Top Rated Private Customizable Day Tour to Alexandria from Cairo
Cairo, Egypt
Top Rated Private Customizable Day Tour to Alexandria from Cairo
Cairo, Egypt
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
An excellent value for the money, this full day trip to Alexandra—Egypt’s second-largest city—is led by an Egyptologist guide. Relax in an air-conditioned vehicle with on-board WiFi during the approximately three-hour drive to Alexandria. Then choose four activities from the provided list for a customized tour of the city. Entrance fees, and snacks, and bottled water are included.
- Full day trip to Alexandria
- Private tour is fully customizable
- Entrance fees, and on-board WiFi included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off included
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.4
based on 143 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Leslie_R, Mar 2024
First off they were 40 minutes late and no apology or nothing. Then we get in the car and we tell her the 4 places we are choosing from the list and she says no she will not take us there she will only take us to 3 places that she chooses. We went to the catacombs the fort and the pillar. We wanted the catacombs, library, museum , botanical garden. She then let us know she has us a lunch reservation. We get there and find out that she has pre selected our meal and then spoke arabic to the waiter when we asked for a menu to see the prices because she was telling us it was 30.00 a person and 5.00 a coke and if you have ever been to Egypt you know that is 200% more than you should be paying. They both refused and she told us it was the only place she would take us for lunch. She then refused to also let us see the bill because by then we have figured out we are buying hers and her husbands lunch, he is an intimidating guy so and we had to still get back to Cairo so we were stuck more or less. So to sum it up, she honored only 1 place of the booking and then stole her lunch from me. Avoid. Her name was Noura. Also she knew nothing about the 3 places she did take us and physically wasnt even capable for walking to the sites so we were just dropped off each time.
Jennifer_a, Jan 2024
Amina was a wonderful tour guide. She was very honest and when some of our activities were not as expensive as other options, she let us know so we could add extra things.
The only thing that I'm not sure how we missed on our research, was that there are zero bones in the catacombs besides a few in a display of horses. It was still very interesting and fascinating. We enjoyed the tour very much.
Alejandro_T, Jul 2023
Very good option to visit Alexandria in one day. Driver picked me up . He didnt speak english but was very friendly and made everything to make me feel confortable. Tour guide very knowledgeable but not friendly and hard to communicate in english
William_T, Jun 2023
I booked this trip last minute at the end of an Egypt trip with a major international touring company because they did not have enough people who wanted to extend their trip with an extra day to Alexandria. I can't say enough how Ahmed (driver) and Eslam (tour director) went out of their way to make sure that I had a wonderful experience. Compared to the "large touring company" guide, Eslam was every bit as informative and knowledgeable, and knew all the best spots to see, dine, grab a turkish coffee, and do so safely. Of the seven offerings, we visited the catacombs, Pompey's pillar, the Fort of Qaitbay, and we even went "off the list" to St Marks Coptic Church (at my special request). We also planned to go to the new Alexandria library, but by time we had seen all the above, and had lunch, it was closed. Lunch was at a wonderful seafood restaurant on the bayside called The Fishmarket. I give these guys a 10 out of 10! Really special day.
Robinm_C, Apr 2023
No guide from beginning, just driver from Cairo to Alexandria. Old dirty car. No wifi as advertised. No drinks snacks as advertised. Driver was 30 minutes late and then stopped for petrol and to clean car. Guide rushed me around the sites and insisted it was a visit to 3 sites and not 4 as advertised. I insisted on the. 4 and got the 4. No general history on Alexandria joust explanations on sites visited.
Do not recommend. 3rd terrible trip with Viator suppliers in Egypt.
Anthony_L, Feb 2023
Stay away from this tour company. They are very low quality and a border-line scam. My tour guide was very friendly but had extremely limited English and to claim he was a "qualified Egyptologist" is an absolute joke. Then came the lunch situation. Lunch was not included on this tour. They took me to a tourist restaurant with a nice ocean view. I wasn't shown any kind of menu nor were prices discussed, they simply brought me a plate of food. It wasn't until after the meal I was informed that the price was $40USD which, if you have traveled in Egypt, you know is an exorbitant and outrageous amount for a single (very average) meal and is designed to scam you into simply giving them a big extra bonus. The whole experience left me feeling very upset and I would never recommend this company to anyone.
