Egypt & The Nile

Egypt was absolutely beautiful, if you're thinking about booking this trip…book it now! I arrived the day the tour started, early in the morning; so I was lucky enough to be offered to do a day trip to Alexandria (for an extra $100USD), it is totally worth the views and places you get to visit. The first hotel you stay in isn't exactly the best, either is the breakfast provided, but thats all apart of the experience. On the first full day, you get to see the pyramids of giza and if you're lucky enough you'll get to ride a camel through the desert with the pyramids in the background - this is a must! It was quite hot whilst I was there (around 44-48 degrees celsius) although it is only humid in Cairo, as you journey your way to Luxor the humidity drops and its just hot! Basically, all the food is provided for, you'll only have to buy meals maybe once or twice. The tour guide, is amazing, he is so indulged in the culture and has knowledge on literally everything ancient egypt. The highlight of the tour is cruising down the nile (best accom!) as well as seeing mummies and viewing the tombs and temples as well! This is the perfect tour for someone who just wants to relax and see the world. The groups are small (mine had about 10 people, everyone was aged 20+) and you'll make friendships that will last a lifetime!

I had always wanted to go to Egypt and it did not disappoint. Sherrif was an excellent tour guide, he was full of knowledge and got us to all the places before the crowds rolled in. He could tell us everything we wanted to know and could take us to the best places for photo's and even got us into one of the pyramids for a look. The food on the house boat was excellent but make sure you take something on the train to eat as the food on there is cooked in the morning and left all day in pretty unappealing conditions. It didn't look all that appetizing either. Sherrif also took us to a great place to eat and relax after the pyramids and before the train, so fill up there while you can. Everything about the trip was amazing. but be prepared for lots of sightseeing and temples. Being interested in it I wanted to see more but my partner was happy to see the last one by the end. The camel ride at the pyramids is great fun and you get an absolutely awesome view from it. Our last day out on the reef was perfect. the weather was great and i heard great things about the snorkelling. I would recommend this trip 100% to anyone who wants to go. Just take a friend, Cairo is a bit full on and if you are a woman alone it's pretty intimidating. If you get there a day early you have the option of going to Alexandria for $100, it's worth every cent!

Had an absolutely amazing time on this tour! Saw all the major tourist sites - the Pyramids, the Sphinx, Abu Simbel, Luxor and Karnak - and some of the lesser known sites - Kom Ombo, the Unfinished Obelisk - but the highlight has to be the Valley of the Kings! Just absolutely inspiring! The Red Sea was just spectacular - it would have been fantastic to spend more time there. The guide we had - Sherif - was just so knowledgeable and made the whole trip just so wonderful. Literally the only things that could have made this trip even better would be to make it longer so we can spend more time at the red sea and maybe even visit Alexandria! The hotel in Cairo is nice - but it would have been nicer to be in an area that is maybe slightly more touristy.

Had an absolutely amazing time on this tour! Saw all the major tourist sites - the Pyramids, the Sphinx, Abu Simbel, Luxor and Karnak - and some of the lesser known sites - Kom Ombo, the Unfinished Obelisk - but the highlight has to be the Valley of the Kings! Just absolutely inspiring! The Red Sea was just spectacular - it would have been fantastic to spend more time there. The guide we had - Sherif - was just so knowledgeable and made the whole trip just so wonderful. Literally the only things that could have made this trip even better would be to make it longer so we can spend more time at the red sea and maybe even visit Alexandria! The hotel in Cairo is nice - but it would have been nicer to be in an area that is maybe slightly more touristy.

