Great Britain

My travel buddies and I decided to visit the amazing city of Egypt and Petra! Our destination was pretty long flight from LAX to layover at London then fly to Cairo Egypt. As soon as we got there it was about 3 a.m. and one of the encounter guide was there to pick us up. Got to the hotel, just to fresh in up a bit, had breakfast at 6 a.m. no sleep, then met our tour guide name Islam Gaber he explained everything what we were going to do for the first tour until the last tour will do with him. He was very friendly and funny. He made sure everyone was okay and comfortable. He even gave us a Santa clause hat and we took a group picture! Islam would tell us the history of the city and sometimes give us trivia if we will remember what we learned. He made it FUN! All of our new friends in our tour was pretty amazing! We all got along! The History was amazing!!! Temples, Kings, and the Tombs. We all had a great conversation with Islam and he was helpful in every way. The one thing I will never forget was our experience in the train, Cairo to Luxor. 9 hour train ride... WOW!! But Islam Gaber made sure we are okay and our luggages was complete.
Our bus drivers was great as well but I don't remember everyone they were as friendly as Islam. Everyone liked the Nile River boat sometimes you just need some self reflections.. My experience over all with Cairo and Luxor tour was something I will never forget! Thank you for everything you did for us Islam Gaber, if you need a tour guide please add him with your travel in Egypt, Cairo and Luxor. After this tour my tour group were headed to hurghada egypt and that's where we met Big Mo. I got to see the red sea, he was funny and friendly as well. after this tour me and friends were headed to Jordan Petra. That was an amazing place! We also met our tour driver name Amer Abu Rezeq if you guys need a tour driver his awesome!
I had an incredible amazing tour with every city we visited!! Something you need to experience when you only live once. Thank you! Everyone!

Fantastic Adventure! The monuments, tombs, pyramids, temples & statues of ancient Egypt are absolutely breathtaking. Add the considerable knowledge of our Egyptologist guide, Mohammed, plus the excitement of oversight trips by train and felucca and this vacation is truly the adventure of a lifetime! We couldn’t have been more pleased with our tour guide. He was friendly, funny, caring and extremely knowledgeable. Encounters Tours are absolute masters of logistics, flawlessly executing transportation, meals, admissions, etc. for a diverse group of travelers. Our small group (14 people) made it very easy for us to quickly become friends with other travelers from the U.S., Australia, Spain & Great Britain. We would highly recommend this tour!

We originally booked our 10day tour with a groupon deal and we’re plesently surprised at how well the deal worked out. We had some issues getting into contact with the booking agency over the phone I’m the USA, but received great email responses from the UK office.

Our tour was amazing! We had the most wonderful guide (Saadoon) who really went above and beyond to make sure we were happy and had whatever we needed for the trip. His knowledge and expertise was evident in the wealth of information he shared at the various temples. He always had some new interesting fact to point out at each of the temples so it was not just seeing the same thing over and over. I highly recommend him as a tour guide!

Our tour started in Cairo and went to Aswan and Luxor with various activities and day trips sprinkled in between our travel days. The overnight trains were a fun experience, but even better was the overnight on the sail boat on the Nile. It was a little confusing learning that we would not actually travel to a new city via the boat, but it was a delightful evening sailing around Aswan none the less.

Luxor was the highlight of the trip, seeing the Valley fo the Kings and Karnak. If you only book a short trip, I highly recommend Luxor and Aswan. I don’t think It would be too possible to plan a trip to Egypt on my own so booking a trip through an agency is the best way to go.

Encounters Travel leaves no stone unturned. Every part of each leg of the tour is timed so whatever mode of transportation, whether boat or bus we will be picked up in a timely manner. It all starts at the airport where I was met. You get escorted through the customs area with your luggage. If you ever want to experience VIP treatment you might want to try this company, at least arriving in Egypt.

You get an arrival lecture for about 10 minutes that will inform you what to expect and things to avoid. This is helpful because I was approached several times by locals who want me get involved in some sort of business transaction. You're also told that you should drink bottled water because while the locals can drink it your stomach will react differently. It's true because I always drank bottled water but I remember eating some soup then my stomach felt odd. I'm often prepared so I brought along Loperamide which came in handy and worked and saved the day.

