Egypt customer reviews
We are very proud of the feedback that we get from our trips and are pleased to share reviews from past travellers. These are kept as up-to-date as possible. Please have a read-through to get a real sense of the kind of experience that you might have on a family trip to Egypt. You might also like to see some recent photos of Egypt sent to us by our customers.
Lander Family (with children aged 5, 8 & 10)
Travelled October Half Term 2024
Dear Holly & Emma. I am pleased to say that we had a fantastic holiday in Egypt. It was the perfect mix of sun, adventure, culture and relaxation. The organisation was seamless from the moment we landed we were very well looked after by the local agent. In particular, our guide for the trip – Adel – was superb, particularly with the kids who he engaged with brilliantly. Many thanks. We look forward to another Stubborn Mule holiday in the future.
Hopwood Family (with children aged 7 & 9)
Travelled Easter 2024
Hi Robyn, thank you for the email and the holiday! We had a blast. Everything was so smooth – good planning and guidance from Mohammed. He was fantastic. We felt that everything had been considered and worked well for us. The hotels were comfortable, the food suggestions perfect, and the sites were simply outstanding. We would certainly recommend the trip and itinerary to other families. Mohammed was brilliant – informative, kind and good company. He read the dynamics of our family well. When the kids were energised he took the time to explain things on a level we would all appreciate. When it was obvious they were spent, he gave us options of highlights to reduce the strain. Perfect.
Harris Family (with child aged 8)
Travelled Easter 2024
We had the most fantastic time in Egypt. The trip lived up to all our expectations and more. The logistics worked perfectly, ancient sites were awe-inspiring but the huge success for us was our guide Jassmen. She was like a big sister to our 8-year-old daughter & really enhanced our trip. Jassmen was so knowledgeable about ancient Egypt but also fascinating about modern Egyptian history and her life. Hotels were all fab as was the food. Yum. Egyptians are lovely and very child-friendly. Two things for others to know… you constantly need a pocket full of notes for tipping…and despite a mosquito net and the strongest repellent I could find…we all got mosquito bites on the overnight felucca. Massive thanks to Emma for her patience in dealing efficiently with my diverse queries & reservations in the planning & run-up to the holiday.
Brock Family (with children aged 11 & 13)
Travelled Easter 2024
Hi Holly. Lovely to hear from you. We had a fabulous time and were so well looked after throughout our trip. Marco our main guide was just right for the boys – I think if we had had an older person they might not have engaged as much. He was also great at fitting into the family and also stepping back from us as well. We’d really recommend him. It was definitely a busy trip which we’d expected and the few days with afternoons relaxing in Luxor were appreciated. We would have loved to spend more time wandering potteries in Fayoum.
Memo to others considering a similar trip, the Egyptians eat lunch later than us, I had taken some cereal bars and Marco worked out that boys needed feeding so we’d stop for a drink and snack either at a site or on the move which worked well.
We really enjoyed our adventure and were so pleased with how smoothly everything worked. As a mum who does most of the holiday organising it was brilliant to not have to think day to day! Thank you for your help.
Searles Family (with children aged 5 & 7)
Travelled Easter 2024
Hi Emma and Holly. We had a great time! The itinerary worked really well and our guide Sayed was hugely knowledgeable about the areas and places we went to see. The hotels were great, other than the food in our first hotel. The dinner was pretty basic and not cheap. The drivers and vehicles were all great and we were very glad to be picked up at the door of things given the heat! T’s extra trips worked well and the kids and I appreciated being left by a cool pool! We always felt safe and looked after. Thank you again for organising a great trip!
Cobbold Family (with teenagers aged 14 & 17)
Travelled February Half Term 2024
Morning Claire. Thanks for your note and you beat me to it in relaying that we had a fantastic time in Egypt. Our guide Adil was exceptional – incredibly knowledgeable, entertaining and accommodating. He knew how to avoid the crowds so we got the best out of every site we visited and all the arrangements went without a hitch. Many thanks and enjoy your own trip. I am certain you will! All the best.
Drimmer Family (with teenagers aged 13 & 17)
Travelled Christmas 2023 – Jordan & Egypt
Hi Lee. The trip overall was a resounding success! The mixture of activities was really good and following Jordan to Egypt worked well as felt so easy after Egypt and relaxed. In the round the local partners were good, especially so in Jordan, I would say where our driver was a real gem. Highlights: Ancient Egypt time, Wadi Rum overnight, Roman ruins in the north of Egypt, Hilton Luxor well worth the upgrade, help for seamless transfers in both, Abu Simbel add-on worked well and worthwhile, Cairo guide really good and flexed a few things to give us a bit more and use his knowledge which was appreciated.
Family A (with child aged 11)
Travelled Christmas 2023 / New Year 2024
Hi Emma. We had an amazing trip! After a bit of a delay at the airport (it took a while to find the representative, and then he was dashing about doing other things, so we we waiting for him to finish before we could get on the move to our hotel) our trip was absolutely seamless. Our guide, Mohammed, was excellent – hugely knowledgeable and very experienced, and able to customise his tours based on our particular interests, which was great. All of the logistics worked smoothly, and it was so relaxing not having to think about timings eg getting to the station/how we’d meet the driver at a new location/tips etc because he dealt with all of that for us.
We were also able to adapt the itinerary slightly eg we skipped a temple after we’d had a bit of an overload/changed the order of activities to suit us better – while we were keen to see and do a lot, we also needed some downtime after a very busy few months.
The hotel in Cairo was fine, but if we were to go again, we’d be happy to spend more and go up a category. Cairo was great, we all enjoyed scrambling up inside the Great Pyramid, and the two museums and trip to the souk (!) were also interesting and helped set the scene for the trip.
The hotels in Aswan and Luxor were both outstanding, had great locations (the view of the Nile from our balcony in Aswan was amazing!), really comfortable, lovely food, and again brilliant staff. We’d be very happy to stay in both of them again. Also amazing to be able to get the felucca directly from the hotel garden steps. The boat trip to the Philae Temple was fun and interesting.
The train was also a great experience. The beds were surprisingly comfy, and everything in the cabin was spotless. It was a bit jerky but I think we all got some sleep in the end! And waking up to realise we were travelling right alongside the Nile was just amazing, our son was so thrilled. As the train journey followed a very busy couple of days in Cairo, we would probably have done better to pay for an extra night at the hotel so we could go and shower etc at the hotel as soon as we arrived in Aswan, instead of starting to explore the city immediately, but this is just personal preference (and I’ve made a note of this for any future trips we do which include an overnight train journey!)
Thank you for all your suggestions and organising our best holiday yet. We are really happy with Stubborn Mule and your local partners in Egypt and hope to use you again in a couple of years for another trip.
Swan Family (with children aged 11 & 12)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Hi Emma. We had an absolutely fantastic holiday thank you – everything was very well organised. Our guide was amazing, so knowledgeable and very understanding when our children were feeling tired etc. She was flexible and worked around any requests we had. The itinerary was perfect and we felt safe and well looked after at all times. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this a holiday to remember. We are already planning the next trip!