Susan_M, Jan 2023
My complaint about this tour is that we did not get what was advertised on the Viator website. The description on the site is that you get to choose 4 activities from a list and entrance fees are included. It also says that lunch is included. The tour we got included only 3 activities and we were told of we wanted to do any more we had to pay the entrance fee. Also lunch was not included and we were taken to a restaurant where our guide arranged for a set meal for us. She then paid the bill and said we could reimburse her. We were told the cost was $30 per person which would be a very expensive lunch in Egypt. So we did not get what we thought we were paying for when we booked the tour.
shyam_p, Aug 2022
To walk on the sands to time, close ones eyes even if to only imagine the daily rigmarole of folks back then (let alone the glorious confluence of Pharonic and Hellenistic civilizations of Alexandria) - is such an humbling experience. Hark to the whisperings of souls at Kom El Shoqfa catacombs, touch the mighty Mediterranean Sea, stand on the ramparts of Qaitbay and gaze into the blue waters - a day is not enough to take us back into aeons. One can only feel a tinge of pain seeing the manner in which these are cared for today.
Our guides - Mary and Amir, were a joy to ride with. They did a fabulous job in sharing the richness of the ancient history, shielding us from hawkers and showing a trick or two. Mary followed up with us the day before, picked us right on time from our hotel and filled the car with water (small gesture but very important, given the heat and walking). Lunch of course was very exciting when Mary introduced us to Koshary (all veg). For the brave at heart skip the tomato sauce and go for the red stuff :)
Our three disappointment though are
1. Not being to able to see more (as advertised) - but understandable. One cannot do more than 3 (tops 4) items on the list in a day - especially factoring drive to/from Cairo. Kids have this innate and unstoppable ability to soak things up and our 8 yr old (who is genuinely interested in ancient history, thanks Percy Jackson) was NOT happy when the tour ended and kept saying 'but there are 7 items on the list - we GOT to do them'. Viator could highlight this in tour description.
2. Lunch was great, no doubt, but the place was well... a hole. The least we expected was a restroom after an exhausting half, but the restaurant did not even have one. Mary had to finagle something out, but the condition was disastrous.
3. With 3 in our group, definitely would have preferred a larger vehicle... not bad for short trips, but we did feel crammed on the back of compact car.
All in all, the sites are worth every minute (for folks tuned into ancient history) and our guides did their best given the means but made it up with their positive energy.
Ashley_H, Apr 2022
The trip was comfortable. It was a beautiful day and guide was knowledgeable.
We have a few recommendations:
1. Encourage tour guides to accompany guests into locations (at the very least, the catacombs).
2. We felt the citadel was a beautiful, worthwhile place to visit both inside and out. We suggest guides encourage guests to visit the interior.
3. Provide guides with a consistent list of places where bags and cameras are allowed or not allowed, and stick to the locations listed on the itinerary.
We had a great time visiting Alexandria, and we learned a lot. Shukran!
Jose_V, Mar 2022
Very poor administration. They picked us up 2 hours late. This was a private tour. The viator tour description included all entrance fees to the sites. As we started the tour, the guide said that admissions were not included. After several calls to the office, they agreed to cover the fees. The attractions covered by this tour are, in my opinion, unremarkable for a such a long trip.
Marta_M, Mar 2021
The trip was good because of the very nice guide and excellent driver, and the lunch at the restaurant that was very good.
However, the company needs to clarify that the trip is not really customizable, because they usually do 4 stops, and it was not possible to add a fifth one. Also, they need to update the information on the trip, there was not a 2 hour stop at the Library because we couldn’t enter.
It’s a long trip, so it would have been nice to have been able to see more places over there.
Coleen_T, Mar 2020
We have used your company extensively over the years and have always found our excursions to be a joyful experience. This was not by any stretch. Our guide was late to start which set us back on time. When we arrived at Alexandria while touring he not only couldnt answer our questions he was actually giving us misinformation. He told us the romans destroyed the lighthouse in 400 ad which i knew to be false. He didnt even know the history of the lighthouse which i find unacceptable. While that example is the most egregious it by no means was the only instance. He also made the driver take him on a personal stop which caused us an extra hour of travel time. When i noticed we had just taken a 45 minute circle so he could pick something up i asked him about it. He responded it was just a small circle and went silent. We had expressed at the beginning that we needed to be back early in order to change our flight in these trying times. He said we would be back at 4 at the latest. We arrived at 6. When we went to lunch he left us and ate by himself. The servers didnt speak english well at all which left us with an inability to convey what we wanted/needed. We also thought this was poorly done. He also stayed in Alexandria and left us with the driver who spoke spotty english at best. The driver did his best and was quite adept at his job. His name was ahmed and i dont think he was at fault for anything. We felt like the guide was using our excursion to fulfill his own personal needs which is not proper at all. The entire experience was quite bad. Our tour guide was named hima. I only express this so other travelers will not have the same experience. I am requesting a full refund.
