Adventure in premium style from the vibrant streets of Amman to the magical landscape of Wadi Rum and world wonder of Petra.
Float on the Dead Sea before bathing in its healing mud. Flying to Cairo, stand in awe against the Pyramids and roam its chaotic bazaars. Ride to bustling port city of Alexandria and stand beside the ruins of the Great Library of Alexandria. Taking a comfortable flight to Luxor, sail the wonders of the Nile for 5 days on a Nile Cruiser.
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.
The only thing I would change is that the first day - coming right after most people had taken trans-oceanic flights and still had jet lag - was too demanding (flying to Luxor, touring Karnak before checking into ship). It would have been better to have a lighter Day One to allow for rest and time zone adjustment, and do Karnak on the way back.
The all-women's tour group and the Tour Director were outstanding and hugely enhanced the experience.
Tipping became a constant irritant and would be better if Tour Director handled tips and Insight appropriately raised the package cost, to alleviate that daily chore (ensuring correct currency & denominations, ATM visits, etc.). PS - bring American dollars in small bills.
Overall, a fascinating country, knowledgeable and constantly helpful Tour Director, and a good balance of historic and current experiences. Aswan (and the Cataract Hotel) was a definite highlight, and don't pass on Abu Simbel. It is worth the cost; as is the Aswan boat tour of the Nile (two options worth doing).
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 trip to Egypt with World Expeditions was excellent. We had two guides, one for Cairo and one for the Nile and Aswan. Both had tertiary qualifications in Egyptian history and were passionate about it. It is an amazing country a nd a great, well run tour.
It was an amazing experience: although I had some issue during my reservation process, Thomas (Bookmundi) & Ahmed (representative in Cairo) were extremely helpful, understanding and efficient. Ready to help me out with any requests and pampering me a lot to make a negative impression turning into a positive one.
Nile Cruise was my bucket list travel since I was a kid, dreaming about such a big civilization: being in the middle of such a huge temple, like Karnak, makes you feel you are back in the ancient, golden time and you can smell the magical atmosphere and the energy of that place. You cannot really describe that feeling fully!!!
Sailing at night along the Nile, snooping around the glimpse of calm, relaxing daily life along its shores, listening to the prayer call and smell the unforgettable flavors of Africa is something you cannot miss at all.
Life on the cruise is really relaxing: rooms are quite big with all the comforts you need. Food is pretty much impressive: I was not expecting at all such cuisine details and tasty flavors, from the Arabic world to the International palate.
The pool deck with its bar is the best option ever to relax after a long excursion or simply enjoy a book reading whilst you are sailing for your next destination.
Tour guides were really on the top of the things: very polite, easy going, cheerful and smiley and always ready to be at your service, very knowledgeable and extremely professional.
A very big round of applause for our tour guide in Cairo: Mohamed Jawad - a pure Egyptologist, a great archaeologist who was able to frame the history of Faraons and the whole ancient Egypt into a cultural, social background to provide you with a 360 degrees vision. It was an absolute pleasure to go around in Cairo with him and discover every single corner of such a vibrant city: tips on every day life, secrets of new discoveries and future happenings in Egypt was our favorite topic among the streets of the city. A highly recommended guide, a friend, a very knowledgeable and curios, pure Egyptian who will make you love their gigantic history. There should be, not only in Egypt, more tour guides like him, on earth who can make history like if it was storytelling. An amazing person, a friend, a tour guide and a person to trust with for your future holiday in Egypt.
I cannot wait for my second adventure in Egypt: more to discover among the Pyramids - Cheops took my heart and worked on my energy level like no tomorrow.
Inshallah, one day I will be back - I do not wanna miss the opening of the new Museum of Egyptian Antiquity for anything in the world!!!
Egypt is one of those places which truly amaze and confound even seasoned travelers with its unbelievable ancient sites and unforgettable culture, despite the glaring poverty which seemingly surrounds and swallows up nearly everything and everyone in the country. Some would have questioned my sanity to bring four young children to Egypt when some areas still remain off limits to travelers due to possible terrorist activity. Given all of these concerns why and how did we visit this amazing country of Egypt you may ask. Why, that's simple, its a cradle of civilization and for learned people a once in a lifetime destination not to be missed, simple as that. How, well... it could have been done differently no doubt, but I am very happy to say that I used a well known and highly capable local tour company. They took what I wanted to see, my budget, and applied the local knowledge required and essential to ensure that the trip would be safe, hassle free, and memorable. They did a fine job on this long 16 day trip across Egypt including visits to Cairo, Giza, Saqqara, Luxor, Aswan, Hurgada, and Alexandria. Some of the many highlights included cruising the Nile in a ship and visiting ancient ruins saved from the flooding of Lake Nasser (Abu Simbel). A brief respite from the sightseeing midway through the trip at the lovely and truly perfect family resort of Steinberger Aqua Magic in Hurgada recharged our batteries before diving back into the amazing scenery of Lower Egypt after a packed trip to Upper Egypt. The guides and drivers all did their absolute best to ensure we were always safe and that the children had extra time if needed such as to accommodate an extra trip to the WC or a quick nap in-amongst the sightseeing. At no time did we ever feel unsafe or unwelcome during our trip to Egypt, and on the contrary were made to feel very welcome by everyone we met be it in the street, at the hotel, in a restaurant, in the bazaar, etc etc. The truth is, you could spend a year in Egypt and only scratch the surface of what the country offers travelers, but for our family and budget we feel that our 16 day full tour of Egypt was exceptional in the quality, breadth and value offered by the tour company, and I deeply thank them for this life changing trip to Egypt. I only hope that I have the means and health to visit again in the future to this amazing country, and when I do, I will be sure to use this company once again. I hope this helps anyone contemplating taking on the Egypt trip with young children, best of luck!
The tour took me and my son through the highlights of Egypt, with something new and exciting everyday. It was well organised. Our time on the Royal Viking boat was amazing, we had the same guide for 4 days. Emad was not only was he a wealth of knowledge concerning Ancient and modern Egypt, but he looked after us like family. The itinerary was great, but Emad made sure the trip was incredible, helping us in all aspects of travel and in everything Egyptian. He was generous and caring. Thank you!
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.
