Egypt's capital is very chaotic and can be quite the assault on the senses when you first leave the airport. With the numerous cars, buses and taxis and people constantly trying to get you to use their taxi, it can be very easy just to say yes and get the first available taxi. However if you do this you will be paying over the odds for your journey. My advice would be to make use of shuttle buses that some hotels (such as the Novotel where i stayed) offer or to use one of the taxi providers located within the airport to avoid being ripped of. The other thing to bear in mind is that tipping is a cultural norm through out Egypt and generally expected when anyone offers any kind of service (due to poor wages for locals) and taxis are no exception. Typically around 10% is acceptable for normal service, of course if you feel you want to pay more that is greatly apricated. Also bare in mind that when you are saying no you are not being rude and once you say no it was my experience that they leave you alone and try someone else. The other thing to warn you about before visiting Cairo is that the traffic is very chaotic, with a lot of traffic and horns beeping, don't be surprised if you get stuck in traffic during your visit and give your self a little extra time to get to your destinations. As for hotel for my first night i stayed in the Novotel hotel located around 10mins from the airport due to landing quite late. It was a nice hotel with a lovely garden and pool, restaurant that offered buffet style dinner and breakfast and an atm. It is a mid range hotel with a very convenient location if you arrive in the city at awkward times. The next day i had booked a guide to show me Coptic Cairo. My guide was a man named Hosam Kamel and he met me at my hotel to make things easier for me. He was warm and welcoming me and made me feel like i was being guided by a grandfather. He provided lots of knowledge about the different churches that we visited as well as about Egypt as a whole. Giving me tips and advice about the culture and language. Our first stop was the monastery of Saint Simon, which consists of 2 churches located within a mountain. It is a quieter site to see, but definably worth it with amazing paint works and art and a very unique feel being within the mountain. You probably only need 1.5/2hrs to full explore it, but if your interested in churches and Coptic Cairo you shouldn't miss it. The next stop was to a fragrance shop (i think my guide had a deal with them) where i was shown a variety of perfumes and oils and they explained how they mad them. I was made to feel really welcome in the store being offered tea etc (this is normal practice to be offered welcome drinks in shops, normally Hibiscus tea) without feeling like i had to buy. Although this was an unexpected detour i didn't mind it as i got to learn about something i hadn't considered looking into. Next up was a spot of lunch where i was taken to a buffet which had a little of everything as i think they were catering to tourists such as myself. We then headed to the church of St Barbra, the senegog of Ben Ezra and the famous hanging church. All located in the main part of Coptic Caro and very easy to walk around. I would give yourself 2 hours to explore these churches and if you wanted to explore any of the other churches or do a little shopping in the many shops located in the area maybe another hour. The churches themself are all beautiful and defiantly worth visiting, just be prepared for some crowds around the more famous churches such as the hanging church. I was then dropped of at my new hotel for the next couple of nights, where i was meeting the rest of my small group as i had booked my Egypt trip through Intripid (a company that specializes in small group, sustainable travel). The hotel was lovely mid range, with both a restaurant and Café on site. It also had a lovely bakery and several convenient stores and ATMs in the area meaning you could easily get what you needed. After meeting with my group and guide for the trip (a friendly and knowledgeable man named Mohamed who instantly made use all feel welcome and at ease) we headed out to khan el-khalili. A bazar which is extremely busy and huge, but where you can get just about anything. Just remember to haggle, the stall owners won't be offended and even expect it. My tips for haggling here are to start of by at the very least halfling the original price and see what the best price you can get from an owner. Also walking away is a good way to get the price reduced in many cases. The bazar itself can be overwhelming and easy to get lost in, so give yourself plenty of time to explore it and get lost among the stalls. The vendors are really friendly and if you do lose your way don't be scared to ask for directions, people are more then willing to help you out. I spent a couple of hours here, but you could easily spend much longer. It is a particularly good spot to buy souvenirs for people back home or to treat yourself to something. After wandering the stalls i grabbed a bite to eat with a few of my fellow travellers, where we got shawarma from one of the restaurants located just opposite the bazar. It was really tasty, just don't expect quick service from a lot of the restaurants, they are not being slow to be rude it is just the way to take things at a slower pace when you eat. However if you are in a hurry let a waiter know and they will be quicker for you. I would highly recommend trying shawarma while in Egypt as it is readily aviliable, but there are plenty of options when it comes to food, including some great vegetarian dishes. After reuniting with the rest of the group it was back to the hotel for the night. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we left the hotel at 8am to go to the iconic Pyramids and sphinx. If you want to beat the crowds at this famous location i would recommend getting there early. When we got there it wasn't too busy and it wasn't too hot somewhere around mid to late 20s (degree Celsius), which was perfect for me. When buying your entry ticket there is an option for an added charge to buy a ticket to enter the main Pyramid (which i did get). Once in our guid Mohamed gave us the information about the Pyramids such as why they are shaped the way they are and how and where the materials were collected and moved. If you can get a guide i would highly recommend that you do as the added knowledge really adds to the grandeur of the place. After being given the information we were given time to explore the grand Pyamid. The first thing that you notice is just how big it is. I knew it was big before going but what i didn't realise was that some of the blocks used to build it were the same height as me (around 5ft7). During this time i used the extra ticket i bought to go inside the grand Pyramid. Before deciding weather or not to go inside there are a few things to take into account. Firstly is that you are physically able to do it, there is a lot of bending (crawling in some cases depending on your height) and it is very steep in places. The other things to bear in mind is that it is extremely humid, and very narrow in places especially when you have people travelling in both directions. Once you reach the burial chamber it does open up and you can easily stand. There isn't much to see inside as all the artifacts are housed within museums. However i felt like it was a worth while experience and does make you feel a little like Indian Jones. To explore the Pyramid and to go inside I would recommend around 1.5hrs to 2hrs and definitely don't enter the Pyramid during the hottest part of the day. It was around 9am when i entered and the humidity had me sweating buckets before i had reached the burial chamber. Also don't forget to bring water with you (trust me you will need it). After a little exploration i met back up with the group and headed to a spot that you could get a photo of all three Pyramids together. Here we were provided with more information about the other two Pyramids as we headed towards the Sphinx. The last thing to mention about the Pyramids is that there are a lot of vendors selling the usual tourist souvenirs, however i found that if i did just say no thank you they would leave me alone. They do try a bit of flirting to get you to buy their wears (such as calling young women Cleopatra or Queen Nefertiti) but this is not meant to make people uncomfortable, nor do they mean any harm by it. Once at the Sphinx we were give a little information and a chance to walk around and explore it ourselves. You don't need a lot of time to explore the Sphinx around 30mins should do. Overall the Pyramids are definitely worth the visit and live up to the expectations (if not surpassing them), if you want to beat the crowds and heat go earlier in the day. In terms of time it makes for a good half day trip. Next up we headed to a restaurant for some lunch where Mohamed treated us all to some Kosharey. Which is the national dish of Egypt, made from pasta, rice, lentils, tomato sauce which you add chilli, garlic and fried onion to taste. It is really tasty and a must try when visiting the country. Just a word of warning, it is extremely filling and will keep you going all day. We were also treated to a taste of Egyptian rice pudding (we shared a couple of portions between us due to being full). Unlike it's British counter part Egyptian rice pudding is very sweet as well as creamy. It to is tasty i just couldn't have both that and Koshary in one sitting. After lunch we headed to the Egyptian museum (not to be confused the the new Grand Egyptian museum). It is a very impressive museum inside and out and offers self lead guides with the use of earphones. After Mohamed gave us a quick tour and some key information on some of the key exhibitions we were free to explore the museum. Notable exhibitions are the Tutankhamun exhibition (including his death mask, but this will be moved to the grand Egyptian museum when it is complete) and the mummified animals. There is a lot to explore and take in, i would recommend around 2hrs to explore it fully. Definitely one not to miss. After our museum visit we headed back to the hotel to make sure we were all packed and to nip out to buy any snacks and drinks we may want as that night we were getting the overnight train to Aswan. The train itself was comfortable, with cabins that slept 2 with a bunk bed and sink in each cabin. They provided dinner and breakfast (a kin to airplane food) and in was able to sleep well. The only thing to note so you are not surprised is that the toilet does lead directly onto the tracks and isn't up to western standards of hygiene (however they are not unclean, just don't expect it to be spotless). Overall Cairo is chaotic and can be overwhelming, but it is also charming, full of history (with a large number of museums and historical sites) and i would highly recommend a visit. To fully explore the city you probably want around 4 days, but you can get a good feel for the city in 2 days. However if you are easily overwhelm, don't like crowds and are uncomfortable with big city chaos then it is not the place for you.

