My boyfriend and I used Go Luxor Tours for a quick trip to Cairo. We could not have had a better experience! We were able to fit almost everything on our list in three days. Michael arranged everything and checked in with us daily to make sure everything was going well. I cannot stress how easy and thorough everything was. All I did was inquire through their website, tell them what we were interested in seeing, and Michael took care of everything from there.
Francis was our guide for all three days and made our experience fantastic. He was friendly, professional, timely, intelligent, and thoughtful. He had a deep understanding of all aspects of Egyptian history. He had a ton of information on every place we visited and on parts of Cairo we passed on our drives. Francis was clearly very passionate about his job and both ancient and modern Egyptian history. On top of that, he made sure we were taken care of on any non-tour related needs.
I highly recommend using this company for any trip to Egypt. I hope to come back to see more sights at some point in the future, and would 1000% not hesitate to book through them again.
I don't really know where to begin, this was a pretty mind-blowing trip for me! I originally contacted Go Luxor Tours for a car transfer service between Hurghada and Luxor, but after speaking to Michael Samir I ended up booking a lot more with them. Michael was never pushy or trying to hustle me. In fact, I originally scheduled the transfer from Hurghada to Luxor and wasn't planning on scheduling anything else, but he offered to schedule tours if I wanted to see what he had available. I said sure, send over what you have and I'll think about it. An entire month went by and he never once bothered me about the tours or tried to pressure me. After that I decided to reach back out and book with him, and I booked a tremendous amount. We did the entire thing through WhatsApp and I never needed to speak to him over the phone. First time I heard his voice was when we met-up in Luxor!
There is no way you are going to see what I saw and be as efficient and educated during the trip as I was if you don't book with someone like these guys. I was originally planning to walk everywhere, rent a bike or take Uber's. That would have been a mistake with the heat of summer over there, so I'm lucky that I didn't try to ride a bike around. With Uber's you aren't going to get an Egyptologist and if you read the final section of my review, you will also why it was great to have the same people with me. You also are going to have to deal with buying your own tickets to things and trying to figure out where to go and understand what you are looking at. You won't get even a fraction of the experience without having Egyptologists with you. If you are trying to take this trip on your own and you don't speak Arabic, leveraging these guys is well worth it. I came to trust both Michael and Francis and I am still talking to them even after my return to the US. They took really great care of me!
Go Luxor haa a great option to pay with Western Union which I was originally concerned about because of the scams you read online, but I will say that after talking to Michael about his business I learned that he uses them to cut down on fees. You can always bring cash with you to pay, if you prefer, but I didn't want to carry that much money on me so I used the Western Union option. I believe he has PayPal, too, but again, out of respect for his business I wanted to keep the fees low for him. Michael is honest and I will say that you can trust paying him through Western Union. They did everything they said they would do and more!
I'll break this down into 3 different sections: the itinerary, the trip description, and the extra value I got out of these guys.
ITINERARY
- I used them for airport pickup and drop-off in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan.
- I used them for a Hurgahda to Luxor private driver.
- I scheduled the following tours with them:
A) Aswan: Nubian village tour, Nile river boat tour, Abu Simbel visit
B) Luxor: Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's Temple, Valley of the Nobles, Valley of the Workers
C) Cairo: Giza pyramids, Sakkara, Red & Bent Pyramids, Sakkara/Dahshur, Serapeum, 5 different famous mosques, Salah Al-Din Al-Ayoubi Castle, Garbage City walking tour, cave churches, and Khan el-Khalili bazaar.
D) Private driver the entire time. You don't have to worry about how to get around. The drivers that they all had were safe and respectful. Just enjoy the trip!
DESCRIPTION
The trip was split into a few different sections. I had Francis in Cairo, and Michael in Luxor and Aswan. I had 4 different drivers during all the trips and transfers. All 4 of them were great and I would place my wife and daughter into the same vehicle with these guys.
