17 independent reviews for Egypt cultural holiday, small group

Reviews for Egypt cultural holiday, small group

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review 31 May 2022

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing the living museum that is Eygpt. Very hard to single one. The experience organised by the operator bored into your very soul and brought those childhood awe inspiring lessons to life.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Take in every second, have no pre conceived ideas. Eygpts sites are mind-blowing close up and you don't get hassled too much, but, no is respected. Its hot so keep hydrated

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Absolutely, all local guides ( who were brilliant), local taxis, hotels and eateries. Very much encouraged to support local shops.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

It will live in my heart and my very being for ever. It is just stunning, you cannot even imagine the glory of these sites. It was perfect in its delivery, organisation and education

review 21 Jun 2021

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

This was a very well-planned out trip and I felt we were well taken care of throughout the entire adventure! Our local guide, Big Mo, was amazing and definitely added to the experience.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

This trip obviously involves a lot of travel throughout Egypt so be prepared to spend some time and trains and buses. Meals can be erratic when traveling so pack some snacks and bring your own water bottle - it gets hot!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

The only major downside of this trip was the amount of plastic water bottles we went through. Obviously the travel leaves behind a carbon footprint but that cannot be helped. I feel if you're booking through a company that touts its sustainability, they would try to work with local agencies that have the same mission statement. I brought my own water bottle but there were very few (safe) ways to refill so we ended up relying too heavily on plastic. Even if large jugs were available on the buses that we could refill from, that would be preferable to all the plastic waste.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Overall this was a great holiday and we really enjoyed it. The only feedback I would give is we did not enjoy our time at the all-inclusive at the Red Sea. When planning a trip such as this, it was almost culture shock to go from walking the streets of Cairo to staying at an all-inclusive. Our entire group felt that we would have much preferred to stay in Hurgada and eat locally than the all-inclusive experience.

Read the operator's response here:

Dear Deanne, Thanks for taking the time to provide a review of your trip, it’s much appreciated and I’m sure it’ll help future travellers with their decision making. Firstly I’m really pleased to hear that you felt that the trip was well planned and that you enjoyed the services of ‘Big Mo’. He’s one of our longest serving and most loved Egyptian guides and I’m sure he’ll be delighted to read your comments. Regarding travel around Egypt, there are some long distances to cover, and we do try to vary the types of travel that we use. So, some of the journeys are done by train, some by road, and some on the Nile itself. We've intentionally not included a domestic flight from Hurghada to Cairo on your Discover Egypt tour, for environmental reasons, as well as making it cheaper for you. Overall the flight does not save much time either, when all the check in times, flight time, collecting luggage, and airport transfers are taken into account. We know the journeys from Luxor to Hurghada, and Hurghada to Cairo can sometimes be long, but there aren't really better options unfortunately. We’re very aware that Egypt has a big problem with single use plastics and it is something we have been trying to eliminate from our tours. In 2019 we started using large water containers on our vehicles, from which people could re-fill their own water bottles. However as part of our Covid-19 hygiene and potential infection transmission assessments we removed these and stopped using them. That may have been an over-the-top reaction, but we were just trying to remove situations where lots of different people were touching and using the same thing, especially when it was then going to their mouths. We're 100% in agreement that ending up using multiple plastic water bottles is not ideal, and we're working on better, Covid-safe alternatives at the moment. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your time at the All Inclusive resort in Hurghada. We do offer an alternative version of this tour, our Nubian Adventure, which follows an identical itinerary for the first 7 days through the Nile Valley, but but returns to Cairo from Luxor rather than including the Red Sea at Hurghada. For people who do want to include the Red Sea, we know from experience that after a busy, hot, week of sightseeing, they want somewhere nice to relax by the pool, go to the beach, and chill out a bit. So, we do use one of the resort-style hotels (there are actually hardly any good quality non-resort type hotels in Hurghada or this part of the Red Sea anyway). Over the years we have based these 2 nights on breakfast only, and half board, and now base it on a soft all-inclusive basis (meals, soft drinks, but not alcohol). When we included fewer meals, we received lots of feedback from travellers that it would be more cost effective if they could have the all-inclusive option, rather than paying for extra meals and drinks in the hotel individually. That's indeed the case, and the rates the hotels offer for breakfast only, or half board, are not nearly as good for the customer as the more inclusive offerings which are more in demand. You are always very welcome to head into Hurghada and eat our locally still if you wish, and we'll ask our guides to highlight this option more. Overall, I’m pleased you enjoyed your tour and I hope that you’ll join us in another destination in the near future.

