Classic Egypt with Nile Cruise + Red Sea Extension

My first trip with Explore and I was pretty impressed with the level of organisation throughout. The Tour Leader was knowledgeable and enthusiastic every day as we toured key landmarks like the Great Pyramids, Abu Simbel, Karnak temple and various other museums and historical sites. The tour had a lot to fit in over the first 10 days so it was fairly fast paced, which was good. And the last few days at the Red Sea was great to relax at the end of the trip. The travel (boat/train/coaches) and hotels throughout were generally of a good standard and we had no issues in any location. I would definitely use Explore again for similar trips

The Classic Egypt part of the holiday was excellent and we visited some wonderful places. The tour leader was very knowledgeable and worked hard to make the trip a success. The trip was described as "full on" and it was. As an 80 year old I struggled a bit and I think I probably should have been discouraged from taking part but, even so, I enjoyed myself. The extension in Hurgada was a disappointment. The hotel was a large resort-type hotel predominately used by Russian tourists. The restaurants were fine but very busy. The pools were good but the beach wasn't suitable for swimming and the strong winds deterred us from going on a snorkeling trip. It was a half hour taxi ride into town which wasn't very interesting anyway.

This was a great trip, showing us as many temples and tombs as one could want to see. I definitely feel like I have 'done Egypt'. The tour was well structured, and our guide was excellent. The benefits definitely outweighed any bad points, but there were a few aspects that I felt could be improved: 1) I was surprised that our guide didn't have a 'contact list' of local restaurants that he usually took tour groups to. We went to some very strange places - sitting on the street at a restaurant with no menu on our first night in Cairo was not a high point. We also spent ages on another Cairo day driving round looking for an open restaurant for lunch (this was limited by Ramadan, but still frustrating) 2) I felt there were too many optional trips and some of these should have been included. Nothing was included on the second full day in Cairo. The Saqqara pyramid trip should be included. As should Abu Simbel. 3) The Red Sea - is that really the best accommodation that Explore can find? It is an all inclusive hotel with the majority of guests being from Russia. This means that entertainment etc is in Russian. The food was boring and repetitive, with the 'dining room' being reminiscent of a school canteen. We were aware of this beforehand, and were happy overall, I just think it could be better. We also arranged our snorkelling trip through an offsite company and seemed to have a better trip than that arranged through the hotel by other guests. And beware - the weather at the Red Sea in March is not always sunbathing weather! overall, the trip was great, we've recommended it to others, but there were a few points we felt people should be aware of. PS - make sure you go to the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan. Dress code isn't overly strict, and the 'fee' to get in covers the first round of drinks.

An excellent full on trip to Egypt with Mego as a perfect unflappable hugely knowledgeable guide. The new museum now open at Giza an added bonus to all the other great sites. It’s also worth the added effort to bus to Abu Simbel.

I can’t believe what and how much we saw on this trip. Our guide expertly guided us through the sites of ancient Egypt. Everything was well organised - transport, hotels and itinerary. There is no way of being able to see all that we saw without Explore.