Cairo, Egypt and airport experiences

I will be flying out of JFK but my trip is on 3/13/18. When you get back would appreciate feedback on your Cairo Egypt airport experiences. Have a wonderful and safe journey.

What was your experience like? I'm booked for a Oct/Nov 2018 trip and will be landing in Cairo at 11pm! I'd love some advice.

The trip was awesome. If you bought your ticket through Road Scolar, someone will meet you at the airport and get you to the hotel. It’s a very intense trip in terms of pace, so be as well-rested as you can be when you go. Our guide tried to get us out to the sites early, before they were crowded and hot. That makes for long days. The vendors at some of the sites are super aggressive. Do not engage with them. Keep your eyes forward and don’t communicate at all. It felt very rude to me, but these guys will shove things in your hand and then follow you until you pay for them. So beware. Definitely layer clothes. It’s cooler in Alexandria but hot in upper Egypt.

Elena, since you've been on an Egypt trip, can you help with a couple of questions? My party is wondering if bottled water is readily available and at a reasonable cost (e.g., on the bus), or is it necessary to take enough water to last for the entire day of site seeing? Also, do hotels provide shampoo, or do we need to pack. Ditto for hair dryers. We are trying to pack as light as possible. Do any of the nights on the cruise ship require dressy clothes? Thanks, so much.

My sister-in-law is Egypt right now and gave the exact same advice about vendors! But then she followed it up with "The locals can be lovely, often the stall people in the souk just want to joke with you, while they take you cash of course, but haggling can be a serious matter! The taxi guys can be the most annoying, but ..... revised the 'no smiling'. It's best to smile say no and add 'but have a nice day'. Seems to finish the exchange."

My sister-in-law is Egypt right now and gave the exact same advice about vendors! But then she followed it up with "The locals can be lovely, often the stall people in the souk just want to joke with you, while they take you cash of course, but haggling can be a serious matter! The taxi guys can be the most annoying, but ..... revised the 'no smiling'. It's best to smile say no and add 'but have a nice day'. Seems to finish the exchange."