Canada and Egypt Tours and Trips

Two minor gripes. 1) It would have been nice to have been warned that the hotel in Cairo did not serve alcohol. 2) Explore should advise its clientele that a visa should be purchased at Cairo airport. The so-called e-visa offered by the embassy involves wrestling with an outdated website which frequently crashes, and requires a photograph of the passport at a resolution far lower than any smartphone will offer - I had to set my scanner at the lowest resolution possible to produce a file which the system would accept. Otherwise, things were great - especially the guide who went the extra mile to ensure that a visit to the Luxor workers' tombs was possible on the morning of our departure when officially her duties were complete.

An excellent guide and a busy itinerary made this an unforgettable, once in a lifetime trip. It is not aiming at the luxury end of the market and requires some individual stamina but overall it was comfortable and fun. A group of 12 people was a good size.

Excellent trip. Covers all the ancient sites and has the bonus of the Red Sea. Ramy was an excellent guide and couldn’t have done more. Cruise boat was nice. Definitely go to Abu Simbel. Suggest cocktails at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan. Only 6 in our group which was nice. Hotel Mercure on the Red Sea was nice with snorkelling from the beach or using FunFly (excellent) located at the hotel. It’s all buffet and busy. There are no English speakers at the hotel and the entertainment is geared towards French & Russians.

In short, this trip was absolutely incredible. Our guide was phenomenal; warm, informative, professional, and with an infectious enthusiasm. Our group was huge, but everyone was great and we all had an amazing time together! Was this tour fast paced? Oh yeah. Totally jam packed. Was it worth it? Completely. And I can't emphasise that enough. There were a lot of early mornings and long days and while it might have been nice to have a little more time (thinking an extra night in Hurghada or Luxor) every single one was completely worth it. The Nile Cruise was total luxury, the overnight train was an experience but nowhere near as bad as what I'd feared, and all of the sights were completely unmissable. Would I cut anything out for a less hectic schedule? Absolutely not. As someone who had been dreaming of Egypt for years, my expectations were sky high, and this trip exceeded them in every way. This was my first Contiki and I have to say it has set the bar exceptionally high for any future trips!

I taught ancient Egyptian history to high school students and this trip was a realisation of my dream to visit Egypt and see the ancient monuments. Explore did a magnificent job in all aspects, hotels, transfers airline bookings etc. Our group leader was Mohamed Osama, was the catalyst in making this tour an absolute pleasure. His knowledge as an Egyptologist was second to none, and his people skills were equally great. Will I recommend this tour to anyone. A resounding YES!

The surprise snowfall was a treat. The roads were not affected and we were able to ride safely for miles and enjoy the scenery! The Fairmont hotels were wonderful but nothing surpassed the beautiful Canadian Rockies. A good tour guide rounded out the wonderful experience.