review 27 Feb 2020

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The visit to Abe Simbul

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

There is so much to see. Pace yourself.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Certainly benefited local people economically. But the number of tourists visiting these sites will harm them over time. The artifacts need to be better protected, but it is frustrating to see some people touching them. Thankfully our guide instructed us not to.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent

review 19 Feb 2020

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Visiting the workers tombs in Valley of the Kings

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Read as much as you can before you go, there is a lot of information to process quickly once you are there, prereading might help to put it all into place. It can be very cold and windy in February!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

To some extent

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Very good

review 9 Nov 2019

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The Valley of the Kings

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

It is a packed schedule and you have to get used to early mornings but it is worth it!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

There were several opportunities to buy locally produced goods and the tourism obviously provided jobs for people.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent. It was our first experience of group travel and we loved it! Everything was very well organised and our guide and his team really looked after our very need

review 23 Sep 2019

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

It is hard to name just one! Abu Simbel, the Luxor Temple complex, the Karnak Temple complex or the Valley of the Kings ... all are fantastic. Yet don't discount the excitement of sailing on the Nile in a felucca.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

If possible, spend at least 2 full days in Luxor. There is so much to see that it is difficult not to feel exhausted by noon.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Local people benefited from our business, but reliance on single-use plastic water bottles is still a major issue. Everyone brought reusable drinking bottles but then had to purchase small plastic bottles of water to fill them.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

A brilliant, although exhausting, holiday.

review 9 Apr 2019

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Something tremendous happened virtually every day, from the visit to the Pyramids with the climb inside the Great Pyramid or taking a camel ride to the stunning Egyptian Museum through to the spectacular Sufi dance performance in Cairo at the very end.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

This is a fast-moving trip, as you travel all the way up the Nile to the border with Sudan, so it's sometimes exhausting due to very early starts and long road trips. The organizers build in a few recovery days, which helped. I would urge people to cough up for a few extras, like the balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings or the visit to Abu Simbel. Sleeping on the felucca was wonderful for us, but might be a bit basic for some (and bring mosquito repellent!) I wish we could have spent more time at the Egyptian Museum, but then I could happily have spent a month there, so I guess that's not practical.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Not really. We made a fast visit to a Nubian village in Aswan but I didn't see that it was of much benefit to the residents, and I didn't learn much about them or their lives. Felt a bit too much like a visit to a zoo or theme park. The excellent performance by Nubian musicians after the felucca trip was much more enjoyable, but again it would have been great to hear more from them. Finally, the beach where we had a great cookout was littered with trash from previous visitors and God knows what else--I'd have been happy to spend an hour picking it up and it would be great to bring along trash bags and incorporate that as a voluntary part of the trip, for those of us who like that stuff. I did very much appreciate the sign at the Hurghada resort showing how much food was wasted every day, it helped me eat responsibly.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Two things made this experience extraordinary: Egypt and its treasures, and the hard work of the tour guides/organizers. They killed themselves to solve problems and showed endless patience with the sometimes whiny/crabby tourists. Plus they were well-informed and fun. Various things went wrong on the trip, as far as I could tell, but they managed to change things up on the fly and keep the group mostly happy, which could not have been easy. I can't commend them enough. And Egypt itself is just a magical place, I'm so glad I got the chance to see even a little of it.

review 15 Dec 2019

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Tremendous classical sites

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Visa easy to get at airport. Don't bother with Hurghada. Journey there in dark, return flight(which I was SO looking forward to ) departed 5am so pitch black whole way. Be prepared for big sell visits to a)alabaster shop b) jewellery shop c)papyrus museum/shop.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Staff in hotels, restaurants, sites visited, transport employees benefited. Also street beggars, toilet cleaners, not to mention our guides. Also government shops' owners and employees would receive payments from purchases. Nubian felucca owners and crew plus Nubian villagers offering hospitality benefited too. Pity about the crocodile with mouth taped up being passed round visitors. Environmental impact at Hurghada hotel complex very negative. Conservation not supported due to excessive use of plastic.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

We covered a great area of Egypt in a short time. Hurghada was a waste of time, considering the journey time and being undertaken in the dark (November). Train and felucca trips were memorable. Our guide for the trip was excellent, however, and warm welcome at airport from Ahmed (although cool on return journey!).