Lubna_Q, Feb 2020
This was a relaxing trip. We selected the Montaza Garden, Museum, and Library. We didn’t have time to add a 4th as the gardens are on the far East side of Alexandria. There was no WIFI in van as advertised nor snacks but water bottles were on hand. Mohamed, our guide, was very helpful in accommodating all our requests. We preferred missing a 4th destination to see the gardens. It really was the highlight of the tour. The serene atmosphere was welcome after the loudness of Cairo. The library was our second favorite. Lunch was provided at a time that worked for us. Very nice tour!
Nathan_A, Feb 2020
We were very pleased with our guide Mohammed and our driver Hany. Mohammed is very proud of his Egyptian heritage and demonstrates both with his excellent knowledge of Egyptian history and his effort to ensure we enjoyed our time with him. The driver Hany may be the best driver in all of Egypt and knows all the back streets in Alexandria and Cairo to save time. If you have the time to visit Alexandria, we recommend this tour. It was a good value for the price.
ccmkp, Feb 2020
Drier was not good. Guide was OK & knowledgeable . They came late and not programmed the tour properly. We missed some places due to their inefficiency
JohnDavid_V, Dec 2019
Thank you Ahmed Elsayed and the driver Ayman for being great tour guides in my trip to Alexandria they were both friendly, patient, observant, and knowledgeable of both the geography and history/culture pertaining to the entire trip. Definitely reccomend these two if you ever wish to travel to Alexandri la or anywhere in Egypt
Amyland14, Dec 2019
Medhat(Prince of Alexandria, Egypt) Amazing guy and proficient. He is very knowledgeable in history of Egypt. Thankyou to Let's Explore Egypt. Eslam is a wonderful driver, very friendly, and nice. Had lunch at the Mediterranean Fish Market Restaurant, in Alexandria, Egypt and the lunch was great. I was very happy when I visited Abo el abas mosque. Very beautiful mosque!
Nancy_A, Nov 2019
I went 11/18/2019. Our guide was super nice and friendly. He checked to see if we were good, and asked if we wanted to stop to get breakfast before starting our tour. He gave explanations even whilst between destinations and he asked if there was anything we wanted to do or see in particular at the destinations and beyond that when we had extra time.
Philippe B, Nov 2019
Tour is very good but compared to other places in Egypt, no many remaining things to see
The Guide and driver are very nice. They don't push you in touristic shops like many other guides.
Temples are almost fully destroyed (no much remaining), at the place of antique Lighthouse a nice middle age Castle, New librairy (nice but still a new building).
Gail_J, Nov 2019
The guide was very knowledgable and the driver was careful and competent. Alexandria is an interesting city to visit. This tour was complete, in that the guide Mayada brought us to the catacombs, the museum, several sites and lunch. Good value.
porkchop2018, Nov 2019
Our car and driver picked us up right on time for the drive to Alexandria. Saw all of the sights we wanted to see and then has a wonderful lunch at the Fish Market restaurant with view of the harbor. After lunch got a tour of the Alexandria Library. Great day with an exceptionally good guide, Hosny. Well worth the time.
Constance_H, Oct 2019
Highly recommend you take a day tour to Alexandria from Cairo. Loved the scenic drive and all the city had to offer. Our guide and driver were 45 minutes late, but we did not fell rushed by their timing issue.
Jonathan_B, Oct 2019
The tour is good with a pickup at your hotel from Cairo/Gizeh and a short halt along the way to Alexandria in a (clean) road stop. However, the tour is not customizable as they bring you to the Catacombs, the Pillar of Pompei, the Citadel of Qaitbay and the Library. Those were the sites we wanted to visit so it didn't matter, but be advised that there is no "choice". The lunch was very good. The guide Shawky was OK even though he talks too loud (he used to be a teacher...).
