Sailing down the Nile

In January 2013 we went on a fantastic 4 day/3nights Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor.

We’d booked through a travel agent in Cairo – but due to the low numbers of tourists in Egypt at the moment, there’s no real need to book in advance. There are dozens and dozens of boats – they are all very similar (most claim to be 5 star) and offer similar prices. We were booked on a boat called the “Grand Princess” which was lovely.

It was only US$55 per person per night including all meals (in a double room – all rooms have river views).

Like most of the cruises this leaves Aswan on Friday evening and arrives in Luxor on Saturday evening, but most people seemed to stay for 3 nights, and head off the boat during the days in Aswan and Luxor to do tours.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all pretty good (buffet style) and entertainment was offered every second night. There was also a great bar (expensive drinks) and a very cool rooftop with sun loungers and a pool.

When the boat was travelling down the Nile, it was lovely to just spend time in the room, which all have sliding glass doors which you can open to the amazing Nile views. The rooftop was also a great place to watch life on the Nile go by.

On the way to Luxor all of the boats stopped at the temples of Kom Ombo (and crocodile mummy museum) and Edfu, giving you time to head off the boat and check them out. Both are worth visiting, and despite turning up at the same time as about 6 other boats, were not crowded.

The Nile is a beautiful river with amazing history and this stretch of it is relatively quiet and not too developed – most of the scenery was farmlands and small villages. It was a very relaxing way to spend 4 days and a highly recommended trip!

The top deck of the Grand Princess, complete with sun loungers, pool, bar and minimalist gym!

Nile cruise boat in Aswan

Amazing sunshine in the cabin on the Nile

View of Luxor Temple from the boat

Sunset on the Nile in Luxor

The temple of Kom Ombo on the Nile River

Mummified crocodiles at Kom Ombo. Crocodiles were worshipped by ancient Egyptians as they were believed to be powerful beings, strongly connected to the all-important Nile River.

The massive temple of Edfu

Accommodation in Egypt

A quick overview of where we’ve stayed in case anyone is looking for recommendations. In general we’re staying in private rooms at budget hotels/hostels.

Cairo
Nubian Hostel
Cost: 120 LE a night for private room with bathroom and air-con including breakfast (English continental or Egyptian – ie. falaffel sandwiches and tea)
Good: The breakfast is great, the location excellent (downtown with a lot of great restaurants and student cafes nearby), the staff are friendly and helpful (although have limited English), private bathroom.
Bad: Not very clean – the rooms wasn’t serviced for the 4 days we were there, the shower was pretty crap.

Canadian Hostel
Cost: 120 LE for shared bathroom room 140 LE for private bathroom with air-con, including breakfast (bread roll, boiled egg and tea/coffee)
Good: Very clean, nicely decorated, huge rooms, friendly and helpful staff with very good English, great location near Tahrir Square (although that proximity is not good when there are protests).
Bad: Travel agent connected to the hotel is not reliable – we booked some things through them and they were deceitful and overpriced.

Aswan
El Salaam Hotel
Cost: 110 LE night for private bathroom and breakfast (continental)
Good: Great location on Nile, amazing rooftop terrace with incredible views over the Nile – they serve breakfast here, good clean rooms, good shower, helpful staff with good English, we booked a tour to Abu Simbel with them and it was all OK.
Bad: Nothing really – was great value for money.

Luxor
Happy Land Hotel
Cost: 90 LE night for private bathroom and breakfast (excellent and large Egyptian breakfast)
Good: Good location near local market in quiet street, excellent staff, nice clean rooms, excellent shower and hot water (best we’ve experienced in Egypt in a budget or mid-range place).
Bad: The hotel is quiet in terms of street noise but the polished floors mean you hear all the noise other guests make if they are moving around the hotel. A minor issue for an amazing value budget hotel!

Hurghada
4 seasons Hotel
Cost: 105 LE for private bathroom and breakfast
Good: Nice clean bright room, good hot water, helpful staff, good location
Bad: A bit pushy on the tours

Safaga
Coral Sun Beach Hotel
Cost: US$70 a night all inclusive (food and drinks including alcohol) – this is an off season rate.
Good: Amazing location 23 km south of Safaga – they have their own beach that has incredible coral reefs right off it – you can dive or snorkel – best snorkelling I have done anywhere in the world, service is excellent, food is really good, facilities excellent, spa centre was amazing value, this was an incredible find for the price
Bad: It’s not near any town so you really have to go all inclusive – but it is well worth it.

A week in Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque is an artisan’s town in Guadalajara. Actually, it’s more like a suburb of Guadalajara that feels like a mini town – sort of like Yarraville or Williamstown in Melbourne. Interestingly, it’s mainly Mexican tourists who visit here. Not many gringos here at all, which was fine by us. Some friends from Melbourne were living in Tlaquepaque and studying Spanish, so that combined with the town’s overwhelming charms fuelled our decision to stay there for the week.

Andrew hanging out with some of the locals on Calle independencia in Tlaquepaque

We were lucky enough to find an apartment online for $165 USD/week in the Plaza de Artesanias. It was a massive studio with a separate kitchen and bathroom, tastefully decorated with beautiful Mexican pieces.

The main plaza in Tlaquepaque was always teeming with people at night

The food in Tlaquepaque was amazing, particularly the street food. There was everything from grilled corn on a stick, to baked potatoes with corn, broccoli, cheese and sour cream, to hot dogs (nice ones). And of course there were the usual taco stand offerings of tacos with meat and chicken, gorditas (fried maize bread stuffed with whatever you like), empanadas (fried tortillas filled with whatever you like), and our favourite thing ever – the churro-like (didn’t get its ‘proper’ name but am guessing it’s a churro) dessert we went hunting for most nights. Think freshly deep fried churro cut in half, filled with caramel and then rolled in cinnamon and sugar – oh yes!

