Hi JM,

I'm Adam's friend Sophie. I'm sitting next to him right now, using his laptops wireless internet connection in a pub in Dahab. When I first came to Egypt 4 months ago I shared many of your concerns. However, I have found Egypt to be an amazingly friendly, safe, beautiful place.

There is a train from Cairo that goes to Luxor, overnight, which would be my personal recommendation for getting to Luxor. If you are staying in hostels in Cairo you will easily meet people, who will probably want to do something similar that you can travel with. I would be wary of doing many of the tours that the hostels are likely to try and sell you. From my experience they are grossly overpriced.

For the boat, it depends on what sort of boat you want. For the 'authentic' egyptian egyptian experience you can't go past a fellucca. You are likely to meet other people to share the trip with, and then you can set it up through the hotel you are staying in, in Luxor. Otherwise, you can take a walk down the waterfront and talk to the many egyptians who will try to convince you to go on their fellucca. I know many people who have done this and had a great time, but you will want to talk to a few people to compare prices.

As for safety, Luxor is a more traditional area than you are likely to find Cairo or parts of the Red Sea to be. However, your main concern will be shop owners offering to buy any women you may be walking with off you. And women are really quite safe, especially if they wear modest clothing.

As an American, you will be perfectly safe. The egyptians do not want any harm coming to any tourists as they bring so much trade to the country. And Americans especially as they receive a lot of aid from the country.