Guide to backpacking Cairo

We recently traveled to Egypt as part of our Backpacking adventure. After spending 10 days exploring, I would like to share the knowledge we gained from our trip to assist anyone who is thinking of travelling to Egypt.

How to get around Cairo

We found the easiest way to travel from the airport/train stations and to different sites in downtown Cairo was Uber. As we stayed out in Giza we used Uber a lot to travel to museums/markets/train station in downtown Cairo. It made it hassle free as the fare is set and you don’t need to negotiate fares or worry about having correct cash on you like you do if you use the local taxis. We didn’t attempt the public transport system as the metro didn’t travel out to near our hotel in Giza.

What to see in Cairo

There are 3 main places I would recommend visiting while you’re in Cairo. The first one is the Egyptian Museum which is $200 Egyptian Pounds per person, which must be paid in cash. They do have an ATM on site if you get stranded. You don’t need to pay for any additional tickets if wanting to see the famous King Tut mask as this included in your normal entry ticket. If you are wanting to see the Mummies you will buy your ticket for $180 Egyptian Pounds per person inside the museum at the entrance to Mummy room, make sure you have correct money as they don’t often give change. Also, there are two mummy rooms which your ticket will give entry to.

The second place to visit is the Khan El Souk in the Islamic quarter of Cairo. This is a great place to walk around and get any souvenirs you would like to buy, the prices are negotiable and make sure to start negotiating at half the price they start with. I managed to get a pair of cotton pants down from 450 Egyptian Pounds to 100 Egyptian Pounds.

The third and definitely not the last are the Pyramids of Giza. The tickets are 600 Egyptian Pound per person which included Giza Plateau, Great Pyramid and Khufu Boat Museum. We walked around the whole site, once you get past the first and most popular Pyramid, The Great Pyramid you will be able to get plenty of photos with not many people in them. If you can try to arrive as soon as it opens to avoid crowds, as we found as they day went on the more tourist buses turned up. We didn’t do the Camel Ride out to the panorama viewing point but if you decide to do the Camel Ride you can negotiate this price as well, we were offered around 100 Egyptian Pounds for the ride.