Well, this is the big one.
This is a trip that SHOULD have happened December 2021, but thanks to Omicron (that bitch), it didn’t. So finally, my boyfriend and I are heading to Egypt for the holidays.
Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:
For this trip we are spending Dec 28 to 30 in Cairo + Dec 30 to Jan 4 in Sharm El-Sheikh + Jan 4 to Jan 7 back in Cairo.
This breakdown will have a lot more pieces, so follow along.
First of all, we had a credit from British Airways from the year before that we could use for the Toronto to Cairo portion of the trip. This flight cost $974.00 per person, roundtrip, with a layover in London. We booked this flight back in February and THANK GOODNESS we did. Why?
Because the last time I checked, our exact same flight was going for….
Yep, $3135.00 per person. Are we flying to Mars? Insane. This is why I will never ever wait to book a flight. Once I see a good deal, I am booking immediately.
For the part of the trip where we travel from Cairo to Sharm El-Sheik we booked with EgyptAir. The cost of this quick flight was $177.00 per person, roundtrip, direct.
Now, the story of this flight.
When our original trip to Egypt had to be cancelled, BA was really easy to get a credit from. But, EgyptAir? No. Nothing easy about it. I emailed and emailed, nothing happened. No refund, no credit, absolutely nothing.
So I looked up their Toronto office and pulled up in-person to be like HEEEEEEEEEY SO ABOUT MY CREDIT OR REBOOKING. The woman at the Yonge and Eg office was so nice, she immediately rebooked us on our new dates for this upcoming trip. Got that done ASAP.
During this trip we are staying at three different places and it is a pretty cool range of experiences.
Initially, we were only supposed to be in Cairo for one night before we head off to Sharm, but BA had a flight change so we ended up with two nights instead. No problem.
Because at the end of the trip we had time allotted for doing the pyramids etc. I wanted something different for these two days. Somewhere we can get away from the busyness of central Cairo and just relax. Get onto this time zone and be normal-ish.
Then I saw the St. Regis Almasa. Oh my goodness. Whew. Go look at that site I embedded.
This place caught my eye immediately. Also, hello, THE ST REGIS? I want to live my best life in one of those robes.
The location of this hotel is outside of Cairo-proper, about 50km in the New Administrative Capital. It is massive, luxurious and most of all, looks very remote and relaxing. We need that.
We booked the Superior King room for $467.00, so $233.50 per person. I realize this is on the pricy end of things for two-nights somewhere, but, YOLO.
Next on the list was finding a place to stay in Sharm El-Sheikh.
For this we definitely wanted something by a beach and for a change, an all-inclusive. I usually don’t fancy all-inclusive resorts for my trips, but once in a while. Let’s do it.
There was a lot of reading TripAdvisor reviews and looking at photos etc. for this choice. We would be spending New Years Eve here and want to just lay on the beach, with all food and liquor accessible to us.
Eventually we chose the Solymar Naama Bay.
This was everything we wanted; all-inclusive, good reviews and also really close to the party area. We definitely want to go out and party a lot during our trip to Sharm, so this property checked off all the things on our list.
Also, we initially had a whole other place booked, but this one had some REALLY good reviews and it was $400 cheaper than the one we originally booked. Hell yeah.
Total cost for 5-nights is $710.00, so $355.00 per person.
There were LOTS of options in the Sharm area, but the reviews ultimately lead me to choosing this hotel. When we get back I will let you know if they were telling the truth.
After we are done relaxing and partying in Sharm, it is time for the final part of our trip in Cairo.
There was a lot of options for where to stay in Cairo. I get it, huge tourist destination with many things to see. We really wanted something closer to the pyramids, so we chose to go with staying in the Giza area.
Hotel choice was Jimmy Pyramids View.
If you look at the photos of this place, it is a pretty simple hotel but the rooftop and room views? Outstanding. Couldn’t be any better.
The total for 3-nights in the Deluxe Double Room with Balcony (and breakfast included) is $303.00, so $151.50 per person.
Heck of a deal, in my opinion.
For this trip, NO TESTING IS REQUIRED for England or Egypt.
However, a VISA is required for Canadians to purchase for entering Egypt. The cost of that is $25.00USD per person, so about $34.00 per person.
For excursions, the only thing we pre-booked was a private all-inclusive tour of the Giza pyramids.
Can’t go to Egypt and not visit the pyramids.
The tour includes: hotel pick up and drop off, a guide, lunch, 30-minute camel ride and entrance fees for Giza Pyramids + Memphis + Sakkara and the Sphinx.
Total cost is $137.13 per person and the link for the tour is here.
Will let everyone know if it was good when I return. Also, after my trip to UAE a couple of years ago, I feel better prepared for my riding a camel. Last time, it was terrifying when that thing drops to its knees. Thought I was going to face plant into the sand.
Spending money.
This one is kind of a stab in the dark, to be honest. Egypt doesn’t seem like a particularly expensive destination and we are also in an all-inclusive for 6 of the days.
I decided to go with $500.00 Canadian which is 9149 Egyptian Pounds.
Just noting here, the Egyptian Pound has dropped DRASTICALLY this year so I think last year at this time this was like 6000 Pounds for the $500 CAD? Madness.
No idea if this will be enough or too much money. I do plan on spending a lot on partying and food outside of the resort-time, wish me luck.
The total budget for this trip is $2562.24 Canadian for me.
Might be a lot? Might be decent? Not too sure, wasn’t really looking for this particular trip to be a budget trip. Like Peru, for me, this trip is a bucket list event. I am happy I got the flight for a great price, but I wanted the stays to all be awesome.
See you in 2023.
- Mirna
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