Rithvik Dhanjani Takes Us Inside His Egyptian Fever Dream

Rithvik Dhanjani has a rule when it comes to travel: if work takes him somewhere new, he stays back and explores. Egypt, then, wasn’t just another stamp on the passport for the actor. It was an opportunity to escape into the sandy, mythical land that all middle-class Indians only recognise from “Suraj Hua Maddham” and “Teri Ore”.

“I had a gig in Sharm el-Sheikh,” he says, “and I just built the rest of the trip around it.” Six days in total, landing first in Cairo before heading to the Red Sea coast — a journey that upended most of his preconceived ideas of the country. “Like everyone else, when you think of Egypt, you think desert,” he laughs. “You don’t think water. You definitely don’t think waterparks.”

Essentials for Egypt

● Comfortable clothes and sturdy shoes for desert terrain

● Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat — dust is unavoidable

● Carry camera gear; the landscape is relentlessly photogenic

Cairo Calling

Cairo was non-negotiable. “The pyramids, the history — there’s just too much culture there not to go,” Dhanjani says. Instead of signing up for a rigid group tour, he did what he almost always does when travelling solo: he hired a personal local guide. “I don’t enjoy those tours where you’re walking behind someone with headphones on,” he says. “I hired one person, and that was it. No clock, no pressure.”

Over two days, he explored the Giza plateau — home to the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure — with time to linger, wander and absorb the scale of monuments that have stood for over 4,500 years.

“You know how big they are in theory,” he says. “But when you’re actually there, it’s overwhelming.”

At the same time, he’s candid about the gap between expectation and reality. “It’s not as enamouring as it is in the pictures, to be very honest,” he admits. “There’s a bit of a short-set feeling compared to the images we’ve grown up seeing.” Still, the experience of standing there grounds the myth in something tangible. “Just being there, seeing it with your own eyes, that’s what stays with you.”

Adventure followed history. Horse riding in the desert, ATV rides, and long stretches where the only agenda was movement.

“That first half of the trip was very physical,” he says. “That’s how I like to do it.”

On his final day in the city, he headed to Khan el-Khalili, the historic souk in Old Cairo. “That place is something else,” he says. “You’re sitting at a table in the middle of a lane, drinking tea, and cars are literally passing through your dining space.”

Street performers in traditional tanoura (an Egyptian folk dance) costumes spun to live music, shops spilled over with artefacts and textiles, and the city’s layered history revealed itself without ceremony. “It’s chaotic but beautiful,” he says. “That’s the charm.”

Dhanjani’s Cairo Rulebook

● Skip group tours; hire a local private guide for flexibility

● Do pyramids and desert adventures early — they’re physically demanding

● Visit Khan el-Khalili in the evening for food, music and atmosphere

Eating Egypt

Food, for Dhanjani, is never incidental. He went hunting for koshary — Egypt’s beloved national dish made with rice, macaroni, lentils, chickpeas and crispy onions, finished with spiced tomato sauce. “The most famous place I found was on a proper highway,” he says. “No fancy area, no ambience. Just this tiny, old restaurant surrounded by electrical shops.”

That approach is intentional. “When I travel solo, I don’t try to eat everything at one place,” he explains. “I plan my meals. If I’m there for three days, I’ve got nine meals — so, I pick nine things I really want to eat and spread them out.”

Coffee culture, however, was where he miscalculated. Choosing to stay in Old Cairo — closer to the monuments — meant missing out on New Cairo’s cafés, restaurants and nightlife. “Big mistake,” he admits. “If you want good cafés, bars, that whole culture — stay in New Cairo and commute.”

Best Time to Visit

October to November for the pleasant temperatures, manageable sun, cooler nights

Unexpected Escape

If Cairo was dust and discovery, Sharm el-Sheikh was pure ease.

Often mistaken for an island, the Red Sea resort town sits at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula and has become Egypt’s all-inclusive playground. “It’s basically a long strip of luxury resorts,” says Dhanjani. “You arrive, unpack, and you don’t need to leave.”

He stayed at Rixos Seagate, part of the Turkish luxury hospitality group Rixos Hotels, which dominates much of Sharm el-Sheikh’s resort landscape. “My resort had a waterpark and go-karting,” he says. “In Egypt. I couldn’t believe it.” Different Rixos properties cater to different travel styles — some focus on snorkelling and Red Sea diving, others on family entertainment or spa-led indulgence. “It’s perfect if you just want to switch off,” he says. “Especially for Indian travellers who don’t want to keep moving cities every day.”

For Dhanjani, the point of travel isn’t just scenery. “It’s a mirror,” he says. “You realise that people everywhere are fundamentally the same. What changes is how they live, how they think.” That’s why he prefers Airbnbs over hotels, rents a car wherever possible, and travels solo often. “I like living inside a place, not just visiting it,” he says. “That’s where you actually learn something.”

Egypt, he says, stayed with him not because of its monuments alone, but because of its contrasts — ancient and modern, chaotic and indulgent, dusty and unexpectedly luxurious. “It surprised me,” he says simply. “And that’s the best thing travel can do.”

Where to Stay in Cairo

● Old Cairo: close to monuments, basic stays

● New Cairo: better cafés, restaurants, nightlife and modern hotels

To read more exclusive stories from The Hollywood Reporter India's February 2026 print issue, pick up a copy of the magazine from your nearest book store or newspaper stand.

To buy the digital issue of the magazine, please click here.