Is Egypt safe to visit?

Many people considering booking a holiday to Egypt may, quite rightly, have some concerns and questions about visiting the country at the moment. We have made some notes below which will hopefully be informative and helpful, and provide re-assurance that it is in fact a great time to visit Egypt at the moment.

Note - this page is meant to provide a guide only and we have intentionally not gone into great detail about individual events or political considerations. Links are provided to further resources at the end of the page.Please contact us if you have any specific questions relating to an existing tour booking, or a tour itinerary that you are interested in.

• Geographical considerations
• Elections
• Itinerary amendments
• Egypt Uncovered policies
• Recent traveller feedback
• Links and resources

Geographical considerations

Egypt can be considered in several different geographical areas when it comes to both tourism, and recent troubles and demonstrations.

• The Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Marsa Alam have been pretty much untouched by any troubles, and tourism there continues as normal, albeit with lower occupancy rates in the hotels. This has made it easier to secure deck chairs and prime spots on the beaches!
• The Sinai Peninsular Red Sea resorts of Sharm-el-Sheikh, Taba, Nuweiba and Dahab have also not been affected directly. However, there have been some security incidents in the centre of the peninsular away from the resort areas which have led the UK Foreign Office to advise against all travel to Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine's Monastery, and against driving from Cairo through the peninsular to the Red Sea resorts.
  
• Desert safaris through Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga Oases have remained unaffected.
• Aswan and Luxor in Upper Egypt have seen a few occasional demonstrations, but have not been impacted significantly and tourism there has continued as normal, again with lower numbers. Many of the Nile cruise boats cancelled services over the summer months when visitor numbers were very low, but a full available service at all quality levels is available now. Visiting the historic sites in Upper Egypt has been a fantastic experience over the last 10 months with the lower visitor numbers meaning hardly any queues and great photo opportunities. Exploring the Valleys of the Knigs and Queens and Karnak Temple in Luxor in particular has been much easier without the normal crowds.
• The northern delta towns and cities, as well as Suez and Alexandria have seen some disturbances. Of these, only Alexandria is really a tourist destinations, and the beach resorts around Alexandria remain very quiet. Tours of the Roman ruins and other historic sites in the city have continued as normal nearly all the time, with only a few short periods when cancellations have been required due to unpredictable demonstrations within the city.
• The capital Cairo itself, has attracted the most attention, both in the international media, and as a focus for demonstrations within the country. These have been concentrated mainly right in the centre of the city around Tahrir Square, some nearby government buildings and the US Embassy which is also close by. The famous Egyptian Museum, which hosts a vast collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts, is located just on the edge of Tahrir Square, and on occasions when trouble has flared in and around the square it has not been possible to visit the museum safely. The pyramids are located on the edge of the city and visits there have very rarely been affected at all.

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Election Process

Elections to the lower house of parliament took place in January and February with a high turnout and long queues to vote. There were a few minor incidents but in general the process went smoothly and peacefully. Presidential elections were held successfully in June after some delays due to a very close count. Discussions continue about finalising a constitution and the final make-up of the Parliament.

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Itinerary amendments

Since we re-started taking travellers to Egypt back in March 2011, we have actually had to make very few revisions to our travellers' itineraries either before they travel, or while they are in Egypt.

• On a few occasions when protests have been at their height in and around Tahrir Square in Cairo, we have cancelled visits to the Egyptian Museum. Most travellers have still been able to visit the museum on their return to Cairo later in the tour.
• We have also cancelled a few optional day trips to Alexandria, when there were significant protests there. Any fees paid for these optional day trips have been refunded.
• The railway line between Cairo and Aswan/Luxor has been blocked by protestors in Qena a couple of times, but we have been able to work around this using internal flights or coach journeys.
• When there are protests in central Cairo or elsewhere, our team on the ground stay in close contact with developments and with all our drivers and guides. They have worked on a variety of alternative routes through the city to avoid problem areas, and recent protests have had very little impact on our tours.
• During the summer months when many Nile cruise boats stopped operating, several of our first choice boats were not available. During this period we used alternate boats, keeping as close as possible to the same standard of boat as booked, sometimes providing upgrades to all-suite boats such as the Sonesta Star Goddess.
• Following official UK government advice, we are currently not taking any travellers to Mt. Sinai or St. Catherine's Monastery. We are also not driving anyone from Cairo to the Red Sea resorts of Dahab or Sharm-el-Sheikh. Our tours that visit Dahab as part of their itinerary are temporarily either using an alternate Red Sea resort such as Hurghada, or using internal flights between Cairo and Sharm-el-Sheikh instead of driving.
  

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Egypt Uncovered policies

Our travellers' safety is absolutely our top priority, and we will re-arrange itineraries, cancel sections of a tour, or cancel an entire booking if we feel that we can not run the tour safely. Over the last year our Egyptian team has gained a lot of experience in both analaysing the situation on the ground and reacting to developments and making adjustments to itineraries. We will continue to act on and build on this experience.

As a company that specialises in travel to Egypt, we also have a responsibility to our Egyptian team of office staff, guides and representatives. The last year has been a very tough time for the tourist industry in Egypt, and we want to support it as much as possible. We therefore need to strike a balance between providing flexibility to our customers, and also ensuring we try to send as many travellers to Egypt as possible. Our visitors to Egypt since the revolution have almost unanimously returned with rave reviews about their experiences and the reception they have received by the Egyptian people (some sample reviews from recent travellers are given below. 

Cancellation rules - by us, and by the traveller.

We understand that cancellation rules can sometimes be confusing, and have made some notes below that will hopefully be helpful. All bookings are covered by our standard booking conditions though we do try to be flexible with these, and often relax cancellation/rebooking rules in exceptional circumstances.  As a UK company, we make decisions based on our local team's knowledge of the situation on the ground, and also always follow the travel advice provided by the UK Foreign Office...

