UnDiplomatic Wife

Egypt

Content to follow if we push through with our trip to Egypt for Spring break. Our friends are telling us that life is normal there. I am just apprehensive about flight delays and cancellations because of what’s happening in West Asia.

HURGHADA

We miss going to salty beaches of the Philippines but it’s too far & expensive for us so we decided to go to Hurghada in Egypt for 6 days with friends. Though it’s far from the fine sand & corals of the Philippines, after 5 years overseas we were just so happy to get some sun, sand & sea.

    Here’s a quick reel on HURGHADA: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly:

    We chose Tropitel because it has the only pier where you can actually swim in the sea. You cannot swim by the beach because it’s too shallow and full of coral & jelly fish. This was in April 2026.

    SEE ALL HURGHADA LOCATION on GOOGLE MAPS

    We wereoffered by Tropitel a 50% discount on our airport transfer but we had to talk to the manager to get it. Very strange since it was offered to us in writing as one of the benefits of having a CLUB ROOM. Though UBER would be cheaper, we were told by Chat GPT that they can last minute back out or renegotiate the price. So we opted for hotel transfer.

    CAIRO

    Day 1 we traveled from Hurghada to Cairo and arrived in our hotel.

    HILTON CAIRO MILE MAADI

    There are SIX Hiltons in Cairo. We chose this hotel because it was new & looked absolutely fabulous. It is also well-located but THE WORST Customer Service ever. Check my google review for more details, but they ended up upgrading us to a suite after the power shortage, there were no more flies & noise, but they failed to refresh the room, or tell us that we had access to the complimentary executive lounge. When housekeeping finally came, she cleaned the used glasses in the toilet that had ZERO SOAP & put it back on the coffee/bar area. Gross! This hotel looks amazing but needs to improve significantly in service & hygiene.

    Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi Breakfast Buffet

    The buffet looked good – very Instagrammable – but a lot of the items I felt were dry or made the day before. The waitstaff giving us coffee was good, but I had this niggling feeling that they were doing it for tips and good reviews. What I enjoyed was the churros, hummus, olives & honeycomb.

    Dayma Restaurant inside Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi

    Another Instagrammable spot but the food was just okay. Only the lamb chops were really good. We ate here because we just didn’t want to pay for a cab to go somewhere for dinner on or last night. We were also too tired and needed to pack so eating in the hotel was our option, coz there are no other nearby restos..

    Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi Pool

    The pool area is very dusty & the pool itself filled with micro-plastics. The tiles seem to have been wrapped in plastic & they are literally coming off as you come in contact with them. They should really clean this so guests do not swim/ingest the micro/nano plastics.

    Eforea Spa

    As an apology for all the unpleasant things we experienced, they gave me a free 30min massage at their Spa. The Indonesian therapist was amazing. They asked me if everything was alright now & I had a feeling they wanted me to change my review after a 30min massage.

    The interiors & shop were fabulous

    Everything was clean and well-thought of. The Indonesan masseuse was amazing

    FAIRMONT NILE CITY HOTEL

    This is where our friends stayed. They had a fantastic experience. Their suite came with Executive Lounge privileges (they said the sushi is good) and a butler than can even unpack for you. There were a lot of excellent Filipino staff in the hotel and they gave us a really warm service when my son went to visit and when we went to their Asian restaurant below.

    Saigon Restaurant

    We had a lovely pinoy server who recommended us some amazing local chardonnay. The food might not be Asian standards excellent, but they were good. The interiors are very dark and moody.

    LOCAL RECOS

    We were very lucky that TD has an Egyptian Colleague, because his recommendations were THE BEST things in Cairo:

    Kazoku Japenese Restaurant

    Kazoku Japenese Restaurant is not to be missed if you want to have a fabulous Japanese meal especially if you want something different after having all the local cuisine.

    Tour Guide & Transport Service

    DAY 2: GEM & free time in Zamalek

    We had breakfast in the hotel then at 9:25am we were picked up by the Tour Guide & Transport Service to go the GEM. Please click on any of the links for more detailed photos & reviews of each one.

    The Grand Egyptian Museum

    Thankfully, we were dropped off directly at the entrance of GEM before the van parked because the heat was intense! We purchased all our tickets to the museums before the trip as recommended to us by our Egyptian friend. As you enter you see the The Hanging Obelisk then we walked to the impressive facade.

    • Statue of King Ramses II 
    • THE GRAND STAIRCASE
    • Lunch at:
    • TUTANKHAMUN GALLERY
    • Solar Boats (King Khufu)
    • GEM Official Shop

    Evening Zamalek:

    DAY 3: Pyramids

    Pyramids

    • Pyramids Visitor Centre
    • Pyramids of Giza
    • The Great Pyramid of Giza
    • Great Sphinx of Giza
    • Lunch: 9 Pyramids Lounge Amazing location but some scammy practices that we did not appreciate.

    DAY 4: Mosque, Citadel, Bazaar & Pharaohs

    Last Day:

    • Mosque of Muhammad Ali
    • Saladin Citadel
    • Khan el-Khalili Bazaar
    • National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
      • Abydos Deli & Bookshop first we had a simple lunch here
      • The Royal Mummies Hall
      • nit Home

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