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Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos

Living in a world of expertly cropped photos and Instagram filters can sometimes make a place look a little more glamorous and perfect than it actually is. And after the feedback I received on my “behind the scenes” post from Cappadocia, I thought it would be a good idea to continue doing posts like this for each place I visit.

Now, don’t get me wrong, seeing the Pyramids of Giza is absolutely amazing and a dream come true to me, but I was also glad I had seen some “behind the scenes” photos before I went and had read others traveler’s less-than-perfect experiences from here. It helped me to adjust my expectations accordingly and not be surprised when I visited.

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos
There’s always gotta be that 1 person… haha

So, without further ado, here are some of my behind the scenes photos and stories from my Pyramids of Giza adventure! Enjoy!

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos

There are always going to be people in your photos…

As with any tourist destination, there are going to be tons and tons of people – none of whom are going to give a flying fig about being in the background of your photo. Anytime you see a photo of a popular spot (such as the pyramids) without people being in the shot, it’s either the result of a miracle or a little bit of photo cropping.

Just to be clear, this isn’t me complaining. I just don’t want people seeing my photos and thinking they’re going to have these destinations all to themselves when they arrive! The pyramids are at the top of many traveler’s bucket lists, so you’re going to have tons of people here no matter when you visit! (We visited in the offseason, and there were still plenty of people here!!)

pyramids tips

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos

Not all guides will be good photographers…

I had mentioned in my previous Pyramids of Giza post that our guide for this adventure was not the greatest. She not only didn’t have the correct paperwork for us (which delayed our tour by nearly 2 hours), and didn’t give us hardly any useful information about the pyramids…she also falsely told us she was a good photographer and demanded I give her my camera

Which, again, this is not something I would expect from a guide – they’re there to show you around and give you information, not be your personal paparazzi. However, it seems many guides here are selling “photography” as one of their areas of expertise. (Read – cheesy tourist photos, but fun, nonetheless.) And our guide really wasn’t sure how to use my camera… which we realized after a few photos and worked with her on it! And, we did get some great pics that day. (But, just be checking your photos before moving on, obviously.)

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos
Close but not quite…

Ended up figuring it out, though...Cheesy tourist photo success!
Ended up figuring it out, though…Cheesy tourist photo success!

Camels will not always cooperate…

Now, this I thought actually made for some great photos, haha. Our camel ride by the pyramids was fantastic (and our guide for this really did know his way around a camera). The camels did like to do their own thing at times, though. Which, frankly, I think made for some even better photos!

Visiting the Pyramids of Giza – 10 Tips to Know Before You Go
Haha! My husband’s camel went where he pleased…
He just wanted a kiss, maybe?
He just wanted a kiss, maybe?

You’re going to get haggled by hawkers…

This is less of a problem if you’re visiting with a guide. However, we went back to the pyramids by ourselves and were harassed by hawkers nonstop while we took photos! This isn’t evident in the photos themselves, but holy moly was it irritating trying to take photos while guys on horses and camels were constantly trying to get you to buy a ride or “check your ticket.”

For example, this photo below might look peaceful and magical, but there was a pushy guy on a camel sitting next to my husband the entire time trying to get him to buy a camel ride while he was taking photos of me…

tips for visiting the pyramids

Egypt travel tips
And this guy followed us for 10 minutes trying to sell us a horse ride….

There really is a Pizza Hut & KFC across from the pyramids…

This is one of those things that really bothers some travelers. You’re looking at one of the most iconic sights in the world, and then bam! There’s a Pizza Hut and KFC! Frankly, this wasn’t that big of a deal to me, but knowing this prior to going to the pyramids might have been the reason this was less of an annoyance for me. (There’s also a junk yard and a bunch of abandoned buildings greeting you at the entrance of the pyramids complex.)

Visiting the Pyramids of Giza – 10 Tips to Know Before You Go
In 1 direction you have this view…

And then you turn around and see Pizza Hut…

Pizza Hut and KFC by the Great Pyramid, Cairo

Visiting the pyramids is absolutely incredible, though!

Again, I want to reiterate this – visiting the Pyramids of Giza is absolutely amazing! Being a little prepared and going in with realistic expectations of the experience, though, will certainly help you to enjoy it even more!

Pyramids of Giza

*Click here to see more tips for visiting the Pyramids of Giza.
*Click here to see my outfit post from here.
*Click here to see all of my Egypt posts.

*You can also check out my entire packing list for Egypt as a woman.
*Also see my itinerary for how to spend 7 days in Egypt!

What are your thoughts? Do you like getting a glimpse of the behind the scenes action? Or not so much…and would rather just see the pretty pictures? Let me know in the comments!

Behind the Scenes of My Pyramids of Giza Photos
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Instagram vs Reality - What it's really like to visit the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt

19 Comments

  1. I totally feel these type of vacations would be a bait and switch without your behind the scenes info?

    Thanks for all the transparency!

  2. I love this post! It’s such a great idea to show a little behind the scenes of taking blog/instagram worthy photos in popular destinations. Even in London if I want to snap photos without a tonne of people in them I often have to get to the location at 6am-7am. At a normal time during the time it’s just impossible to escape the crowds!

    I’ve never been to Egypt of seen the pyramids, to be fair there are plenty of places much higher on my travel bucket list. But I think it is one of those places that I should visit once in my lifetime.

    Oh and your photos turned out fantastic nonetheless 🙂

  3. I don’t understand people and influencers who erase the crowds from their photos. I don’t mean cropping, which I can understand, but photoshopping people off. It’s selling a lie and it gives impossible expectations to other people. I like transparency from fellow travelers, so thank you for that!

    1. Oh gosh, I don’t know how anyone even has the patience to do that, haha. It’s enough work just cropping and adjusting the lighting! So glad you enjoyed the post too.

  4. I had no clue about the KFC/Pizza Hut thing. But it reminds me of visiting Stonehenge. I had this idea that it was kinda in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nature but there’s a motorway 5 feet away. I feel like it ruins the magic of it all.

    1. Oh gosh! I am so glad you said that. Despite my years of traveling, I was still picturing Stonehenge to be this magical middle of nowhere location with no tourists. How ridiculous is that, haha? Thank you for bringing me back to reality!

  5. I love this because it is so real! Photos are great because we can edit and crop them to show the best of our experiences. But especially on blogs and Instagram when people are looking for genuine travel reviews, the photos leave out so much of the full story. Thanks for sharing these! And yes, despite the hawkers and crowds, I’d still want to visit, too!

    Liz

  6. Love this kind of posts: real life is what attracted me to blogging so I like to read about some of the behind the scenes thinga!

  7. I love how transparent you are Lindsey. And I totally had to laugh at the KFC across the street. I’m surprised there isn’t a Starbucks there yet!!
    XOXO
    Jodie

    1. Haha! Right? You would have thought there would have been a Starbucks before the KFC!

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