My wife and I went to Egypt on the Temples of Middle Egypt trip in March 2012. There’s lots of things that make a holiday what it is and for this journal, I won’t be concentrating on the sights that you will see, as they are documented elsewhere on other websites. Instead, as a departure from the norm, I thought I would focus on the accommodation used, as Explore generally tend to use the same hotels for quite some time. Accommodation Oasis Hotel, Cairo – Good 4 star hotel right on a main dual carriageway. Don’t worry you won’t hear the traffic noise. Has a swimming pool, but you really won’t have time to use it. No shops or restaurants nearby, so you’ll be eating in the hotel or going to a restaurant recommended by the tour guide. Cleopatra Hotel, El Minga – Typical Explore hotel. Nothing to write home about and serves its purpose. Couldn’t see any restaurants around the hotel, apart from local street restaurants. You can eat in the hotel restaurant. Shopping for provisions won’t be a problem. Assiut Hotel, Assiut – It’s a floating hotel and not a bad one at that. Very quiet in the rooms. No restaurant in the immediate vicinity, but then again I didn’t venture out too far. Shopping for provisions will be OK. Foodwise, it looked and tasted good at evening time (but gave me the runs, but there again I have a dodgy stomach, as no one else had probs), whilst the food was stale at breakfast. Go up on the top deck to the bar and order a strawberry juice – it’s the best thing since sliced bread! I was told there was an internet café near the hotel, but I personally didn’t see it. Emilio Hotel, Luxor - Typical Explore hotel chain. Nothing to write home about. We had good views out of our hotel window, across the river and ruins. Bring your ear plugs – there’s a clothes shop nearby that tends to play loud music, plus you’re right outside an informal bus stop area, so there’s lots of horns honking, but it’s fascinating to watch. Shopping for provisions and internet cafe are very close by. Isis Cornish Hotel, Aswan – Good quality hotel - you won’t be disappointed. Good breakfast spread and right on the Nile with wonderful views. Shopping and internet café all within easy walking distance. M/S Isis, Cruise Ship – Pretty darned good standard, you definitely want be disappointed. Ensuite rooms, lovely décor throughout, dipping pool rather than swimming pool, beverages very expensive so stock up on water and drinks before hand, food absolutely delicious and plenty of it served in a buffet style, internet available on board and only affordable to the most affluent or desperate of travellers. Personal Observations • I’ve been to Egypt twice now, 25 years apart. It’s the only country (and I’ve been to quite a few) where I’ve lost my ‘rag’ with street hawkers, twice, 25 years apart. Luxor was the worst, especially Valley of the Kings. Sometime they’re relentless, intrusive and just don’t accept ‘No’ means No – even after the 10th time of saying it. Our guide was very resourceful. We were unlucky to have a couple of things break on us on holiday and he was able to help us out and repair them via a friend of a friend, where the repair service was extremely cheap and in one instance was repaired in the space of me eating my main course of an evening meal. • If you like temples and tombs, then this is the holiday for you. • Take your torches for the tombs

On booking our trip to middle Egypt, we had expected to find the Pyramids at Giza perhaps the highlight of the trip, afterall, it is one of the wonders of the world...  However, although an amazing spectacle, this wonder was topped by lesser known sites such as the tombs at Beni Hassan where the exquisite paintings were so vivid and the Madium pyramid where being the only group exploring was increadibly exciting, feeling that we were seeing something the average tourist would not. If we had not had the expert tour route from Explore, we would have missed these increadible sites. The trip to Egypt was made all the more magical by the fact that as we cruised into Luxor on on our final my boyfriend Chris proposed. We are currently perusing the Explore brochure looking for an adventure honeymoon, so as you might have guessed I did say yes! (NV - 22nd December 2010)

The trip highlights include Abu Simbel, the ballon trip over Luxor and the camel ride at Aswan. The tour had a excellent selection of sights and activities with a great tour leader. However, I was very disappointed that we weren't on the MS Doma for the Nile Cruise with just our group but that we were on a large Nile Cruise ship (MS Kira). I feel that Explore was amiss in not informing us of these change in advance of our trip. (NV - 3rd November 2010)