Egypt travel

Last year, anticipating a three week trip to China, I asked whether my
family should book a tour or travel independently, booking hotels, air
flights, and guides as we went. The general opinion (on a site similar to
this one, but for Asia) was that much money was to be saved and the problems
were minimal traveling independently. We did so and were surprised at how
easy it was, particularly since we speak no Chinese. The cost savings were
also substantial.

Now we are looking at a couple of weeks in Egypt and have the same question.
Is it better (and cheaper) to book hotels, flights and guides after we get
there or should we book in advance? We will probably go sometime late in
2006 or early 2007.

I booked a hotel in advance for one or two nights in 4 of the places I went.
Then I'd find a nice hotel for 1/4 to 1/3 as much for the rest of my stay in
each place. If I had been travelling light I wouldn't have felt compelled
to book anything in advance except maybe the first night in the country, but
I had a bunch of camera and diving eqpt. However, if you plan on doing any
air travel inside egypt you should book it all at the Cairo airport the day
you get there to make sure you can get it. I couldn't find a way to book it
in advance from the U.S.
Have fun. I enjoyed it. Pictures at:
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/pat/MapLinks.htm

Last year, anticipating a three week trip to China, I asked whether my
family should book a tour or travel independently, booking hotels, air
flights, and guides as we went. The general opinion (on a site similar to
this one, but for Asia) was that much money was to be saved and the
problems were minimal traveling independently. We did so and were
surprised at how easy it was, particularly since we speak no Chinese. The
cost savings were also substantial.

Now we are looking at a couple of weeks in Egypt and have the same
question. Is it better (and cheaper) to book hotels, flights and guides
after we get there or should we book in advance? We will probably go
sometime late in 2006 or early 2007.