 | Cairo Camels Reviews | Tips 11 - 20 of 23 |  |
I was lucky to have an Egyptian national as a friend and guide. One of the best recommendations he made was. If you want to ride a camel, then wear cloths you are willing to burn after riding a camel. The smell permiates the cloths and can not be removed. Also never go out on a camel by yourself once the camel guide gets you out in the desert and your by yourself he may demand $100 american dollars to return you to the city. Make sure you are in a group and you have a responsible tourguide with you.
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The camel trap.
There is a popular trick they play on you near the Pyramids. You are offered a free photo on a camel just for the sake of doing you pleasure. But when you climb the beast, it gets up and its owner demands from 10 to 50 dollars from you to get the camel down. I jumped off, so got out without loosing my money. Just be careful and a bit more sceptical! Leave a Comment
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A thing many tourists do when visiting the pyramids is take a ride on a camel. There are a number of people around with their camels offering a ride for a price. It can be a good form of transportation between pyramids, especially when it is hot out.
The camel owners can be very annoying though. They bother you thinking they can convince you to ride the camels. They tell you to take a picture of their camels and then bug you for money. This is how they trap tourists into paying. They will also charge large amounts for a ride. Not all of them are bad but most are. Leave a Comment
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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.
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.
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Even if you've been riding camels before (for me: Sfax and Petra) do take a camel ride to and around the pyramids (or a horse if you're really afraid of heights or have difficulty spreading your legs wide for a long time - not trying to be funny here, but you may get cramps). It sure helps if you have a tour guide present, even if like in my case he left the bargaining with the camel owner to me. Didn't have to bargain too hard: camel owner asked LE 120 including access to the grounds, entry into one of the pyramids and camera permit. As I didn't have a camera with me I told him 100 and that was alright without further ado (so less should be possible, but wasn't necessary for me). My camel driver entered the pyramids enclosure from the 'panorama hill' on the South side and didn't buy a ticket to the grounds. In my estimation he paid off three tourist police, probably for LE 10 each. Left the camel owner with LE 70 for himself which I didnt mind as it was magnificent. The camel driver asked me for a tip at the end (it was not his camel) and I gave him another 20. A lot? Not if you consider it's less than 3 euros.
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Every guidebook warn you about it but the level of hassle is not understood until you go there and experience it yourself. People asking you to buy camelrides, drinks or maybe the need you to exchange something. They really dont take no for an aswer and follow you while they continue to offer their services.
The touristpolice are present at the pyramids and try to scare the "salespersons" off but they are hopelessly outnumbered.
The salespersons dont give up easily and i found the best way to stop them was to repeatedly saying no thanks in a friendly but firm tone of voice.
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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.
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.
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If you decide to ride a camel make sure that you agree about a price BEFORE you get on the camel or otervise it will be expensive.
Agree about the price fist.
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Many salespeople are trying to sell you something or ask money for a picture. Try to avoid these people (it will not be easy). They are very stubborn. Once you have looked at the product they won't go away until you bought someting. It can spoil the real purpose of your visit; watching the pyramids
Stop the conversation with the people as soon as you know they want to sell you something. The will be angry, but don't feel embarrassed. It's all part of the act.
Staying with a group might help a little. Especially when you have a good tourguide who knows about these practices. Leave a Comment
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Ok, you are in Cairo, and you must ride a camel, and they know it. Just be smart about it. If your with a tour guide ask him to negiotate for you. And no matter what you do don't take the first price they give you again they all speak ENGLISH, French, Italian, German, you'll be surprised. We took a 30 minute ride and the camel owner took great pictures of us, at the end we paid 100 LE for 2 of us, about $20 US dollars. Not as bad I thought it would be....but be warned the camel stink like you never smelled before, so make sure you don't have nice clothes on, if not you'll end up throwing them away !!!!! Leave a Comment
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