How was your Explore Tour Leader?

Mohammed was an excellent tour leader, very knowledgable and clearly passionate about Egypt and Egyptology, organised everything very well as well as being very friendly and approachable.

What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?

The time at the Pyramids is quite limited so if you want to see these in depth, consider arriving a day early and having an extra day at the site - it's an easy taxi ride from the hotel. Fight the temple/museum fatigue and definately visit Luxor Museum and Luxor Temple on the final day - they're well worth it. Apply bug spray liberally on the felucca, the mosquitos are very hungry. Try to avoid a first floor room in the Luxor hotel. And don't be tempted to order the pigeon!

Do you have anything else to add?

This is a very well designed and balanced tour, with intensive historical and cultural exploration interspersed with a very relaxing and enjoyable Nile sailing trip (definately better than a cruise ship). There is a lot of hassle for tourists in Egypt so a tour like this will allow you to enjoy the highlights of the Nile Valley in (relative) peace. It's also a great time to visit the country as the main sites are far less crowded than before the revolution.

How was your Explore Tour Leader?

Our tour leader, Mohamed Atta was exceptional. I have done a few Explore trips and trips with other companies and he was the best. Very knowledgeable but he really tried to pace the historical information. His Engish was outstanding very dubious jokes though!!

What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?

"Clear you camera card and take your charger. Work out how to take pictures on your camera in low light without the flash. You can take pictures of people and animals - it is worth the 50 pence they would expect.
Take the toilet paper from the first hotel in your bag. Get some 1 Egyptian Pound coins early on as they are needed for loo stops.
You do need a good sleeping bag for the boat in February. - and take a small pillow.
Take a head torch.
Practise camp fire songs for when the group look to you for a song!"

Do you have anything else to add?

Take lots of friends with you as Egypt's tourist trade is vey slow and a lot of lovely people there need the living.

How was your Explore Tour Leader?

He was great, when train from Cairo to Aswan was 10?hours late he arranged for sandwiches to be delivered to Luxor station for us - what a star.

What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?

Beware the touts! The hassle was incredible, even with La Shrukra, they never accepted no and I would not go back to Egypt because of this relentless  barrage.

Do you have anything else to add?

Filled in the report and gave it to tour leader before I left

If you are want to experience the history and culture of Egypt then this trip is a fantastic way to do it. Visiting the Pyramids on the first day really kicked the trip off for me and it was non-stop from there. Relaxing on a felucca for a few days was a great way to catch your breath and absorb everything we had seen. The highlights for me had to be the early morning trip to magical Abu Simbel and the early morning swims in the Nile while sailing, but our visit to a Nubian village for dinner under the stars was also a pretty special evening. Make sure you bring hand sanitiser, 3/4 length shorts, walking sandals, small change for tipping and some UK / US currency to purchase your visa with. (NF -2nd October 2010)

One highlight was definitely the incredible Pyramids of Giza. Don’t forget to see the Dashur pyramids.  Felucca trip was great, relaxed and well planned with plenty of stops along the Nile bank. You got to know the people with you very well and it was a greater experience than being on one of the big cruise ships as you had more of a Nile experience. Swim in the Nile it was lovely!   Advice - hand sanitizer is a must, use it everywhere. Be wary of the locals wanting to show you a mini tour at sites or around town, even the tourist police - they will want money. Bargaining - Negotiate hard and walk away if you don’t get your price, it drives them crazy and they usually give in to get the sale. (NFR- 7th August 2010)