research before arriving.
Our flight arrived to Cairo at night and so it was already dark when we got off the plane. Our Airbnb host set up her driver to pick us up from the airport which was SO crucial. I had an international SIM card when I was in Europe, but this SIM card was not going to work in Egypt. My boyfriend’s American cell phone did not work either. If he were to start using it, he would’ve been charged, so his phone was on airplane mode the entire time. Our driver and one of his assistants picked us up and we began driving through Cairo to our Airbnb in Giza. They didn’t speak much English but we ended up becoming great friends with both the driver and the assistant during our three night stay.
Cairo and Giza are separated by the Nile River. In order to get to our Airbnb in Giza, we had to cross over the river. Our driver pulled over on the side of the highway and let us get out to see the infamous river. We were also able to see the tip of The Great Pyramid peeking through the skyline as we got closer to the Airbnb since it is lit up at night. It’s something I never thought I would see. It was INCREDIBLE.
Our Airbnb in Giza
Our lovely Airbnb in Giza had the most stunning view of the pyramids from our bedroom window and the shared patio. This Airbnb is more of a guesthouse. It’s an apartment with a kitchen, a living room, an outdoor patio, and two bedrooms. The bedrooms are rented out separately so we were able to meet two different couples during our stay. Each bedroom has a private full bathroom.
Our host, Nermin, was one of the most amazing Airbnb hosts I’ve ever had. She is a certified tour guide, so you can pay her an extra small fee for different private tours around the city. She also provides a driver for your entire stay which makes all the difference. If she does need to send you with a tour guide other than herself, she sends you with someone she trusts, which made us feel very safe. Each morning, her and one of her assistants prepared a traditional Egyptian style breakfast consisting of falafel, naan, eggs, and Egyptian coffee. We ate our breakfast on the patio each morning with the most stunning view of the pyramids while also getting to know the other travelers.
We booked this Airbnb for three reasons.
- The View
- The Price ~ $28/night (as of March ’19)
- The Endless Amount of Rave Reviews Left for Nermin (our host)
We stayed here for three nights and didn’t even spend $50 USD each. We booked all of our tours through Nermin as well which really cut prices for us and simplified the trip. I do think that having a driver was an extremely important logistical part of our trip since we were not with any organized tour groups.
What to Wear in Egypt
It’s important to understand the cultural differences when it comes to dressing as a woman in Egypt.
Given that Egypt is a Muslim country, I was cautious to wear loose, non form-fitting clothing. It’s also very hot in Egypt so I was sure to find pieces that would cover me up and remain breathable.
I would definitely wear a denim jacket over the Ganni tank top dress linked below.
Our Tour of The Great Pyramids on a Budget
We spent our first full day in Giza exploring The Great Pyramids. It was such a dream come true for me and everything we saw was completely mind-blowing. You can’t even wrap your head around how long ago these pyramids were built. The history nerd in me was in heaven.
We booked this tour through our Airbnb host, Nermin. She made everything so seamless. Our driver picked us up after breakfast and our tour guide was in the car with him. We even got a small tour as we drove through Giza to the pyramids. He kept emphasizing how proud the Egyptian people are of their heritage and ancestors. He said it is always an honor to be able to share the stories of his ancestors to travelers from around the world. It is actually a law in Egypt that the tour guides have to be Egyptian, which we thought was super cool.
We did have to purchase an entrance ticket to the pyramids site which was only $5.00 USD with my student ID. Our guide helped us with that when we reached the entrance. Without my student ID the ticket would have been $9.00 USD.
Our guide also loved taking pictures of us as we explored, which was a huge perk. 🙂
There is an entrance in the side of the middle pyramid that you can enter for no extra fee. Entering any of the other pyramids does require a fee.
Inside the Pyramid
Once you enter the pyramid, it is extremely cramped, hot, and claustrophobic. I get claustrophobic easily and this was a very tight space with absolutely no air flow. When you go inside, there is a small pathway to a ramp that goes straight up. The ramp takes you up to a tomb, but the tomb is empty. It is just mean to show the immaculate architecture inside of the pyramid as well as how the tombs were laid out. You are not supposed to take pictures inside of the pyramid.
When you’re inside of the ramp, you can’t stand up and people are passing going both ways. This ramp then opens to a more spacious hallway that you have to continue walking up to get to the tomb. Jack and I made it up the ramp, but once it opened I had to turn around because there was no airflow and it was extremely claustrophobic, but I am so happy we made it as far as we did. It’s hard to put into words the precision that is within every single inch of those pyramids and we were really able to see more of that inside the pyramid. I think it’s completely worth it to go inside and up the ramp, but be warned that it’s super tight! I wasn’t mentally prepared for that.
We then took tons of pictures, and our guide took pictures of us taking pictures, lol.
Camel Ride & Viewpoint
We then ventured over to the viewpoint behind the pyramids. This is also where the camels are located for camel rides. We did ride the camels and it was a great experience, but in hindsight, I have no idea how those camels were being treated and I wish I had done more research before doing that. Following other travel bloggers over the years has fortunately shined a lot of light on how a lot of these animals in the tourism industry aren’t always treated well and moving forward I want to be much more conscious of that.
I am pretty sure we paid around $20 USD for a 30 minute camel ride.
Definitely come up to this viewpoint for photos, it’s incredible!
The Sphinx
After the camel ride, we walked down to the other side of The Great Pyramids to see the Sphinx. The Sphinx is older than the pyramids and is quite the site to see. Everything at this archeological site is larger than life and is things I thought I would never actually see in real life.
Sunset at our Airbnb
After our full day in Giza, we went back to our Airbnb and rested for the night. Our Airbnb host Nermin bought food from the local market and cooked rice, chicken, and veggies for the guests. We had tea and watched the sunset from the balcony of our Airbnb. I still reminisce on how magical this day was. There was SO much that we weren’t able to see and I can’t wait to go back!
Ciao for Now!
~ Laura xx
