Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The story telling by are guide using the group to take on roles in history truly brought the ancient Egyptian timeliness to life. Every day was inspirational.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmed was one of the best leaders I have ever had on a trip. He was well organised, knew his history, told stories in such away the history came to life and he was respectful of the group, other tourists and the monuments we visited. Could not of asked for anything more.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do take USD to pay for the option trips as by card they add 3%. Do arrive a day earlier to Cairo. The local guide arranged for 7 early arrivals a day out to Memphis, Citidel and Sakkara. We also stayed extra nights in Aswan. This meant we dropped out of optional trip to Abu Simbel and spent a day chilling on the cruise boat docked at Aswan. We then made our own arrangements after the cruises left and arriving at 10.30am had the place near to ourselves whereas the group left at 4am and were queuing. Note we were disappointed with cruise room view as assumed we would have a nile view. Unfortunately as the boats dock adjacent to each other we spent the entire trip docked against another boat looking straight into another room. No natural light or air. Not what we expected but all boats the same.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was incredibly professional, knowledgeable and accommodating to all guests. 5 Stars.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring Snacks. The itinerary provided prior to the trip is very limited/general. You will be advised of each start time, the afternoon prior. Most meeting times will be from 430 AM (Flight to Luxor) to 6 AM when visiting sites. You should pack food for every day of site seeing because lunch will not be available on most days until approx. 1 PM or 2 PM.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the Pyramids and going inside the main one up to the burial chamber. A long-time bucket list must-do.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrew was brilliant - an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Egyptian gods, pharoahs, temples and history and extremely good at advising us of what to do (and not do) at the various sights. Friendly, helpful and efficient - a real star.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The persistent hawkers can become a bit wearisome after a while - just keep your cool. You're better off shopping at the organised stands where you can browse and they don't hassle you.

Most Inspirational Moment

Having seen the Valley of the Kings before I knew what to expect but it was still awe inspiring.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The tour leader was excellent. He took good care of all of us and had a bag like Mary Poppins - everything needed was in it. The history of Egypt is too much to take in in one go but he did an excellent job in explaining the key elements.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for early starts to avoid the worst of the heat and the crowds.

Most Inspirational Moment

Abu Simbel, Karnak, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Aswan. All the visits were great both optional and included but I was truly blown away by Abu Simbel. We took the coach to Abu Simbel, it wasn't cheap but definitely worth it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tefa was great and extremely patient. He was always concerned about our wellbeing. If there was an issue with accommodation or food, he made sure it was sorted. He also spoke very good English so his explanation about the various excursions were very interesting. Top bloke.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just be prepared for the early starts and long hot days. You'll need sunscreen, hat and water. Fortunately, water was provided free throughout the trip. We didn't have much time to shop so if you find something you like at any of the site bazaars then go for it and haggle hard. Avoid buying anything at the Cairo souk/market as you'll come across nicer things during your trip. Accepted currencies: Egyptian pound, Sterling, Dollar and the Euro. The Egyptians live on tips so be prepared to be asked for tips for the smallest of things like taking a photo, going to the public loo etc. It's a good idea to take your own loo roll when on excursions as it's not always available and more often than not, the loos are pretty dirty.

Most Inspirational Moment

there are many the Tomb's of Nefertari, a visit to elephantine island to Animalia to see how the Nubian people lived and still do, seeing the gold mask of Tutankhamun was amazing and you can get really close to it. all the colours are stunning in all of the tombs at the valley of the kings and especially the valley of the queens which is deserted so go before more people realise its there!! Seeing all the places that I learnt about in school has finally been realised but I will need to go back as there is much more to see. The parties on M/S Esmeralda were memorable in many ways for the dancing and audience participation. cruising down the Nile seeing all the wildlife and watching all the children on the banks of the Nile waving back at us onboard an experience not to be forgotten.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ahmed was amazing he entertained us all with making us all god, goddesses, Pharaohs & Queens to make explaining things easier and fun, nothing was too much trouble for Ahmed; he arranged a tour to the valley of the queens for me to see the Tomb's of Nefertari and Prince Amen Khopshef and arranged a boat transfer back to M/S Esmerelda. His love and passion for his country and his experience and knowledge cant be bettered and he is always willing to answer questions and explain things further over dinner and evenings after dinner as we all had many questions for him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go you will love it!!! be prepared for early starts to avoid as much of the heat as possible and avoiding the crowds but its all worth it.

Most Inspirational Moment

We arrived at night and so saw little of the landscape. But that first morning in Egypt when I opened the curtains in my room and saw the pyramids was just stunning. It really set the mood and tone for the whole trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was a lovely woman. She looked after us and was full of information about the history.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be careful if you are vegetarian or have dietary requirements. I foolishly thought being in a Muslim country with their own dietary requirements meant they would understand my limitations. I was wrong. Everyday was a struggle to get vegetarian meals. A cheese toastie contained beef. The 'vegetable' soup was just a sieved version of the chicken soup. The vegetarian breakfast boxes provided when you have an early start contained ham sandwiches. Even on the plane on the way home i was given a fish dish despite my boarding pass stating id booked a lacto-vegetarian meal. There was 4 vegetarians in our group and we all had the same problem.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the pyramids poking up on the horizon from the hotel balcony actually made me quite emotional....I think a mix of finally, finally being able to travel again and it being a long-held dream to go to Egypt (and maybe a touch of not much sleep!). We'd gone to bed at about midnight (the group flight arrives in the evening and it takes a while to exit the airport) and just by chance I checked the view as the sun rose the next morning. And Abu Simbel is just awe-inspiring but then so are all of the other temples and things you get to see and do on this trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrew was an excellent leader. He was very organised and very knowledgeable on all things Egyptian. He also had a great sense of humour......the Egyptians invented EVERYTHING.....and made sure everyone was aware of how to deal with the aspects of the trip that we weren't accustomed to such as the hawkers and needing small change for the toilets. He guided us around the temples giving us details of the where/why/when, building up a picture of the history of Egypt as we went south. He gave us ample time to wander around once he'd given us our bearings. We will remember his "Habibis, this way" for a long time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We went in early February which we found ideal weather-wise. Fleeces were needed in the early mornings until the sun came into its own at about 10am and then the temperatures were in the low to mid 20's. Although sunny in Aswan, the constant wind took the temperature down quite considerably. We took mainly UK£ with us and changed some up at the airport (the exchange rate is fixed in Egypt so you don't get ripped off), we also took some US$ left over from a previous holiday. We paid for excursions in ££/US$/credit card. When working out expenses for the trip, factor-in paying for the optional excursions as otherwise you'll miss out on seeing things such as Abu Simbel.....well worth doing, don't be put off by the time it takes to get there. We did every excursion apart from the monastery and the light shows but others in the group said the light show at Philae was very good. The Nubian village trip was cancelled due to the water level being too low for the boats to negotiate the river so we had a morning off while in Aswan so we went for lunch at the Old Cataract Hotel. I would recommend to do this if possible as it's just a 5 minute walk down the road from the Basma Hotel..... obviously a slightly pricey lunch as you're paying for the view/history but a good way to finish of the holiday (and there's no dress code at lunch so don't worry if you've only got jeans to wear). The Nubian museum opposite the Basma Hotel is also worth a visit, you can spend anywhere from 30mins to 1.5 hrs there and can pop in on the way back from your fancy lunch. The new Egyptian museum isn't open yet (expected Nov 2022 but factor in Egyptian time!) but King Tut's mask is still in the old museum. The new museum looks spectacular from the outside (it's opposite the hotel in Cairo) so it would have been great to have gone there.....c'est la vie!

Thoughts on Group Leader

We were really fortunate to have a tour guide who explained very clearly the itinerary for tour on the first morning. The tour & excursions are full-on with lots of sites to visit and information to absorb. Sayed is an excellent tour guide and should be voted as the best tour leader for Exodus for his professionalism. Many thank Q’s to Sayed who made our journey a wonderfully interesting experience, full of knowledge & fun times from dawn to dusk.