My spelling is horrid!!!!!!

Heather, if you're doing a one day trip from Sharm, then Cairo is the place to go. Visit the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Cairo Museum which is plenty for one day! There is a large bazaar called Khan el Khali where you will find an enormous amount of things to look at and purchase. It will be cheaper than in resort, as long as you haggle hard!

Luxor is a fabulous city to visit but I personally feel that you cannot do it justice in one day. There is just sooo much to see and spend time at.

Completly dissagree, Luxor would be much better choice and more thinks to see, what have you got a Cairo, the most polluted slum on this planet apart from the pyramids (if you can see them through the smog) the sphinx, the museum and the citadel.
Everytime I have been the plane has been delayed shortening the trip,and as I have aready said Luxorwill be a much better option for sight seeing.

Thanks to you both for your replies. I will give both a great deal of thought, several people we have spoken to have said Cairo is quite trumatic regarding beggars, not very nice things to see, rats etc. I have'nt hear anything about Luxor but i am assuming most people do do the Cairo Trip.

Without doubt, Luxor is the place to stay and see. I stayed at the Winter Palace Hotel for 2 weeks and the views from the terraced, collonial verandah onto the Nile just before sunset were magical and atmospheric. Egypt's history is rooted deep in the Luxor area, with some mind blowing sites and temples. Not forgetting the Valley of the Kings and the spectacular tombs carved deep into the rocks. Luxor is less polluted, less hectic and less stressful than Cairo.
The scenes in and around Luxor are awe inspiring, and if you do a boat trip on the Nile , you will feel you are back in biblical times. The locals are friendly, sometimes too friendly and being pestered by shoe shine boys and traders can be a little intimidating.
A good practice is to wear dark shades thus preventing eye contact and try to look indifferent when browsing the bazaars. Haggling is the order of the day, so prepare to knock down initial inflated prices.

Always carry plenty of bottled mineral water and spare small change. Some locals will shortchange the unwary so try and not hand over large denominations.
I went in the height of summer and to be honest daily temperatures of over 100F can take their toll. Stroll at leisure and avoid mid-day to late afternoon. The locals come out em masse around 9 o clock in the evening, dressed in their best and happily and peacefully walk and line the paved shores of the Nile. It's a pleasure to sit among them. They are extremely friendly. Try to converse as they appreciate you doing so.

There are boat trips up and down the Nile taking you to other sites and temples, as well as to Banana island - a plantation mini jungle just up stream from Luxor.
Prepare to be enchanted by a cacophony of crickets and frogs that assemble nightly and keep up their chorus until dawn.

I took in many wonderful sites by merely strolling from the Winter Palace hotel including Luxor Temple. Most hotels are located very central and close to the main sites within Luxor itself. The trip to the valley of Kings necessitates crossing the Nile by bridge and negotiating well maintained roads lined by quaint mud houses, palm trees, camels and cute kids herding goats and sheep. There are numerous trips on buses to be had which I'm sure the local tourist office/ hotel /tour operator will be happy to inform you about.
Cairo is worth a visit for a couple of days, but is gigantic in scale, dusty, polluted, overwhelming and a little dissapointing, with 20th century buildings intruding right upon the ancient pyramids. If you enjoy chaos and taking your life in your hands with the local drivers then try it, but don't hand around too long.
I hope this proves helpful.
All the best
Keith

Keith
what a great first post! Welcome to HT

Yes, great opening post, Keith! Whilst I agree with everything you say about Luxor and prefer it myself to Cairo to an enormous extent, Heather was asking about a one day trip during her holiday in Sharm el Sheikh. There is no way that you can fly to Luxor and back in one day and give any of the wonders there more than a cursory glance. You can, however see most of the "must sees" in Cairo on the standard one day excursion. I still say save Luxor for a seperate holiday altogether and give it the attention it deserves.
Cairo may be, in part, "the most polluted slum" as Antitime says but just maybe, actually seeing it for yourself may help you to understand the plight of its inhabitants a little better? Try a trip to Nairobi or Bankok for even greater understanding!