St A Family (with child aged 8)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Hi Emma. Overall it was a great holiday, generally, everything went well. Ehab was an excellent guide, very knowledgeable especially on ancient Egypt. Always on time and happy to be there. It was good they provided a tipping sheet so we knew how much to give at each step. In Cairo of course the pyramids, Egyptian museum, camel riding and Sphinx were all great. Ok, it’s very humid in the pyramid but still worth doing. We found the camel a bit more complicated than we thought, probably because none of us ride any other animals either but it was a good experience.
Fayoum – Going into the desert and seeing the Whale Museum was definitely a highlight, completely different to being in Cairo. The only thing we would change would be to come back to Cairo in the evening as we were getting the overnight train the next day, so there was quite a lot of dead time in Cairo the next day. The hotel we stayed in had a real Agrotourism feel, which was great so of course if we had come back to Cairo, we would have missed the excellent dinner and breakfast there.
Overnight train – Definitely an experience! Glad we did it as we prefer trains to flying but as you mentioned, it’s not luxurious travelling on an old Hungarian wagon. Service was good though, the food was fine and the beds were ok.
Aswan – Luxor – The real experience of the temples and ancient culture. Abu Simbel was well worth the 4:30 start, I think there’s also an airport possibility so if we weren’t also doing the cruise then it might have been interesting to stay there for a night. In Luxor, I think with hindsight it would have been nice to stay an extra night instead of Hurghada but still it was great. The dam in Aswan was interesting as a way of seeing how important the Nile is in Egypt.
Hurghada – Speedboat trip was great, once we realised that we would get soaked very quickly. After all the culture from the previous days, G and A weren’t so impressed by the slightly artificial nature of Hurghada but we did enjoy seeing the colourful fish and the hotel was perfectly fine. It was our first time with an all-in formula so we got a bit confused that we could just keep asking for things without a bill.
Of course, we booked our flights before contacting you so we couldn’t do the sensible thing of flying directly back to Belgium from Hurghada. Next time we’ll plan further in advance to tie everything together.
Tipping for the things on the list was fine and the hassles in the Bazaar were part of the culture. Sometimes it did get annoying to not be able to walk anywhere without being asked to buy things but I guess that’s part of Egypt. It felt safe to walk around and leave things in the car.
Thanks again for organising such a great holiday.
Spencer Family (Multigenerational with children aged 7 & 10)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Hi Caroline and Debbie. We all had a great time and everything went smoothly. We felt that the guide Karim was very accommodating to our needs and interests, and clearly had a lot of experience and knowledge. I am very grateful to the Stubborn Mule team for organising such a wonderful holiday for all the family. I would highly recommend Stubborn Mule to friends and family going forward.
Walker Family (with child aged 8)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Hi Emma. This is a long overdue email to let you know how much the Walker family enjoyed their Stubborn Mule trip to Egypt last October! Where to start?! Building the itinerary was a joy, everyone we spoke to at Stubborn Mule was knowledgeable, helpful and supportive. We were very happy (and excited) with the final version. When we landed in Cairo, we were met by a super-friendly guy (I wish I could remember his name) who guided us through the visa, security, and luggage retrieval processes before getting us a taxi and taking us straight to the hotel, helping with the book-in process. A massive help, especially as it was so late!
After a night at the Cairo hotel and a lovely breakfast, we met our guide Ayman Nagy, and were instantly put at ease by his friendliness and knowledge. More on him later. The Egyptian Museum was very busy due to an unexpected half-day closure, so Ayman changed the itinerary a little and we visited the Civilisation Museum instead. This was hugely interesting – we didn’t realise how far progressed Egyptians were compared to other civilisations at the same time. The Mummies were spooky, but our little one was brave and looked at them all.
After some lunch, we then visited the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, which was an awesome building. Back to the hotel and time to go into the pool, which we stayed in until the sun went down. Watching the boats cruise past on the Nile as we ate dinner was a special memory, and this was only day two of the trip!
Next day, the Pyramids!!! What can we say that hasn’t been said before, there aren’t enough superlatives?! We had plenty of time admiring the structures, we would thoroughly recommend going into the great pyramid (mind your head and be prepared for heat!) and the camel ride gave amazing views as well. Then up close and personal with the Sphinx. Just… awesome.
After some lunch, we visited the Egyptian Museum, which was demonstrably quieter than the day before, full of interesting information and items, the best being the King Tut display. No pictures allowed in this area, no problem! Next a drink and explore of the Khan El Khalili bazaar for lots of haggling and shopping opportunities.
Then it was straight on to the overnight train down to Aswan. What an adventure! Plenty of food, comfy beds, and an attentive porter. Yes, the toilet is literally a hole on to the tracks, but this is part of the adventure! The rocking of the train was strangely comforting, our little one was asleep within two minutes!
Into a taxi, onto a boat, and over a lake to the Philae Temple, which was in magnificent condition. Plenty of information from Ayman and then time to explore on our own. Magnificent building and location.
We had a few hours at the hotel to chill and then on to another boat for a traditional evening with a Bedouin family, some of it during a state-enforced blackout, which added to the experience. The family was lovely, as was their food (there’s always so much, we didn’t go hungry once!), then a boat trip back up the Nile in the dark and our one night in the hotel, wish we could have stayed longer and used the pool, but there is so much to do!
Up super early the next day to drive down to the Abu Simbel temple. Thoroughly worth it, with plenty of information and time as always. This was as special as the pyramids. A quick stop-off at the Aswan Dam and then back to Aswan and a journey up the Nile on a boat which we also slept on. Surprisingly comfy sleeping in the open air, felt extremely safe the entire time, and well looked after by the same Bedouin family from the previous night.
Day six already! Explored two awesome temples (Kom Ombo and Edfu), including one dedicated to crocodiles, on the way to Luxor. The Jolie Ville hotel was on an island in the Nile and was one of the nicest we’ve ever stayed in. We had some time in the pool before dinner and slept brilliantly in our ground-floor room set among the gardens.
Another busy day ahead! After a few more hours in the pool, we were taken to Luxor temple, where we easily lost a few hours exploring. Busy, yes, but never oppressively so. Then an optional horse and carriage ride through Luxor. We felt slightly on display and felt guilty as we were taken through very poor areas – but the little one enjoyed it sat up front with the driver and we were able to see the stark contrast between ancient, poor and modern Luxor / Egypt.
After breakfast, it was the Hatshepsut temple followed by the Valley of the Kings including visits to three tombs. We had to see King Tut’s of course, the other two were much larger examples recommended by Ayman. A stop-off at the Colossi of Memnon and then a final jump into the (infinity) pool at our hotel to watch the sunset, hugely satisfying after the heat of the day!
