My travel bucket list always included seeing the pyramids in Egypt and I finally checked that dream off my list. I went to Egypt on a nine day group tour with my boyfriend, sister, and brother-in-law. We are all frequent travelers with heavily inked passports. We had been keeping our eye on Egypt for a few years and more recently the safety conditions had improved and tours were starting up again.
Our trip started in Cairo followed by a flight south to Aswan. We did a side trip to Abu Simbel and then boarded a Nile Cruise north to Luxor. We then flew home from Cairo. It was a fast-paced trip with lots packed into a short time frame. The pyramids were the highlight followed by closely by Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings. We also enjoyed seeing Karnak, Temple of Philae, and Luxor.
I felt like Indiana Jones during many moments of the trip. For most sites, you can walk into the temples, touch the walls of the tombs, and see the intricate details of the hieroglyphics up close. I was amazed at how old things were and don't recall ever seeing something that was 3,000 to 4,000 years old before.
The biggest challenge was the heat. It averaged 110 degrees and was hot from early morning through the evening. The upside was that it was less crowded at the sites due to the heat. At times, it felt like our shoes were literally melting!