Destinations

I probably think about parts of this trip everyday. It was well organized and planned by Encounters, and the guides and staff in Egypt are amazing human beings. Go on every extra side trip and mini adventure you can. We went in the pyramids and the camels ride behind the pyramids, went to Ramses II tomb, on a hot air balloon ride over Luxor, and to Alexandria, in addition to the amazing things to do on the trip. It was well worth the money. It was absolutely amazing everyday. Tips: Don't expect customer service to directly answer your questions. Mariska only sends generic emails. At least 4 people on our tour experienced this. The other staff and their amazing customer service makes up for this. Bring toilet paper, small 1 Egyptian pounds for the bathrooms, and expect to tip everyone. Also, its good to bring Imodium, heartburn, and allergy meds just in case i would go on this trip again...
With all we did and the amount of travel, I was shocked at how cost effective the tour company made it. You get your money's worth after you think about busses, felucca sailboat, overnight train, hotel rooms, and the amazing tour guide.

Everything went really smoothly on the booking end and on the ground in Egypt. The only surprise was when arriving jet lagged at the hotel being presented with a list of fees that needed to be paid right then. The problem was that everything up until then had these fees in US dollars and now the fees were in Egyptian pounds. It pretty much cleaned out our stash of Egyptian money. Had we known we had to pay in Egyptian currency we would have sought out additional currencies places at home to get us the funds we needed. (Banks wouldn't order the funds). However after that the tour itself was great. Our guide Emad did a great job.
This was a great way to see all the primary historical sites in Egypt efficiently and with ease. I can't imagine how slow and difficult it would have been otherwise. It was also a good jumping off point to then spend a few weeks on or own seeing other parts of the country and focus on modern day Egypt

Great tour and good help and quick response from the office. .
It was really good and loved the trip to the village where no other tourists go. The tour guide gave us a real Morrocan flavour. A map of Marrakech and also of the tour route would be a great welcome touch.

Response to emails and phone calls was a little delayed and some of the information relayed turned out to be incorrect when I arrive in South Africa. Thankfully my tour guide Gertrude was amazing and figured everything out for us.
Gertrude and Martin was wonderful. They both took such great care of us. There were only 13 people on the tour which was perfect. Too many more and it would have been impossible for the group to come to consensus.

Very nice to have "hand holds" throughout, especially at Egyptian airports and all the staff were so friendly and helpful. Would recommend.
Fantastic tours and guides with good knowledge - the holiday does go at a pace however, to get everything in - no lie-ins if you really want to see everything! Egypt is a place I wouldn't really want to negotiate/navigate through on my own - Encounters saved a LOT of time and stress.