This review addresses the service provided by the tour operator and guide, “Dr. Michael”—not the temples themselves, which were absolutely gorgeous and worth seeing.
This was our third private tour with this company (one in Cairo and two in Luxor), so we have prior experiences for comparison.
Our hotel pick-up was scheduled for 06:00, and the guide arrived 20 minutes late because he had gone to a different hotel with a similar name. While mistakes happen, the situation became uncomfortable when he began blaming us and the tour operator for not providing the location (despite clearly finding us) and made inappropriate, racist comments about another group of tourists.
Shortly after, Michael told us that another guide’s father had passed away that morning and asked if a separate group could join our private tour at Dendara so he could “help his friend.” We felt put on the spot and agreed, though the situation already felt suspicious.
We arrived at Dendara right at opening, when the temple was completely empty. Instead of taking advantage of that rare opportunity, the guide gave a long, confusing introduction outside. His explanations were difficult to follow, scattered, and filled with conspiracy theories, along with repeated claims that he was the only guide who properly teaches history there. By the time we entered the temple, it was crowded, and we had missed the chance to enjoy it peacefully.
Inside, he began suggesting we skip Abydos due to “limited time,” exaggerating the drive duration (which we had researched beforehand). He proposed visiting Medinet Habu instead and asked us to make a collective decision as a group—despite the fact that we had booked a private tour. We ultimately continued the day together and even rode in the same vehicle, which made the situation increasingly awkward.
The drive back to Luxor took nearly twice as long as expected, with noticeable detours and back roads, reinforcing our concern that the itinerary had been intentionally altered.
Later, we learned that the other group had booked a shared tour and had been told that our guide didn’t show up. This raised serious concerns about whether the “emergency” story was true. After this conversation, our guide’s attitude noticeably shifted, and he became overly attentive. At lunch, he repeatedly emphasized that we had agreed to combine tours and even asked us not to leave a negative review because he has a family.
Whether the story was genuine or not, the experience left us feeling misled and uncomfortable. We did not receive the private tour we paid for, the historical explanations were poor, and we ultimately gained very little educational value from having a guide at all.
We will be requesting a partial refund and cannot recommend booking this tour to Dendara with this company.
I can enjoy my tour with driver, Mohammed!
He is very polite and punctual, to make arrange/suggest another sightseeing spots in Luxor(of course with extra fee), and then come back to my hotel 5PM.
It is the first time I ate guava fruits.
Dendera Temple and abydos Temple, both are magnificent, beautiful, and great!!!I learned about these temples before to go, so it has enough time to see there.
I can enjoy a whole day. Shukuran!
Easy communication, on time pick up with comfortable car. Driver was drove safely. Our guide Dr Michael was very nice and knowledgeable. He kindly treated us to local breakfast on the way to Denderah. Michael took his time explaining the important parts of the temples and we also had plenty of time to explore alone. We never felt rushed and return around 5pm. Thank you Muchael, the driver and Emo tours.