Our last day already! A genuinely sad farewell to Ayman. He was terrific throughout, looked after us, not just with the logistics, but with any needs or questions we had, even taking responsibility for tipping on our behalf. The transport and meals he arranged throughout was perfect. He deserves a medal, Stubborn Mule should do everything in its power to utilise him as often as possible.
A quick flight from Luxor to Cairo, met by a chap (I wish I could remember his name too) who guided us to our day room at an adjoining hotel. A nice lunch, some time in the (guess?!) pool, and then on the flight back to the UK.
I could have personally spent more time at the pyramids simply walking around the site, or perhaps visiting some of the other examples, such as the Bent pyramid, the Red pyramid, the Step pyramid etc, though I appreciate this might bore the pants off other people…
All in all, it was one of the best holidays we’ve ever had. Yes, it was hot, lots of travelling, not the traditional ‘relaxing’ holiday we’re used to, but wow, what an amazing country, rich history, awe-inspiring sights, and genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Thank you, Stubborn Mule!
Ollier Family (with children aged 11 & 13)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Hi Emma. We really had an amazing time, I appreciated your personal opinions after your own trip. The sites are just phenomenal! Generally, I think we spent the right amount of time but I’m glad we built in a bit of extra rest time as was pretty tiring with all the early starts. It tended to be a long morning heading back to hotel for late lunch/relaxation, which was fine but I think if our kids were younger (they are 13/11) that might have been hard. We did enjoy the train a lot but I got your point about it being a bit old/shabby.
Hotels were all good…. Our guide was really nice and seemed to know his stuff. He did some nice bits like bringing us falafel sandwiches, handing round sweets when people were flagging, and taking a lot of family photos.
The only thing I would skip was the very short camel ride which was basically just a photo op anyway… Probably good to mention that the currency is very weak against the $ or £ so generally things are good value but it is hard to get small notes to tip with.
Williamson Family (with children aged 11 and 14)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
We all had an amazing holiday. It was everything we hoped that a holiday in Egypt would be. As you know, I visited about 30 years ago and travelled between Aswan and Luxor on a typical Nile Cruise. I was blown away by that trip and ever since have wanted to go with T, M and E. The trip you organised for us lived up to my expectations and more! Nothing was a disappointment, and we have all struggled to choose our favourite bit because there was so much diversity in the experiences we had and we would recommend it all!
M and E threw themselves into all the trip had to offer and have even come home as big fans of the local Nubian dishes and Egyptian food. They were really impressed by the Pyramids (and the camel riding) and Abu Simbel, the Valley of the Kings they were equally impressed with. We also paid the extra to visit the Tomb of Sety I, and it was worth it.
I know you wanted specific feedback on the Nile kayaking. We all enjoyed this and felt it was worth doing BUT, we have all kayaked before. We have our own kayaks and a SUP and get out on the water regularly. I don’t know how we would have got on if we didn’t already know what we were doing.
Everything ran seamlessly, we felt looked after and safe. Dina (our guide) dealt with all entrance tickets and hotel check-ins and we were able to contact her via WhatsApp.
The accommodation was super and where we expected luxury, we got it. We loved the overnight train with all its dirt, noise and discomfort and would not have missed this for the world. It was gorgeous to wake up (see, we must have slept!!) and eat breakfast watching the lush Nile countryside whizz by the window. Such a contrast to the craziness and sandy smog of Cairo, where (we were told) the white lines on the road are for decoration!!
We feel so excited that we have found Stubborn Mule, it has opened up a world (literally) of travel possibilities. You came up trumps on Egypt, and the Costa Rica itinerary looks fabulous. Thank you so much.
Smalley Family (with children aged 9 and 12)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Hi Sinead. We had a wonderful holiday, from the moment we landed and being met by Harris at Cairo airport, we felt looked after and in safe hands. Our guide Ahmed was absolutely great, organised and knowledgeable, he was fab with the kids but was also unimposing and gave us family/independent time to explore or enjoy a meal together. Cairo is full-on, as expected with such a large and busy city, but the Citadel visit was a quiet oasis amidst the hustle of the city. Luxor was amazing and was the perfect balance of sightseeing and hotel relaxation, especially with the heat of the day and the tombs.
I’m pleased we tailored our trip with our last stop at the Red Sea, although Hurghada is very much a resort, the free beach/lagoon day was needed for the kids (I think they we templed out by the end of Luxor). We went snorkelling and dolphin spotting on our last travel-free day, which is an experience I don’t think any of us will forget.
Even though we were guide-free in Hurghada, we still felt looked after with all our transport and transfers back home covered and well communicated. Meeting Harris again at Cairo felt like meeting an old friend, and once again he guided us to our day hotel and transferred us back to our gate for our eventual flight home.
Briggs Family (with children aged 10 and 12)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Hi Emma. We had a blast! Thank you. We all loved our time in Egypt. The trip was well organised from start to finish, with a lovely and incredibly knowledgeable guide throughout. We actually compiled some thoughts as we went as we thought you might welcome it. Our guide, Ahmed, was a lovely chap and very knowledgeable. He was recognised by other guides at most of the sites we visited, each of whom praised his ability. The quad biking followed by dinner overlooking the pyramids at sunset was amazing! Worth noting under 16s have to have a guide with them steering the bike. We all enjoyed the overnight train and the felucca trip provided a welcome peaceful and relaxing evening.
– The 4WD surfing on the dunes was a real hair-raiser, with our driver getting ever more adventurous as our screams of surprise grew. We thought it was brilliant! but with the back seat belts not working I can imagine some more cautious families would not be as enthusiastic.
– The whale fossils were a real surprise and the site was very well looked after.
– The Valley of the Workers was also a surprise – the colours after so much time, and within such confined space, are very impressive.
– We were not that fussed about the waterfall – looks man-made and there are many others, more impressive, around the world.
– We would happily have missed the pottery lesson and had more time in the pool at the lodge – which had lovely rooms.
– The only thing we saw in Memphis was the large statue found in a field. Impressive statue but is there nothing else there worth seeing?
– The koshary lunch at Abu Sunouk was delicious.
– All the hotels were good – we got an upgrade at Aswan to a suite and enjoyed a wonderful view from our balcony over the Nile.
– We weren’t overly fussed with the hotel in Luxor. The pool was amazing but they closed the pools at sunset (5.30 pm) so we didn’t have much time when we got back from our activity. Lots of noisy group tours, a big soulless dining room and the service in the smaller restaurants was poor.
– Tips: we reckon we spent about £500 on tips overall and would recommend visitors get this money out at the start to avoid countless trips to the ATM’s. Plus everyone has ready access to lots of small notes (5, 10 and 20’s) for tips and toilets. Ahmed shared an A4 sheet with tip recommendations which he had then broken down for each element of the day so we could get the tip money ready at the start of each day.
– Drinks: these are expensive in the hotels and at the sites so we stopped off at supermarkets before reaching each hotel to stock up on water, soft drinks and snacks.