Loved my time in Egypt infact getting on the plane to leave was the saddiest plane ride ever ,never had i ever imagined this country would tug so much at my heart. On arrival to Cairo was pretty jet lagged so had to be woken for my pre tour meeting looking quiet the sight late sleepy unable to retain any info. Our tour group was nice and small just 16 of us. first night total culture shock me and another girl i met on this trip headed in search of food and water for our upcomming bus rides our adventures that night were out of this world laughed so much in our few hours trip around cairo ,day at pyramids bloody awesome being there up close seeing Cairo city in the distance friggon awesome taking a camel ride and having our group pic on our camels with the 3 pyramids lined up behind us was an awesome pic. in late afternoon headed to a restaraunt for faliful yah my favourite food and boy did i pig out next up over night train to aswan hmmmmmmmmm ok well theres something i will never forget protesters againist the goverment stood on the tracks and after a very long night of not really getting far at all we now had to go in a bus convey under police escourt with military and travel to aswan,we should hav been there at 830am ish instead it was close to mid night so we lost a whole day of activity and had a very long drive ahead of us but the tour guide /local guide (sherif) worked his magic and slotted in as much of what we missed in other locations so we didnt miss out too much ,but did mean longer days for us. loved so much of my time all the temples awesome!!! the light and sound show was a let down dull and out dated but i couldnt fault anything else loved the morning in abu simbel flight there great so highly reccomend to do that extra,time in traditional egyptian villiage seeing all religins live side by side poor right next to rich whole experience was an eye opener. nile cruise wow wow wow the views the luxuary thx sherif for the upgrade room ,red sea hell what an amazing place so beautiful,our group were spontanious and asked the bus to stop and let us off to take random group pics in desert with red sea in background, back to Cairo for final dinner man a massive feed i not sure anyone ate every course of that meal,as sherif was going off with 9 people from our group who were staying in Egypt longer on a day trip to Alexandra early next morning he said his farwells to our group stright after that dinner Sherif is an amazing guy full of knowledge eager to please and will always go the extra mile those thinking of going to egypt DO IT U WONT REGRET IT!!!!!!! to those who r booked to go u will truely love EGYPT

From the moment go, it was so full on but relaxing at the same time. On the first day it was so absolutely surreal that you do so much, in just 1 day. You see all the highlights that you want to see when you want to go to Egypt. With climbing into the pyramids (at a price) to relaxing along the nile on your boat and having a party along the red sea in Hurghada. Its such a mix of sightseeing, history, partying, relaxing and having such a good time with fellow travel mates. The tour guide, Sheriff, was an absolute history guru that knew absolutely everything of Egypt. You always constantly feel safe in the group as Sheriff knows the best time of the day to go to certain sights, which is awesome. I would do it again in an absolute heart beat, it definitely is worth every $$$

Everyone should visit Egypt at least once in their lifetime! Despite what's on the news on TV, Contiki really went out of their way to make us feel safe. We had a security guard at some sites, and security with us when crossing the Sahara dessert on our way to Abu Simbel! our own entourage, how cool is that!? :) Over all, the trip was amazing, we had a very small group (13 of us), and Sherif, our amazing tour guide! He really made us feel taken care of and safe. Our accommodations were for the most part very good, but this is the reason why I can't give this trip 5 stars. The hotel in Cairo where you stay the first and last night, is just not a good place . By no means am I bashing it, because I know that this is budget traveling, but the place had bed bugs! Two of the rooms had bed bugs, and two of us woke up with our bodies covered in bites :( I talked to the tour guide manager and on the last night they moved me to a different room, but I feel that they should have booked a different hotel for us altogether. I strongly feel that Contiki should look for a different accommodation while in Cairo, so that there aren't any more incidents with bedbugs. The cruise accommodation was amazing, and the one in Hurgada with a beautiful view!! Overall, I have NO REGRETS having gone on this trip, which was my first with contiki, and I am already thinking about where to go next! :)

Sherif is the man!!! Thoroughly enjoyed this tour, the add on's were fantastic, the accommodation on tour was excellent, and sherif our guide was amazing. The Victoria hotel was very average, but its only for the start of the tour. Only grumble I have, is that you need to observe the end date for the tour. It ends Saturday morning, because of the travel time back to Cairo. Don't go booking flights home on the Friday night, otherwise your going to miss out on an awesome add on trip, or make others miss out......

