Itinerary : 13 days in Egypt

Villa Belle Epoque  (2 nights)

I had no idea of what Cairo would look like and not a lot of expectations. The place blew my mind! It’s impossibly chaotic and dusty but completely mesmerizing. The sight of the pyramids was not the touristic experience I expected, but instead a surreal vision that gave me shivers. On that first day our guide took us to Gizeh (the pyramids) and to Old Cairo.

Finding a boutique hotel in Cairo is quite a challenge since that kind of tourism hasn’t really happened there. There is one good option though: the Villa Belle Epoque in Maadi. It’s a little bit on the outside (then it’s not very clear where the center is in this megalopolis) but has the advantage of being in quiet neighborhood and featuring a garden and a pool (which feels like an absolute luxury in dusty Cairo).

Siwa Villa  (2 nights)

We left Cairo in the morning with the driver that would take us deep inside the Egyptian mainland, up to Siwa. We stopped in Mersa Matrouh for lunch before things got serious and there was nothing around us but oil fields, rocks and the occasional truck. I guess this is what “nowhere” feels like. The impeccable ribbon of asphalt surprised us at first, but since the road is used to convey oil, it made sense pretty quickly.

We arrived in Siwa later in the afternoon, and the oasis is indeed a sight for sore eyes after hours of arid landscapes. Penny welcomed us to our mud villa and took us to dinner in town. We felt like on another planet and like locals at the same time thanks to her. The next day we went for a tour of the old town with a local archaeologist and got to see the famous mountain of the dead! Lunch at Fahmi’s garden was a great moment and walking around the half crumbled Shali a unique experience.

Bivouac  (1 night)

We left for a first “desert” adventure the next day, with our driver, guide and cook: Nasser. He showed us the great beauty of the Western Desert, grilled us some chicken and set up our camp. I am far from being a natural born camper, but sleeping under the stars in the silent desert was the kind of experience you want to have at least once. The next morning, on the way back, he took us to a hot spring in the middle of desert and to this gorgeous lake.

Siwa Villa  (3 nights)

We then came back to Siwa for a few days and spent some time reading on our roof, swimming in salt lakes, meeting locals, wandering the gardens, watching sunsets, having tea, lime juice, dates and far too much chicken (my husband refused to eat chicken for a month after this trip!)

Sands Bahariya hotel(1 night)

We left Siwa for good the next day to reach the smaller oasis of Bahariya, the starting point of White Desert safaris.

Bivouac  (1 night)

We started the day with the Black desert which I had never heard about and whose beauty really amazed me. It’s funnty how it is so close to the opposite landscape of immaculate petrified dunes of the White Desert. I have to say that despite knowing what to expect, I was still blown away by the sights. We spend the night under the stars, drank soup and made friend with the cutest fennec.

Villa Belle Epoque  (2 nights)

We drove back to Cairo the next day, which was shorter than the Cairo-Siwa trip but still a few hours long. On our last day there, we visited the incredible Archaelogical museum, which is straight out of and Indiana Jones movie. The treasures it holds are unbelievable and I’m still angry that pictures were strictly forbidden. We then had lunch and a stroll in the cool neighborhood of Zamalek.