Thank you Emma for all your patience in setting up an itinerary to suit our family and providing a wonderful holiday we will not forget.
Lovelock Family (with child aged 9)
Travelled October Half Term 2023
Thanks, Emma – we are back to reality in wet and windy England now! We had a great trip and in the context of all the turbulence in the Middle East felt safe and secure and well looked after. The itinerary was great – we saw loads but also had some time to relax which we needed in the heat! The service from our guide, drivers and your reps was all great. The hotels in Aswan and Luxor were lovely and the service was great.
Wearing Family (with children aged 18 & 21 plus Ukrainian guest)
Travelled Summer 2023
We had a brilliant time in Egypt – everything ran very smoothly for the whole trip. And although it was a bit disappointing not to visit Abu Simbel, it wasn’t the end of the world. The kids felt that they were going to see lots of temples anyhow and J & I had been before, so we just spent the day in Aswan instead. Overall, the holiday was excellent. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly and all the various transfers ran incredibly smoothly. We were really impressed (and didn’t expect) to be met by Harris at the airport on arrival and also before departure to help us through security etc, but it was very welcome as it took away a lot of the stress! We really enjoyed the visit to the Nubian family for dinner – it was lovely to be welcomed into their home and to learn about their culture and history.
Kemp Family (with children aged 12 & 15)
Travelled Summer 2023
Hello. We had an amazing time, thank you. Our tour guide, Mo, was fab! Some feedback:’The first hotel we stayed in in Cairo was amazing and the best hotel we stayed in all week. The train was good – no issues. Felucca – was fantastic. We were a little disappointed that we parked at 6 pm and that was it until morning. We thought we would be sailing on the boat at night too. The excursions were good. We did a couple of additional ones too, like a hot air balloon ride (amazing) and quad biking (best ever). We did the light and sound show at Karnack – this was pretty poor. Overall though – amazing holiday.
D’Arjuzon Family (with teens aged 12 & 15)
Travelled Easter 2023
Hi Emma. Egypt was just fabulous – thank you so much. All went very smoothly and our guide – Abu – was the best we have ever had – soooo knowledgeable, fun, and an all-round nice guy. Cairo was all good – good hotel, pyramids were fun, museums good, and enjoyed the local lunch – kids even ordered the same dish again in other places…Flight to Aswan was easy and pleased we did that option rather than train.
I actually enjoyed the felucca! We weren’t on it for that long – one afternoon and one evening were all, also the support boat was a massive thing so that was good. Overnight was fun too so pleased you persuaded me.
The hot air balloon was fab – a real highlight.
Sharma Family (with children aged 10 and 12)
Travelled Easter 2023
Emma. The holiday was absolutely brilliant!!! Really enjoyable and the guide we had was excellent; really good with the kids and informative. He was helpful in sorting out other things and advising us about Egypt. As you say the Felucca was cancelled but the wind was very strong that day so really just one of those things. Hotels were all of good standard; pools, good food availability, and amenities. Regarding the itinerary. I think it worked well. The days were pretty packed but with the ability to have breaks and never felt too much. The pyramids, Valley of Kings, and the Karnak temple were the highlights for me but pretty much everything was spectacular. Thanks for organising the trip!!!
Khalil Family (with grandparents and children aged 10,13 & 15)
Travelled Easter 2023
Good morning Liddy. Many thanks for your email and more importantly for the brilliant holiday you organized for us. It was described by members of our family as a holiday of a lifetime!! Everything was well organized and the team in Egypt were kind and professional. There were some outstanding members of staff and I wonder if I may take your permission to write directly to the Egyptian team to express our thoughts. I’d like to stress again that we really had a wonderful holiday and we are grateful to you. Wishing you a lovely weekend. Once again many thanks.
Calcut Family (with children aged 5 and 10)
Travelled Easter 2023
Dear Emma. Yes, we are home after a fantastic trip – a big thank you, it was a fabulous experience for the whole family. Memories for life. In terms of feedback, the rep at the airport, our guide Mina and the drivers were all excellent +++ they couldn’t have been better. The program was a perfect mix of culture and downtime to suit our family. Walking through the Nubian village was pretty incredible. The stone alabaster factory and the oil/perfume workshop were great. The Felucca was brilliant. The hot air balloon was cancelled due to wind and rescheduled to our final morning, really well organised and a wonderful way to end the holiday! We felt totally safe throughout the trip.
Khan Family (with children aged 6, 11 & 13)
Travelled Easter 2023
Hi Claire. Thank you for your email and yes, we had a wonderful time! My youngest finished his first day back at school today and his first comment was when are we going back to Egypt! Overall, the time in Cairo and Luxor was about right. The local tour guides were exceptionally helpful and acted as a team very well. Our tour guide in Cairo (Mrwa) was exceptional and she engaged with our kids extremely well, making history come to life! The hotels worked well and one in Cairo was very accessible to the Pyramids and glad we chose it. The hotel in Luxor being on a 100-acre island on the Nile was full of family-friendly things to do.
Rye family (with children aged 12, 12, 11 & 9)
Travelled Easter 2023
Hello Emma. We had an amazing holiday, although we both felt we needed a holiday to get over it, it was full on. I think everything was good, I’m not sure we’d change anything. The train journey was wonderful and everyone except us got sleep! We would definitely recommend this, again the fact that the rooms were right next to each other and the kids’ one could be interconnected was great. The workers’ tombs and village near The Valley of the kings were also a treat and an unexpected pleasure. The Nubian meal was absolutely superb and the vegetarian preference was very well respected, all the kids enjoyed the experience. We would have liked to have eaten locally more often… Overall it was an absolutely fantastic trip and we would like to thank you for all your help organising it and your care and attention.
Hotchkiss family (with children aged 9 & 11)
Travelled Easter 2023
Hi Emma. We LOVED Egypt. Thank you so much for all the hard work that went into creating our perfect trip, so last minute. Highlights were definitely the Pyramids, Karnak Temple and trip to Abu Simbel. The itinerary worked really well, giving us enough time to do and see the sights, but also well-needed relaxing time. The 4 days in Luxor at the end relaxing by the pool were well needed and the hotel was a great choice. The overnight train was a real adventure and the kids loved it. I’m not sure how much we all slept! Our guide was wonderful, we loved him. It really was a great trip thank you again! I’m thinking about next Easter already…
Davison Family (with children aged 8 & 10)
Travelled Easter 2023
Hi Helene. Describing our trip to Egypt in one word would be; Fantastic. As you noted we had a delayed flight on the leg from Frankfurt to Cairo not leaving Frankfurt until lunchtime on 2 April, meaning we lost the first day. I managed to contact the local team to let them know and we were able to reorganise… The delay meant that we missed the pyramids on the first day, but to be honest it worked out fine when we did this trip on return to Cairo from Alexandria. It did give us something to look forward to towards the end of the trip.