Honourable mention: The grand Egyptian museum. Although still under construction i still made the visit to it and honestly you wouldn't know that it wasn't finished. It has a great view of the pyramids which complement the stunning design of the building. There are a large number of artifacts and exhibitions with plans to add more. It is a great way to spend a couple of hours for anyone interested in history.

Much like Aswan Luxor is a calmer city and almost feel like a large town at times, but it is a city not to be missed by those who enjoy history. Before entering the city itself we made a small detour to an animal sanctuary call ACE (Animal care Egypt), which Intripid support. It looks after stary dogs, cats, donkeys and more. It also offers veterinary treatment for the local community and advice to owners particularly around caring for donkeys. They also offer several of the animals, particularly the dogs up for adoption. It is a great little charity and we enjoyed playing with several of the animals as we learnt about the amazing work they are doing. It was a really lovely little detour for a couple of hours and a nice change of pace for the whole group. We then reached Luxor where we settled into our hotel. The hotel was another mid range hotel, with a pool, restaurant and great location for the main sites of Luxor. After a quick shower and bag drop, i headed out to grab some lunch. I went to a lovely little restaurant about 5min walk from the hotel called Oasis. I got the chicken shawarma wrap, which was definably worth the money as it came with two large sandwiches and a side of fries. Definitely worth a visit for the budget conscious and food loving traveller. I then met back up with the rest of the group and we made the quick 5min drive to Karnak temple. Karnak temple is a most visit for any history buff with it's well preserved ruins, statues and more. It is spread out quite a lot and in my opinion very impressive. You need at least 2hrs to fully explore (but i could have spent longer) and i would recommend having a knowledgeable guide as the information provided by our guide i feel really added to the experience. It was then back to the hotel to enjoy the rest of our afternoon. I along with a few others in the group decided to visit Luxor temple, which was a short walk away from the hotel. We got there in the evening after the sun had set, which meant that it was quieter and it looked amazing lit up in the many lights around the temple. The temple itself was another impressive one with it's many Sphinx , impressive statues and will preserved ruins. You only need 1-2hrs here as it is smaller then a lot of other temple complexes, but is still worth a visit while in Luxor. It's located right in the centre of the city and hard to miss. If you don't want to pay to enter you can walk around the exterior for free. After our visit to the temple we made our way to the Winter Palace where Carter announced that he had found Tutankhamun's tomb. The hotel is very grand and does follow a dress code of smart casual (no shorts) and the staff are all really friendly and attentive. We were taking photos on the grand staircase when the doorman came up to us offering to take photos for us and offering advice on how to get the best photos, which was really lovely of him. As for the bar, it has a air of sophistication and you can tell that they are very proud of their history. The waiters are very attentive and friendly (even if one did take a bit of a shining to me, but not in a way that made me uncomfortable). We then headed to the stunning gardens which would be a great place to see sunset. I had a mocktail called West Sunset made from mango and gurvia. Which was lovely. The hotel is well worth a visit, just bear in mind it is on the expensive side, but for the atmosphere i think it is worth it. We then headed to the same restaurant i had visited for lunch to have our dinner., before heading back to the hotel ready for our early 5am start the next day. We had an early start the next day for one of the activities i would say was a highlight of my whole trip to Egypt. A hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the valley of the kings. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. Our guide had helped us to organise this, providing us with transport and booking our trip with Dream balloon company. The area was full of hot air balloons of various sizes. Ours was a large balloon that could hold 25 people. It was amazing seeing all of the balloons filling with hot air. After a safety briefing and being introduced to our pilot (who was incredibly friendly, constantly making jokes and making everyone feel at ease), we hopped into our balloon, i was quite near the flame so did feel the heat coming from it. Once in the air we were greeted with some of the best views i've seen through out my travels. Seeing the sky full of hot air balloons as the sun rises was amazing in itself, but with the views of the valley of the kings it really was something else. It's a short trip up in the balloon, but certainly one not to be missed. Just make sure you are mobile enough to be able to step into the balloon, and of course if heights are not your thing than this isn't for you. It was an early start to the day but without a doubt worth it. Then it was time to head back to the hotel to relax for a couple of hours and grab some breakfast, before heading to the valley of the kings to explore it on foot now we had seen it from the air.