A wonderful family vacation with well-executed planning and management by the tour company.
Special thanks to our tour guide in Cairo "Haytham" for his friendly and in-depth information regarding the historic sites. Also the tour guide "Imad" for Luxor and Aswan. Last but not least "Salah" for transfers.
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.
Our tour of Egypt was amazing from start to finish. We really appreciated all help you provided in planning and customizing the tour to our desires. We found your staff very helpful throughout, expediting our passage through customs to get a the visa, and making sure travel from hotel and between sites was easy. Each guide provided was an expert and helped us gain a greater appreciation for both the history of ancient Egypt and the people of modern Egypt. We saw so many incredible things and learned so much about your country. I do hope to visit again sometime in the future.
Basim MubarakTravel Expert in Egypt, Israel & Jordan
Canan KaraarslanTravel Expert in Egypt, Greece, Jordan, Morocco & Turkey
