MCRSanCarlos

Four of us (two couples) just returned from an 11 day tour to Egypt. MemphisTours handled everything for us and did it wonderfully well (except for the hotels which we picked and arranged). We had an absolutely fantastic trip, from the time we arrived late in the evening in Luxor and were met by Hassan #1 until the time eleven days later that Hassan #2 helped us with our flights home from Cairo (which were a mess thanks to Lufthansa’s records. Somehow, they didn’t show me as having been on the flight out so they canceled my return trip. Duh. Absolutely not the fault of anyone connected with MemphisTours. In fact, they were wonderful. Hassan #2 was a blessing to have with us. He straightened the whole mess out, came with us as far as he could within the airport after we had our tickets in hand and we were on our way. I don’t know what we would have done without him). We were met in Luxor late our first night and transferred to our hotel, where we were picked up the next morning and taken to our ship for a Nile cruise. Happily, we were informed that we had been upgraded to a better ship within the Sonesta line. Earlier in the planning stages, because I have severe allergies to cigarette smoke, Memphis had upgraded us, at no charge to us, to two suites on the ship which had balconies so we could air the rooms out if necessary. The rooms we had on the new ship were the best on the ship, with lovely balconies. There was no smoke in the rooms that I smelled or reacted to. Thanks to Memphis Tours for making that happen because it made all the difference for me and was a major concern when we went on our trip. One little nit-pick with Sonesta Cruises - we thought water was to be provided whenever we were transported in the van or bus but the first (and only) time we asked, we were told that it would cost us a little extra per bottle. We paid and got nice cold water. No big deal – we just brought our own from then on. After the cruise we were met in Aswan by a group from Memphis Tours, led by Ahmed Hassan. They drove us down to Abu Simbel and back, continuing through Aswan to our hotel in Luxor. During our trips between Aswan and Abu Simbel and at the temple, we were accompanied by an excellent guide who is a Professor in Egypt and quite an informative Egyptologist, Dr. Gamal Kasem. He was fantastically knowledgeable and in hindsight I wish we had taken advantage of his expertise and knowledge more, but we were so tired from the early wake-up of 3:00 AM, which is necessitated when driving or flying to Abu Simbel. His English was wonderful, he answered every question we threw at him, his personality was great and he was a joy all around. The drive was three hours to Abu Simbel, three hours back to Aswan and four hours to Luxor, but in addition to a guide and Egyptologist, they provided two drivers who traded off regularly (one slept while the other drove). The van we were driven in was quite comfortable and the four of us slept much of the way and took photos from the van the rest of the time. The four gentlemen from MemphisTours who accompanied us all spoke English well and were quite pleasant and friendly. In Luxor, after being taken to and checked into our hotel, we were met the next two mornings by Ahmed Hassan and a new driver and Egyptologist also named Ahmed (I think), who showed us to the wonderful temples as listed on our itinerary. He was quite good and knowledgeable although not quite as good with English as the other guide at Abu Simbel had been, but it didn’t really matter because he was full of interesting information and was a great guide. My only complaint – and it’s a minor one – is that we were to be provided lunch during our day-long tours at Abu Simbel and Luxor, and except for the first day when we were taken for a pretty sad meal (that we were told at the end we each had to pay $10 US for), we were provided no lunch. However, we brought our own snacks every day so it was no big deal. Truly, it was no big deal – the sights, the temples, the guides - everything was so perfect that taking time to eat at a restaurant was just not on our radar anyway. We were accompanied from our hotel to the Luxor airport and met on the other end in Cairo late in the evening by Hassan #2, who took us to our hotel, saw us checked-in, and met us the next morning to introduce us to our new guide, Nesrein, who was perfect. Nesrein and our driver, Sayid, spent the next three days with us and showed us everything on our itinerary and more, spending the entire day with us, into the evening, above and beyond what had been planned, much to our delight. In addition, we were taken to enjoy good and different lunches each day. Most of all, though, was how knowledgeable and friendly and utterly delightful they both were. We felt like they were friends of ours and not there as part of a job. What a perfect way to end a wonderful trip that we had all been a bit apprehensive about when we started planning it in December. I can’t say enough about what a wonderful trip the four of us had. We have each all traveled quite extensively on our own throughout the US, Europe and Asia, but from this wonderful and magical experience, I think all four of us would say this was one of the best trips we have each ever taken. I would never hesitate to recommend MemphisTours or to use them again. They were wonderful! (My apologies if I got any details or names wrong. I know I have misspelled some of the names).