Mahmoud, our tour guide, really knows his stuff. I felt like I was back in college with a history professor who could rattle off names and dynasties with ease. So maybe we should call him the professor. I have to admit I often wander off while being caught up in certain exhibits. The very last night at the Khan-el-Khallili bazaar I actually arrived at the meeting point too early since we were given about an hour. Then I went walking around again but this time got lost. Beware it's a labyrinth in there. But luckily for me I had stopped by a drug store to purchase an item, and the plastic bag had the name of the drug store along with the address. So with the help of some good people I made my way back to the waiting bus. I met a shopkeeper along the way who told me he used to live in Santa Monica, California. Great maybe he would be nice and leave me alone I thought? He saw the chain I was wearing made of stone that I bought off a Nubian man. He told me that he can sell me better than that and this is just stone. I told him it's lovely and I like it. I don't think that is the response he was looking for but it's the truth I adore those polished stones.

The hotels we stayed at all had security. It's because I pay attention to international news I could appreciate the security. We did travel with an armed guard. At the Giza Pyramids there is a lot of security. Just today in the news I see where a tourist bus like the ones we were on in Giza was attacked by an IED a controlled bomb,, that was in a wall. Unfortunately the tour guide was killed along with three Vietnamese tourists. Sadly I could have been a victim because I was there three weeks ago. I extend my condolences to the unfortunate victims. We travel because we want to experience other cultures and see historical sites in person. We can't let evil stop us. Also tourism is a great industry to provide jobs. If I stayed at home and cower I would have missed out on meeting some wonderful people on my tour including our tour leader, Mahmoud.

There are times when I was able to walk around on my own. At times I felt like I had a shadow. Someone would impromptu join me for a walk and strike up a conversation. Some even told me I look like an Egyptian. And walk like an Egyptian. I thought that was funny because many years ago there is a song with that title. I reminded one person there is a song with that name. I can't say I ever felt unsafe walking around. However you can easily feel overwhelmed when people invite themselves to be part of your company. I like to walk around and get a feel for places I visit. But just stepping out of the hotel a taxi will offer me a ride. Or someone with a horse offers me a ride. I used to think that a couple riding in a horse carriage look good not just a solo person like me. I think I would come across as too ostentatious to be ridden around in a horse carriage all by myself. All that would be missing is all white attire, and a white hat like the colonial British being transported around in Africa. Nothing against the hustlers but I love to walk.

The wifi in most of the hotels was slow except for the Sheraton Hotel. I wish I had spent another night there. I have to write them a great review. They sure know how to spoil their guests. Anyway the bad thing is having to leave. I was picked up 4 hours before my flight. So I had a breakfast box which is not the same feeling as being able to walk around and choose what I want to eat. By the time I went through the first layer of security, checked my luggage with the airline counter, go through departing immigration and got my exit stamp I still had three hours to wait in the airport. Of course I would prefer to spend more time in my hotel room than in an airport lounge. The wifi at Cairo airport is not free even though I read it is free for about 30 minutes. Luckily I had a Vodaphone sim card that I could use while waiting to board and go through the second set of security. So maybe pick up time could be at least less a half hour to eat some breakfast at the hotel.

That sweet potato and ice cream desert on the last night got me thinking. How about being given a choice of desserts since I'm paying. Usually if everything is included and I don't need to pay anything I can live with it. But once I have to pay for the meal I am eating I want to be in charge of what I'm eating. Or at least give me a choice. I eat sweet potato sometimes but will never eat it with ice cream ever again. I think the ice cream alone would have sufficed.

Thanks for the great experience and making this a memorable tour and birthday surprise.

The best trip ever.The best value for money 5-star hotels personal tour guide all day activity well planed with a lot of it nice experience plus very friendly staff which attend to your need but make sure not to miss any experience.we got more than we expected.since we arrived we forgot about luggage worries and we sunk into the history, activities, and relaxation I am recommending this tour cause it has everything history adventure and relaxation.One more thing about safety I felt safer here than on the streets of London Manchester or Paris