Pat Johnson and Regina Fraser traveled there with a group of 14 other Americans.
Fraser said they were aware of the protests but didn't expect what they encountered.
Photos they provided ABC7 show demonstrators in the streets, and police and people holding cans of tear gas.
As they left Cairo headed for the resort city of Luxor, t was the lack of people they found unsettling.
"It was eerily quiet, so silent. There was no traffic along the thoroughfares right around the Nile. And it was really strange. This is a bustling city. Nothing. Quiet," Johnson said.
"Burned out cars, no people and row upon row, upon row, upon row, upon row, for blocks and blocks, of tanks," Fraser said.
Everyone in their group got out of Egypt safely. Despite their experience, the women are planning their next trip to South Africa.
