Iraq

Ever since I was a little kid, I've dreamt about traveling to Egypt.

The ancient Egypt sections of my history classes were always my favorite. I could always pinpoint where the country was on the giant map of Africa when I watched “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.” And I still to this day will watch “The Mummy” (the original one!) anytime it's on TV.

But Egypt has had a rough last decade.

I was working as a newspaper editor in 2011 during the Arab Spring, and was reading stories daily about uprisings and revolutions. It all started in Tunisia, but spread to multiple nations in northern Africa – including Egypt. And, for quite a few years afterwards, Egypt just didn't seem like a safe place to travel.

But if I've learned anything from traveling the world, it's that the news media makes most places sound a lot scarier than they actually are.

Many tour companies did indeed suspend operations in Egypt following the revolution; not many people were going there from 2012-2015. But we're into 2020 now, and things are changing. Tourism still isn't anywhere near what it was pre-2011 in Egypt, but visitors are starting to come back each year in larger and larger numbers.

Long story short: right now is an excellent time to visit Egypt.

Earlier this year, with a trip to the Seychelles already planned, I decide to go for it, and booked a 12-day tour of Egypt with Intrepid Travel. I knew Egypt wasn't somewhere I wanted to travel 100% solo, and