"No restrictions". Under this standard advice, we will run our tours as normal, but may make minor adjustments to itineraries based on our own decisions about the situation on the ground. Our standard cancellation fees will be charged if travellers wish cancel their own tours due to personal concerns about visiting the country, or if they are not happy with the minor amendments we may be making.

"Avoid all but essential travel to part(s) of the country". Under this raised level of advice, our decisions about tour bookings will depend on the part(s) of the country affected. We may well consider that there is no reason to make any changes to your tour (for example, if the travel advice only specifies Alexandria, and your tour does not visit that city, then no changes are required). If we re-arrange a small portion of a tour itinerary then we will make similar alternative arrangements for that portion without extra charge (for example an amended city tour in and around Cairo that may miss the Egyptian Museum but take in some other sites that may otherwise not have been visited. Or, the use of an alternate Red Sea resort such as Hurghada instead of Dahab).  Again, our standard cancellation fees will be charged if travellers wish cancel their own tours due to personal concerns about visiting the country, or if they are not happy with the minor amendments we may be making. If we have to make significant changes (eg. missing out or changing over half the itinerary), then our travellers will be given the option to cancel and receive a refund if they wish, or to transfer to a later date or another tour.

"Avoid all but essential travel to whole country". If the Foreign Office travel advice reaches this level, then we will cancel our tour departures to the country. We will offer people booked with us to travel during the period covered either a full refund, a transfer of the same booking to another date, or an alternative tour to another destination.

Customers who have or have not booked their flights with us.

• If we cancel your tour booking, and you have booked your flights with us, then we will refund both the tour and flight price.
• If we cancel your tour booking, and you have booked your own flights, then you will need to cancel the flights yourself, and claim a refund either from the airline or your travel insurance policy. We will provide all necessary paperwork and assistance to help with this.
• If you decide to cancel or change the date of your booking, and have booked flights through us, then we will try and reclaim as much of the flight cost as possible, but you may not be due any refund.
• If you decide to cancel or change the date of your booking and have booked your own flights, then you will need to deal with your airline or flight agent yourself with regard to any cancellation or rebooking fees.

Throughout the process, we aim to stay in touch with our customers as much as possible. We will balance your concerns with our commitment to support tourism in Egypt, and will always try to be as fair and flexible as possible. This may include reducing cancellation fees, extending booking transfer arrangements, and discounting rebooking costs. 
 

Non-UK residents.

We understand that travellers booking from outside the UK may be receiving slightly different travel advice from their own government's Foreign Office or State Department, and that their travel insurance cover may depend on that advice.
In situations where conflicting official advice is causing concern, we try to be as flexible as possible. This may mean offering reduced cancellation fees or amended or no cancellation charges for changes of date that may not be required for UK customers. We do ask our non-UK customers however, to understand that we are a UK company and operate under UK law, and can not have completely separate policies and conditions for every nationality that travels with us.
Non UK residents may be able to purchase their travel insurance from a UK based company that will provide cover that is based on UK government advice.

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Recent traveller feedback

Some sample feedback from recent travellers on a range of different tours throughout the country is given below.

Steve Davies - UK - Splendours of the Nile - 27 Oct 2012
"Our family had a magical experience in Egypt thanks to Egypt Uncovered. Thank you. Maged made our holiday." 

Peter Luckens - UK - Long Nile Cruise & Tailor-made - 31 Oct 2012
"Great company for planning & providing tailor-made holiday and dealing with particular requests."

Natalie Stafferton - UK - Temples, Tombs & Pyramids - 18 Oct 2012
"An exciting tour, discovering another culture with enough free time to make it relaxing. Nothing was too much trouble and we had an amazing time."  

John & Diane Davis - UK - Grand Egyptian Adventure - 13 Oct 2012
"An extremely good tour, all representatives/Egyptologists were friendly, helpful + very knowledgeable. Good value for money and will definitely use you again." 

Christine Leung - UK - Splendours of the Nile - 6 Sep 2012
"Egypt Uncovered exceeds all my expectation in all levels of services. Their local reps & Egyptologists are professional, knowledgeable, down-to-earth with a sense of humor which made us feel very well taken care of in this country of great history. Thanks for bottom of my heart for wonderful memory of this trip with my sister."  

Rhett Marison - UK - Egypt Uncovered - 9 Sep 2012
"Booking was simple and efficient. We had a fabulous time all round, guides were knowledgeable, friendly and experienced. The value for money was extraordinary and everyone attached to the company was interesting and helpful! We recommend this trip to anyone with an interest in Egyptology and/or is after a good time!" 

Steve & Valerie Hinchee - USA - Grand Egyptian Adventure - 8 Sep 2012
"We had the best time. All the reps & guides were warm & lovely people who welcomed us and made sure we were comfortable everywhere we went. The pyramids were as awe inspiring as I had imagined, the tombs interesting, the Red Sea & desert unforgettable. As an American, meeting so many kind & generous Muslim people helped me to understand the world better"   

Renata Azevedo - Brazil - Custom Temples Tombs & Pyramids - 13 Sep 2012
"Egypt Uncovered was so professional and helped us in everything we needed (organising the tour with flexibility). We felt safe all the time and had a wonderful time."  

Cinnamen Johnson - Australia - Egypt and Jordan Adventure - 21 Sep 2012
"The best holiday I've ever experienced! The guides made me feel so safe as a woman traveller. They were passionate and knowledgeable making every moment fun and flexible. I highly recommend this tour company. Thanks for making my dreams come true."

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Links and more information

UK Foreign Office Advice for Egypt (avoid travel to North Sinai - not visited on any of our tours)

USA State Department travel advice for Egypt

BBC News Online articles about Egypt

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