Verbazingwekkende 9-daagse Caïro, Luxor, Aswan Abu Simbel, cruise en rode zee vanaf de luchthaven van Caïro

Egypte last minute boeking Op het laatste moment (2 weken voor vertrek) besloot ik om met het hele gezin naar Egypte te gaan om de fantastische cultuur en architectuur te ervaren. (gezin van 6) Ik werd in contact gebracht met Seif van Special Trips/Here Egypt tours (+ 20 # 101 # 008 # 4844). Ik heb alle informatie verstrekt die ik nodig had, zodat hij de hele reis kan voorbereiden. Ik heb ook individueel enkele locaties geboekt die hij in het hele reisplan kon opnemen. Deze reis duurde 2 weken van Alexandrië naar Aswan naar Hurghada en terug naar Caïro. In het begin was het een beetje raar om alleen via WhatsApp met de reisagent te communiceren. De reden daarvoor is dat Egypte bellen via wifi via WhatsApp niet toestaat. Ik moest even wennen aan de communicatie via WhatsApp. Ook gaf Seif me een algemeen overzicht van de activiteiten. Omdat ik een persoon van detail ben, was het moeilijk voor mij om te begrijpen waarom het zo'n algemeen overzicht is, maar nadat ik de hele reis had meegemaakt, begreep ik dat hij ervoor zorgde dat hij alles op tijd bij verschillende leveranciers kon boeken. Hij heeft alles heel soepel opgezet. alle autotransfers van het vliegveld naar de locaties en het hotel verliepen naadloos. Ik heb Mohammed ontmoet, hij is de beste gids ooit. Hij was op tijd en had een zeer positief karakter. Extravert, grappig en zeer goed geïnformeerd. Hij kende de lokale bevolking heel goed en de geheimen van alle plaatsen. We ontmoetten ook een andere reisgroep van vier mensen waar Mohammed voor zorgde en we waren het er beiden over eens dat hij een fantastische heer was en beiden hadden het geluk hem te hebben. Al mijn tours waren groep van zes tot acht personen en we hadden in totaal drie verschillende gidsen. Alle gidsen waren uitstekend professioneel, grappig en deskundig. We raakten met ze allemaal bevriend. Al mijn hotels, cruises en transfers waren van goede kwaliteit. Ik raad de ervaring en professionaliteit van Seif echt aan om de schoonheid van Egypte te helpen ontdekken.

Egypt is safe The short version… Good points: The tour team Mohammed, Islam, Angie and drivers were incredible. They went above and beyond - we had a constant point of contact. Their English was superb. Hot air balloon amazing!!! The sites are obviously magical- mind blowing! Cruise was great We felt very safe Points to note: Sleeper train was an experience It is not a ‘private tour’ some parts were, but others we were joint with other groups, which for us was ok- but it looked like it was advertised as all private. The detailed version… We have just returned from an absolutely magical trip. Firstly the big question we were asked ‘ is Egypt safe to travel’ Yes we found it very safe and friendly. We are a couple, but also met lots of families doing a similar trip. The organisation of the trip was fantastic, we were picked up at the Airport by Mohammed who was so genuinely warm and friendly, it was like being united with an old friend! Nothing was too much trouble, he taught us some key phrases, helped us with suggestions for food ( as we are vegan and thought we may struggle to eat/ explain ourselves) and pointed out all the land marks on the way to the hotel. The hotel was a good standard for 3 star- the staff were wonderful and the breakfast was a fantastic buffet with plenty for everyone. We explored Cairo city by ourselves, no problems, mainly just people wanting to say hello. We went in summer so not as many tourists so we definitely stood out. People were interested, but friendly. They are expert salesman - but a polite but firm ‘no thank you’ or ‘ La Shukran’ is all you need. Unless you are interested in buying- then get in there and be sure to barter!! The next day we met our driver and tour guide for the Giza pyramids and Step pyramid Angie. Angie was amazing, super friendly and animated- she had so much passion and zest for the creation stories and explaining all the gods before we arrived. After our tours we had a lot of time to kill before the sleeper train. Angie and the driver helped to keep us entertained, they found somewhere to help us sample the local food ‘ Koshary’ only 15 Egyptian pounds!!! And it was Mango season we pulled over to a street vender and bought fresh mango. They offered to take us on the papyrus tour ( but I’ve been to Egypt before and these ‘factory tours’ usually have a sales element) we were backpacking and not interested in this so we went onto train station. There was a long wait for train, but they made sure that the transport police were aware we were there and they looked after us ( especially with confusion as our train was late so I was trying to get on wrong one at one point) but Mohammed was checking in on us regularly too making sure all going well! Sleeper train was an experience! We’ve travelled a bit before on trains ( India, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia) this may have been the lowest standard train. It wasn’t cheap - it was 160 USA dollars the journey was about 14 hours. You get breakfast/ dinner included ( we couldn’t eat it- be we were prepared for that) it’s not something I would do again. You can definitely fly from Aswan to Cairo as on way back we were so tired we almost jumped off train to run to airport, we had to be up that day at 3:30am for trip which was a 7 hours round journey on a minibus and then face a 17 hour journey back knowing there was no chance of actually sleeping. The train driver liked to break hard and it just was in no way pleasant let alone comfortable. We met other families doing same and all had a laugh calling it character building! But if you’re not into roughing it, you may prefer to fly. On a positive the Cruise was absolute luxury in contrast!! The chef was amazing and catered for us as well. All the staff on ship were wonderful and then we met our new tour guide Islam, who was fantastic- really knowledgeable and kind. He was very thoughtful and made sure he found shaded areas to explain things ( the heat was intense 42 degrees and high humidity- much better to visit out of summer) Islam was also really good and sensitive to us when we explained we didn’t want the included horse and carriage ride ( animal welfare is not great) he organised a tuk tuk for that section for us. We were given excellent knowledge of all sites and also some personal time to explore. The hot air balloon was an absolute highlight bucket list experience- amazing!! Then back to Cairo to meet Mohammed - we also spent some time in Sharm El Sheik before and after. Budget for tipping, you don’t have too, but it is customary. On the boat the suggested is 50 Egyptian pounds per person, per night ( about £2.20) so we had a look on YouTube to get an idea too - I think we tipped our tour guides about 200 Egyptian pounds a day and the drivers about 100 ( so about £15 a day for a tour day). That seemed to be about high average of what people were suggesting. Again- that’s entirely up to you. Highly recommend- I will definitely be returning to magical Egypt so many wonders to explore- they have the new Museum opening later this year too. The tour team Mohammed, Islam, Angie and all the wonderful drivers absolutely made the trip.