Read the operator's response here:

Thank you for your constructive feedback on your Egyptian tour with us. To follow up on some of the comments you've made... - Hurghada. From the start of 2020 we have extended this tour by one day to give more time in Hurghada. We have also removed the flight from Hurghada to Cairo and are driving instead, taking advantage of a new faster road. This reduces our carbon footprint and also removes the need for getting up so early (we were starting to find it really hard to get decently timed flights later in the morning) - We do have another tour, our Nubian Adventure, which follows exactly the same itinerary but spends a little more time in Luxor before returning to Cairo, missing out the Red Sea at Hurghada altogether - I'm glad you felt that the holiday benefitted local people. We do use our tipping kitty to help a lot of people who help you on the tour, some visible, some not, and I'm glad you felt other people benefitted well too. - Thank you for highlighting the issue with the crocodile in Aswan. This is not something that should happen on our tours and we have done an in depth review of the visits to the Nubian villages so that we can make sure that it doesn't happen again. The Nubian people do have a long tradition and culture of keeping baby crocodiles, but we are striving to make sure that none are ever handed round our groups or mistreated in the way you have described anywhere that we may visit. Thanks again for your review. I hope we can welcome you on another tour in the future. I hope that this is helpful and meets with your approval. Do let me know any feedback you may have. best wishes, Ralph

review 15 Mar 2019

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Visiting the pyramids, Sphinx, and iconic temples of course, but also the sleeper train and the sailing trip on a Felluca.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Dollars are useful. Be prepared for some very early starts.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

I'm sure the holiday did benefit local people because the guides, hotel staff, and staff at all the temples and sites we visited were Egyptian.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

I loved the holiday. We saw so much in a short space of time and our guide was fantastic. Egypt is awesome!

Read the operator's response here:

Dear Marta, Thanks for taking the time to get back to us with your post-tour feedback, this is very much appreciated. I'm really pleased to hear that you had such a good trip and that you enjoyed the varied itinerary, including the Felucca and Sleeper Train. I hope that we'll be able to welcome you on another of our adventures in the future!! Anthony

review 16 Nov 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

There were many. Visiting Abu Simbel, night on a felucca, valley of the Kings, Luxor temple at night, snorkelling in the Red Sea, Coptic Cairo. Our amusing guide who was extremely well versed in Egyptology and a good organiser.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Be prepared for many early mornings, especially if participating in the optional extras. A full on trip with lots of different experiences and not much free time except the day at Hurghada.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

The Nubian population benefitted from our visit.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Very good.

review 20 Oct 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

I think that there were many in fact....Night visit at Luxor, the balloon ride, and others

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Be prepared for early starts. Bring a minimum of clothing. Ignore the warnings about dress etiquette as nearly all tourist women worn shorts/tee shirts etc. The company needs to amend the comments in the briefing details so that less clothing needs to be taken of a 'modest' nature !!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

I can only comment on the first one and it was good to see that all the staff were Egyptian and very helpful and friendly..particularly our guide Mohamed Karim and the other Mohamed at Hurghada.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

It was an excellent holiday if rather tiring with the early starts. Our guide was excellent, hotels very good and all staff only to willing to help..and smile !! The operator ran every thing very smoothly so I must commend the company for what was a very well run one with no hiccups at all ..

review 1 May 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The historical wonders e.g. the Temple at Luxor and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings take your breath away. The felucca experience provided some welcome fun and time to get to know the group. An outstanding feature of this holiday is the relentless pace of travel and sight seeing. Our guide Sharif was very good, judging well how much information to give.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Travel light - there is next to no time in the hotels and hardly any poolside time.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Yes we did. Lots of people were employed on occasional basis throughout the holiday, mainly in the role of security or escorts, as well as the drivers. Our guide tended to dissuade us from buying at the local stalls - I regret heeding his advice as it really doesn't matter to the tourist whether the prices are inflated or not; it's the worth of an object to you that matters, and it would have been good to have engaged more with Egyptian people.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

We 'did' Egypt seeing all the major cultural sites. We had an excellent group of people on the trip and we three (ages 65, 62, 28) had a thoroughly good time. A more leisurely pace would have been better and it would have been nice to have been able to get to know a bit more of current day Egypt as well as its historical past.

review 23 Apr 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The entire holiday from begining to end was just soooo exciting. The pyramids and valley of kings was incredible - even better than anticipated. The culture, small and large details of sculptures / engravings, the local history, the felucca, the Nubian village and more - I will never forget it. Even the night train had its own charm.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

It is a really full action packed holiday from begining to end. I went with my sister and we really appreciated the restful moments hanging around by the hotel pool or not having to get up extremely early, whilst the rest of the group were doing all the added extra options. The options are of course great as well but you need to get the right balance for what you want from a holiday. Hundred percent action or few moments of down-time.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

