Half Day East Bank Tour to Luxor and Karnak Temples

At the beginning, everything was great. We visited the Karnak and Luxor Temples, and our guide, Salwa (if I recall correctly), shared many interesting facts, helped us take photos, and gave us plenty of free time to explore on our own. She was very friendly, and this part of the trip was wonderful. However, there were a couple of things we didn’t appreciate. We were taken to an essential oils shop that was not part of our itinerary. The salesperson demonstrated perfumes and emphasized “great prices” but we felt pressured and uncomfortable during this unexpected stop. A particularly awkward moment occurred at the end of our visit to the Karnak Temple. The guide asked if we understood tipping and mentioned that she expected one. This felt a bit forced, and when we offered some Egyptian money, she seemed dissatisfied, asking if we had more. It was an uncomfortable situation. Later, as we approached our hotel, she asked in a peculiar way how much we had paid for our stay, which further reinforced our impression that she was more focused on money than on providing a pleasant experience. This behavior soured an otherwise enjoyable day.

Amazing visit. Shirine our guide and Mahmoud pick us up at our hotel to go visit the temples. They were super nice welcoming. Shirine is super knowledgeable and listening to her is passionating. She answered all our questions with patience and interest. The visits are made in two times, first the visit and then a time to take pictures. Would recommand to do the Karnak temple first if you do it in the morning to avoid the crowd as we did. The crew was really great it was a super experience.

Shereen was absolutely amazing! She was incredibly knowledgeable about Egyptian history and wonderfully friendly. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide!