How To Visit The Great Pyramids Of Giza With Kids

When planning our trip to Egypt, we knew we wanted to spend time in Giza right by the pyramids. We wanted to be able to get there first thing in the morning with the kids still fresh. Cairo is on the eastern side of the Nile and Giza is on the western side. People generally consider the whole metropolis to be Cairo. If you stay in Cairo, you can get to the pyramids within 30 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic and transportation. We are happy we ended up choosing to spend three days in Giza, just down the street from the pyramids. If you are planning on visiting Giza, here is how we visited the Great Pyramids with our kids.

First Impressions

At first impression, Giza can be a bit intimidating. The roads are paved but dusty and there’s a lot of garbage on the streets. Our host told us that, even though they pay for garbage removal and street cleaning, the government wasn’t doing it. Giza’s air is dusty and sandy, which is no surprise considering that the town is settled at the beginning of the Sahara Desert.  In general, there’s a lot going on in the streets (cars, tuk-tuks, mini buses, tour buses, donkeys, scooters, etc.). Sidewalks are used for pretty much anything other than for pedestrians to move around, so you just have to walk on the road, which is totally fine as long as you pay attention to traffic around you. That being said, once you figure out how things work, Giza is a fun place to be. 

Where We Stayed

We stayed in an Airbnb apartment located about a half kilometer walk from the Sphinx entrance to the pyramids complex. Our Airbnb had the most stunning view of the pyramids from the 11th floor. The view was so perfect, we didn’t mind staying in the apartment in the afternoons after exploring all morning. It was so nice to be able to see the main attraction from our living room couch! We even got to see the sun set behind the pyramids every afternoon we were there. It was like being in a dream!

We also totally lucked out with our Airbnb host. He was the most helpful and attentive host we’ve had and he really made it easy to be in a new country. We arrived close to 4 in the morning, and he met us in person, had stocked our fridge with water and some snacks, and brought us Egyptian breakfast the next morning. On our last evening in Giza, he invited us to his home for dinner and we got to meet his wife and their two kids. Hugo and Valentina loved playing with all the toys too! It was really a unique experience and we are thankful to Eisa for opening his home to our family!

Getting Around

During our stay in Giza, we walked to the pyramids complex every day, and we really enjoyed every time we went there. Because we visited three days in a row, people started recognizing us and they were super friendly to us and the kids. It was fun to develop some familiarity with the place and the people during our time there.

Street Touts

One thing many people worry about when visiting the pyramids is dealing with street touts. In our experience, people in Giza (and in Cairo as well) are quite friendly and welcoming, especially of children. Yes, we were approached many times with offers for camel rides, souvenirs for sale, etc., but every time we politely declined the offers (sometimes you have to decline several times!), and people left us alone and they always wished us a good visit to Egypt.

We really loved our time in Giza and visiting the pyramids was an incredible experience. Our kids loved being in the desert, riding on camels, and visiting one of the world’s wonders. If you are thinking about going to Egypt and seeing the pyramids, it’s worth spending a couple of days in Giza to explore at your own pace and really absorb your surroundings.

Here’s How We Visited The Great Pyramids With Our Kids

We are budget travelers so we did all the exploring on our own, except for a morning tour of the pyramids with a guide our Airbnb host connected us with. Here’s what we saw in Giza:

Sphinx

Our flight into Cairo arrived around 2 in the morning so we were up until almost 4:30 am. The next morning we visited the Sphinx and we let the kids set the pace, which meant that we spent a lot of time playing with desert sand!  

Camel Ride

We rode camels around the pyramids complex. Our Airbnb host kindly booked a tour for us, so we met our guide early in the morning (the complex opens at 8am) and he took us to all the different vista points in the complex.

We had asked our host to find someone who treated the camels humanely but we are not even sure that’s even a real option there. Our camels were okay. They were not obviously mistreated but they definitely didn’t look like happy, well-kept animals. It made us sad and we cut the tour short because camels are not very comfortable to ride on, and because we just felt bad for being complicit with supporting tourism that results in the unethical treatment of animals.

Our kids loved the camels because it’s cool to be way up in the air on a camel walking in the desert by the pyramids, but we also tried to make a point about it so they start thinking more about how animals should be treated regardless of the purpose they serve.

Self-Guided Exploration

On our last morning we walked all the way back to the pyramids and spent time playing around them. We got to touch the pyramids and sat next to them. We admired their beauty and the fact that they are still standing after more than 4000 years! While we were there, we saw people climbing the pyramids, which is not allowed. If you ever visit them, please don’t climb on them. Some guides will tell you it’s okay, and some police will ask for money in exchange for letting you climb them. Don’t do it. Respect the rules and do your part to make sure they are preserved for future generations!

Cost Of Visiting The Complex

Entrance to the pyramids costs 160 Egyptian Pounds (about US$10) and it includes everything. You only have to pay extra money if you want to go into the Great Pyramid. After going into the much smaller and very claustrophobic Queen’s Pyramid, we would definitely not want to go alongside the hoards of people who visit it every day.

Overall, we had an amazing time in Giza. When you are there, looking at the pyramids, you realize you learned about them when you were very young, and standing in front of them is simply incredible!

If you want to know what we did in Cairo, check out our post here.