Our guide Ayman was fantastic throughout and I think we were very lucky to have him. Immense Egyptology knowledge, very personable, and great with the kids. He also managed to sort out a number of local things for us. I think that there was a slight confusion locally as we had him for 11 days and then a new guide for Fayoum (I think he indicated that he thought our trip was only 11 days). Not an issue for us.
Day 1 – we did the Civilisation Museum and the Egyptian Museum on the same day which meant limited time in the Egyptian museum (enough for the kids but I would have spent more time!! Also, it closed an hour earlier due to Ramadan). This may have been down to rearranging pyramids for Day 11 so no issue.
Day 3 – the meal with the Nubian family was great. We also had a great lunch at a local Nubian restaurant organised by the guide on the way back from the Philae Temple.
Day 4 – Abu Simbel – definitely worth going. Glad we managed the flight option or it would have made for a very long day if we had driven with the Felucca in the afternoon. Might have been a bit better to have had an earlier flight as the afternoon getting to the Felucca was a bit rushed, but guess this was down to flight availability.
Loved the Felucca, as did the girls. Was good to share the Felucca evening with other Stubborn Mule clients.
Days 6 and 7 – we swapped Karnak and Valley of the Kings. This was primarily down to us doing the balloon trip on the 7th so did Karnak that day. The balloon trip was amazing.
Both Karnak and Valley of the Kings surpassed my expectations massively, especially the Valley of the Kings. We paid the extra tickets to get into additional tombs / Tutankhamun / and Seti 1. Seti’s tomb was amazing and glad we paid the extra (maybe worth mentioning in the notes as an option as it was amazing) – hard to believe the decoration is thousands of years old.
We also went to the Luxor Temple as an extra, which was good.
Day 8 – we organised to go via El Alamein on the way to Alexandria which was good and interesting. Had we not spent this day going to El Alamein, and went direct to Alexandria, I think 2 nights would have been sufficient. as we were finished off by early afternoon on both days. Enjoyed Alexandria – a very different feel – tram and bus tours were good. Aymen organised dinner at a very good fish restaurant where I think he got us a good deal – he also afterward treated the girls to an ice cream which they really enjoyed.
Fayoum – we really enjoyed the time in the desert as something very different to the rest of the trip. The girls loved the pottery making and we even managed to get the creations home in one piece. On our last free day, I arranged with Ayman to do a day trip (just me) to Saqqarah which was good.
On our transfer to the airport for our return flight, the representative was extremely helpful with assisting us through security.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the trip – I have thousands of photos to sort out!!.
Barhydt Family (with children aged 5 & 8)
Travelled February Half Term 2023
Hello Sinead. Our trip to Egypt was the trip of a lifetime, and we could not possibly have organised and navigated it all without Stubborn Mule and our fabulous guide Sayed. The itinerary was jam-packed and we truly felt like we saw as much as could possibly fit into a one-week trip. Thank goodness it also included a lovely final day of poolside relaxation at a beautiful hotel. We loved how many different types of activities were planned (boats, camels, horse-drawn carriages) alongside the amazing but slightly child-challenging temple sites. Most importantly, our guide Sayed was incredibly knowledgeable, thoughtful, and clearly very passionate about Egyptian history.
He made the stories of the gods and pharaohs come alive for our children, and for the grown-ups he was able to provide great detail on all the sites, interpretations, differing theories etc. He also went out of his way to ensure our comfort, including helping us to find medicine for our son when he was unwell. He really went above and beyond our expectations!
Davis Family (with child aged 7)
Travelled February Half Term 2023
Hi Claire. Thank you so much for checking in. We had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed it all. We are very pleased we booked with you. Highlights of the trip are hard to choose, but we especially enjoyed Giza and the Valley of the Kings. The lovely touches like the camel ride, felucca trip and horse & cart really added to our experience…and we loved the Luxor hotel and the hotel in Aswan! It was particularly useful being met at the airport when we arrived in Cairo as Mr Hassan was really helpful sitting out visas, local currency etc.
Family W (with teens aged 15 and 18)
Travelled Christmas 2022
Hi Caroline – Words cannot express how truly incredible our holiday was! From being met by Harris at Cairo airport, meeting Ahmad and setting off on our travels, to returning to Cairo after a week of sightseeing in Aswan and Luxor, everything ran so smoothly. We experienced almost every type of transport available – just donkeys, hot air balloon, and dahabiya to do next time – and all the experiences were memorable in the best possible way. We stayed away from salads and only drank bottled water even when brushing teeth and so we weren’t affected by any dodgy stomach issues. The holiday was truly magnificent. Harris and Ahmad are a credit to your team.
We have no criticisms at all but do have a little helpful (we hope) feedback. Firstly, we would advise anyone taking a shy teenage girl with them that they should certainly encourage them to leave their traditional western summer wear behind and to dress modestly.
Our other tip would be, if doing the overnight felucca, take a sleeping bag not just a sheet. It was a cool night and a sheet and blanket didn’t quite cut it. A travel pillow and mosquito net would also be advisable.
We also found that giving our guide a kitty for tip money (totalling approx £200) made life so much easier in terms of when to tip and how much. We left it to Ahmad to sort which he did.
And, just a little bit of advice, try and learn the language even if it’s just to say thank you. We only said thank you in Arabic and everyone we interacted with really appreciated the effort.
So all in all an incredible holiday which has made us all fall in love with Egypt to the extent that we will be going back. In the meantime, I’m off to learn Arabic and to look into where we can travel to next year with Stubborn Mule Travel.
Thank you all once again. Hope your Christmas is as great as you’ve made ours!!
Powell Family (with children aged 7 and 9)
Travelled October Half term 2022
Afternoon Lee. Safe to say I am still buried with laundry! What can I say, it was all absolutely amazing. We loved everything and have nothing but praise for Samah our guide. Egypt is definitely a country for all of the family. It has a wealth of history, beautiful temples, friendly people, great food, and plenty of sun. I’m so glad we visited Abu Simbel as that was definitely the highlight for me and agree, flying is the best option if you can afford to do it. The hot air balloon was also another highlight for me.
On all of our trips, I always ask the family what they liked and what they didn’t so I can provide you with honest feedback. For J, it was the Valley of the Kings and being able to enter the Tombs. A also had this as his highlight. For M, it was the horse and carriage ride to and from Karnak Temple and the swimming pools! Considering she was the one who wanted to visit the Pyramids, that didn’t make it her top 3! She had this weird vision there would be shops inside the Pyramids?!!!
Hotels were much nicer than what we’ve been used to so I’m not sure if we opted for nicer hotels or if they are generally nicer in Egypt. To have 2 rooms with a connecting door felt like a lovely luxury compared to being in a family room.
We ended up visiting the Pyramids first thing on our first day. We thought we had a leisurely start so meeting Samah at 8.30 am was a shock to the system. In the end, it was fine as it would have been far too hot to visit the Pyramids in the afternoon and the museum would have been rushed. We stopped at Kom Ombo and Edfu when driving from Aswan to Luxor. The total drive was around 5 hours. For us, it wasn’t an issue as I always have plenty of snacks.
