Fantastic place to visit. Accompanied by Roshdry Khodery ; superb guide , extremely knowledgeable, excellent English and took very good care of us.
W7804OGrichardb
29 Nov 2024
Absolutely brilliant sight-seeing trip with Reflections Travel (found through Tripadviser, based in Luxor). Package did not include international flights but these were easy to book separately with EGYPTAIR. All transfers from/to airports + internal flights, were included. Hotel accommodation was 5* as was the Nile cruise (Kahila). The tours included the main attractions for Cairo and the Nile Cruise (unlike many other packages in which the tours on the cruise were optional extras). The price was good value.
We had a busy full day in Cairo (2 nights) including Giza pyramids, the Sphinx, Egyptian museum with our guide, Bilan, who was very knowledgeable and spoke very good English. (Having a guide appears to be essential not only for their knowledge in Egyptology but also for their advice on tipping and protection from excessive badgering from locals).
Our flight to Luxor was 6am(!) on the third day. We were met by our guide for the day at the airport and taken to Karnak temple, then Luxor temple before checking in at our cruise boat before lunch. Again, the guide was a very knowledge and highly trained Egyptologist.
Once on the boat, we met with Roshdy Khodery, our guide for the rest of our cruise. Roshdy speaks very good English, is a very knowledgeable and experienced Egyptologist and is very easy to talk to, with a good sense of humour. Being November, the cruise was by no means fully booked, and we were fortunate (as with our previous guides) that Roshdy was solely looking after our small group of four. He looked after us very well throughout, discussing the daily itinerary with as well as optional extras. As regards the latter, we did do a couple of optional extras (Abu Simbel temple - 3-4 hour drive, setting off at 4am and a small boat trip up to a Nubian village on the other side of the river). Both were well worthwhile and we never felt any undue pressure to agree to these.
Included in the itinerary were: The Valley of the Kings (going into 3 tombs), Hatshepsut temple, Colossi of Memnon (2nd day, while still docked in Luxor)
Edfu and Kom Ombo temples. (3rd day further up the Nile)
Unfinished Obelisk, Temple of Philae and High Aswan Dam (scheduled for 4th day, whilst in Aswan but we went to Abu Simbel temple on the 4th day instead and went to these Aswan sights on the 5th before flying back to Cairo)
Back in Cairo, we were met and transferred to Le Passage, a 5* hotel at the airport.
We could have done another morning of sight-seeing in Cairo, which Roshdy would have arranged but decided to relax at the hotel before our flight back to Heathrow in the afternoon. Check out was 12 noon but the hotel reception were happy for us to use our rooms until 2pm.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable trip
with Reflections Travel and very good tour guides, especially our main tour guide, Roshdy.
lindasbarnett
08 Nov 2024
We just returned from the best trip of our life! It was the Viking Cruises Pharaohs and Pyramids Tour from October 27 to November 7 on the Aton The sites that we saw were expertly chosen. One day to the other was " the highlight of the trip".
The accommodations at the Fairmont and the Intercontinental in Cairo were fabulous. The Aton was a wonderful river boat, very clean with spacious rooms, fine dining and excellent service. Our cruise director Ana was so kind and enthusiastic. Our room steward Hassan kept everything meticulously clean and tidy. Our desk agent Mustafa went the extra mile to assist us with anything and everything. The three guides, Amin, Manal and Hassan were experts. Hassan was with us throughout our trip. Not only was he a respected archeologist and Egyptologist, but he shared his personal favorites with us at each stop. He watched out for us. Hassan was so enthusiastic about the sites we saw and Egypt in general. He could not have done a better job showing us his country!
At the airport our Viking representative, Girgis Nabil, met us right at the van and helped us tremendously with navigating the complicated check in. He kept us informed every step of the way and didn't let anyone "crowd us out" in lines.
In all, Viking has come through yet again with wonderful accommodations, service, and sites. I highly recommend this tour!