A tourist has revealed why a visit to Egypt quickly became one of the worst travel experiences of her life.
Grace Cheng, better known as @gracietravels, spent a week in Northeast Africa visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza and other historical monuments, but felt unsafe the entire time.
Her vacation was ruined by “aggressive” scammers lurking “everywhere” trying to swindle innocent tourists of their money.
“I felt so uncomfortable when I visited Egypt… Scams are a big deal here and I didn’t really know how big it was as a first timer,” she said in a TikTok. video.
“The crowd culture here is insane. Everywhere we went there was non-stop begging for something to pay. To be honest, I didn’t feel safe here.’
Grace shared her experiences in an effort to warn other voyagers of the “exhausting” dangers she faced.
Grace Cheng felt unsafe during her stay in Egypt. She says scammers lurk around tourist attractions in an attempt to trick visitors and demand money
“Don’t let anyone take your picture, don’t let anyone hand you anything, and don’t follow anyone if they have something to show you, because they’ll demand money from you,” Grace continued.
She added that she “didn’t even feel safe” even with a guide by her side.
“Our room had a lot of friends in the area and they kept offering us numerous upgrades, like climbing a rock to take a photo with the background,” she said.
Gracie said it was “frightening” that the scammers refused to be paid and continued to demand money.
“But if you have a good tour guide, he knows what’s real and what’s fake when it comes to scams. So you can trust them for that,” she added.
Gracie would also not recommend traveling alone to Egypt, especially if you are a woman.
“When it comes to men, they stare at you, and it’s not even a normal look, it’s one of those awkward looks where they’ll never take their eyes off you,” she said.
Not only did she feel anxious around people, but she was terrified that she would lose her luggage.
“Wherever we went, we had private drivers, but whenever we were dropped off at a location and left bags in the van, I thought for sure I would never see them again,” she added.
“Don’t let anyone take your picture, don’t let anyone put anything in your hand, and don’t follow anyone if they have something to show you, because they will demand money from you,” Grace warned.
Other travelers who have also visited Egypt before said that they too never felt safe during their stay.
‘I agree with that. I’ve traveled the world and Egypt was the only country where I didn’t feel safe,” one person wrote.
“I had the same feeling when I visited Egypt and Morocco,” another commented.
“I’ve seen so many videos of people saying Egypt is the worst place to visit. That makes me sad because I want to see it someday,” a third added.
Another said, “I would really like to go to Egypt, but I honestly haven’t heard a good word about it yet.”
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