Experience Egypt Like Never Before with the Dandelion Journal’s Trips to Egypt

A group of women wave to the camera while riding on camels in front of pyramids on a trip to Egypt.

 Our Most Recent Egypt Trip 2024

Traveling is a lot of fun and is oftentimes a life changing experience. Even a quick weekend trip to a local city or mountain can be nice, but there is something extra special about taking a two week trip to another part of the world! That’s exactly what we do with our trips to Egypt. When you travel for two weeks, it gives you enough time to truly adjust, relax, explore, and experience the country and culture that you are visiting. We are the Dandelion Journals, and we offer travel experiences for women’s traveling groups. One of our favorite places to visit is Egypt, and we had a great trip here in 2024!

From October 14th through October 28th, 2024 the Dandelion Journals team set off with our group on an unforgettable trip to Egypt. In today’s article we want to share this trip with you, including some of the highlights from our itinerary and some tips for your Egypt vacation. 

 

Places to See on All Trips to Egypt

As you may have seen under the journeys section on our website menu, we have our Egypt itinerary along with the other countries that we frequent, so you may have already read about the highlights of our Egypt adventures. However, keep reading because this article will share even more details and pictures of the latest trip that we just took in October!

Before we get into the specifics of the trip, let’s go over the list of places that we visited. In fact, if you ever decide to take an Egypt trip yourself, we strongly encourage you to check these places out! Here’s where we went:

  • Downtown Cairo
  • The Nile River
  • The Great Pyramids of Giza
  • Historic Aswan
  • The Unfinished Obelisk
  • The Philae Temple
  • Seheil Island
  • Kom Ombo
  • Edfu Temple
  • Valley of the Kings
  • Hatshepsut Temple
  • Colossi of Memnon
  • Karnak Temple
  • Luxor Temple
  • Ancient Luxor
  • Marsa Alam
  • The Red Sea
  • Ancient Alexandria
  • Historic Cairo

Yes, believe it or not we covered ALL of that and more in our two week trip to Egypt! This included cruises, a hot air balloon ride, beach swims, museum visits, delicious food, and countless historical sites and cultural centers. Not only is the amount of history and ancient structures and artifacts astounding in Egypt, but so is the age of those histories. While historical sites in the U.S. date back 300 or 400 years, in Egypt there are sites that date back 3,000 or 4,000 years! It is surreal to see, firsthand, all of these amazing sites, many of which are found in common American history textbooks. Now that you understand just how jam packed this trip was, we’ll break it down a bit further and go into more detail.

Our Group Egypt Vacation: Week 1

Three women smiling are out to eat at night on a Nile River cruise in Egypt.

While our time in Egypt was certainly a vacation and while we had time to relax and unwind, the trip was nevertheless packed to the brim with busy days, traveling from site to site and city to city. In our first week, we started in the capital of Egypt, Cairo where we arrived on October 14th. While the city is engulfed in the riches of ancient history, it is also steeped in a lively modern culture. All three of the world’s largest religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are prominent in the city and have temples and histories of their own. We took a walking tour of Cairo on October 15th and ended the evening with dinner on the Nile where we saw an Oriental Show on a Nile river cruise!

Ultimately, Cairo is best known for the esteemed Pyramids of Giza. On October 16th, we set out to explore the Step Pyramid of Saqqara and to descend down into the Serapeum before going to a carpet school in Sakkara. Next up was the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is the largest Egyptian pyramid and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World! All trips to Egypt should include a stop here to take in this breathtaking monument.

Next, on October 17th we made our way to Aswan, the sunniest city in the south of Egypt with a very distinct African atmosphere. We explored the beauty of the city and enjoyed the culture, staying at a hotel on the banks of the Nile. On the 18th we visited the Unfinished Obelisk and the Philae Temple before heading to Seheil Island for lunch and some island exploration. We ended the day with a Nile cruise ship, which we stayed on for the next three nights.

After that, on October 19th we sailed to Kom Ombo, where we visited the ancient Temple of Kom Ombo. Our next stop was Edfu Temple in the charming town of Edfu. We also strolled the streets of the town and took in the culture before hopping back on our ship and continuing to Luxor. On the 20th, we explored the famous Valley of the Kings, which contains many of the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. We then went to Hatshepsut Temple, which is a nearby and breathtaking monument, before paying a visit to the Colossi of Memnon. These two stone statues are massive and used to guard the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. 

Lastly, we explored the labyrinthine pathways of Karnak Temple, which has a mystical and almost magical feel to it. Finally arriving in Luxor, we ended the day by seeing the Luxor Temple all lit up at night, watching the light and shadow display on the temple as the sun set. As the former capital of Egypt from 1,500-1,000 B.C. more than 3,000 years ago, it is steeped in very ancient history. This was the perfect place to end the first week of our Egypt trip!

