Open Archive
$0/ month
- Full access to all 148 published reviews
- Updated ticket prices in EGP and USD
- Open corrections column
- Email the desk with general questions
- Mobile and desktop reading
Reader plans
Three Reader Plans That Keep the Desk Independent
Our open archive is free to read without an account, without a paywall and without a registration step. The three reader plans below are the entire commercial side of MuseuPass — they fund the printed monthly briefing, the editor-led email correspondence and the production of the new long-reads. Choose the level that matches how deeply you plan to use the site.
Reader
$11/ month
- Everything in Open Archive
- Monthly printed briefing (Cairo subscribers)
- Monthly briefing PDF (international subscribers)
- Quarterly visitor-flow forecasts
- Priority email reply within one business day
- Early access to new reviews
Itinerary
$42/ month
- Everything in Reader
- One custom itinerary per month (up to 12 days)
- Editor-written regional dossier (PDF)
- 45-minute editorial consultation by email
- Revisions for three weeks after delivery
- Same-business-day response window
What Each Plan Actually Unlocks
A side-by-side reading of the three plans, so you can see exactly what changes between them. Nothing is hidden behind a paywall — the difference is in the added editorial work, not in the access to the reviews themselves.
| Feature | Open Archive | Reader | Itinerary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full open archive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly briefing PDF | — | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly briefing in print | — | Cairo subscribers | Cairo subscribers |
| Visitor-flow forecasts | — | Quarterly | Quarterly |
| Custom itinerary | — | — | 1 / month, up to 12 days |
| Regional dossier (PDF) | — | — | Yes |
| Editor consultation | — | — | 45 minutes / month |
| Email reply window | 2 business days | 1 business day | Same business day |
Frequently Asked Questions About Plans
Do the reader plans include actual museum tickets or transport?
No. MuseuPass is an editorial publication. We do not sell tickets, accommodation, transport or guided tours of any kind. The Itinerary plan is a desk-research product: we tell you what to book, when to book it and what to expect on arrival, but the booking itself stays with you. This is part of how we keep our independence — we have nothing to gain commercially from steering you towards one operator over another.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. All plans are billed monthly and can be cancelled from the link at the bottom of any invoice email. Access continues until the end of the paid period. Cancellation never deletes your reading history because we do not store reading history in the first place.
Are prices in USD or EGP?
Plan prices are listed in USD because most of our subscribers pay through international cards. Ticket prices inside reviews are listed in Egyptian Pounds with a USD reference, because the official ticket-office rate at Egyptian heritage sites is set in EGP. The USD reference is updated quarterly to reflect the recent exchange rate.
Can I subscribe a tour agency, school or museum?
Yes. Group and institutional subscriptions are available with multiple email recipients and a single invoice. Schools, museums and heritage NGOs receive a 30% discount on the Reader plan; tour agencies pay the standard rate. Write to the desk via the contact page with the size of the group and we send a written quote — no commitment required.
Is there a refund policy?
If an Itinerary-plan custom plan fails to match the brief you agreed at the start of the month, that month is refunded in full and your account remains active. The Reader plan has no refund clause beyond what consumer protection law requires, but you can cancel at any time and stop the next month’s charge. The Open Archive obviously has nothing to refund.
Does my payment go to a Cairo bank?
Yes. Payments are processed through a Cairo-based payment provider on behalf of MuseuPass Heritage Media L.L.C., and the invoice carries our Egyptian Tax ID 712-394-825. This may matter to expense departments at large institutions; we are happy to provide an invoice in the format your accountancy team needs.
What happens if I subscribe but my trip is postponed?
You keep your subscription active and the desk simply moves the work to the new dates. We have done this dozens of times — Egyptian travel plans are vulnerable to political events, sandstorms during the khamaseen season, and the occasional case of a museum announcing a closure for renovation between your booking and your arrival. There is no penalty for moving an itinerary plan to a later month and no need to cancel and resubscribe.
Do you publish a print magazine separately from the briefing?
Not currently. We have considered launching a quarterly print magazine alongside the monthly briefing, but the time it would take from editorial work has been judged unfavourable so far. The closest substitute is the long-read feature in each monthly briefing, which goes into more depth than a daily news cycle allows and is written by the editor responsible for that region.
Where the money goes
How Subscription Income Is Spent
Reader subscriptions are the only commercial income MuseuPass has. We do not run advertising, we do not charge sites or operators for reviews, and we do not earn affiliate commissions. The income from the Reader and Itinerary plans is broken down approximately as follows: the largest single share goes to editorial salaries — four full-time editors, two contributors and a part-time photographer — which is the only realistic way to sustain on-site verification at the cadence our reviews require. The second largest share covers printing and postage of the monthly briefing, which remains expensive because we use a Cairo offset printer for quality and post copies individually to international subscribers rather than relying on a bundled mailing house.
The remainder funds the working overheads any small publication has: the office in Zamalek, communications, banking fees, accounting and the annual audit required for our L.L.C. status. We also set aside a modest line for fieldwork in regions where reader interest exists but where current subscriber density does not yet justify a regular editorial trip — this is how we expand coverage into the Western Desert oases and the smaller museum networks of Middle Egypt without raising plan prices for everyone.
Subscribers who want a fuller breakdown receive an annual letter from the editor-in-chief that walks through the income statement at a non-confidential level. The point is not to perform transparency for its own sake; it is to make explicit that a paid plan funds editorial work rather than profit extraction. The four editors take salaries comparable to the cultural-journalism sector in Cairo, the company holds a small operating reserve, and the rest goes back into the work.
Ready to subscribe?
Pick the plan that matches your trip — the desk takes it from there with a welcome email, the latest issue and the relevant region dossiers.
Open the Contact Form