We are going on a 10 day tour to Egypt. Most of my friends are recommending that we book the key day tours from here. The rest of the trip we plan to do it on our own
The three day tours are
(i) Day trip to Giza, Memphis and Sakkara
(ii) Abu simbel day trip from aswan
(iii) Desert visit from hurgada
Looking at both Viator, Memphis tours, City-discovery.com
Any recommendations or suggestion for a new one will be of great help
Vidyasagar
Can't help with a tour recommendation - however, would suggest you check out the lonely planet thorn tree forum. You will get a lot more info there.
I have been researching Egypt for a trip this December and I would say for 1) Giza, Memphis, Suqqara - you don't need a tour - you just need to negotiate with a taxi and do it on your own.
Per LP, tourists are not allowed to travel S of Aswan unless in an escorted convoy. Hence, you probably need to get a tour to get to Abu Simbel. The exception to this is the Upper Egypt bus company where a max of 4 tourists are allowed on the bus.
One other suggestion - go to your local library and get the LP book for Egypt - it will list some reliable tour agencies in the different places (i.e Aswan, Hurghada)
Ten years ago, I went to Cairo on business. I arranged the day trip to Giza through the hotel concierge. The concierge negotiated with a taxi driver for me. He also gave the driver very specific instructions (he was to take me only to the pyramids, he was not to stop anywhere else, he was not to take me shopping, and I would not pay him until he returned me to the hotel). It was very inexpensive and the taxi driver waited for me while I went into one of the pyramids and also took me over to see the sphynx. He did deviate slightly by taking me to a place that sold papyrus paintings that was by the pyramids. However, this turned out to be interesting as they demonstrated how they made the paper. I bought something small and I'm sure he got a kickback.
If you are staying at one of the western hotel chains, you could probably arrange your trip to Giza that way.
I found Sakkara Tours (subset of www.sakkaragroup.com) to be knowledgeable and serviceable, if perhaps not terribly exciting. I used them for a several-day trip to Luxor from Cairo in the middle of a 2-week stay in Egypt in February 2010.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions
We are booked with all the trips and can't wait until December to start our trip
Vidyasagar
If you can, will you post a trip report or private message me as I am heading there in March. Thanks! Have a great trip!
I too am headed to Egypt this December and would love to know what your plans are and what tours you have chosen. As with all my travels, I am doing this on my own. Have all the flights booked - found that the Egyptair flights are really cheap if booked form their website but by specifying 'Egypt' as your country. The flights are going to save me tons of time and helps we avoid the overnight trains. The one thing I am still trying to figure out is if I can make it to Abu Simbel or not.
I highly recommend Debbie Senters of Casual Cairo Detours (www.casualcairodetours.com). Debbie is an American from Seattle who has lived in Egypt for many years. I spent some memorable days with Debbie and her Egyptian driver Tareq exploring Cairo, Giza, and other sidetrips. She has a wide variety of tour choices and will work with you to create what you want. She is a "Trusted Member" on the Frommer's Egypt Forum, which is a good site to check out for questions and answers regarding Egypt (http://www.frommers.com/destinations/egypt/) and click on "forums".
Rich We just returned from Egypt and used Debbie Senters of Cairo Casual Detours - As you had pointed out the quality of the tours and guide provided by Debbie Senters was exceptional The guide who accompanied us was Ahmed and he turned out to be very knowledgable and set a good introduction for the rest of our egypt trip. Sagar