Our Group Egypt Vacation: Week 2

A group of women on vacation in Egypt pose in traditional clothing with local artists.

Waking up bright and early on October 21st to start week two, we took a hot air balloon ride over the city of Luxor. The gorgeous colors of dawn in the sky with the majestic landscapes of the ancient Thebes below are part of an experience that we will never get. Next, we found ourselves on the Red Sea where we went to visit Marsa Alam. Here you can swim, dive, snorkel, ride ATVs in the desert, and explore national parks and nature reserves. For an outdoors enthusiast, this is a paradise! In fact, the Wadi El Gemal National Park (Valley of the Camels) is a must-do day trip just 28 miles (45 kilometers) to the south of Marsa Alam.

On the 22nd, we went snorkeling, diving, and boating on the Red Sea and saw some of the best beaches and marine life in the entire world. Similarly, the 23rd was a self-choice day. Everyone in our group got to carve their own unique slice of their Egypt vacation by choosing whether they wanted to relax, go on an adventure, or both. This was our last day by the Red Sea and each person got to spend it how they liked. Comment below how you think you would have spent your day on Marsa Alam! Snorkeling? Riding an ATV? Relaxing? Let us know!

Moving on, on October 24th we took a flight back to Cairo where we were then driven out to the desert of Alexandria, the bride of the Mediterranean. This is the second-largest city in the country and was built by Alexander the Great! Exploring Alexandria is a great way to immerse yourself in the culture of Egypt outside of the busy capital of Cairo, and shows you that there is far more to Egypt than just the pyramids. On the 25th we headed to the Catacomb (Kom El Shoafa) carved into 100 feet of solid rock, before moving onto the Citadel of Qaitbay. Lastly, before grabbing lunch we saw the Royal Jewelry Museum, housing many pieces of ancient jewelry. After lunch, we headed back to Cairo to check into our hotel.

On October 26th, we visited the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo, which also houses 20 Royal Mummies! Mummies are depicted so frequently in modern culture, but seeing one in real life up close is surreal. As we continued around Cairo, we began to explore the true religious significance in the city. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all play a role in the city and have areas of significance to their respective religions in Cairo. Regardless what religion you follow (if any), it is worth seeing the ancient historic sites of all of these religions. Aside from the historical significance, even just the architecture itself is astounding and worth the visit! Lastly, we had dinner in the world-renowned marketplace of Khan Al-Khalil.

Finally, the last day came. On October 27th we took a step into the modern day to explore modern Cairo, do some shopping, and enjoy the modern culture of the nation. Before long, however, we went back in time with a trip to the Cairo Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. The artifacts found here span the course of 5,000 years of human history, allowing us the opportunity to appreciate just how old Egyptian history is. On the 28th, we packed our bags, headed to the airport, and flew home.

Is Our Egypt Vacation All Inclusive?

Three women are smiling during a hot air balloon ride over Luxor, Egypt with the sunrise behind them.

While the short answer is no, there is much more that is included than not included.
The price of our trip includes:

All accommodations as listed on itinerary or equivalent
Entrance fees to events and sites listed in itinerary
All meals during group activities are included, whether listed or not, except for street market food if not included on a curated activity. (Please note that Room Service is not included). All meals will include a multitude of items to choose from.
Selected wines with your meals
All private transportation listed in the itinerary
Internal flights listed in the itinerary
Private Egyptologist guide
All experiences listed in the itinerary
All standard Gratuities
TDJ facilitator available during your entire stay

Next, here are the items that our trip does not include:

International Flights
All personal items
Discretionary gratuities for above and beyond service
Any items not explicitly indicated in itinerary
Travel Insurance, to cover medical, evacuation, no show, rescheduling, cancellation or any other personal expenses
Beverages beyond what’s provided by TDJ
Hotel incidentals

So, is our Egypt vacation all inclusive? Not quite, but it’s pretty close! Our trip covers most of the expenses that you will incur throughout the trip, leaving you with little to worry about and making it much easier for you to budget the remaining costs.

Join Us On One of Our 2025 Trips to Egypt!

A group of woman on a trip to Egypt pose smiling with a captain on his boat on the Nile River in Egypt.

Believe it or not, we did all of that and more in just two weeks. How would you like to join us on one of our next women’s group trips to Egypt? At the Dandelion Journals, we coordinate women’s travel groups, so that way you do need to travel solo. Going with a group is a great way to travel safely and could result in you making some lifelong friends. Additionally, our Egypt vacation is mostly inclusive, so you don’t need to stress about money and planning each day – you can just relax and enjoy yourself. Ready to go? Send us a message to learn about the dates of our Egypt trips 2025!

Thanks for taking the time to read about our trip to Egypt!