I went on this tour in September 2012 and would highly recommend it to anyone. The history is just incredible and you will not believce how well preserved the temples and artefacts are. Sharif the tour guide was so knowledgeable and pointed out things you would never notice. He made the tour what it was. The highlightsfor me were definitely the Valley of the Kings and the camel ride at the pyramids. Its not just all about the history. The day in Hurghada was lovely. Just watch out for the fire coral! And the overnight train from Aswan was a true adventure. Don't be put off by the recent trouble in Egypt - I did not for one moment feel unsafe. Egypt needs tourism more than ever to help maintain the treasures it has there. It also means that at the moment it is much less crowded than it has been in the past. Everyone was really nice on the tour and we had lots of fun - partcularly the Egyptian party on the Nile cruise. I highly recommend this tour.

...because of a terrorist attack at the Temple of Kanaak. And my flight was cancelled... so things came together. I can still write a review here. Nice. Maybe another time. When the middle east becomes calmer. CU folks

Two points I need to make clear before continuing: The hotel in Cairo has CHANGED. The contract with the previous hotel (with the bad reviews) has ended, and you will be staying a nice hotel outside of downtown Cairo. The change went into effect right before my trip started. I was very happy with the accommodations at the new hotel--clean rooms, hot water and nice bathrooms, relaxing pool/bar/restaurant area. If you hear something happened in Chicago, it's not going to prevent you from visiting New York City; same with Canberra and Sydney. The media does a great job in blanketing "the Middle East" with problems. Don't let your relatives or friends deter you from going on this trip because of what they have been led to believe is happening through media exposure. Egypt is very peaceful and their economy is seriously suffering from tourists (especially Australians and Americans) being deterred from visiting. QUICK TIPS: Egyptian pounds and American dollars are accepted everywhere. If you bring American dollars, get all of your money in $1 and $5 notes before you go. It's easier for tipping and buying small things. If you are comfortable with using a debit/bank card and you bank does not have ridiculous fees, there are ATMs in all places. HANG ON TO YOUR SMALL EGYPTIAN NOTES. There is a shortage on circulating 5 l.e. (pounds) and the 1 l.e. coins. A few of the small travel-size packs of Kleenex tissues are great for toilet paper (yes, you will need these). Buy your water and be careful if you get ice in drinks. Ahem... I personally selected this trip because I have always been interested in ancient history. It was also my 30th birthday, and what better way to celebrate than being in Egypt? I am for sure an 'in-depth explorer' and I love history. I did every Optional with the exception of one--the Unfinished Obelisk & High Dam. (You can see the obelisk when you drive past and it's really not that powerful or exciting.) THIS IS NOT A PARTY TOUR. Unlike a lot of other Contikis, you need to understand that you are in a religiously conservative country, a place where gender and family roles are still very well defined. The only time we ladies went to a club was the one inside the hotel in Hurghada. There is one key component of this trip that I would not have appreciated without having a prior Contiki experience, and that is the tour manager/guide, Sherif. Sherif is Egyptian, lives there, and has been working with Contiki for 15 YEARS! To my knowledge, there are no other Contiki tours where one person has been doing the same tour for that long. The vendors and staff at all stops know him. 'Mister Sherif!' You can ask him anything about history, culture, religion, life in Egypt, and he will tell you all you would like to know. He has an undying love for the work he is doing, to show people like us the beauty of his country, and he does with it real passion. (And he does this solo, as he is the tour manager and local guide in one.) If you have any questions at all about little specifics of cities or optionals, please feel free to send me a message.

I would HIGHLY recommend the Egypt tour to anyone. I felt safe and taken care of the entire time and think it's time tourism come back to Egypt (the negative media attention is really overblown I found after visiting myself). Contiki does it right with visits to the pyramids, camel rides, train rides, a nice cruise boat, and time spent at the beach on the Red Sea (snorkeling was amazing). I can't say enough about how excellent the guide Sherif is and he has 15 years experiences; he's also a genuine person who just adds to the fun of the group. The people I was lucky enough to travel with also made the trip. Would highly recommend the village tour (opt for the camel, not the donkey in my opinion). Dendera, an addition to the tour, was one of the main highlights-it was so well preserved. THANKS for the trip of a lifetime!!

