Top Egypt Day Trips

I can't even describe what a wonderful experience today was. I have dreamed of seeing the pyramids my entire life (48 years now). You need to book this with a guide, it made the day magical. Esaam was incredible. Exploring the sites with an actual Egyptologist was amazing. His insight was so enlightening. I will be back to Egypt and I will be doing more tours with him.

Alaa (Aladdin) was an extremely patient and friendly driver. I did the half day tour to Saqqara/Dhashur/Memphis and he took me to each site and more comfortably and safely. I'd definitely recommend. He did ask me at one point if I wanted to visit a carpet museum, to which I replied "no" and that was that. (I'd read reviews from some people saying they were driven round tourist trap shops). Would definitely recommend, just make sure you know what you want to see and where you want to go - Alaa's English was quite poor (we communicated with Google translate), so consider this a personal driver/Uber as opposed to a tour. Sidenote: I only paid for car+driver, there are also car+driver+guide options but I cannot speak for those

We had the best time visiting the Pyramids with Hossam. He is so kind and patient, and his explanations of the sites were fascinating. He really went above and beyond, even acting as our personal photographer so we could just enjoy the view. Thank you, Hossam, for such a wonderful day!

The driver was respectful. Arrived promptly. He didn't make me feel uncomfortable as a solo female traveller. He's also a careful driver, avoiding road bumps and potholes. He sign posted me to the ticket stand and didn't just drop me off at the car park. He did not smoke in the car. I will recommend Mohammed from Nubia. I had read bad reviews about Emo tours prior to travelling and I was avoiding them. I only realised when the driver arrived that it was an emo tours tour. I found Abu Simbel underwhelming and not worth the hype. I prefer Karnak and Luxor Temples the statues and every other thing.

As others pointed out, the tour includes only the driver and the guide is waiting for you on site and gives you 15 min explanation. You have 2 hr to explore Abu Simbel which is beautiful and magnificent. As long as you are aware of this, and accept it, it is a good tour. Lunch included is a traditional Egyptian food which was surprisingly good. The driver did not speak English well, but was very nice and accommodating

The visit to Petra is simply amazing. It is well worth the time spent getting there, however there is no escaping the fact that it is very, very long. Our trip started at 00:45 and ended at about midnight. It was all incredibly efficient though and by and large ran like clockwork. The only delay was when we arrived in Aqaba we were kept on the ferry for about an hour as a customs officer hadn’t turned up. There’s quite a bit of queuing too, you queue to leave Egypt and again to enter Jordan, and then the reverse on the way back. It is mostly queuing outside, it’s still dark (in early Feb) and was quite cold so make sure you have a jacket with you. The guides were great, and our tour bus catered for three languages. I saw previous reviews where people said that people spoke over the guides when it wasn’t their language but that wasn’t our experience. Petra itself is a sight to behold, absolutely stunning! The Treasury, jaw dropping! And the site is huge, we could have done with an entire day as you just can’t see it all in the few hours you are there for. There is a walk of around 45 mins in each direction which is downhill on the way in and therefore uphill on the way out. We are both 65, and quite active, but had no issues at all with the hike. You can take a golf buggy (which I think is $22 cash each, one way. Please check as I’m not too sure, or take a horse). We felt the lunch at a nearby hotel wasn’t great, but as it came at the end of the visit to Petra and we were about to sit on a coach for several hours, it was better not to over eat! Some have complained about the toilet stops being at shopping villages to buy souvenirs, but I couldn’t really see any other options. That said, there was absolutely zero hassle where we stopped, the vendors showed respect and left you alone to browse in peace. And no tips required to use the toilet! Don’t be put off by the journey, it really wasn't too arduous! Petra is an unforgettable experience, the Jordanian people are so friendly and welcoming, it is well, well worth it! I’m not sure why no one offers a two or three day trip though, if they did, we would have done that instead.

If you want to get the best from Cairo in one day, this is the tour to go for! Our guide Amira was excellent! She’s an Egyptologist and was very knowledgable. She was one of the best guides we had during our time in Egypt and would recommend the tour with her to everyone. Our driver Mohammed was very good and polite as well. He came about 15 minutes before the scheduled time and drove us safely through the crazy traffic in Cairo and back to our hotel in Giza. We booked just Car and Guide and there were no problems with buying the tickets on-site. Even in high season there were no queues and you can pay by card everywhere, except the 50E£ car fee to the Citadel.

It was a very interesting experience. Our guide was fantastic. He was great at storytelling and had a lot of knowledge. He was also very open about his own experiences and opinions and it was a great eye opener for foreigners like us. We visited several churches and a synagogue which carry a massive amount of history. I am not sure if it’s mentioned in the itinerary, to get to the last church you have to drive through the so called ‘garbage city’ - which is not for everyone- and so was visiting the city of the dead - but we are glad we did that as it’s a fascinating part of Cairo. Highly recommend this tour. Our tour guide was William - very knowledgeable!