The Fayoum

The Fayoum

The remainder of Egypt where tourists are likely to travel consists of the Fayoum and desert oasis, the Red Sea cost and the Sinai.  Of these, the Fayoum, which is not really a true oasis, is most likely to interest pharaonic sight seers, but will usually consist of a day trip. Such a tour is likely to be least expensive by arranging a it from a Cairo hotel, though it is possible to travel there via bus.  Unfortunately, the impressive monuments of this district are spread out, so for most, the only practical means of exploring the area will be within a tour.  Many companies offer short tours such as this, but Misr Travel, the national travel company of Egypt, is well known for their day and 1/2 day agendas.  These tours are normally very reasonable.

One problem with actually staying in the Fayoum and desert oasis is that tourists are a captive audience.  A variety of inexpensive restaurants and the scope of nightlife found in many other areas of Egypt do not really exist.  Certainly there are a hand full of local eateries in a city such as Medinet El-Fayoum, but for the most part, tourists who stay overnight in these areas must rely on the hotel for both food and entertainment. While a hotel such as the Auberge du Lac in the Fayoum may have a variety of nightly entertainment, it is probably the only hotel in these areas to do so.

On the other hand, the Fayoum and particularly the desert oasis have not experienced the tourism boom that has driven up hotel prices in the primary tourism cities of Egypt, so prices are usually reasonable, and in some cases, camping is a viable alternative. For the Fayoum and Desert Oasis, we have worked hard just to include a few hotels in our databases, and with the possible exception of the Auberge du Lac, just about all of them would be considered as budget facilities, though some are very nice regardless of their pricing.