We had a lovely afternoon and diner with a Nubian family. They showed us their house, including pet crocodile, made us fresh mint tea and cooked us this wonderful dinner. They were of course paid for this. Also, our guide took us to a small workshop where the locals carved pots etc from the same rock as the temples were made from. They were really happy when we bought things as they got commission and that helped their families. The felucca was a great sailing experience and saved polluting the Nile with a large cruise boat. Our guide was excellent. He was Egyptian with a degree in English literature and Egyptology. He made all the pyramids, temples and tombs come to life with his wonderfull stories and humour. He even taught us to read hieroglyphs! Therefore all in all we were introduced to the locals in an environmentally friendly way and I am sure they benefitted from our visit.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent - I really recommend it. We were expecting much more tourism around the sites. This was not the case. I hardly saw a European all week. It felt like we were going back in time when we entered the sites: Egyptians, camels, donkeys and desert.

review 4 Feb 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing the Pyramids and The Sphinx.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Be prepared for a fair amount of walking.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Local people provided some boat trips, and of course worked in the restaurants and hotels we used.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

The holiday was excellent, richly informative about Egyptian history and It was very well organised.

review 4 Apr 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Visiting the temples and tombs, especially Abu Simbel.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

If coming from the UK, take Egyptian Pounds, not US Dollars, as you will only end up changing them to Pounds as easier to spend locally.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Any money spent helps the local economy as the tourist trade has suffered immensely in recent years.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Very good although the felucca was a complete waste of time, went about a mile up the Nile before parking up, then everyone got mosquito bites at night. It should do a decent sail up the river then drop everyone back to the hotel for a decent sleep. Everyone felt the same!!

Read the operator's response here:

Dear Jeff, Thanks for your message and for taking the time to get back to us with your feedback, this is very much appreciated. I’m really pleased to hear that you generally enjoyed the tour and were able to give us a great 4-star rating, I agree with you about Abu Simbel, it’s an amazing feat of engineering and the story of how UNESCO moved the temples is pretty incredible too. I’m sorry that you weren’t happy with the night spent on the Nile. Many of our clients mention that this was the highlight of their trip, since the experience on the Felucca is quite unique. We do prefer to use the smaller Felucca sailboats rather than the larger Nile Cruises where possible, as it's a much more unique experience and benefits the local Nubian people around Aswan much more. However the Felucca captains are now quite restricted by the local authorities in where they are able to sail with passengers onboard and where they can moor up at night. This does mean that in the winter months if the wind isn't favourable and we don't get going early enough, we can't get that far downstream before we have to stop. On this tour we do offer the option of upgrading the Felucca to an extra night in Aswan and in the case of taking this option you would sail on the Felucca during the day before returning to Aswan for the night as you have mentioned. We don’t include this option as standard as we do have many passengers who enjoy sleeping onboard the Felucca, however the choice is available for those who prefer a little more comfort. Overall it’s great to hear about your time in Egypt and thanks once again for getting back to us with your feedback.

review 2 Apr 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Visiting the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings and some of the temples.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Read the overview. We stayed on a locally made boat for lunch, dinner and slept on it. Some people felt the overnight should not have been put in. We also travelled on a train overnight which someone did not like. But I think it was part of the experience.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

I am not sure. However the local people were very pleasant.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Very good.

Read the operator's response here:

Hi Audrey, Many thanks for your review and feedback about your Discover Egypt tour with us. I'm delighted that you enjoyed your trip. A couple of the points on the trip that you've highlighted are in the tour specifically to help local people and reduce environmental impacts. Those are the overnight felucca sailboat trip and the overnight sleeper train. The felucca is owned and operated by local Nubian people from Aswan, who rely on the feluccas for their family income. And the sleeper train is there both to allow you to see more of Egypt as you travel through, and also to reduce the carbon footprint of the tour. We do offer upgrades to both of these for people who would like some more comfort - there's a hotel upgrade option to replace the felucca, and a flight upgrade option to replace the train. I hope we have the opportunity to arrange another holiday for you in the future. best wishes, Ralph

review 14 Nov 2016

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Visiting the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Karnak.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Go with an open mind and give Egypt a chance.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

I definitely believe that the holiday benefitted local people as the Egyptian economy relies on tourism and currently there are very few tourists.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Wonderful. I thoroughly recommend it. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgable; we were in small groups (10 -11 people per group) and we were very well looked after. The sites are amazing, the weather is good. It was a brilliant holiday.

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