We’ve come home with plenty of souvenirs and promise to share some of J’s photos soon.
I don’t think I have anything negative to say about the holiday.
PS While I remember, thank you for recommending we have someone with us throughout our holiday. Having someone deal with everything (particularly when there is a language barrier) really allowed us to enjoy the trip. And giving her money to tip along the way made it much easier for us. I suspect families may be nervous to have someone with them all the time however Samah was great. She wasn’t ever intrusive, gave us plenty of advice on restaurants, and knew so much about all of the sights. She helped with check-in to ensure we had connecting rooms and always gave us plenty of free time at sights to take pictures. She also told us in advance if the next day would be a long one or not so we could plan accordingly.
Richards Family (with teenagers aged 16 & 16)
Travelled October Half Term 2022
Wow, what an adventure. A great itinerary (thank you Stubborn Mule), combined with an amazing guide (Abo) made for a mind-blowing fortnight in Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, and Hurghada. We were expecting the pyramids to be the highlight, but in fact, all the other sights were just as impressive – made all the better by the passion and knowledgeable Abo. He provided us with many historical facts, myths, and stories as we could handle, but also educated us on Egypt’s political situation, Islam and we got to see and understand the real Egypt. Our teenage boys were kept engaged (no mean feat!) and the tour went at a good pace at all times.
The train and felucca nights were also highlights, but probably not the best night’s sleep, so consider these as an experience, rather than for comfort.
We added a week in Hurghada/Red Sea to recover at the end, which was very much needed and appreciated.
My boys said this was their best family holiday yet (and we’ve had a few good ones!) so a winner for us all round.
A few pointers – be prepared for no wifi in many places (it can be intermittent at best in some hotels), and we wished we’d bought a SIM card at the airport – not having access to a phone caused a few issues along the way.
You also need to accept that Egyptian standards and levels of service are not what you might be used to in other holiday destinations, so patience and understanding can be required at times, but if things aren’t right, they do their best to make good.
Overall – a wonderful holiday we would recommend. Thank you.
Cooper Family (with children aged 6, 13, 13 & 17)
Travelled October Half Term 2022
Hi Liddy. In short, we had a great holiday. Our guide Sayed Mahmoud was absolutely fantastic and his passion for the sites we visited was infectious. I can’t say enough about how impressed I was with him. The organizational stuff – cars, pickups, etc worked brilliantly and the pace and structure of the trip was great – even with four children in tow… I’m incredibly positive about our guide, the logistics, and Stubborn Mule’s organization of our trip. I am a happy customer and I will definitely be working with you again in the Spring or Summer.
Tilney Family (with children aged 12 and 14)
Travelled Easter 2022
Hi Kelly! Just to say that the trip was perfect and well worth the 2 years’ wait due to the pandemic. The sights were incredible and better than expected and the team on the ground, and especially the guide Sherif were so nice and helpful. The fact that seeing the pyramids was probably overshadowed by other things tells you how great it all was! It was a really good idea to add in different things rather than just sightseeing and having time to relax in the pools in the hotels was great and meant that we didn’t miss having any dedicated ‘beach time’.
The girls particularly enjoyed the trip into the desert at Fayoum and sand-boarding, and the night on the felucca was great! The support boat meant that there was absolutely no concern regarding washing and going to the loo and so we would tell anyone slightly put off by the thought of ‘basic facilities’ to not worry… was all perfectly clean and swimming in the Nike at sunset was fantastic.
Sherif was also able to sort out hot-air ballooning at the Valley of the Kings at dawn which was unforgettable and much better value than other hot-air balloon trips we have thought about and discounted in the past!
All in all, it was another marvellous holiday and we can’t thank you enough… will forward you some photos in due course!
Dowson Family (with children aged 9 and 14)
Travelled Easter 2022
Hi Lee. We had a great time, thank you, fascinating country & our guides were very good… but we all agreed we could give the train a miss next time – it’s very basic… However the Aswan hotel was stunning, the Hilton v nice, & we had a lot of fun. B was “templed out” quite quickly, so I think limiting historical sites is quite important – there is just too much to see & do. The civilisation museum in Cairo is very interesting, & when the new museum opens close to the pyramids I would miss off the old Egyptian museum. We had a really good time, thank you for organising. Now, what about Namibia…!
Caldwell Family (with children aged 12 and 15)
Travelled Easter 2022
Hi Liddy. Our holiday was amazing thanks, everything we could have hoped for. As you know Egypt is absolutely fascinating and had us captivated from start to finish. Our local guides, Rusha and Tarek, were terrific: very knowledgeable, well organised, and good company. The itinerary worked very well for us, just the right amount of sightseeing with our guides whilst also leaving amble time for relaxing and family time. The accommodation was excellent (although our hotel in Aswan was hauntingly quiet). All the hotels provided connecting rooms for us. Also a hat tip to your local agents who were always on hand to meet and chaperon us to and from airports and train stations. It really was a top family holiday. Thanks for all your help making this holiday happen.
Vague Family (with children aged 7 and 10)
Travelled Easter 2022
Hi Lee. Thanks for your email – we had a fabulous time thank you. It all worked out very well! Happy to share some feedback. Our tour guide – Sammah – was brilliant. She got just the right balance with the kids, was attentive without being too much and made the trip. Highly recommend! The hotels were all fine. The ones in Cairo and Aswan were just that – fine. We weren’t in them that much and the pools were nice. The hotel at Luxor was fantastic. Beautiful setting, lovely room, amazing pool, fab food. We were so pleased we upgraded. And it was the right place to do it as we spent the most time here and used the facilities.
We loved all the sites, as did the kids. You couldn’t fail to be impressed by the pyramids, temples and tombs! The 2 museums in Cairo were also both brilliant. No one got bored of the sightseeing once. It felt well balanced with some downtime each day.
The train was an experience. The kids slept well, the adults less so! I wouldn’t want to be doing it that often but we all enjoyed the experience, it helped make the whole trip feel like a real adventure.
The boat was lovely – the people were so nice, and the food delicious. We slept well and really enjoyed the relaxing environment. Only problem was the mosquitoes… we put repellent on but perhaps an even stronger one for this night would have been a good idea.
It was HOT. Especially in Aswan and Luxor to a lesser degree. But we were prepared for this and took mini fans and cooling towels which helped to an extent. But we managed fine, we started early and rested in the afternoons and enjoyed pool time. So it was totally fine but you were right to warn us about it.
I will be back in touch about Morocco – Egypt has definitely given us a taste for trips like this and we’ve really enjoyed the Stubborn Mule experience. Thank you so much for arranging such a fab tip for us.
