Cairo, Egypt - Best Places to Visit in a Day

 

Cairo, Egypt - Best Places to Visit in a Day

More than enough attractions can be found in Cairo, the country's capital, and even more fascinating locations can be found in the distance in all directions.

Big-name cities like Luxor and Aswan are further away and take more time to reach, but a few must-see locations can be reached from Cairo in a single day.

Choose your preferred Giza or Saqqara pyramid.

Travel time is 45 minutes from Cairo to Giza and 45 minutes from Giza to Saqqara.

Egypt's oldest pyramid is actually a little further south of the capital than the Pyramids of Giza, which are the only surviving wonder of the ancient world. If you want to spend the entire day exploring pharaonic cemeteries, start at the Giza Necropolis after breakfast and take a hike around the Menkaure, Khafre, and Great Pyramid of Khufu pyramids. Check which pyramids have public access chambers at the ticket office because this varies daily and even hourly. Unexpectedly, the inner chamber of the largest and most intriguing pyramid, Menkaure, has three distinct levels. In search of a famous photo opportunity with all three pyramids, you can also travel into the desert from that location.

To find a taxi (or grab an Uber), leave the plateau past the Sphinx and enter the bustling city of Giza. Before beginning the 25km (15.5 mile) drive to Saqqara, which has no good food options, it is a good idea to pick up water or a sandwich for lunch at one of the numerous stores outside the site's walls. As soon as you arrive in Saqqara, go to the Step Pyramid of Djoser, which is the oldest pyramid in Egypt and provides a special aesthetic contrast to the smoother Giza pyramids. The Step Pyramid, which was the first burial chamber made of limestone rather than clay bricks and stood 62 meters (203 feet) tall at the time, was constructed during the rule of Djoser (2670 BC), the first pharaoh of the Third Dynasty, as a form of architectural experiment.

The simplest way to travel to Giza and Saqqara from Cairo is to sign up for an organized tour, hire a private guide and driver, or take a taxi for the day. However, Saqqara, which is further away, cannot be reached using Uber.

Visit Memphis and Dahshur to see a former capital and little-visited pyramids.

Cairo to Dahshur travel time is one hour and fifteen minutes, and Dahshur to Memphis travel time is twenty minutes.

Before traveling to Memphis to see Egypt's former capital during the Old Kingdom, you can stop by the less well-known Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid, both of which were named after their most distinctive features. For history buffs, the name "Memphis" conjures images of pharaonic Egypt, and the majority of the pyramids around Cairo were constructed when Memphis served as the capital. There is a sphinx and a worthwhile open-air museum there even though not much of the ancient city is still visible.

The best way to travel to Dahshur and Memphis from Cairo is to either take a group tour that includes Dahshur and Memphis or arrange for a private driver, guide, and taxi for the day.

The second-largest city in Egypt is Alexandria.

Two and a half hours of travel time.

Although Alexandria and its crashing waves will always hold the restless soul of Egypt, the capital of Cairo may be Cairo in the minds of poets, thinkers, and artists of the 1960s and 1970s. The city is its own character, and visiting it even today makes it clear why it enchanted not only European artists and scholars but also Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz's novel Miramar.

To learn about the turbulent history of the city through the Pharaonic, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic eras, visit the Alexandria National Museum, an impressive colonial building. The city's cultural and educational hub, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, is a 20-minute walk away in the direction of the water. It's an architectural marvel with its distinctive sloping disk shape and exterior walls adorned with numerous different scripts. Visit the main reading hall and take a tour.

From there, you can take a leisurely stroll along the Corniche and pause at one of the many cafes or eateries to take in the waterfront before reaching Fort Qaitbay, a beautifully maintained harbor citadel and well-liked gathering place. Before returning to Cairo, choose to eat dinner at one of the best fish restaurants in the area, such as Kadoura or Fish Market.

There are numerous lodging options and tour companies that offer day trips to Alexandria from Cairo. Take a train from Cairo's Ramses Station if you want to travel independently.

Visit Al Fayoum to see a desert mirage.                          

2 hours are required for travel.

Al Fayoum, a well-known oasis destination 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Cairo, is deserving of at least two days of exploration, but if you're in a hurry, you can still take in some of the region's natural wonders during the day. Arrive in Fayoum 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Cairo and make your first stop at Karanis to avoid morning traffic. After admiring the historic structures, which include two Graeco-Roman temples, proceed to Al Fayoum's natural attractions, which include the waterfalls in the Wadi Rayyan Protected Area, rowboat tours to the lake's center, and wildlife in the neighborhood national park. Eagles, falcons, and migrant birds should all be seen by birdwatchers. If you have any questions, the visitors center on the lakefront can assist.

After that, visit Tunis Village's pottery school to socialize with local artists and stop by one of the many pottery studios to purchase a gift. In the fall and winter, you can see flamingos and other birds resting here before flying further south. The pottery center is a good starting point from which to explore the enormous Lake Qarun.

How to get to Al Fayoum from Cairo: You can arrange a day trip with the aid of many Cairo hotels, or you can haggle a day rate with a taxi.

Spend some time in Ain El Sokhna's surf.

2 hours for the trip.

Beachfront Sokhna has grown to be such a well-known Red Sea beach weekend getaway that wealthy Egyptians now name-drop the location whenever they have the chance, their eyes practically glazing over at the thought of their next seaside getaway.

Ain El Sokhna, which translates to "hot spring," is a popular watersports destination with pristine beaches and year-round sunshine. It offers a wide range of watersports activities, including snorkeling, diving, sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, and boat tours, to satisfy both adventure seekers and sun worshippers. Sokhna is a popular vacation spot for Egyptians looking for peace and quiet because it is a relatively new Red Sea development and its cleaner beaches are less crowded than those in Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada, both of which can get crowded with beachgoers during peak season.

After a swim in the serene turquoise waters, visit a beach resort like Stella di Mare for lunch or board a Sunmarine boat for a 90-minute boat tour with lunch and a chance to see marine life. To cap off the day's activities with a sundowner before returning to Cairo, the beachfront resorts are brimming with bar options.

To get to Ain El Sokhna from Cairo, haggle a day rate with the taxi driver, or if you can handle the Cairo traffic, rent a car and drive to the coast.