It’s the top tourist site in Egypt, and one of the top sites in the world, which also makes it a top site for scams and scammers. Some scams at the Pyramids are unique to Egypt, while others are common in Europe and elsewhere too. Because education and preparation are essential to having a good experience while visiting Egypt, here is the absolute best advice that we can give you from an expert point of view on the top 5 ways to avoid scams at the Pyramids of Giza.

The post The Top 5 Ways to Avoid Scams at the Pyramids appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

Documentary filmmaker Curtis Ryan Woodside sits down with John Navarre of The Egypt Travel Podcast to talk about his background growing up in South Africa, the incredible story of how he got his start in filmmaking, and his deep passion for Egyptology and telling stories from ancient Egypt through long-form content in an accurate and compelling way.

The full video version of this episode is available The Egypt TravelChannel on YouTube. And as always, please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning your trip to Egypt, and we’ll be delighted to help you make it a reality.

The post Interview with documentary filmmaker Curtis Ryan Woodside appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

Bethanie came to Egypt in late-2020 intending to only stay for 10 days. Four years later, she now runs women’s and spiritual retreats all over Egypt, has opened and owns a boutique hotel in Cairo, is engaged to someone she met by complete conincidence in her first week in Egypt, and has learned a lot about Egypt’s local travel and tourism industry.

The full video version of this episode is available The Egypt TravelChannel on YouTube. And as always, please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning your trip to Egypt, and we’ll be delighted to help you make it a reality.

The post Interview with Bethanie Nettleton of Escape to Egypt and Hathor House Boutique Hotel appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

This episode dives into new flight options for flying into and back home from Egypt in more advantageous ways, as well as updated info on Egypt’s major – and new – airports to help you better plan your travel to and around Egypt.

This episode is also available on The Egypt Travel Video Podcast on The Egypt TravelChannel on YouTube. And as always, please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning your trip to Egypt, and we’ll be delighted to help you make it a reality.

The post Airports and Flights to and within Egypt appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

An enlightening sit-down interview with Dr. Bernard O’Kane, a distinguished professor of Islamic art and architecture at the American University in Cairo (AUC). I was so honored to reconnect with Dr. O’Kane, who is not only an expert on this topic, but also a former professor of mine when I was a student at AUC more than 20 years ago. In his characteristic easy-going style, Dr. O’Kane talks about the most spectacular mosques throughout Egypt as well as other impressive examples of Islamic fortresses, Ottoman palaces, and medieval mausoleum, as well as must-see museums in Cairo for connoisseurs of Islamic art.

The Mosques of Egypt

The Illustrated Guide to the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo

Treasures of Islam: The Glories of Islamic Civilization

The Treasures of Islamic Art in the Museums of Cairo

The Civilization of the Islamic World

The post Interview with Dr. Bernard O’Kane on Islamic Art & Architecture in Egypt appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

What is Egypt’s local currency and what is it really worth compared to foreign currencies like the US Dollar, Euro, or British Pound? What’s a fair price to pay for various products and services in Egypt? How much cash should you bring to Egypt… or should you at all? Is it safe to use credit and debit cards across Egypt? How common are ATMs that work with foreign cards? All of these questions and so many more are not only answered, but discussed in depth in this episode.

This episode is also available on The Egypt Travel Video Podcast on The Egypt Travel Channel on YouTube. And as always, please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning your trip to Egypt, and we’ll be delighted to help you make it a reality.

The post All about Money and Currency in Egypt appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

Blindly following ChatGPT and new travel planning tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) might be ok for travel in places like North America and Western Europe, but this tactic can cause you to run into some big trouble on the ground in places like Egypt. In this episode, John reviews and talks through several Egypt itineraries that ChatGPT has spit out based on detailed prompts and explains what’s good about them, what won’t work for reasons ChatGPT can’t know, and what it tells you to do that’s downright dangerous. This is a good one! Enjoy.

This episode is also available on The Egypt Travel Video Podcast on The Egypt Travel Channel on YouTube. And as always, please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning your trip to Egypt, and we’ll be delighted to help you make it a reality.

Transcription in progress. Final transcript coming soon…

The post The Perils of Using ChatGPT and AI in Travel Planning appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

An announcement of the new video podcast episode that’s all about the latest updates on the Grand Egyptian Museum. The full video episode can be found at:

https://YouTube.com/@TheEgyptTravelChannel

And make sure you subscribe to this new YouTube channel, The Egypt Travel Channel – for more exclusive updates and new insider videos about travel to and around Egypt from John Navarre and The Egypt Travel Podcast.

