Nile Cruise - Premium

From start to finish, I cannot fault this trip. The temples and Ancient Egyptian remains speak for themselves and are stunning. I had no idea that they were so well preserved. But the trip was made especially enjoyable by our super efficient and friendly guide, Sayed. His commentary covered both ancient and modern Egypt, and I have been reading books about Egypt ever since!

A wonderful trip with some leisurely days along with early starts to beat the heat. October was a perfect time to go- not too hot, blue skies against which the sand and pyramids/ temples contrasted wonderfully. Our guide was very helpful; it was wonderful to have water available both on the bus and the ship..... One caveat- it would be helpful if in the trip notes if somewhere it mentioned that one must pay extra to take photographs in some of the temples.......not a problem for myself, but some travellers came with minimal cash, and so hadn't factored that into the equation. A minor point overall though. Highly recommend!

Premium Nile trip to fulfil a lifetime of wonder

A superb holiday that packs in the highlights of Egypt in a week, with four nights on a Nile riverboat. It starts with the Pyramids and takes in the Cairo Museum and other sights before a short flight to the riverboat at Luxor. For those who haven't sailes down the Nile, this is an adventure in itself. There are stops to visit the valley of the Kings to see the amazing hyieroglyphics in the pharaonic tombs and Tutankhamun's resting place, plus the famous temples at Karnak, Edfu and Kom Ombo, and an optional trip to Abu Simbel. It ends at the amazing Aswan Dam and includes a fun felucca ride. The food and company were great and Andrew the guide was amazing. Highly recommended!

Loved it.

Very culturally inspiring trip, with a considerable variety of points of interest. My grandson, Will, said it all: "It was awesome; more than I expected". Our tour guide really had his act together, and kept a close watch on each and every tour member, yet giving them freedom to do their own extra things (like collecting soil samples and geocaching). One big thing I did learn about the aristocracy of the distant past. The top 1% of societies wanted to leave their mark for not only those who followed, but they also made a way that they could attain another life into the future (from their perspective). From what my grandson and I saw and experienced, we now better know that primitive societies were really quite advanced to be able to cut, transport, and assemble what resources were available - stone. Very inspirational trip!!

Really great trip, Galal was a fantastic guide. Lots of early mornings so I felt like I needed another holiday when I got home but we covered and saw so much over the course of a week

I have always dreamt of visiting Egypt and seeing for my self the many ancient wonders going back to the dawn of history. This trip was a dream come true. Having been back a few days I find it hard to believe I have seen and learnt much about so many awe-inspiring ancient monuments, the life of the Pharoahs, and experienced this wonderful diverse country with its friendly welcoming population. Yes there were many traders selling their wares at most places we visited, but this did not detract from the beauty and the history. Most were very polite and, bearing in mind the average salary is only 7000 Egyptian pounds per month (a little under £300 at the current exchange rate of 23.6) who can blame them for trying to extract the tourist dollar the economy depends so much on. They have some wonderful souvenirs at mainly very cheap prices too. This trip packed in so much - it is not for the infirm or feint hearted - although there is plenty of opportunity to opt out and rest if required. Personally I felt obliged to make the most of the trip and see and learn as much as possible. The Cruise upon our boat Mirage I was sublime with stunning sunsets and amazing views as we chugged up the great Nile to Aswan. The crew were friendly and helpful and a good variety of delicious freshly cooked food - and plenty of it. Overall a dream come true and an amazing experience shared with a great bunch of people on this trip!

I've always been interested in Egyptian history and when friends suggested joining this holiday I booked straight away. And it didn't disappoint. Seeing & being able to touch stones & hieroglyphics that were put there thousands of years old was magical. Watching the scenery change as we cruised south on the Nile was also really good. Overall the tour was seamlessly organised and managed by our excellent guide, Sayed Mansour, who always made sure everyone was clear on timings and locations. He has an encycolopedic knowledge of both the country's history and also its modern day affairs. On the negative side, this trip is described as 'leisurely' which our group would dispute: we had 3 ultra-early wake up calls (2am & 3am twice) to catch planes and for the 300km coach drive to Abu Simbel. And there were early starts all other mornings too to beat the heat. This & the temps made it very sapping. The temps were much hotter (in mid to high 40sC) than usual as Egypt was having a heatwave, so drinking lots & loose clothing were musts. Thank goodness for air con on the coach & in our rooms!

I loved this trip overall. It was pretty full on from the start in Cairo and I wondered whether I would last the pace. It was more relaxed although still busy once on the cruise, and was great having some downtime on the deck between trips. The trips were really interesting and we learned a lot about ancient up to modern Egypt ….. still getting my head around all the Gods! It surprised me just how many tourists were around when we visited. Our group plus Rania our group leader got on really well which was lovely, although we had 19 which is higher than my previous Exodus trips.