Saqqara Villas

suitable for independently minded guests

Set around 20 km (12 miles) south of the famous pyramids of Giza, Saqqara Villas is a collection of private homes, which are available for short-term rent.

With Cairo being such a hectic and polluted city, it would seem to make sense to stay in the semi-rural areas adjacent to the more ancient pyramids of Saqqara and Dahshur.

These villas are set on a private estate, immediately overlooking some scenic ancient ruins.

All of the villas are very much family homes. In some respects they are gorgeous and stylish, whilst in other aspects they may feel dated and in need of improvement.

Villa 3 is a relatively cosy place, with two bedrooms on the first floor and a further two in a garden annex.

Villa 4 is an expansive modern property, with three bedrooms on the first floor and two in a pool house.

Villa 5 has an elegant ground floor and gorgeous garden, with four modestly decorated bedrooms on the first floor and a further room in a garden annex.

Villa 14 is the most modern and stylish of the group, all on one floor, with a large open-plan living area, four bedrooms and a lovely pool garden with direct views over the nearby archaeological site.

The villas are all staffed with a gardener and a cleaner. Meals are either prepared in your villa by a visiting chef, or made remotely and delivered. The hostess, Reham, provides an orientation and is available on the phone for further assistance, but you are otherwise left to your own devices. The estate has perimeter security.

For us, the main downside for these villas is that the local area is a mess. The trash here is on another level, it is truly disgusting to drive through. Maybe some people won’t be upset by that, maybe one day they’ll clean the place up, but in the meantime, the appeal of repeated drives in and out is very much reduced.

However, given the incredible shortage of good accommodation options in the Cairo area, this imperfect solution may be the best alternative.

The villas tend to work best for well-travelled, independently-minded and forgiving guests, especially groups of 4-10 guests who are looking for a relaxed and good value option.

We strongly recommend that you insist your guide stays with you at the villa, in order to oversee meals and handle any issues that might crop up during the night.

The traffic in Cairo is famously crazy, partly in terms of jams, but mainly in the crazy way that the locals drive. You will need to endure this during your stay, it is an integral part of the experience, for better or for worse.

We usually think of spending three nights in the Cairo area, providing a full day for the older pyramids of Saqqara/Dahshur and a second full day for the better known pyramids of Giza.

If you subsequently head south to Luxor on the overnight train, then you can cut this to two nights in Cairo.

If you specifically want to explore the Old City, then we usually include a night at the end of a trip, when guests have had some time to toughen up and after which you will have a long flight to catch up on the terrible night’s sleep you will most likely have experienced.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Cairo is widely considered to be the winter months of Nov-Mar, but we sometimes favour other times of year, when temperatures may be higher, but visitor numbers are often much lower.

Cairo experiences a conventional northern hemisphere climate, with a hot dry summer centred on May-Sep and a warm dry winter Nov-Mar.

May-Sep : Summer

During the May-Sep summer the daytime temperatures typically reach 41C, with night-time temperatures holding up around 23C. Although these temperatures may seem concerning, the relative humidity drops considerably, meaning that comfort temperatures are not so bad, at least during the day. This season can also be advantaged by light summer breezes out on the river. However, given the warm nights, we do recommend that you stay somewhere with air-conditioning.

Despite being ‘out of season’, visitor numbers do increase during the European vacation season, centred on Jul/Aug, so best to head for May, June or late September if you can.

Some hotel prices can also be considerably lower during some of these months.

Oct : Autumn

The month of October represents a transition between summer and winter conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low.

Nov-Mar : Winter

During the Nov-Mar winter the daytime temperatures typically reach 25C, with nighttime temperatures plunging to 8C. Relatively humidities rise considerably, meaning that the middle of the day can be surprisingly uncomfortable, given the relatively low absolute temperatures.

These warm (rather than hot) conditions have led to winter being the most popular time to visit, meaning that visitor numbers reach their peak, especially around Dec-Jan. We therefore recommend November to mid-December and mid-January to March (excluding a week either side of Easter), although even then you probably need to deploy traffic avoidance measures when visiting the key sites.

Some hotel prices can also be considerably higher during some of these months.

Apr : Spring

The month of April represents a transition between winter and summer conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low (except for a week either side of Easter.

Getting there

Set about 20 km east of the city centre, Cairo Airport is one of the busiest in the world.

It has good international flight connections with Europe, Asia and Africa. Connections to the Americas are rather more spartan, with only Egyptair offering regular non-stop flights to North America (notably New York and Washington). Most people either take these services, or fly via London or Frankfurt.

From the airport, the city centre can be reached in 20-40 minutes, depending on traffic. Giza and Saqqara are usually more like 40-60 minutes.

We only recommend private-guided transfers. The local taxi drivers can be a bit challenging to deal with.

usually for three nights at the front end of a trip