Essential HINTS & TIPS

You don’t have to go overboard on the medical supplies, taking re-hydrating sachets, Imodium, Rennee and all manner of other paraphernalia. If you feel ill (in less severe cases at least), your first port of call should be the reception desk. Often they have just the thing to make you feel better and are more experienced at curing tummy upsets than any doctor in the world.

Don’t sunbathe with low factor protection, keep your sunhat on and whatever you do, don’t fall asleep in the sun… it’s a recipe for sunstroke and many other things that are undesirable on your holiday. Trust me, I fell asleep in the sun and whilst I avoided being catastrophically burnt, I shivered, vomited and regretted my mistake for a good few days.

An absolute essential for your luggage is an anti-bacterial hand gel or spray like you find in hospitals. These come in small bottles that fit easily in your pocket. Use them EVERYWHERE you go… after the toilet, before you eat and especially after handling the local currency. The paper the notes are printed on literally acts as a sponge for bacteria, putting you on the fast track to the infamous Egyptian belly if you handle them without due care.

Baggage allowance is always a tricky one. The best thing for your own piece of mind is to weigh your luggage on a bathroom scale before you travel. Failing that, you can usually tell if you've packed too much by simply lifting up your suitcase. If you struggle to breathe and your back gives way, you've probably packed too much.

Dress code on boats is generally far less formal than on the larger cruise liners, due in large part to the fact that you’ll be roaming the rugged terrain of ancient ruins. So pack accordingly… don’t take ten cocktail dresses or your spare tux; take an extra pair of comfortable walking shoes instead.

Don’t open the window in the room on your boat, especially at night with the light on. Mosquitoes love the water, thrive on the Nile and have made a meal of more than a few tourists over the years. And if you think it’ll make things cooler by opening that window, you can forget that too… you’ll simply negate any benefits of the air con.

Don’t pick up rocks from monuments as a souvenir… it's a crime! One of the most difficult things about tourism when it comes to the treasures of antiquity is in keeping the balance between access and preservation. The reason many of the tombs at the Valley of the Kings are closed is because they cycle which ones are open to visitors at any one time in the interests of safeguarding them for future generations.

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