Hi, everybody. It’s John Navarre here with… sort of a special announcement about an important announcement… or at least an important update. 

I know that a new episode of the Egypt Travel Podcast with a comprehensive update about the current status of the Grand Egyptian Museum is long overdue… and I finally have that update ready for you. 

In the 38th episode of the Egypt Travel Podcast, I do a deep dive into the latest updates on the GEM as of May and June of 2023, including detailed information on the GEM’s new limited trial visits program, what’s available to see and what’s off limits during these trial visits, and most importantly how to get trial visit tickets if you happen to be in Egypt before the GEM fully opens to the public. 

And of course, I also give you an update on when that might be, according to the latest indications and estimates. 

BUT… I’ve got a favor to ask of you in exchange for putting a lot of time and effort into researching, recording, producing, and editing this meaty and timely update about the GEM… a favor that I think you’ll really get a lot out of yourself, actually. 

So this latest episode of the Egypt Travel Podcast about GEM updates for the summer of 2023 is actually another video podcast episode. And on top of that, I’ve transitioned the video podcasts – and all of the video work I’m going to be doing now moving forward, to the new YouTube channel I’ve launched. 

It’s called The Egypt Travel Channel on YouTube, and the handle for it is @TheEgyptTravelChannel, which means that the easy-to-remember website address for it is www.TheEgyptTravelChannel.com. 

So for now, if you’ll head over to YouTube.com/@TheEgyptTravelChannel or www.TheEgyptTravelChannel.com – and I’ll put a link in the show description here too – then you’ll be able to find the full video podcast episode that I just put out today with a LOT of substantive updates on the Grand Egyptian Museum. 

And while you’re there, please do me that huge favor and subscribe to the new channel on YouTube and click the little bell on the page so that you can get an automatic notification when I release a new audio or video episode of the Egypt Travel Podcast, which is also now being posted there on the new YouTube channel too. 

So just to wrap up, here’s the favor I’m asking again for anyone interested in the latest video episode of the Egypt Travel Podcast about Spring and Summer updates on the Grand Egyptian Museum… go to YouTube.com/@TheEgyptTravelChannel or go to YouTube and search for The Egypt Travel Channel and you’ll find both the new YouTube channel that I just launched AND on that channel the latest video episode of this podcast, which is entitled May/June 2023 GEM Updates. 

You’ll know it because you’ll see my face in the thumbnail there of the video. 

Alright, I’ll leave you to it now to go watch that episode and subscribe to that channel so that you get notified of all of the new video episodes I’ve started  recording and producing at my new recording studio here in the Egypt Elite office in Cairo. 

And if anyone has questions for me, please please feel welcome to post them in the comments on the video and I’ll answer them immediately. 

Ok, everyone. See you over on YouTube for this episode on May/June 2023 GEM Updates and a lot more soon. 

Ma Salaama. 

The post May/June 2023 GEM Updates appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

Prolific travel writer and globetrotter, Whitney O’Halek of www.QuickWhitTravel.com, and I sit down over lunch in Luxor to chat about her impressions of Egypt before and during her extensive first trip around the country with her husband, Steve. Whitney’s insights and observations about traveling around Egypt are particularly helpful given that this was her 59th country visited.
Visit www.QuickWhitTravel.com for all of Whitney’s detailed post-trip articles about traveling to and around Egypt in 2023. And please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning your trip to Egypt, and we’ll be delighted to help you make it a reality.

The post Interview with Travel Writer Whitney O’Halek from QuickWhitTravel.com appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.

Ashely and her father just finished spending over 3 weeks in Egypt exploring nearly every corner of the country together. In this super detailed guest interview episode, Ashley talks about her pre-trip research and planning, their impressions of each place they visited, what surprised her and her dad after they arrived in Egypt, and along the way she gives LOTS of insightful and very practical advice for anyone considering visiting Egypt in the near future.

For more travel advice on trips to and around Egypt, check out all the other episodes of the Egypt Travel Podcast. And please feel welcome to go to www.EgyptElite.com for help planning your trip to Egypt, and we’ll be delighted to help you make it a reality.

The post Interview with Ashely on her 3-Week Father-Daughter Adventure appeared first on EgyptTravelBlog.com.