Egypt: Safe and Spectacular! What can I say...this tour was amazing. Never thought I'd see the sights I saw on this trip, never thought any of this would be possible in my lifetime. Egypt seemed too far, too exotic, too expensive. As soon as I saw the listing for this tour, it suddenly seemed like it might be possible. We had reservations about going for sure. We have kids, 10 and 13. There's a war in Israel. It's summer in a very hot part of the world. Do we need Yellow Fever vaccines? Will the food make us sick? Americans kept telling us it would be too dangerous to go. None of that turned out to be a problem. Egypt was very very safe. There are police and military personnel on the streets and at cultural sites. I saw no crime, no people sleeping on the streets. No people panhandling. Going to ATMs to get cash was very safe and easy. We went everywhere from big tourist sites to small neighborhoods. Food was great and we never got sick. We didn't drink the tap water, but bottled water and soft drinks are everywhere. It was hot, but air conditioning, pools, and headscarves manage this. I'll say this again, because I have heard a lot about this: Egypt is safe. It's kind. It's welcoming. People are excited that you're visiting from America. The food is great, and safe. The hotels were amazing: Steigenberger in Giza is clean, beautiful, has a nice restaurant with free breakfast, and has a view of the pyramids, which is pretty wild. Movenpick in Aswan is spectacular, taking up a large portion of an island in the middle of the Nile, with pools and sustainable farms on-site. The Jaz cruise up the Nile was really nice, with good food and comfortable quarters. The Continental hotel in Hurghada was seriously ridiculously lavish, with a private beach on the Red Sea, giant pool, a dozen restaurants, and a shopping corridor. And the Ramses Hilton in Cairo is clean, elegant, and right in the middle of the action of downtown Cairo. We saw a million places from ancient Egypt I never thought we'd see. I can't overstate how incredible it is to stand in front of the Sphinx, the pyramids of Giza, Luxor temple, Kom Ombo, and especially the incredible monuments at Abu Simbel...this is an optional extra tour, and a bit expensive, as it's a whole day trip, but my goodness, it's worth the long drive. Incredible. Overall, this trip had probably the most OMG moments I've had on a trip. And I've been to some pretty spectacular places, including India, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Peru (Machu Picchu), the UK, and more. Please trust me and take the trip. Ignore the warnings. It's so worth it.
This tour was Iconic as It is, I would like to tell you the whole experience. The transportation was so comfortable and cozy. Everything was so organized and flexible, this package was enough to cover all the wonderful spots and more. All the tours was more than I imagined. I am so grateful that I choose your company to have an Iconic trip.
My friend and I arrived at Cairo airport, after flying on Egypt Air from New York . We were met by Mohamad. He got our Visas and took us to a car and we were driven to Fairmont Nile city. The hotel was lovely. We were picked up later by our guide Ahmed , an Egyptologist, and driver we started our tour in Cairo by visiting the Great Pyramid, then on to Saqqara, a carpet making school. The next day we saw the Hanging Church, the market and we had a wonderful Egyptian lunch, then the Egyptian museum. The following day we flew to Luxor and met our next guide, another Egyptologist Saad, , who took us for our 5 days Nile cruise on the Minerva Cruise. Saad led us to all the sites from Luxor to Aswan . The ship had a wonderful crew, and all trips to the Temples and tombs were seamless. We took a fun hot air balloon ride in Luxor. The guides, the food, the hotels and flights were all perfect. We felt safe and cared for the whole trip.
