I'm finishing up in South Africa and flying to Cairo December 12. I will probably by an exit flight from Cairo for December 13.

Can anyone recommend a travel company with weekly departures?

I've already ruled out Africa Travel Co., Nomad, Adventure Center, and Go Bus.

If you don't have a company, can you give me a sense of how easy/hard it is to see the sights independently (my usual preference)?

I was in Egypt a couple of months ago and it was easy to do as an independant traveller. It's fairly easy to get to the main sites by train or bus (ie Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan) and from there, you can book the usual day trips to see the sights, or get there yourself if you have more time.

I really enjoyed Siwa, a desert oasis on the western border of Egypt. Not many tourists around, but then again, that was in early September (damn it was HOT!)... Very cool place to see, uber-conservative but friendly people.

If you've been traveling around the world on your own, I don't recommend you book a tour for Egypt. It honestly was easy enough to do for me, even with the expected hassles of a solo-woman traveler.

Enjoy!

just came back from egypt. u really dont need to book a tour unless u like getting fleeced. everyone that has anything to do with tourists in egypt is out to squeeze every last dollar out of you. really take all information u get and doublecheck...mostly it is incorrect and provided so u change ure plans and buy whatever ure hotel/tout is offering. let me summarize some costs:
- Cairo
cairo is easy to travel around. there is a metro that is easy to use (lp even has a map) and it is egp 1 per ride. u can get right into coptic cairo with that. i haggled with a local cabbie and got him to drive us to the airport for 40 egp plus parking 5 (u dont have to give him this), he took us to giza, saqqara, dashur and memphis (came to our hotel at 6 am) for 145 egp plus parking @ 4 egp. the trick is to make sure you have exact change - no one likes to return change. besides i only tipped (baksheesh) occasioanlly. i told them that they were ripping me off anyway so tip was included in price. if u want teh cabbies ph# msg me. he speaks good english. downtown to islamic cairo (khan el khalili is 5 egp, but u have to haggle and setlle the cost in arabic, else it is 10 egp upwards). the trick is to just give the name of teh destination and name the fare (eg khamsa guinea) and they will refuse, wave ure hand, make a tsk sound and walk off. they will come back and agree to teh price anyway. u can take a bus from close to teh egyptian museum right to the entrance of the giza platform for 2 egp.
- Dahab
shop around for tours and get them all from one place. i found teh sphinx hotel had teh best prices. did teh st katherine/mt sinai sunrise trip for 80 egp, did a 2 hr quad bike safari for 140 egp and teh day long colored and white canyon desert safari with a not so nice bedouin meal for 170 egp. im sure u can get lower. car transfer to teh airport in sharm el sheikh is 20 euros per car or van, not per person
- Luxor
stayed at nefertiti and book all tours with them, though if u book the car through happy land u get much better prices without haggling.
-custom west bank tour with guide (6 sites) was 230 egp. id recommend u loose teh guide. they know little and misguide u, eg will make an itenanry for u and tell u that some tombs are closed which really is not teh case. u should go to teh american university bookstore(right next to tahrir square) and buy teh american universitys illustrated guide to the egyptian museum, and the one for luxor. cost is 180 egp each. that is all u need. u can book a car via happy land for 150 egp for teh day and start early and do as many sites as u want.
-car to dendara and abydos (toyota corolla with a super driver that took us right to the front of teh convoy): 430 egp. shared minibuses are cheaper
- caliche or cab ride from luxor temple to karnark is 2 egp for locals and 5 egp for tourists. u can hire a caliche for 10 egp an hour. i hired a guy for a day and had him drive us to and from various places for 30 egp.
- train from luxor to aswan is cheap but always late.
_ Aswan
- stayed at the keylany and booked teh abu simbel long tour that stops at the high dam and philae temple through them for 70 egp per person. be warned teh minibus trip was cramped. u can get the abusimbel only trip for 60 egp.
- boat to philae temple: 32 - 50 egp per boat per hour. u dont need more than an hour anyways.ull have to haggle for a good 10 minutes. tell them uve been there before and u live in cairo.
- aswan to cairo on teh sleeper train is 60 usd. just book it directly at the ramses station in cario or any other abela office in luxor or aswan. else u will be charged 5usd commission. it is pain free, no line ups but u must buy the ticket atleast a few days in advance. they sell out quickly.
- cairo alexandria by second class ac (2- 2.5 hr) trip is 20 - 29 egp depending on the type of train.

i guess that is it. let me know if u need any other info