I can't believe how much I saw while I was in Egypt. I highly recommend that you take the time to see some of the lesser seen parts of Egypt with these guys. For example, if you aren't making the time to see Abu Simbel, you are missing out on a breath-taking monument. One of the greatest rulers of Egypt, Ramses II, had this built to guard the southern border of Egypt. Also, I don't think many people know about the Serapeum, but if you want to see the most mysterious and unexplained sarcophagi in the WORLD, then you should take the extra time. Yes, go see the pyramids of Giza, but they are not the most interesting and exciting sites of Egypt. I read reviews just like this one before I went to Egypt and I didn't believe it until I set foot into the Serapeum. Ask for Francis for Cairo and the Serapeum! It's really fun chatting with him about the mysteries of the Serapeum while you're inside!
The guides were fantastic. Michael and I took the train together from Luxor to Aswan so he stayed with me through the entire southern part of the trip. Both guides were with me during the airport transfers, as well. They both speak excellent English and are both professionally studied Egyptologists. You're going to come home and feel like you are the Egypt expert amongst your family and friends after hanging out with these guys for a week!
VALUE
This is where I need to list off a ton of unexpected things that I got by booking through these guys.
- I had a bit of a stomach issue from something I ate in Hurghada. I told the guide and suddenly we appear near a pharmacy and he picked up medication for me which helped straighten me out.
- There was bottled water in the vehicle during every pickup. You're going to need this, especially if you're traveling in summer when it's HOT!
- The guides taught me a lot of Arabic while I was there. I was able to order my own food a couple times and say some basic things in Arabic to people which made the trip much more rich and enjoyable.
- The guides teach you how to negotiate. Egypt uses a barter system for buying things in a lot of places. I did exactly what Michael said to do and was able to get the exact prices he suggested (which are about 20% of what they initially try to get you to pay in some of the tourist areas).
- I like collecting money. I told Michael and he picked up nice crisp notes and coins for me from the bank and he had this ready for me before I even arrived to meet him, so I didn't have to spend my time trying to find it on my own.
- They help carry your bags (which was good when you have a ton of SCUBA gear like I did from diving in Hurghada)
- They know the best Egyptian restaurants and take you to them.
- They know the legit shops in case you want to buy things like handmade artwork or real alabaster or real papyrus art. There is fake stuff being sold all over the tourist areas which the guides will teach you how to avoid.
- Michael and Francis both checked-in with me on every detail. Before I left, Michael was reminding me how critical it was to have a hat for the sun and to constantly drink water so I didn't dehydrate. Francis would always double-check with me to make sure I had my passport with me. Any time we got out of the car, they would notify me when there wouldn't be a bathroom close by for a bit, and would ensure I always had a bottle of water with me so I didn't dry out in the hot desert sun.
- Michael and I went to the grocery store so we could have some good food on the train to Aswan and not spend more on the train service.
- Michael is able to get you about 50% off on Egyptair for intra-country travel. If you aren't booking your Egyptair flights through him, you are wasting your money. I had him book Cairo to Hurghada and Aswan to Cairo.
- Toward the end of the trip, I was feeling homesick and a bit sleep deprived from pushing myself so much. Francis was worried about me and waited in the airport parking lot for HOURS until the moment I told him I had boarded the plane and headed for home.
- Michael jumped out of the car and grabbed some sugarcane juice for us because I told him I'd never tried it before.
- Michael had excellent hotel suggestions for each place where I stayed.
- Francis always had nice coffee candies in his bag to start the day, or for when I needed a bit of pep to keep pushing through the day!
- Michael saved me when I called him because there was no toilet paper in one of the bathrooms and I forgot to check before I used the toilet!
- I bought some artwork and had to have it shipped via DHL: Michael came with me to ensure that I had everything insured, listed in the shipping computer and packaged correctly to ship back home
- Michael scheduled the lab doctor to come to us for the PCR test to get back home
- Michael constantly reminded me about not forgetting my PCR test and eVisa before I left the US.
I will say that I started my trip by meeting up with some guides who were mostly strangers to me. I can honestly say that I left Egypt feeling like I gained 2 friends who shared the experience with me. If I ever come back, I will definitely book with these guys, again. They are truly special to me and I was treated both like a prince and a cherished friend. This might sound cheesy, but you can go it alone and just bumble around the tombs and pyramids and not really understand what you're looking at, but if you want some better memories and experience that will truly touch you and last you for a lifetime, I would book with Go Luxor Tours. You're traveling around the world to see and learn about Egypt, so make it the best you can.