As seasoned travelers, we’ve done many tours around the world, but the Royal Tour of Egypt stands out as one of the best. Every detail was spot-on, from our personalized welcome at the airport to the final transfer back.
Our guide, Hossam, was a true gem patient, funny, and deeply passionate about his country’s history. He took care of us like family, and we never once felt like "just another group."
The Nile cruise was elegant and peaceful, with attentive staff and outstanding food. Every meal was beautifully presented, and the hospitality was unmatched.
Even logistics like internal flights, transfers, and hotel check-ins were handled smoothly. We didn’t have to worry about a single thing.
This tour gave us more than just beautiful photos — it gave us a true connection to Egypt. Thank you for an incredible journey!
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!
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 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!
Traveling solo can be overwhelming, but the team made me feel safe, seen, and taken care of throughout the 9 days. Every detail was handled with care, from airport pickup to checking in at luxury hotels and the cruise.
My guide, Hany, was simply the best. He had a deep understanding of Egypt’s history, answered all questions with enthusiasm, and shared local insights you won’t find in books. The trip felt intimate and real, especially in Nubia and Abu Simbel where we connected with locals.
The Nile cruise was peaceful and elegant, the food was fresh and delicious, with options for vegetarians too. Staff were warm and generous, always offering help with a smile.
I left Egypt not just with beautiful memories, but with a sense of connection. This wasn’t a cookie cutter tour, it was crafted with heart.
Peter Helmy, our tour leader, was insightful. The temples and other sites we visited were all stunning but Peter succinctly summed up the history of the places and made us appreciate it even more. Although our tour group came from different parts of the world , I am sure we all Love Egypt and will cherish our experiences.
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!!!
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 representative shall pick you up at around 18:00 pm from your hotel and transfer you via a private a/c vehicle to the Cairo river bank where you board your cruise ship (your very own floating restaurant). It is a fabulous way to enjoy a night on the Nile while you are in Cairo. For a two-hour sailing trip, you will enjoy your dinner on board a floating restaurant on the Nile River with a belly dancer, folklore show and music band.
Your taste buds shall be tantalized right through your journey with our chef's buffet menu which includes a selection of Egyptian favourites made with the freshest ingredients and prepared with a lot of care to make it a memorable dining experience.
After the boat returns back, you will disembark and be transferred to your location in Cairo.
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.
We loved Egypt and Peter was a huge part of why. He was organised, efficient, friendly and always contactable. Peter has amazing knowledge and insight, excellent English and a wonderful personality. A big part of why we enjoyed his tour so much was Peter. If Peter is your guide you cant go wrong!
This was my first time in in Egypt, it was an unforgettable experience! After seeing the Great Pyramids in Giza I took an overnight train to Luxor and spent several days exploring everything Luxor has to offer. I found the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank to be particularly fascinating (So much Ancient Egyptian history in a relatively small area!). I then spent three nights on a Nile cruise towards Aswan. The weather was perfect and we stopped at two Ancient Egyptian temples, Edfu and Kom Ombo. My tour guide was a certified Egyptogolist named Ahmed Haggag Ali. He really seemed to enjoy being a tour guide and his English was perfect. He explained the temples to me and was able to answer all of my questions. Kom Ombo was particularly fascinating to me because it was an ancient hospital. After arriving in Aswan, Ahmed was also my tour guide for visiting Abu Simbel (Another must see part of Egypt!). I highly recomend visiting Egypt and having Ahmed as a guide, you will not be disappointed.
Ramez is a really nice and kind person. He is really knowledgeable of the history of Egypt. We went to all of the most important sites and he explained all their history. The drivers and the security are great. We were made to feel safe and cared for. Ramez took into consideration our needs and made sure they were met. We had a lot of fun, and we were left with amazing knowledge about Ancient Egypt. I will probably recommend this tour and our guide to my friends and family.