Churro with caramel, cinnamon and sugar

We had a brilliant place a couple of doors down selling Tortas Ahogado (literally meat or prawn rolls drowned in a tasty sauce).

Tortas Ahogado

The fact that I haven’t put on 5kgs is a miracle!

Accommodation in Mexico

A brief summary of where we stayed in Mexico, in case it’s of interest!

MEXICO CITY

Hostel Amigos (1 night – well around 5 hours to be exact)
470 MXD private room with bathroom
Good: huge rooms, fan, great shower, great staff, wireless, and lots of great tours, includes breakfast and dinner
Bad: Very noisy rooms – huge gap over the front door which assists you to hear every noise everyone else makes on the floor, crappy free breakfast, and overall a bit of a seedy vibe.

Hotel Isabel – (4 nights)
420 MXD private room with bathroom
Good: Good rooms, amazing central courtyard, great staff, tours, lovely building, very quiet!
Bad: Crappy shower, no fan in room.

Hotel Dilligencia (1 night)
380MXD private room with bathroom
Good: Great room, Funky 60’s style decor, very clean, excellent location (airport bus stop is right out the front), good restaurant
Bad: Nothing

PUEBLA

El Hotelito (3 nights)
450MXD per night
Good: Very nice rooms, small hotel, balcony, lovely courtyard, great staff
Bad: On main street so could get bit noisy in the morning, no fan

OAXACA

Valle De Oaxaca (2 nights)
350MXD per night
Good: Shower was great – bed was comfortable, was quiet!
Bad: Wifi didn’t work in room, room quite run down and a bit unclean, quiet noisy part of town.

Las Marisposas (2 nights)
550MXD per night
Good: Big rooms, very clean and comfortable, lovely outside garden, kitchen in room,massive bed, on nice side of town
Bad: Nothing

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS
Hostel Los Camillos – (2 nights)
300MXD per night
Good: Very cheap, included coffee and drinking water, good facilities, great location, clean rooms
Bad: Room was a bit damp – would be really cold in winter

Casa Margherita -(2 nights)
450MXD per night
Good: Great rooms – very clean – fantastic shower with super hot water, nice staff – beautiful courtyard and great location
Bad: Nothing really

PALENQUE

Hotel Nutuntun Palenque (3 nights)
500MXD per night (normally 1,000 in a deluxe room)
Good: Amazing value – was a proper resort with spa, great pool, beautiful grounds, you can swim in a river that runs through the property which is fantastic, is a bit out of town so is nice and quiet
Bad: The onsite restaurant is quite limited in their range and a bit expensive, apart from that and the 3 local restaurants out the front, you have to travel a few km into town for more food options (19 MXD by van or 40 MXD by cab). Also town is wher ethe buses go to the ruins.

Overall would definitely recommend this hotel – but the town is actually much nicer than the Lonely Planet makes it out to be, so if you’re doing lots of activities and tours – and want more food options – stay in town! If you’re happy with quiet and relaxation go for Nutunutun.

TULUM
Parayso Hotel and Spa (3 nights)
500 MXD per night (much cheaper than normal due to low season)
Good: Amazing location right on a beautiful beach, big rooms, nice pool
Bad: Being on the beach restricts you to nearby restaurants – all of which is expensive. There are about 10 places within 500metres though.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN

Playalingua (7 nights)
400MXD per night (includes full breakfast – eggs cooked to order)
Good: Great location right off Qunita Avenida (the main street), close to beach, pool, very nice rooms with fridge and amazing showers (the best we’ve come across in Mexico so far), fantastic breakfast, quiet despite being next to a bar
Bad: Nothing really

GUADALAJARA
Hostel Beds n Travel
420MXD per night (icludes continental breakfast)
Good: Good location in the suburbs of Guadalajara, but close to bus, nice rooms, good facilities, helpful staff
Bad: Bit of a walk to town

TLAQUEPAQUE
Plaza de las Artisans
USD175 per week
Good: Excellent large rooms, beautifully decorates, quiet area, right in the middle of town, very friendly and helpful owners, amazing value
Bad: Nothing

MASCOTA
Hotel Posada San Jose
450MXD per night with private bathroom
Good: Great location, very nice and clean rooms, lovely courtyard, very nicely decorated, great value
Bad: Rooms on the street can be a little noisy, although this is a quiet town.

PUERTO VALLARTA
Costa Sur Resort and Spa
USD85 per night (4 night stay)
Good: Great facilities, really nice big rooms with kitchens – all with balconies and sea views, Helpful staff, bus to town right out front, private beach, drinkable tap water
Bad: Not walkable to other restaurants and not possible to get food after 10pm.

Hotel Villa del Mar
420MXD per night
Good: helpful staff, great location in Zona romantica, nice bright rooms with balconies, Great rooftop terrace
Bad: Can be noisy on street in morning, some rooms were small with ineffective fans, posted rate in lobby was 620MXD – the rooms are not worth that but were good value for what we paid.

CUERNAVACA
Hotel Casa Mexicana
450MXD per night with kitchen and private bathroom
Good: Excellent large rooms, very clean with separate lounge room, very quiet, great staff, largest rooms we stayed in for this price range.
Bad: About a 15 minute walk into town, immediate area was a bit industrial