Cairo: Giza Pyramids, Grand Egyptian Museum & Bazaar Tour

4.97

(145 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to feel so small standing in front of the Great Pyramid. It’s almost like your brain can’t process the size until you’re actually there, squinting up while our guide—Mona—told us how Khufu’s pyramid was the tallest thing on earth for thousands of years. The desert air was already warm, but not heavy, and I kept brushing sand off my shoes. Mona laughed when I asked if she ever gets used to this view. “Never,” she said. “It’s always new.” We walked around the Sphinx too—its face is more weathered than photos show, but somehow gentler.

There was a moment during our private day trip from Cairo when we ducked inside a little tent for tea after our camel ride (yes, it’s bumpy; yes, you should do it). My legs felt wobbly but I couldn’t stop grinning. The camels’ breath smelled grassy and kind of sweet, which surprised me—I’d braced for something worse. Mona pointed out details everywhere: granite blocks on Menkaure’s pyramid that came all the way from Aswan, faded carvings you’d miss if you weren’t looking. She knew just where to stand for those awkward-but-essential pyramid photos too.

After lunch (falafel and something like fava beans—I forgot the name), we cooled off in the Grand Egyptian Museum. The light inside is soft and goldish; Ramses II stands there looking impossibly calm for someone carved 3,000 years ago. Some kids were giggling near a case of tiny cat statues. It felt weirdly peaceful after the sun outside.

Khan el-Khalili bazaar was pure chaos—in a good way. Spices everywhere, copper lamps catching sunlight, shopkeepers calling out prices in Arabic and English. Mona helped me haggle for a little brass scarab; I’m sure I overpaid but honestly didn’t care by then. There was this smell—cardamom and roasting nuts—that stuck to my clothes even after we left. On the drive back through Cairo traffic (which deserves its own tour), I kept thinking about how old everything felt—and how alive.