i think you should be fine with your visa, sarah. i just sent mine in last tuesday, so i'm kind of in the same boat. and i've heard they process it pretty quick!

i'm flying in from seattle. then to paris. then to cairo. good to hear i won't be the only one on the trip to the hotel, though! an hour's drive?!? wow.

i'm hoping we won't die from the heat of having to cover up so much. oh well.

Hi Guys,

I have just read all of your messages so far, so i thought i would say hi.

I am travelling alone and comming from Australia. I land the same time as yourself Melissa at 6pm on the 15th !! And i have a crazy flight out as well as you other guys.

For the Aussie people it took about 12 days to get my Visa from the travel agent and yes it was $50.

Look forward to seeing you guys soon

Matthew

Hay Matthew

Welcome to the forum and Hi back at you.
Are you flying directly to Cairo or are you on transit on some other place?

Cheers
TJ

Hey TJ

No i am flying into Cairo from Germany, i am spending 3 weeks touring eastern Europe before this tour.

I then have 2 week back in the UK, to catch up with some friends and maybe go up into scotland.

nice to hear from you

Matt

Hello Matt!

Nice to meet another person on the tour I can't believe how fast the days are going by now. Before we know it we'll all be having our welcome drink in Cairo.
3 weeks in Eastern Europe before the tour, 10 days in Egypt then 2 weeks in the Uk? Matt, my friend, your life sounds rough...must be tough having to cope with so much freedom Scotland is a must. I have some of my best, most incredible memories there.

Talk soon,
Sarah

Hey Sarah,

Yes very nice to meet you as well, yes i have been to Scotland a few times but this time i am going back there for work. I work for a wine and spirits company and am going to have a look at some distilleries.

So yes life is extremely tough for a boy like me but i will just struggle on and make the best of it

Talk Soon

Matt

Hi Matt,

A wine and spirits company that enables you to travel? Are they hiring? Because that sounds like a dream job! Here I am at work already at 6:30 am, trying to pump the life back into me with caffeine. Though I know we'll have early mornings, this trip can't come soon enough for me!
Did all you guys get the typhoid shot?

Talk to you later,
Sarah

oh cool! another person has joined in!
hello, matt!
glad to hear someone else will be landing around the same time as me. i was a bit worried i'd miss out on all the meeting up back at the hotel.

i got my visa last week in the mail! for some reason i didn't think it'd end up in my passport? but it did and it looks cool.

i've started a countdown on my calender. it is getting super close! i am not looking forward to having to pack my stupid liquids. i hope i can fit enough suntan lotion in there, augh. crazy american rules.

matt, how fun that you are travelling beforehand! i wanted to do that but well. after my new zealand trip last year and buying a car, there is really no way i could afford to do two trips so close together. so next year, hopefully. but have fun! i've always wanted to see scotland, probably because ive got some scottish blood in me.

Hey Guys,

From my last tour talking to Canadians and Americans you guys have terrible holiday structures, we get 4 weeks a year and this only 2 of my five weeks are counted becuase they class the rest as work.

Believe me Sarah they are for thier pound of flesh as well so sounds good but i do have to work alittle, i do feel sorry for you to start work at 6.30 thats tough.

Melissa we have those stupid 'liquid rules' in Australia as well so we must be all in the same boat.

I haven't had any injections and my doctor said that its not really needed if you are not 'slumming' it for a better word.

If any of you guys would like to email me my address is cononman@hotmail.com

talk soon

Matt

well i can't really speak for the majority of americans or canadians, really, as i'm only at a part time job because i still go to school full time. anyway. i believe if you have a full time job in the states, it's only 2 weeks (!!!) vacation a year. how AWFUL. i've taken three vacations this summer. trying to get it out of my system before i graduate next march and have to start looking for a REAL job, i guess.

really? i had no idea australia had the same rules. i know last october when i took the new zealand tour, all the aussies had full bottles of shampoo, gel, etcetc. i was pretty jealous.

i haven't had any shots either. i don't plan to. the only thing i'm somewhat worried about are the mosquitos on the nile river. hmmmmm

Hi guys,

I just found out that the shot for Hep A and Typhoid is going to cost me over $100! I nearly fell out of my chair when they told me that. I know we're not planning on "slumming" it, but I usually like to be safe than sorry. But come on $100 for 2 shots?! I suppose when we're spending this much on the trip, what's another 100?
I hear what you're saying about the mosquitos, Melissa. After reading the huge article in National Geographic a couple months ago on Malaria, I've looked at those little buggers as more than just pesky.

I am a bit confused on the flight booking approach... First, did anyone book the flight through contiki itself or is that an overly expensive idea? And also, what day should we plan to leave (NYC for example)- the 13th? I'm just wondering- if you get there early or stay later- did you plan your hotel or will you just be wandering around egypt, winging it? Just curious... Thanks!

Hi Superjess

You don't have to get Contiki to book your flight. I looked into it and the cost was pretty much the same whether you booked with them or not, so my travel agent booked them separately. I think that if you were to book one of the Europe tours and booked your flight through Contiki you would be paying way too much. You can always find dirt cheap deals into the UK and then book on a budget airline (Ryanair, Easyjet, etc) from there.
As for what day to leave from North America, you'll be wanting to fly out on Sept 14 to arrive there on Sept 15 (which is Day 2 on our itinerary).
Make sure that you notify Contiki of your flight details (if you book it yourself), so that they can have someone there at the airport to help you through customs and whatnot and get you back to the hotel. If you're using a travel agent, they should notify Contiki for you.
I think that if you're wanting to be there earlier you could let contiki know and they might make the hotel arrangements for you if you're staying at the Oasis.
Hope that helps a bit

I was just thinking about the flights a little bit more and I remembered that when my travel agents called Contiki to ask about their flight prices in their brochure they said that the taxes are not included in the price they show. I don't have it in front of me, but I think it was about $1500 before taxes with them. I paid $1569 flying with Alitalia from Toronto including taxes.

Thank you, Sarah- I appreciate your help!