Preparing for the "Great Adventure"

• Visas

  Get your Visas from the Egyptian Consulate in London. They have a variety of telephone numbers with Visa information, most of them are premium rate numbers charged at megabucks per minute so I wrote to them and they sent me the forms, one form per passport is required. These have to be sent back with your passport, which must be valid for at least six months after your return date. You also need to send £15.00 (in April 2001) per Visa which has to be cash or postal order as cheques and credit cards are not accepted. You also have to supply an addressed, stamped envelope and a recorded delivery label for the return. The turnaround was very quick (5 days) but I applied in March so it may be busier at other times of the year. You can apply in person, but there is a surcharge for this. Note that the Visa is only valid for one trip and for a period of three months so don't apply too soon ! You can also get your Visa on arrival at the airport, but the queue was long and the processing slooooow.

• Inoculations

  We were advised to have Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Polio and Typhoid, which we did, spread over a two week period. Our local surgery practice nurse did these and there was no charge, although I understand that this is at the discretion of each surgery. As my daughter was under 16, she had to have a reduced dose for one of the inoculations. Malaria tablets were not prescribed due to the time of year that we were going and the area.

• Cash

  Egyptian money seems to be all notes, no coins... and they are all very dirty so wash your hands after handling it. The going rate was about 5 Egyptian pounds for 1 English pound. Try and get some small denomination notes before you go as you will need lots of 'Baksheesh' for tipping practically everybody (including the Police and Security Forces !). We took some sterling travellers cheques but didn't use them. You can use credit cards such as Visa and Access but be very careful as fraud is more prevalent than in the UK although there are no problems on the boat itself. Whilst on the boat, you run up a tab, which is settled at the end of the week although if you use a credit card, a small (5%) surcharge is added. 'Baksheesh' for the crew and guide is also done at the end of the week so put some cash to one side.

• Other Things

  Take plenty of films. If you want to photograph in the tombs, take high speed film as flash is not allowed inside. We also took a water purifier but didn't need it as bottled water was readily available at about £1 for 2 litres on the boat. A sun hat is essential as are sunglasses.

• Medication

  The usual stuff for protecting against the sun (it is very intense !) and insect repellent especially if you go on any of the night time excursions when the little blighters come out for a meal ! We also took a variety of stuff to cope with upset stomachs and 'the runs' such as Immodium, Diacalm and Dioralyte, but didn't use any. We took plenty of plasters and disinfectant for any cuts that we might incur. Again, none of these were used but at least we had them if we needed them.