- Eight of our Cairo tours are built around local life: food, markets, a show, a park and two neighborhood walks, each from your hotel in Cairo or Giza.
- The street food walk is about 4 hours and the cooking class about 3 to 4 hours; the class ends with a meal of what you cooked.
- The Khan El Khalili evening walk is about 3 hours; the Islamic Cairo and Al-Muizz Street half day is about 4 to 5 hours, with entrance fees included.
- Customary points from travel guides: cover shoulders and knees, visit mosques outside prayer times, and treat the first bazaar price as an opening offer.
- Tipping is listed as not included on all eight tours.
Eight of our Cairo day tours are built around local life rather than monuments alone: a street food walk, a cooking class, an evening in Khan El Khalili, a half day in Islamic Cairo, a Tanoura show, a sunset at Al-Azhar Park, Ibn Tulun and the Cave Church. Each starts and ends at your hotel in Cairo or Giza. This guide says what each is like and who it suits.
The eight tours side by side
| Tour | Length | What you do | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo street food | About 4 hours, afternoon or evening | Tastings of koshary, falafel (taameya), ful and other street food, then sweets and tea, with a guide | People who would rather taste many small dishes than sit down to one menu |
| Egyptian cooking class | About 3 to 4 hours | Cook Egyptian home dishes with a local cook, then eat what you made | Travelers who want one place, one activity and a meal at the end |
| Khan El Khalili walk | About 3 hours, afternoon or evening | The lanes of the old market with a guide, then Al-Muizz Street | A first look at the market with someone to help you find your way |
| Islamic Cairo and Al-Muizz Street | Half day, about 4 to 5 hours | Al-Azhar Mosque, a walk along Al-Muizz Street, free time in Khan El Khalili; entrance fees included | Readers of history who want the monuments explained by an Egyptologist |
| Tanoura show night | Evening | Whirling tanoura dance and live Sufi music, a show shared with other guests | An evening seated and watching rather than walking |
| Al-Azhar Park at sunset | Evening, about 3 hours | The hill-top park with the Citadel and old Cairo's minarets in view, then Islamic Cairo at dusk | A slow, mostly outdoor evening |
| Ibn Tulun and Gayer-Anderson | Half day, about 3 hours | The mosque with its spiral minaret and the house museum beside it; entrance fees included | A short architecture-and-interiors outing |
| Cave Church and Garbage City | Half day, about 3 hours | The Mokattam neighborhood of Manshiyat Naser, then the church cut into the rock | Travelers curious about a working neighborhood and a Coptic church |
Tipping is listed as not included on all eight, and none shows a fixed price here: the price is on request or shown as approximate on the tour page.
Food: the street food walk and the cooking class
The two food tours are different kinds of day. The street food tour keeps moving: downtown tastings of koshary, falafel (which Egyptians call taameya) and ful, then a stop for sweets and tea. What each dish is, and what to order beyond them, is set out in Egyptian street food explained.
The cooking class stays in one place. A local cook has you make Egyptian home dishes, and you sit down to eat what you made; the class and the meal are included.
