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Remember things can change very quickly in Cairo. A useful free booklet to read is available to download from Keti Sherifs website. Some of the information as to where dancers are working has changed but it is interesting reading and will give you some basic Egyptian words to help you. She also does a CD with learn 250 Egyptian words on available to buy from her website.
First choice is either to go solo or to chose from various organised dance holidays available. It is harder but not impossible to do-it-yourself but not always very relaxing especially if you've not been before. If negotiating Cairo by yourself is too daunting, there are fab holidays all set up for dancers to go and have lessons,visit shows and costumiers. this is certainly the best way to do it the first time as many places you just would not find by yourself
An alternative for individuals or small groups is Dancers Bed and Breakfast with Yasmina of Cairo.Yasmina is a dancer from the UK who danced for many years in Cairo and still lives out there in a beautiful rooftop appartment with pyramid view. She offers help with finding your way round Cairo costumiers, classes (she has lovely dance studio in her appartment) evenings out to see dancers etc. Check out her website www.yasminaofcairo.com for more information.
Wether you go with a group or not, as well as plenty of room in your suitcase for purchases, it is a good idea to take. A travel plug- for electrical sockets A travel plug-as in plug for the sink,bath etc.There won't be one, unless you stay in a five star hotel,and you will have to get creative if you want to have a bath without one. Lots of tissues-you will go many places where there is either no toilet paper or you may be handed one sheet!! Wipes for your hands and that gel that cleans your hands without water. Ear Plugs-if you want to get any sleep. Cairo is a city that is never quiet. Drivers sound their horns all the time Lip balm-the polution and the sand really dries your lips Moisturiser-definately. The polution and sand after the flight really dries out your skin. Cash-
Cairo is a cash economy. Costumiers do not take credit cards. Travellers cheques can be hard to cash and not many places except them. To get your money the 5 star hotels all have banks and the ATM machines in their shopping arcades which are easy to use, away from prying eyes and fairly reliable. The ATM machines in the 5 star hotels allow you to get more money out than the street ones and they have instruction options for English. Do inform your bank in the UK that you are going to Cairo or you may be stuck not able to use your cards-I was once stuck like this and it took a lot of trouble to sort it out-not to mention the expense of phonecalls back and forth to the UK.Also take a contact number so you can get in touch with your bank if they forget to authorise it. Yes, this is the voice of experience talking here. You actually get a better rate of exchange if you change your English money into Egyptian in Cairo. Try to bring some small value notes. You may have to tip someone early on or want to buy water and you don't want to be giving them £100 Egyptian note!
Visiting the costumiers takes a bit of forward planning. You need to make an appointment early on in your visit or there is no chance that anything can be made for you. Usually there will be a few costumes you can try or some half made that can be fitted to your size and finished. If you are an awkward size or bigger than a size 12 (UK size) then your task is that much harder.You may be tempted to have a costume made from scratch and sent on. To be honest I don't recomend this. I've had some expensive disasters doing this. It is much better to buy a costume you have tried on and you know you like it. Even costumes you've tried on that are half finished may not turn out exactly the way you wanted them by the time they are sent to you- its very much buyer beware!! Other websites with shopping advice
See Costumiers page for more details. There are plenty of costumiers in Cairo for a larger list look on www.outiofcairo.com Hanan Mahmoud www.queenhananmahmoudjeeran.com
email hananmahmoud2005@yahoo.com Tel 4531733 mob 0101524892 15 Mahtet Kobray el Koba St Eman Zaki www.emanzaki.com email emanzaki@emanzaki.com 40 El Meaha St, Dokki Tel 7486128 mob 0123702949
Don't miss out on bargains at the Khan el Kalili. This is the main bazaar. All the taxi drivers know where this is. For a great guide with pictures where to find these places look for the article "Successful shopping in Cairo" on www.meissoun.ch/e/kairo-e.htm
CDs and DVDs. There is a great little shop with a very helpful chap who will play the CDs for you to see if you like them. To get there turn right out of Mr Yassers and keep going straight ahead till you come to a corner (ignore the first turn off to the right which brings you back to the main path through the Khan) turn left-you are now going towards El Fishawey Cafe. The little shop is about 4 shops along on your left. Going round the Khan el Khalili anyone will only be too glad to help you if you get lost BUT don't end up going into shops you don't want to go in.The Egyptian market sellers are very persistant. It is important that you firmly agree the price of the taxi when you leave here. Taxis will charge you more as it is a tourist place.
Most dancers don't start dancing till at least 1.00am. If this is too late for you try the dinner cruises (details further down). It is easy enough to book at the hotels to see a dancer. The shows include a meal. You can book in person with the Food and Beverage Officer who usually has a desk near the main reception. They will tell you who is dancing-ask the price and what time the dancer starts dancing. You can also phone and book. Numbers are all landline- from outside Cairo or on your UK mobile use the prefix 02. From a Cairo landline dial the number as it is. Here are some "must sees". All these places are relatively easy to find and book and are tourist friendly. You will safe in these places even if you are in a small group. There are only two five star hotels that have nightclubs with regular dancers now-the Semiramis and the Marriot. Other hotels may have dancers in the summer season or on Thursdays. The following are my recomendations but there are other dancers if you have time to track them down.
If you don't want the very late nights but you still want to see a dancer then book onto one of the dinner cruise boats. The Nile Maxim goes from opposite the Marriot hotel. They do several sailings a night starting quite early 7pm-ish check the time.
It is possible to do a lot of sightseeing yourself using the many black and white taxis that buzz around Cairo. Just hail a cab and go. Inexperienced Cairo visitors may find it useful to agree a price with the taxi driver before you get in. As a rule, for a tourist round Cairo, most destinations in town are between 10-20 LE (Egyptian Pounds) depending on traffic. As someone who has worked in tourism for the best part of 15 years I find the general attitude to tourists and sighseers quite amusing. There are few signs if any to where you are going and possibly a sign on the actual building which is often easy to miss. The admissions person will often have wandered off somewhere and be surprised to see you and probably will have no change and will have to go off and get some. Again if you don't want hastle or a unwanted tour don't get talking to anyone. Egyptians can be very very helpful and if you don't want them to be you have to be pleasant but don't engage. A simple "shukran" (thankyou) and turning away will mostly be enough. often the bigger tourist places can attract the touts. As a rule don't believe anyone who tells you the place is shut, they want to take you to some shops usually and don't go with anyone who says they are a guide. If you do want a guide I recommend this Egyptian lady, Nibal who speaks very good English and is a lovely helpful person. She is used to guiding dancers as she has worked on Kay Taylors Discovering Cairo Trips for many years. Email her before you go and arrange your more difficult to get to trips. Also good if you fancy a felucca ride but worry about negotiating the price. Sightseeing round the Khan El Khalili As well as shopping this area is one of the oldest in Cairo and there are some good places to visit here.
The following places are all on the other side of the main road- either cross using the footbridge or the underpass. Wakala of Al Ghouri
House of Zeinab Khatum
The Tent Makers bazaar.
Naguib Mahfouz Restaurant In the tourist market side of the Khan el Khalili. An oasis of calm in the busy market. Air conditioned. Good toilets and nice food. There are two sections, where you first go in where you can get sandwiches, drinks and smoke shisha and a restaurant section. Al Azhar park
Sightseeing Downtown.
The coffee lounge and bar at the top of the Grand Hyatt
Happy eaters at Felfelas Out of town sightseeing Again possible to do on your own but easier and fairly inexpensive to go with a reputable guide who will not only get you there, take you into places you would not see if you went by yourself and tell you something about the place but will also prevent you having to put up with a lot of hassle from touts. The Pyramids Probably the best known burial complex at Gaza
The Boat Museum
Sakkara
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Cairo is an exciting place. Population around 23 million. In the 1950s it had the 3rd largest film industry in the world after the USA and India.It is the best place to go to see the dancers and hear the fabulous music live and also to capture the unique spirit of the place. My aim on this page is to provide information or point people towards helpful information about a dance based trip to Cairo. I am not proposing to reinvent the hip drop so if I know of a website with the information already on it I shall point you there. 
Not quite as picturesque is view from my balcony 2009 BUT this time I was on the quiet side of the hotel and could sleep without earplugs-so happy to sacrifice the view!!
Mahmoud El Ghaffer- 4 floors of bellydance accessories and costumes. The costumes here are not at the cutting edge of bellydance fashion (they have bigger sizes and the costumes have fringing on them)but you can get some great workhorse two piece costumes and dresses-I've had some nice things from here over the years. Buy your wings, coin belts, veils and recently he has started with some fusion type costuming too.
Mr Yassers- I don't find the quality that good here so do check. More expensive than Mahmouds and smaller. All the costumes are upstairs in bags. Ask to go upstairs to see them. 
Dina-Queen of the Cairo dancers-the most famous of them all. She dances at the Semi Ramis hotel on Thursday nights usually around 1-2am but check.The show+meal costs about £85 (English pounds) It is worth it to pay top price to sit near the front.She usually has a good singer on after her too-this is where I saw Saad El Sougheer,Essam and Rico. She is Egyptian
Randa-one of my favourite dancers .She dances on the Nile Maxim boat if you don't want a late night.She is Egyptian. 
Soreya dances at the Marriot Hotel Empress night club.Does an entertaining show-worth seeing. She is Brazilian.
Asmahan-I love Asmahans shows, She always does a special entrance. Here she is coming out of a shell .She dances on the Nile Maxim. Very entertaining. She is Argentinian. 
