Mr. Bryce & Sefan
Hi Hamdy,
I hope you are doing well. I'm sorry for my delay in getting back to you; but I wanted to respond to your request for detailed comments about the tour. I also cc'd Stefan in case he has anything to add.
Overall, I really enjoyed the trip to Egypt. I am an avid traveler and have visited 51 countries now; and Egypt is definitely one of the top 5 countries I have traveled to. I will definitely recommend it. And I certainly want to return to see more!
Specific feedback:
Mahmoud was an excellent guide. He was always on time, very knowledgeable, very professional, friendly and speaks English very well. We were on a cultural tour, and he was knowledgeable enough to meet those expectations. I would highly recommend him.
Likewise, the drivers were all very good -- they kept clean vans, drove safely and were always on time. And the vans were comfortable and nicely air-conditioned. However, no one ever provided any water or soft drinks in the vans as was indicated on the itinerary, even after I let you know this.
The Memphis representatives were good -- well dressed, professional and punctual.
About the tours:
The Islamic Cairo tour was excellent! Very thorough and interesting. I really liked it and will definitely recommend it to others. I had lunch that day at Abu Tareq and I very much enjoyed having a typical meal among Egyptians. I will suggest that restaurant to others.
It seemed like a long drive to Alexandria for a day tour. If I did the trip again, I would want it to be for two days (maybe combined with another site such as Rashid or Wadi Natrum) or not go at all. The sites in Alex did not strike me as remarkable enough to warrant such a long day trip.
We were disappointed that the Abu Simbel trip was not fully planned, and the last-minute, haphazard solution was not good. It is such an impressive site that we needed a private guide.
The Wadi Natrun tour was fascinating! It was a very different experience from everything else we saw and did in Egypt. I am very happy you were able to arrange that for us on the last day. I would definitely do it again.
The tour to Giza, Memphis and Saqqara was great. The restaurant at which we ate lunch that day (Egyptian restaurant right next to Saqqara) was very good.
The tour of the Citadel, Old Cairo and the Egyptian Museum was good but it felt rushed to be all in one day. I wish we could have spent more time in Old Cairo and at the museum. Since we were looking for a cultural tour, we were really interested in such sites and could have spent much more time exploring. For me, Old Cairo is one of the most interesting places on the trip -- where else in the world can you find a mosque, church and synagogue right next to each other!? That's really special and remarkable. We had lunch that day at the Hard Rock which was only okay. Again, since we were on a cultural tour, I would have preferred a dining experience more authentically Egyptian.
The Movenpick cruise was acceptable. The rooms were very nice and the food was excellent; but I am not sure I will recommend it to others for two main reasons: the tours were too crowded and the itinerary was unreliable. Since my goal was to have a private, cultural tour of Egypt, the Movenpick just didn't fully meet my needs.
Crowded tours:
The guide was absolutely EXCELLENT. He was one of the best guides I have ever had because he can clearly and enthusiastically explain details about everything we saw. But we were in a group of about 30 people on a large coach, which made it difficult to hear him and ask questions, etc. I was very pleased with the private tours you arranged for us elsewhere and wish the tours in Aswan and Luxor had also been private.
Itinerary: The cruise ended up leaving half a day later from Aswan from the itinerary you provided, and then arrived in Luxor half a day later. As a result, we had more time in Aswan than we wanted and less time in Luxor to visit some of the sites was wanted to see. If I could plan the trip again, I would have made sure we had more time in Luxor and less in Aswan.
Hotels:
--Obviously we didn't stay at the St. Joseph so I cannot comment. But I'm surprised they refused the cancellation on the spot. I will not recommend the hotel to other travelers because of this.
The President Hotel in Cairo was good -- I was very happy with the friendly service, location and restaurant. I know we really wanted to stay at the Longchamps instead; but in the end, the President met all of our needs. I will recommend it to others.
The Basma hotel in Aswan was wonderful! I really like it -- nice rooms, great views, friendly staff and excellent restaurant. I would certainly go back to it.
I hope you find this information helpful Hamdy. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.
