Where to stay in Egypt

The seasons

• October to April is the season everywhere, and it is genuinely pleasant.
• May to September in Luxor and Aswan is punishing, regularly over 40 °C. Sites are visited at dawn and the middle of the day is spent indoors. Hotels are correspondingly cheap.
• The Red Sea works year round. Summer is hot but the sea and the air conditioning make it manageable.
• Book ahead around Christmas, New Year and Easter, when Luxor and the Red Sea fill.
• Ramadan changes the rhythm rather than closing things, and resort hotels operate normally.

Where to stay

• Giza, with a pyramid view, is a specific and worthwhile splurge. Waking up to them from a balcony is the trip's best moment for many people.
• Zamalek and Garden City in Cairo are calmer, greener and better for walking than Downtown.
• Downtown Cairo is cheap, characterful, noisy and central.
• Luxor's east bank for the town and the temples, the west bank for quiet and the tombs.
• Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh are all-inclusive resort towns and the value is remarkable. They are not Egypt in any cultural sense, and that is fine if it is what you want.
• Dahab is the low-key alternative, backpackerish and much better for diving without the resort machinery.
• Nile cruise boats are floating hotels, and the difference between a good and a bad one is large. Read recent reviews rather than the brochure.

Safety in your room

The FCDO notes reports of sexual assault predominantly at Red Sea resorts, including cases involving minors.

• Do not allow hotel staff into your room when you are alone. This is the FCDO's own advice and it is specific for a reason.
• Use the door chain, and ask for identification.
• Supervise children in resort kids' clubs and pools rather than assuming the supervision is what it would be at home.
• Choose established, well-reviewed properties, particularly for a family holiday.

Practical

• Passport registration at check-in is required and is normal.
• Power cuts happen. A property with a generator is a different experience in summer.
• Check the air conditioning works before you accept the room, not afterwards.
• Bottled water is usually provided and you will drink a lot of it.