Leila dances on the Nile Maxim and also on the Nile Pharon. She is American. She does a good show
Camellia. Fabulous and unpredictable dancer and one of my absolute favourites. Shes just started to dance regularly again after having a baby.Dances on the Grand Hyatt Boat. Sorry I couldn' find many clips of Camellia dancing so this is the same one linked to on the Egyptian Dancers page.
The Nile Pharon-Entertaining short dance show with folk dancers,tanoura and bellydancer- you can see various non Egyptian dancers including ,Leila (US) Dunya(Finland) Lorna(UK) and Joanne (Russia). Sometimes does lunch cruises with dance show. Tel 5701000. For more details 
You get the boat from opposite the Four Seasons Hotel at Giza. Its all done out with an Ancient Egyptian theme including the landing stage.
Joanne dancing on the Nile Pharon
I have to include a picture of the chocolate cake on the Nile Pharon because on my recent trip I discovered it was even better than the chocolate cake on the Nile Maxim
The Nile Maxim-.Here you can see Randa,Leila or Asmahan. Photo of Asmahan doing an impressive entrance. Tel 7371486. for more details 
Another reason for going on the Nile Maxim boat-mmm chocolate cake!!!
The Grand Hyatt Boat-is back in service. On here you can see Nancy or the wonderful Camellia. You book at the food and beverage oficers desk inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel. tel 3651234 This is the most Egyptian of all the boats. The pre dance show singers sing in Arabic and there is no alcohol served on the boat. The food is very good. Photo of Camellia before the boat was refurbished.
On the Grand Hyatt Boat since refurbishment.
Nancy on the Grand Hyatt Boat
El Fishawy-a cafe in the middle of the Khan. In the past it has been visited by authors(including Hemmingway) and artists and featured in many films (Raiders of the Lost Ark for one). Here you can sit and watch a good slice of Egyptian life. You will be constantly pestered to buy things. Just say no or ignore them and don't engage in conversation, this may feel very rude but if you talk the sellers will think you are interested.
A restored medievil Caravanserai (place where merchants used to stay and trade. This is where the free tanoura show is now held on Wednesday nights. In the daytime you can pay entrance (15 LE) and wander round the building.
The tanoura show.
A restored medievil merchants house round the back of the Al Azhar mosque. This is well off the beaten track and not signposted. Egypt doesn't really do easy tourism. Start facing the entrance to the mosque and turn right walk along the front, turn left and walk along the side. Kept walking straight forward till you come to this square.
A small but beautiful house. Unfurnished but you can see the beautiful window shutters and fixtures and the view from the roof over the Khan is lovely. Its an oasis of calm.Cost 15 LE
View from the roof of the house.
Here,obviously, they make tents and also beautiful cushion covers and wall hangings. To get here start at the footbridge on the same side of the road as the places above (so not on the main tourist market side) Walk into the market through the passage way that goes between the beautiful black and white building and keep walking. You will come to one of the old gates of the city go through it and eventually you'll come to the tent makers bazaar. Leave it till afternoon to visit or most of the booths will be closed as in the picture. Avoid Fridays and Sundays. 
A short taxi ride from the Khan el Khalili. As you would expect it is a park and it has some lovely restaurants. A nice one is the Citadel View restaurant, with unsurprisingly a view of the Citadel!! 
Cairo Museum. A must see. Don't miss the amazing Tutenkhamen exhibition which is the best labelled part of the museum. There are lots and lots of exhibits and it must have taken me 3 visits to see it all so choose which bits interest you. The museum is due to be rehoused within the next few years. You can not take cameras inside and have to hand them in. Security is very tight here. 
Cairo Tower at Zamalek. great views over Cairo. You buy a ticket outside the tower. Treat yourself to the cake and drink option and you can sit in the rather creaky revolving restaurant and for a few Egyptian pounds you can have your name done in hierographics and fortune told. The last time I went here it was 60LE but that was about 3 years ago.
Another place to get great views over Cairo. Free to go in. Treat yourself to a cocktail (alcoholic or non) and sit back and relax and enjoy the view.
Felfela's restaurant. A lovely restaurant just off Talat Harb Street. Patronised by locals and tourists. It does good food for vegetarians as well. 
Top on most peoples list is the Pyramids and the Sphinx at Gaza.
The Sphinx
The boat museum is next to the large pyramid it house the boat used to bring King Cheops up the Nile for burial. It was burried by the pyramid in pieces but with a model showing how it should be put together again. It is big-about 2 bus lengths long. You have to wear overshoes to protect the floor from the sand. There are fairly decent toilets here.
An earlier burial complex. Containing the first true pyramid the step pyramid designed by the architect Imhotep for Pharoh Zoser and several other tombs with lovely tomb carving still with some colour.