Saunders Family (with 17 year old)
Travelled Easter 2022
Hi Lee – Hotel in Cairo was great for us for a couple of nights…Good breakfast. Lovely hotel in Luxor. Too expensive to eat in the evening, but a good café by the pool for lunch. Flamingos wandering around the grounds. Room itself ok, but the bathroom outdated… Good breakfast again. Wouldn’t put me off staying again as the hotel grounds are lovely and good location. Had a great meal at the Sofra restaurant, which served tasty Egyptian food at a very reasonable price. It is safer to pre-book, but they managed to fit us in.
Pammenter Family (with children 8 & 10)
Travelled Easter 2022
Hi Caroline, we had a lovely time and it was lovely to do something different from what we would normally do. Overall we had a fantastic trip. Initially, booking was really easy and it was great that you came up with the ideas (there were things that I wouldn’t have thought about doing). The schedule that you sent me was great as I could see what we were doing each day and tweak it to fit in with my family and how much sightseeing I thought the boys could take.
I would have liked timings on the schedule so I could have been aware of pick-up times. The guides were great at informing us when we were there but I personally like to know in advance details like this.
The Cairo hotel was lovely and fantastically placed for the pyramids. It was clean, the room size was good and the staff were all very friendly.
The guide Abu was great very informative and very friendly. And Harry who met us at the airport was fab too. The trips that we did were great, I think if we had tried to squeeze any more in with the boys it would have been too much but it worked really well.
Your tipping guide was essential and really helped us there.
The hotel at Luxor was nice, the rooms were small but the hotel was very friendly and perfect for the boys. The trips were great here as well and I think I should mention all of the cars were very clean and spacious which was great.
The last hotel near the airport looked amazing and the rooms were stunning.
We really did have a brilliant time!
Cartwright Family (with teenager aged 17)
Travelled Autumn 2021
J and I had a fantastic 10 days in Egypt organised superbly by Stubborn Mule. In spite of all the covid restrictions we managed to do everything on our itinerary with the assistance of Stubbborn Mule’s agent in Cairo. All the hotels were wonderful and the guides we had were engaging and attentive. It was quite an adventure travelling by plane, train, automobile and boat in the space of 10 days! Truly the trip of a lifetime! Thank you Caroline for everything!!!
Briscoe Family (with child aged 5)
Travelled Christmas – New Year 2019/20
Hi Kelly – We had an absolutely fabulous trip! Our tour guide, Mohamed, was simply wonderful — he was not only patient and engaging with our daughter, he also came up with new games and activities for her. The itinerary was spot-on perfect — we got to see everything, but at a pace that we could enjoy, not be exhausted and grumpy during the trip. We truly had the trip of a lifetime, and now that we’re back, I’m already started to look through some of your other itineraries!
Birnie Family (with teenagers aged 14 & 16)
Travelled October 2019
Hi Charlotte – We really enjoyed our recent holiday! The itinerary worked out really well for us, giving us lots to see and then some down time to relax at the hotels. What an amazing place, we loved all the sites and history! Sama our guide was excellent – she was friendly, knowledgeable and great with our teenagers, having her own! The drivers and vehicles were all very good, as were the hotels we stayed in. We loved the food and the people we met, so cant really fault any part of it. Another successful holiday with your brilliant advice and support, so a big thank you to you and the team!
Bunting Family (with two children aged 8)
Travelled Christmas – New Year 2018/19
Hi Caroline – We had a brilliant time, thank you. Particular thanks to Abdel, our guide, who was excellent in all regards, from getting everything organised perfectly, to teaching us a great deal, and just being really great company for the boys and me. Please do pass on to Hazim our huge thanks to Abdel for everything he did for us, including being away from his family over New Year. There’s very little at all we would have changed. If anything, we would have liked a bigger hotel room in Luxor, or interconnecting rooms. Thank you to you and your colleagues for getting everything sorted for us. We will definitely be back in touch for our next adventure.
Norris Family
Travelled Easter 2018 – Jordan and Egypt
Hi Liddy – I just wanted to make contact on return to say thank you for organising such a wonderful trip. Your colleagues in Egypt looked after us really well. Our guide, Ibrahim, was wonderful and we loved spending time with him. We got on so well and had a great laugh; we have made a new friend! He is extremely knowledgeable about the history but we also enjoyed discussions about politics and issues facing both Egypt and the UK.
La Bedouina in Jordan were also great. Our driver Naim was lovely, so kind and generous and also very knowledgeable having a degree in Byzantine studies! We were offered, and accepted, a free upgrade on the Bedouin camp and stayed at Wadi Rum Space Village Luxury Camp. This was amazing, nicer than some hotels. This for me was a highlight and I want to return and spend longer. They have a facebook page but I can send photos for reference if that helps.
In both countries I was really impressed with how smoothly everything ran. We never had to wait for transport, bookings were organised, everyone was expecting us, we felt like royalty!
In summary I would thoroughly recommend the whole experience and I will be telling all my friends to go. Before travelling lots of people were saying “ooh it’s so dangerous” but we felt safe the whole time. The locals were always friendly; they enjoyed the banter as much as we did! I can’t wait to return.
I look forward to working with you again in the future.
Family P (mother and son aged 8)
Travelled October half-term 2017
We have just arrived back from our lovely trip to Egypt. What an adventure. Everything ran very smoothly. Thank you for all your help. You’re representatives were brilliant and a big thank you for everything.
Baddeley-Chappell Family (with children aged 13 and 16)
Travelled Summer 2017
Hi Liddy – The trip was great. Very hot of course and busy, not least with the limited sleep on the train and felucca, but would not have had it any other way. Hotels were good in particular the Old Cataract at Aswan. Notably few tourists (only noticed a handful of Brits). Good for us with room upgrades and empty temples, not so good for the Egyptians. Always felt safe. Good to have interconnecting rooms everywhere we stayed.
Tour came together well, had not realised that unlike Sri Lanka we would have a tour leader, driver and guide. We had very good local guides, which was important to enjoy the sights. Itinerary was flexible, we did Cairo on one day. Necessary as traffic has to be seen to be believed. Added in Ramesseum in Luxor, also worth a visit. Tour leader Abdo very friendly, helpful and organised – do pass on our thanks.
Felucca was great. Swam in the Nile. Kept awake by cats and dogs but a great experience. Good to have the support boat with proper loos etc.
Pleased we did not go to Abu Simbel as time well spent in Aswan.
Very little to fault. Main frustration was needing to pay extra for what were options but hard to see families not doing them. These included going in the great pyramid, seeing King Tuts tomb and the mummies in the Egyptian museum.
Overall a very high standard tour that we would happily do again tomorrow…
PS thinking of next year now. Peru current favourite but Costa Rica another option.
Mondry Family (with children aged 12, 14 and 16)
Travelled Summer 2017
Hi Kelly – We had a fantastic time on the trip, really enjoyed it all. Only thing was the donkey tour – it was not the whole morning … only from the Nile to the Colossi of Memnon, which would have been rather short. On request we went up to the Valley of the Kings.