Bryce
I hope you are doing well. I'm sorry for my delay in getting back to you; but I wanted to respond to your request for detailed comments about the tour. I also cc'd Stefan in case he has anything to add.
Overall, I really enjoyed the trip to Egypt. I am an avid traveler and have visited 51 countries now; and Egypt is definitely one of the top 5 countries I have traveled to. I will definitely recommend it. And I certainly want to return to see more!
Specific feedback:
Mahmoud was an excellent guide. He was always on time, very knowledgeable, very professional, friendly and speaks English very well. We were on a cultural tour, and he was knowledgeable enough to meet those expectations. I would highly recommend him.
Likewise, the drivers were all very good -- they kept clean vans, drove safely and were always on time. And the vans were comfortable and nicely air-conditioned. However, no one ever provided any water or soft drinks in the vans as was indicated on the itinerary, even after I let you know this.
The Memphis representatives were good -- well dressed, professional and punctual.
About the tours:
The Islamic Cairo tour was excellent! Very thorough and interesting. I really liked it and will definitely recommend it to others. I had lunch that day at Abu Tareq and I very much enjoyed having a typical meal among Egyptians. I will suggest that restaurant to others.
It seemed like a long drive to Alexandria for a day tour. If I did the trip again, I would want it to be for two days (maybe combined with another site such as Rashid or Wadi Natrum) or not go at all. The sites in Alex did not strike me as remarkable enough to warrant such a long day trip.
We were disappointed that the Abu Simbel trip was not fully planned, and the last-minute, haphazard solution was not good. It is such an impressive site that we needed a private guide.
The Wadi Natrun tour was fascinating! It was a very different experience from everything else we saw and did in Egypt. I am very happy you were able to arrange that for us on the last day. I would definitely do it again.
The tour to Giza, Memphis and Saqqara was great. The restaurant at which we ate lunch that day (Egyptian restaurant right next to Saqqara) was very good.
The tour of the Citadel, Old Cairo and the Egyptian Museum was good but it felt rushed to be all in one day. I wish we could have spent more time in Old Cairo and at the museum. Since we were looking for a cultural tour, we were really interested in such sites and could have spent much more time exploring. For me, Old Cairo is one of the most interesting places on the trip -- where else in the world can you find a mosque, church and synagogue right next to each other!? That's really special and remarkable. We had lunch that day at the Hard Rock which was only okay. Again, since we were on a cultural tour, I would have preferred a dining experience more authentically Egyptian.
The Movenpick cruise was acceptable. The rooms were very nice and the food was excellent; but I am not sure I will recommend it to others for two main reasons: the tours were too crowded and the itinerary was unreliable. Since my goal was to have a private, cultural tour of Egypt, the Movenpick just didn't fully meet my needs.
Crowded tours:
The guide was absolutely EXCELLENT. He was one of the best guides I have ever had because he can clearly and enthusiastically explain details about everything we saw. But we were in a group of about 30 people on a large coach, which made it difficult to hear him and ask questions, etc. I was very pleased with the private tours you arranged for us elsewhere and wish the tours in Aswan and Luxor had also been private.
Itinerary: The cruise ended up leaving half a day later from Aswan from the itinerary you provided, and then arrived in Luxor half a day later. As a result, we had more time in Aswan than we wanted and less time in Luxor to visit some of the sites was wanted to see. If I could plan the trip again, I would have made sure we had more time in Luxor and less in Aswan.
Hotels:
--Obviously we didn't stay at the St. Joseph so I cannot comment. But I'm surprised they refused the cancellation on the spot. I will not recommend the hotel to other travelers because of this.
The President Hotel in Cairo was good -- I was very happy with the friendly service, location and restaurant. I know we really wanted to stay at the Longchamps instead; but in the end, the President met all of our needs. I will recommend it to others.
The Basma hotel in Aswan was wonderful! I really like it -- nice rooms, great views, friendly staff and excellent restaurant. I would certainly go back to it.
I hope you find this information helpful Hamdy. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.
Bryce