When you think of somewhere to go to play golf away from the winter weather Cairo might not be top of your list, but I've just come back from a wonderful one-week visit playing, if not among the Pyramids, right next to them. And it was so much fun I'm putting together a trip for a dozen of us this coming October. Once you have read this I'm sure you'll want to join me so get in touch.

The trip began one cold, dark evening at Heathrow in February. Rain, a chill wind, Gordon Brown's extra airline tax; I couldn't wait to get away. The Egypt Air Boeing 777 had only a handful of people on board so there was plenty of room; I think I had about six rows all to myself. Service was excellent, much better than I had anticipated to be honest and the food was pretty good. A midnight arrival in Cairo and only a small line at immigration (you buy a visa on arrival; just ten English pounds. A waiting taxi transfer to take me the other side of the city: going through Cairo at 1am is quite an adventure; perfectly safe but so busy; mini-buses heading off all over the country, markets doing a roaring trade; clubs inviting people in; the city never sleeps ! ; but I was in bed a little before 2am. The Pyramids were literally just across the road. Up with the larks the next morning of course because you never sleep the first night in a new bed and I headed off back across the city, on the very efficient and free-flowing ring road to play the Mirage course at the Marriott, only a stone's-throw from the airport.

This is a fairly new course but with one of the most impressive clubhouses in the world. No luxury is ignored inside and the food is excellent and, as with the whole of Egypt, incredibly inexpensive. I found that even in hotels incidentally, places where you normally pay top dollar. A meal for 50 Egyptian pounds (there are eleven and bit to the pound sterling). The Mirage is a good layout, easy to walk, good, flat greens and a few water hazards. Some good driving holes where you can let rip but I must admit to only having used the driver three or four times as you need some accuracy too. Very enjoyable and a nice lunch with the Director of Golf, Kieron Morrissey.

That night I stayed on the same side of town as I was playing another course in the same area the next morning and by an odd irony her ladyship, who had been cruising down the Nile from Aswan to Luxor on a trip with some journalists, had flown into Cairo that afternoon and was staying in a large hotel near the airport overnight before a 6am flight to Paris the next morning. How romantic? One night in Cairo – wasn't that a song? Oh no, it was Bangkok. That's another story. The hotel was the CityStars Intercontinental, set atop the largest shopping mall in the Middle East, which didn't do much for me but put the words "women" and "shops" together and you're on a winner. Or maybe loser. However, I digress. There was an excellent, and I mean excellent, Lebanese restaurant in the basement of the hotel and the food was magnificent, washed down with some pretty decent wine, accompanied by a local group singing Egyptian songs. They were so good we tried to buy one of their CDs, but they hadn't made any. They should.

After a 3.30 wake-up call, after which I went back to bed and slept until nearly eight, I headed off to Katamaya Heights, an impressive golf and tennis centre. The head pro was from Guernsey and the MD from London. This is a course I played once before about ten years ago when it first opened and on that occasion I was not that impressed, partly because there was a lot of building going on around it. There is still some construction underway but it is almost complete, magnificent villas around the perimeter of the course but nothing inside, and this time I was impressed. Very. A tricky course with some narrow driving holes again but if you are careful you can get round with a pretty decent score. A lovely swimming pool in which to cool off before a late lunch and then I headed back to the Pyramids, or at least to my hotel right opposite them.

The next day was special. It was a cool morning with a fairly heavy dew on the grass, almost a slight frost and a wintry sun struggling to break through early morning mist. I headed across the road to the golf course, sat on the terrace (with a sweater on) having a very good coffee and as the mist evaporated the Great Pyramid rose eerily into the sky. Magic. The Mena House Hotel is one of the most impressive and one of the most historic, in Egypt (Shepherd's, in Cairo, and the Cataract Hotel at Aswan are the other two). Churchill stayed here whenever he visited Egypt during the War, but the history just seeps out of every corner. The course is only nine holes but with 18 tees and greens. Short, compact, relaxed, it was a pleasure to play and I was one of the last because the following week it closed for redesign. It's due to re-open in October and if it is as good as the design plans will be magnificent.

The Red Sea

The next day I escaped the bustle of Cairo for a 90-minute drive across the desert to the Red Sea to a new course and resort called Stella di Mare. There are a load of villas and apartments, a couple of hotels and a beautiful boutique golf hotel with just 48 rooms, an excellent 18-hole course where you can really let it rip, and a lovely beach. I am not often impressed with new developments but this one really had me enthused. This is on the list for October, with two nights planned here and as much golf as you can cram into the days. Quite magnificent. The course is flat and appears, at first sight, a little boring and lacking in challenge. But once you get out there you are fighting it the whole way round. Very playable, very scorable, hugely enjoyable. Yes!

A day off is almost obligatory to see the Pyramids. I was fortunate enough many years ago to be able to go into the King's chamber of the Great Pyramid, an eerie and awe-inspiring experience that is not for the faint-hearted or those who suffer from claustrophobia but I loved every second of it. The Egyptian Museum in the heart of the city is also a wonderful experience, and I stayed on for a meal in one of Cairo's many bustling and inexpensive pub/restaurants. It might officially be a Moslem country but it's very soft and never feels threatening in any way. The only problem in Cairo is the level of pollution – Blair's new carbon tax would raise billions!

And finally to the last course I played, and it was a matter of leaving the best till last because Dreamland (not a name that inspires confidence, I'm the first to admit) was truly magnificent. The course, outside the city (so no pollution) but within sight of the Pyramids, was originally designed by Karl Litten. It has been tweaked and hugely improved by Dr Hafni, a local golfer and businessman. No, I'd never heard of him either but he is charming, great fun and makes sure you never sit there with an empty glass. His redesign really is an improvement. Quite a few water hazards, plenty of gentle doglegs, mature trees, beautiful flowers, this is a course to play over and over again. I don't think you would tire of it. Quite magnificent and attached to it is a very impressive Hilton Hotel. And that was it. The last night was a matter of packing all the dirty washing away, packing the clubs, counting the few golf balls left over, enjoying a very good last meal in the hotel with an extra glass or two of wine, and leaving at 9.30 the next morning for the midday flight back to London. A really magnificent week.