We also added Rammesseum and Medinet Habu when we were already on the West Bank as otherwise when you return into Luxor there would not be much time left to visit anything else since temples and museums close at 4 p.m.
On the day traveling from Aswan to Luxor maybe one could have included a stop at Esna and visit the temple of Khnum since again once one arrives at Luxor it is too late to visit anything else. But again, that´s just a suggestion and some visitors might be less active and need more rest with the heat whereas we are quite used to this.
Anyway had a fantastic time and will always recommend you.
Family H (with child aged 7)
Travelled Easter 2017
Hi Lee – You’d asked for feedback on our trip to Egypt back in April…In the main it was fantastic. The itinerary was really good and it was very well organised and there was just about the right amount of time in each place. While the hotels wouldn’t normally be to our taste, they were ideal for our autistic son. The fact they weren’t full and he was able to spend time in his room if he wanted to was all good.
The guides and drivers were generally very good and knowledgeable. For us, they were perhaps too attentive. I appreciate that many people need reassurance and the fact the ‘fixer’ in each town rang us everyday to check we were ok was a nice touch, but it became a bit overbearing for us. But that is just being picky.
… One thing I would suggest you recommend to people is to take mosquito nets for the felucca trip…
Other than that, it was spot on.
Natt Family (with two children aged 10 and 13)
Travelled October 2016
Mohammed was the best tour guide in the world. He was the best, he was kind. 5 stars for Mohammed! (Feedback from son).
Mohammed was the best tour guide I ever had. I would be ecstatic to have him again in future holiays. The landmarks were amazing and I would definitely consider re-visiting Egypt. Rating ***** (Feedback from daughter).
Mohammed was excellent, informed, ready to answer questions, available, pleasant company, funny, understanding, open and went out of his way to make our tour of Egypt relaxing and enjoyable. A great tour guide and a wonderful person. (Feedback from Dad)
Our tour was made very easy by Mohammed. He’s very knowledgeable about the history of Egypt. He’s the best guide we’ve had. Very easy to talk to and really looked after us. (Feedback from Mum).
Turner Family (with three children aged 9, 12 and 13)
Travelled summer 2015
We have all had an amazing time. Everything we saw and experienced was incredible and explained to us in great detail. The children were captivated by the stories of the ancient Egyptians. We could not have asked for more. Thank you. (Feedback from Mum)
I absolutely loved every minute of our time in Egypt! The flight over and all the accommodation was great as well as all the different means of transport. Our tour guide Sem Sem made the tour even more amazing and he was better than what we could have ever asked for! Thank you for such a lovely holiday.
Feedback from F (aged 13)
I had an amazing time! All of the temples, tombs, pyramids, camel rides, donkey rides etc were excellent! The best thing that made it as fun as it was was Sim Sim! He is so easy going, he knows so many interesting facts about Egypt! He is the best tour guide EVER!!!
Feedback from son
Sem Sem is basically superman, which is good.
Feedback from Dad
This is the first time that we have had an adventure type holiday and I am now sure that it will not be the last. Sim Sim is an excellent ambassador for your company and an asset to Egypt. Egypt is extremely varied and utterly amazing. We certainly hope to come again. One small thing – it would be good to advise travellers to bring a sheet to sleep under on the felucca as mosquitos were a pain.
Currier Family (with four children aged 8, 8, 9 and 11)
Travelled Easter 2015 to Egypt and Jordan
Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you sooner. The details of coming home have swamped me, and I haven’t yet taken the necessary time to fully digest our trip and write the necessary follow-up emails and evaluations! First of all, I’d like to thank you for everything you did to put our trip together for us. It was everything we had wanted and more. I guess the easiest thing for me to do would be to write a list of highlights/suggestions, so here we go:
Your communication, planning, and pre-trip materials were all excellent and extremely informative.
Scariest moment: landing in Cairo on Egypt Air – most out-of-control landing I’ve ever experienced!
Cairo hotel and airport transport – perfectly fine.
We met Sem-Sem the next morning, and that began 6 days of learning and fun in his good hands. He was absolutely perfect for us. Being an Egyptologist, a scout leader, a dad, and also young and energetic, he was always informative and fun.
We felt completely safe with him. One of the nicest little perks of his service was that he took care of every single tip up front. He had made a long list of what they all would be, calculated it, and asked us for that money up front, and then wherever we went all week, he handed us an envelope with the tip in it. Honestly, tipping just stresses me out, and he completely removed that stress from the trip. He also helped us navigate the pushy salespeople and vendors by being firm but always respectful and kind.
Our day at the Cairo Museum and Pyramids was great. We were practically alone at the pyramids, which was just amazing. Egypt Museum was a little creepy, being surrounded by military tanks, but SemSem put us at ease. And inside the museum itself was very cool.
We loved the overnight train. Super fun.
Dinner with the Nubian family, Philae Temple, various little boat rides, camel rides, and lastly our felucca ride were all great.
Hotels in Aswan and Luxor great.
I guess every detail of the Egypt portion was great. Use Sem Sem again, if you can. Really.
On to Jordan:
Our driver, Ashraf, was very good. He really looked after us, talked to us about what he knew, even though he was not an official guide, was nice with the kids, kept us company when appropriate and left us some space as well. We didn’t have the same emotional connection to him that we did to Sem Sem, but he really grew on us, and by the end of the trip we were very fond of him.
The Roman Ruins at Jerash were okay. They no longer do the chariot races, which we found out when we arrived, even though supposedly they haven’t been doing them for a long time. It’s a cool site, but the local guide we got was pretty lame. We would have had more fun exploring it on our own, I think.
The crusader castles we saw were really fun.
The Amman hotel was nice. Excellent food.
The Dead Sea swim was great. Lovely resort. Relaxing, nice place.
Petra hotel was friendly but kind of dingy. We didn’t mind, but you might make a note of it for pickier travelers than us. Their food was okay, but their chef was particularly nice and did a lovely birthday cake and singing for our son who turned 10 while we were there.
Our Petra guide was okay. We did learn some stuff from him, but again, it might have been better to be running around there on our own. The kids began to feel a little “guided-out.” We LOVED our day exploring Petra.
The next day we ended up having some extra time in the morning and we stopped in for the second time to Little Petra, which the kids loved best of all. We even happened upon some archaeologists doing a dig near the Neolithic Site there at Little Petra. They welcomed the kids over and put tools in their hands and let them help out with the dig. It was an awesome spontaneous experience.
The Wadi Rum desert drive was very cool. Every site we stopped at was special. The desert camp was perfect. And they too did a really nice job helping W celebrate his birthday.
Ashraf drove us to the border, where we picked up some kind of border agent, who held our hand through the border station, and we walked into Israel. Couldn’t have been easier!
So again, thank you for everything, and I can assure you that I would highly recommend your services to anyone looking to do a trip like ours. It was the trip of a lifetime. Thank you!
Call us and we will be happy to provide you with a free-of-charge no obligation itinerary and quotation designed for you.
01728 752751
Egypt in pictures