...because of a terrorist attack at the Temple of Kanaak. And my flight was cancelled... so things came together. I can still write a review here. Nice. Maybe another time. When the middle east becomes calmer. CU folks

This was my very first Contiki, but I guarantee that it won't be my last. The famous Sherif was everything the reviews say and took such good care of us. Of course, the people made it so worthwhile! The sites are absolutely amazing and there really isn't anything like them. My only complaint with the trip is the cost. You really will want to do almost all of the excursions, so add about $300 to the trip cost to get a feel for the real price. If there is one excursion that I'd say you absolutely can't miss, it's the Red Sea. AMAZING!

Two points I need to make clear before continuing: The hotel in Cairo has CHANGED. The contract with the previous hotel (with the bad reviews) has ended, and you will be staying a nice hotel outside of downtown Cairo. The change went into effect right before my trip started. I was very happy with the accommodations at the new hotel--clean rooms, hot water and nice bathrooms, relaxing pool/bar/restaurant area. If you hear something happened in Chicago, it's not going to prevent you from visiting New York City; same with Canberra and Sydney. The media does a great job in blanketing "the Middle East" with problems. Don't let your relatives or friends deter you from going on this trip because of what they have been led to believe is happening through media exposure. Egypt is very peaceful and their economy is seriously suffering from tourists (especially Australians and Americans) being deterred from visiting. QUICK TIPS: Egyptian pounds and American dollars are accepted everywhere. If you bring American dollars, get all of your money in $1 and $5 notes before you go. It's easier for tipping and buying small things. If you are comfortable with using a debit/bank card and you bank does not have ridiculous fees, there are ATMs in all places. HANG ON TO YOUR SMALL EGYPTIAN NOTES. There is a shortage on circulating 5 l.e. (pounds) and the 1 l.e. coins. A few of the small travel-size packs of Kleenex tissues are great for toilet paper (yes, you will need these). Buy your water and be careful if you get ice in drinks. Ahem... I personally selected this trip because I have always been interested in ancient history. It was also my 30th birthday, and what better way to celebrate than being in Egypt? I am for sure an 'in-depth explorer' and I love history. I did every Optional with the exception of one--the Unfinished Obelisk & High Dam. (You can see the obelisk when you drive past and it's really not that powerful or exciting.) THIS IS NOT A PARTY TOUR. Unlike a lot of other Contikis, you need to understand that you are in a religiously conservative country, a place where gender and family roles are still very well defined. The only time we ladies went to a club was the one inside the hotel in Hurghada. There is one key component of this trip that I would not have appreciated without having a prior Contiki experience, and that is the tour manager/guide, Sherif. Sherif is Egyptian, lives there, and has been working with Contiki for 15 YEARS! To my knowledge, there are no other Contiki tours where one person has been doing the same tour for that long. The vendors and staff at all stops know him. 'Mister Sherif!' You can ask him anything about history, culture, religion, life in Egypt, and he will tell you all you would like to know. He has an undying love for the work he is doing, to show people like us the beauty of his country, and he does with it real passion. (And he does this solo, as he is the tour manager and local guide in one.) If you have any questions at all about little specifics of cities or optionals, please feel free to send me a message.

Absolutely incredible trip! I would recommend it to anyone.

I went on this tour in September 2012 and would highly recommend it to anyone. The history is just incredible and you will not believce how well preserved the temples and artefacts are. Sharif the tour guide was so knowledgeable and pointed out things you would never notice. He made the tour what it was. The highlightsfor me were definitely the Valley of the Kings and the camel ride at the pyramids. Its not just all about the history. The day in Hurghada was lovely. Just watch out for the fire coral! And the overnight train from Aswan was a true adventure. Don't be put off by the recent trouble in Egypt - I did not for one moment feel unsafe. Egypt needs tourism more than ever to help maintain the treasures it has there. It also means that at the moment it is much less crowded than it has been in the past. Everyone was really nice on the tour and we had lots of fun - partcularly the Egyptian party on the Nile cruise. I highly recommend this tour.

