Day 20: Safaga, Egypt with Holland America
Day 20: Safaga, Egypt with Holland America
Holland America Africa Explorer Cruise – 49 Days from Rotterdam to Cape Town
Date: Thursday October 16, 2014
Weather Forecast: Sunny; 28 C/84 F
In Port: 8:00 AM to Midnight
All Aboard: 11:30 PM
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Location Information:
Safaga is the gateway to visit the city of Luxor located along the Nile River (there’s not much to do in the town of Safaga itself). Here, visitors can see Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple and Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Luxor was called Thebes and was a seat of power for the ancient Egyptian pharaohs when it was founded in the year 2100 BCE. Thebes was also the southernmost city built along the Nile River that was founded by the pharaohs.
Today Luxor has some of the most important monuments (and best preserved) in all of Egypt:
- Karnak Temple – the world’s largest temple complex and ceremonial site; Amun’s labyrinth palace.
- Luxor Temple – built in approximately 1400 BCE and is guarded by 2 statues – the Colossi of Memnon; product of two kings – Ramesses II and Amenhotep III
- The Valley of the Kings – excavated in the early twentieth century, this is where the tomb of Tutankhamen (King Tut) was found.
- Queen Hatshepsut – Egypt’s only female pharaoh and her temple is an incredible site to visit.
Currency: Egyptian Pound (EGP)
Port Shuttle Service:
A shuttle service was provided by the Port of Safaga at a cost of US$7 per person each way. The fee was charged to the guest’s onboard account. Service began at 9:00 AM and ran throughout the day with the last returning bus to the ship departing town at 6:00 PM. Travel time was approximately 30 minutes, with a drop-off location at the Imperial Shams Resort. It is not permitted to walk in/out of the port – it’s chaotic and very dirty.
WJs Day:
Today we took another small-group excursion with Ramses Tours that was arranged by a Cruise Critic member. Our group of 13 met with our local guide in the Port of Safaga – where most of the tour buses waited right next to where ms Rotterdam was docked – at 8:10 AM and waited to join the convoy of small/independent tours that were going to Luxor.
At 8:30 AM the convoy rolled out of the port and started the 3+ hour journey into the city of Luxor. There was a toilet stop along the way that was very clean, and which also provided a good opportunity to stretch our legs. Due to the amount of driving and distance, we had two drivers for this excursion – the first driver was very good and we felt comfortable with him at the wheel, but when the second driver got behind the wheel we thought we were going to have a rollover. Driver number 2 had his foot to the floor and we were bounced around and starting to feel sick, but he just ignored shouts from the women to slow down. Cultural? We think so!
By noon we were touring the Temple of Karnak with our Ramses guide and spent just over an hour exploring the site.
From Karnak it was a 10-minute drive through the city of Luxor and to Luxor Temple – which is situated along the Nile River. Here we had a guided tour for 30 minutes and then some free time to explore before meeting up again and going for lunch. Along the way we saw the Great Avenue of the Sphinxes – which links Karnak and Luxor Temples.
Our tour included lunch at a restaurant along the Nile – it had just opened the previous day – and there was hot and cold buffet selections to be had. We stuck to only eating a small amount of cooked food – too long of a day to chance getting an upset stomach.
After lunch was completed we took a small river boat for about a 5-minute crossing over the Nile directly from the restaurant – that was one of the highlights of the tour for us. We were amazed by the hundred+ river ships that we witnessed moored along the river banks – now we really want to take a Nile River cruise for a few days or more.
The bus and drivers were waiting on the other side of the Nile to pick us up and take us to the Valley of the Kings – about a 20-minute drive away. When we arrived at the Valley of the Kings we had time (30 minutes) to visit three tombs – very quickly. Unfortunately photographs are not permitted of any of the monuments.
Following was a short drive to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut to visit this incredible monument of Egypt’s only female pharaoh. We didn’t have much time here (15 minutes) and were promptly escorted out by an armed guard.
Getting back on the bus for the 4 hour journey back to Safaga and ms Rotterdam, we asked the drivers to drive slower – indicating that we’d vomit all over their bus if they didn’t. Thankfully, the highway was closed and we had to take the longer route through the city and over many speed bumps – this made the first part of the return journey much less frightening.
The excursion was very good – although we much preferred our guide and driver for the Ramses Tour from Port Said to Cairo. Cost for this tour was US$160 per person (payable by cash to the guide on the bus). It included admission to attractions, lunch and the Nile River boat crossing. We would suggest others skip the lunch and be able to spend more time at the various sites.
(Note: some fellow tour members did get sick from eating the buffet lunch)
Our tour arrived back at the ship by 9:45 PM; we were all exhausted and hungry after a very full day of sightseeing and exploring. So, it was perfect that the late-night snack had already started in the Lido Restaurant.
Starting tonight, ms Rotterdam is on high alert for pirates – we’re cruising through High Risk waters as we sail towards Salalah, Oman.
Next – Sailing towards Salalah, Oman
