How to see Egypt without breaking your bank account

Welcome to the show. If you are dreaming of Egypt, you have probably noticed that the costs add up fast. Between the flights, the hotels, the cruise down the Nile, and hiring a guide, it is a big expense. Today we are talking about how to make that happen without emptying your savings account. First, let’s talk timing. Egypt hits differently when it is cooler, which is why October through April is the sweet spot. If you head to Cairo or Luxor during the winter, you are looking at temperatures in the 60s and 70s. The crowds thin out after the holiday rush in January, and the Nile cruises feel much calmer. You should aim for seven to ten days to really see it all. That gives you a couple of nights in Cairo for the pyramids and the museum, then time to head south to Luxor. You can spend a few days on a felucca, which is a traditional wooden sailing boat, or take a cruise between Aswan and Luxor. If you want the best mix of decent weather and lower prices, try to aim for the shoulder months. Those are October, late November, or March. Now, even a budget trip to Egypt is going to cost a fair amount of money. The play here is to put those travel costs on one card that has a long zero percent intro window. This is a special offer where you pay zero interest for a set amount of time. It lets your balance breathe so you can pay it down on a normal schedule instead of panicking to pay it all off at once. The Citi Simplicity card, for example, has an 18-month window where you aren't charged interest on your purchases. Keep in mind that this is a deadline, not a discount. If you still have a balance on the card when that 18-month window closes, standard interest kicks in on whatever is left. That standard interest can be pretty high. Treat those 18 months as the absolute latest you are willing to be done paying, not the date you plan to finish. If you want to see all the details and read the source material for yourself, head over to voatlas.com for the written version of this guide. Thanks for listening.