I usually never write review's on trips but I felt motivated to write a positive review after having an amazing time in Egypt. Sherif was the best tour guide I've ever had for any type of trip. You get to ride a camel around the pyramid's, go into many temple's and tombs, see a mummy or two and cruise the Nile for a few days. The entire trip was organized, fun, full of adventure, allowed for time for many optional's and the group was full of fun people. I have recommended this trip to all my friends and I hope people continue to sign up for this trip.

Wow! What an amazing trip!!! An experience of a life time. Sherif, our tour guide, was nothing short of amazing. He was so helpful in giving us tips and pointers where ever we went, talked us through the trip, and was so friendly, personable and comical! He is so knowledgeable of the history of the sights we toured and shows such passion in his countries history. The food was good, surprising to me because I can be picky, everyone we met was very friendly and helpful. I never felt anything but safe while on this trip. Sherif really helped with that. The first night in the Alexandria Hotel was a bit shocking-a little dirty and in a very busy area of Cairo. But everyone was friendly. The overnight train was a shock as well-no showers! and I highly suggest you BUY TOILET PAPER for the train, and rest of the trip. They don't seem to use any or stock bathrooms with it, and you have to pay a pound for most bathrooms. The Nile Cruise was nothing short of simply beautiful. The scenery, breathtaking. The rooms, bathrooms, and restaurant was really nice. The crew was phenomenal! Everyone is so nice and eager to help. We even partied with them on the 'egyptian dress up night". Very fun. We traveled by tour bus inbetween and to different tours. The buses are pretty nice and air conditioned. (We had one bus for a long ride that was cramped though). The Hurghada Hotel is great too, though I wish we were there for longer. I hear the snorkeling is a must, but it was too windy. All the extras I would suggest doing, except for the light show. Very dated and not very interesting. It is definitely a culture shock, especially being female. But I always felt safe with Sherif and while on the tour. I hope all tour guides are like him!

Everyone has Egypt on their bucket list but I can actually say I have ticketed it off. You can be the same!! I am a travel agent and even I was nervous to do this trip at first because it is very had to ignore what is being shown in the media. As soon as I stepped of the plane I felt completely safe. The Contiki representative was there waiting at my arrival gate with a sign and helped me with my tourist visa, he even carried my bag. The Egyptian people are so friendly. You may get a few hisses and stares because you are different but nothing you can't handle. I have read the reviews about Sherif and expected him to be a great tour guide but this man is an angel. Every question I asked he knew the answer, he honestly couldn’t do enough for us, and everywhere we went he made sure we were safe and were enjoying our selves. Tourism in Egypt is really low at the moment. It was so sad arriving to these amazing sights the car parks areas are huge and only a handful of tour buses. This is also the best time to go because your photos have no tourists in them. You can have a selfie with no one photo bombing your pict. Some tips: - Money: You can pay your optional excursions with USD, Egyptian Pound, Credit Cards. I found Egyptian pound the easiest to use because the local rate had better conversion. I spent more on optional activities then I did on souvenirs etc - Optional Excursions/ Must Dos: Village tour (Meet and experience the local side of Egypt) , Hot Air Balloon ride ( Another bucket list- Views are amazing ) , Abu Simbel( One word: Breath taking, Early start as we drove about 4 hours oneway but so worth it), Camel Riding through the Pyramids of Giza ( My camel was Bob Marley) - Best time to travel: I went in April – May I thought this was a great time to travel. Weather was still nice and hot. It was even 40 degrees in some areas. I love the heat but visiting temples & ruins daily I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if it was in the height of summer. - Women: I stressed a lot about what to wear. I took some ¾ pants & t’shirts that’s all I really needed. Sherif will tell you when you need to cover up and when it’s ok to wear summer clothes. - Food: There was so much food included and also really healthy options. The food on the Nile Cruise was amazing huge buffets with plenty of choice. No one on our tour was sick!! - Toilets: I took tissues, Wet Wipes the works. I used them but you do have opportunities to buy these in Egypt if you forget. They are all pretty cheap. - Take a selfie stick!!