Egypt has been a fairly safe destination for tourism for years and has hosted hundreds of thousands of visitors over the years. Despite the other situations in Iraq, in Israel and in Palestine etc, tourism in mainland Egypt (the Egypt of the Classical tours) remains mostly unaffected. The Egyptian people, the vast majority who are thoughtful and moderate in their views, generally like Americans enormously…we’re so very similar when it comes to friendliness, warmth .
Yet as everywhere, incidents have occurred and thus there is a need to be cautious when it comes to safety and security.
And, of course, the way the Egypt Magic tours are organized — private and escorted — maximizes personal safety. You travel in a private car, with 2 Egyptians: your private Egyptologist guide and your driver. You are as inconspicuous as it’s possible for a Westerner to be! Your guide driver are both in constant cell contact with our offices throughout Egypt…our staff will know where you are almost every minute of every day.
The United States Department of State gives advice and Travel Notices at the State Dep’t web site US Govt Travel Advice. Under the current world conditions the State Department’s recommendation, and the recommendation of our Embassy in Cairo is usually: maintain a discrete profile, avoid large crowds or demonstrations, be alert about your surroundings and generally exercise prudence…and this is excellent advice no matter where or when you travel.
Air travel continues to be safe, both internationally and within Egypt. And the security precautions the Egyptian government has had in place to protect tourists since 1997 are impressive. There are metal detectors at the entries to all the sites, and at the hotel entryways plus you might see sniffer dogs and might be prevented from driving directly to the hotel entrance unless your vehicle passes a stringent inspection. You will see the military presence everywhere and over-the-road travel between certain cities tourists frequent is by army escorted convoy. And, consequently, there have been no problems in mainland Egypt.
Tourism is one of the country’s most important sources of hard currency, and besides not wanting any untoward incidents, Egypt is pragmatic and wants in no way to jeopardize a vital economic benefit. And, quite frankly, we would never want to send guests over to a favorite destination in the world if we didn’t have an excellent expectation that their time spent would be thoroughly and completely wonderful
Another ‘risk’ is road traffic and we use dedicated drivers and modern vehicles.
The final risk worth a mention is the sun! Egypt does not often have clouds to take extra special precautions with wide brimmed hats and sun cream!
We travel to Egypt regularly and are able to offer our advice and observations. Of course unless we are satisfied that guests will have a great time then tours are not recommended.
