Camels, Cairo

If your going to get a camel then there is one thing you have to remember.

Camels are not horses.

Do not try to sit astride it like it is one.

Watch the way your guide rides. Scoot all the way up to the saddle horn so it is flush against your abdomen and place your legs towards/on the downward slope leading to the neck of the camel. Hook your right leg upward a bit and get comfortable.

This may seem unstable when you first take yourself out of sitting astride, but there is a reason the locals ride this way. Give yourself two minutes sitting astride a camel in horseback fashion and you'll end up limping the rest of your trip.

When in doubt in Cairo use your eyes and your brain.

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Please be careful while negotiating with the Camel man, ask very clearly about the rates in Egyptian Pounds. Our guide told us it was 100 Egyptian Pounds ( 100 L.E. or about USD$20) per person and we paid for 3 of us. But the ride was only for about half an hour, I think it was a bit expensive for half an hour. The guide also told us that you may be cheated by them if we do not go through her as she spoke in Arabic to them. There are many instances that they ask for UK Pounds of US Dollar 100!
On way they will ask if you are intersted to get yourself photographed, who does n't? Then they will ask for 10 Egyptian Pounds for photographs taken, then he will ask for additional Bakhshis ( Tips)

Unique Suggestions: Please make sure before you start how much money he will take in Egyptian Pounds. Ofcourse, if you are filthy rich, or want to pay the poor man, you can always go ahead and pay as much as you want.

Fun Alternatives: Take the horse carriage, or another camel. But you will be mobbed here too! Be polite and take another willing person, I am sure there will be many!

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Beware of camel owners/operators that try to extort money from visitors just wanting to take a short ride or pose for photos on a camel. Agree on a price and explain to the handler that you would like a short ride of 5-10 minutes and maybe a photo. The latest scam is they will agree on a price and take you quite a distance from where you started from in order ask you for more money to return you back to where you started from. It may not seem like that big a deal, but believe me, if you are out there in the hot desert sun, it will be.

Again, bargain and agree on a fair price, set a short time limit, that way you can get a nice photo of you on a camel and you can still leave with most of your money.

Be careful on your way to the pyramids of giza - DO NOT give in to or start talking to anyone who tries to stop your taxi on the road or let your driver take you to a 'friend's' stable - he'll be getting commission. these horses are in general not well-cared for and neither are their customers (bridles and saddles won't fit or be safe and the 'guide' (normally a ten year old boy) will simply crack a whip behind them to make them run; ignoring anything you might want

Unique Suggestions: Just completely ignore anyone who tries to get you to stop the car, ride their horses/camels. Be firm that you know where you're going. Don't get stressed, just think of it as a battle of wills!

What trip is not complete without a camel ride. Sure it is a tourist trap.....so......just enjoy it. We did. Here is my wonderful Mom, can you believe it? I managed to get her on this camel (believe me, this is no small task, my sister tried getting her on a camel in Morocco but, hey, I am the special one, so I convinced her to get on this camel.

It was one of the highlights of our trip (along with the donkey ride which is another chapter under my Egypt trip). I am not sure what a camel ride would cost because we didn't pay for our evening ride which took us to the Pyramid Plateu and gave us the opportunity to see (for free) the Pyramid Lazer Light Show.

Can you believe that? There truly are very nice people in this wonderful world that we live in and I am happy that we had the opportunity to meet quite a few here in Cairo.

We heard some one who took the 15 minute camel ride on Giza, the guy was forced to pay more money to come back after they had led him to far out which no one heard him screaming to let him go.......
I also saw 2 women arguing with a camel guy who did not give change to the ladies after the ride. The guy simply denied the women about he promised to give them change back.

I saw a guy haggled his price in taking a picture with the camel in front of a pyramid. Then some guy will walked next to you and volunteer to be on your picture by putting his hand on your shoulder without asking for your permission to be on the photo. Then this guy will chase after you non-stop for a big tip & so was the one who rent you the camel for picture.......

I was in Cairo, visiting the pyramids. The idea of riding a camel never crossed my mind. What am I, an eight year old? It seemed vaguely odd that my own tour guide asked me about four times if I wanted to ride a Camel around the pyramids. I was trying to get a sense of 4000 years of history and those bugs turn it into some cheap, mawkish carnival ride. I simply refused every attempt. Only after reading the other comments did I realize what a scam I avoided.

Fun Alternatives: I told my guide I wanted to walk completely around the largest pyramid. Khufu? Cheops? Whatever. He was not pleased with this idea. He said it would take several hours. What, was he high? It took about 20 minutes!! And that's because I was having trouble with breathing. The entire country is full of annoying, money-grubbing bugs.

Allways negotiate the price before you get on the Camel. Don't give more than 10LE (usualy 1-2 LE will be enough) . One guy had to pay 25 euros in order to get off it.

Camel ride is most expencive near the Pyramids.

I dont like repiting the tips but I have to put this one on every of my Egypt pages

Camel rides around the Giza pyramids are great fun and taking one after 4 pm when the pyramids are closed allows you to take great panoramic photos of them without the crowds around. However be wary as the guide we went with stopped the group a fair ways out from the stables (we're talking the desert after hours) and demanded generous tips from everyone in the group before continuing on-i.e implying that if we didn't cough up he would leave us out there. Also when we got back the stable manager was quick to point out that we went over the 1hr and should pay more than the agreed price (although the pace and timing of the tour was dictated by his guide on horse back who'd earlier blackmailed us). These camel ride operators are notorious for this kind of caper and something should be done about this but it would seem that the tourist police get their backhanders from these operators so this will probably continue to happen.

Unique Suggestions: Do not get on the camels before agreeing on a price and the length of time you want to go out for. Often the stable master will say just get on the camels and to take a photo and then talk price later-once you're up on the camels the timer has started and he will charge based on time spent on them. Often people ask for an hours ride but the guide will take the group right around all the sites and bring you back hours later and then insist that you've done the full tour and have to pay the full price. Stick to your guns and tell the stable master up front how much you're prepared to pay for what length of time you want to ride for. If you come back later than the agreed time-this is the fault of the guide who does this intentionally to stretch out the bill and not yours so pay what you specifically asked for in the first place. We did this and when the stable master grumbled and asked for more I reminded him that I'd asked for an hour and his guide stuffed us around.