Hi there, we use cookies to improve your experience on our website. You can update your settings by clicking the Privacy policy link at the bottom of the page. We will depart from Cairo to either place. We have a couple questions:. From what we have read, both places sound interesting, but would like to hear opinions from those who have been to either one of them. Thank you. If we don't use tour company between Cairo and Siwa, what would you recommend us to take to get from Cairo to Siwa?
On a completely different note, would you recommend us to go to Dendara and Abydos on a day trip from Luxor, for safety reasons? I am interested in visiting, but my fiance has concerns about safety because he read that police escort is required for areas between Cairo and Luxor.
Hi Erica. Majority od people will probably recommend Siwa but I personally consider it higly overrated and not worth the long detour. While Bahariya itself is not especially interesting, the desert between it and neighbouring Farafra is diverse and interesting, so taking a tour there is very nice - you can easily negotiate a tour in Bahariya on arrival. I have travelled through all the oases well, almost in October and put quite a detailed report about my Egypt trip on the internet where you can found details about my experience - if interested, check it out on my site.
Well, my two cents worth would have you going to Siwa. I spent time at Siwa, Bahariyya and Farafra in and Siwa wins hands down.
Siwa is really the last old world town in Egypt. It has loads of history as has all of Egypt but the old fashionedness of the place is its alure. I spent 5 days there but perhaps 2 days would be the preferred option. As almost everyone else recommends, I too would strongly suggest Siwa over the White Desert. It's comparatively remote, very very beautiful and quite different to the rest of Egypt.