Anthony_A, Oct 2019
I booked this tour through Viator. The tour group who operates it is called Let’s Explore Egypt.
When they came to pick (driver and tour guide) me up from the hotel, I was waiting in my designated lobby 10 minutes before the arrival time. The tour guide came in had no sign didn’t ask where I was and proceeded to walk around the hotel for 15 minutes asking the staff where I was.
The car was completely filthy. And the driver kept blaring his music even though I kept asking him to turn it down. He also kept shutting off the air-conditioning vent in the back of my car considering he was keeping the car hot in over 100° weather. They stopped halfway to Alexandria claiming to get me coffee. I didn’t want any coffee, they just wanted to stop for cigarettes.
The driver cost me two hours of my time in getting me back to my hotel because he choose to drop off the tour guide in a completely different part of the city first without checking with me.
The driver got lost four times driving to my hotel even when I offered him my phone with my GPS he refused to take it. When he finally did use my phone he still was going in the opposite direction of the hotel despite where the GPS was telling him to go. He took me through multiple unsafe neighborhoods and parts of the city where no one is supposed to go...especially if they are foreign to the city. So he literally put my life at risk!
If this was not enough; once I got back to my hotel, I looked up all the information the tour guide gave me today and found out that 75% of it was inaccurate or completely made up.
This tour group should not be permitted to operate on Viator, and I sincerely hope Viator will pull them from their website. They cost me a day of my travel, they put my personal safety in jeopardy, and they completely wasted my time and money.
And if all this was not enough; when Viator contacted them about my complain they claim they never showed up for the tour.
Like I said...Thieves and Liars.
MartinVFR, Oct 2019
Full day trip - we had a very helpful guide Mimo. Knew his stuff and helpful. A great way to see Alexandria
Monaf A, Oct 2019
Worst tour ever. Avoid at any cost. The guide Ahmed Kamal and the driver Ahmed both did not care about us. They only cared about their comfort. To start with they left very small space for us in the back of the car while they have all the space in the front. The guide Ahmed was sleeping all the way from Cairo to Alexandria. Despite asking the guide from the day before to make sure the driver not to drive very fast as our driver from the tour of the day before to the Pyramids made an accident on our way to the hotel, this driver Ahmed did not listen and kept driving nearly 150 miles per hour cutting many cars and kept changing lanes along the way in a crazy way like he is in a race, it was very scary. When we arrived to Alexandria the tour was rushed , less than 20 minutes in each site , all they wanted is to head back to Cairo early. We asked them we do not want to eat lunch , we wanted only something sweet and cold drink, they sat with us on the same table and ordered sea food that took ages to prepare we had to wait for them to finish their food, also they made us pay for our soft drink despite the fact that we did order food. After lunch the library was closed they did not offer to take us to see another site in Alexandria , they said this is the end of the tour and we headed back to Cairo 2 hours earlier than what we paid for. Poor customer service, reckless driving , dishonesty. Overall very bad tour. Avoid.
Janine_K, Oct 2019
We didn't find Alexandria in real life as beautiful as on the pictures in the internet. The tour has some good spots (we chose Fort and library and gardens) but overall the city was not nice. Our guide was very friendly and kind though and spoke very well German. But since we did not like the city we would not recommend the tour
thurman_s, Aug 2019
This was a nice tour and our tour guide an driver made a great team. Alexandria is a nice city and we got a chance to have a great lunch at one of the water side restaurants.
My only complaint is that for a 2 hour drive a more comfortable car be used. A 2 door compact car is not comfortable enough in the back seat even for a medium sized guy like myself. Had to sit sideways for the drive to/and from Cairo.
Bernardo_C, Jul 2019
The tour guy was excellent, and the best part of going with this company is they didn't try to sell you other things or get extra money from me. They were not pushi. They were very professionals! I had a great experience visiting Alexandria with them. I highly recommend to work with this company if you want to visit Alexandria from Cairo.
Cluny_L, Jul 2019
This tour is a must for any one visiting Egypt. Our tour guide Medhat and driver Carim were the best. They went above and beyond what was included in our itinerary. We first started off with breakfast (falafel), additionally Medhat made sure we had water and some snacks before we got on the road for the three hour journey to Alexandria. Once out of Cairo city limits Medhat engaged us in conversation about Egypt and Alexandria. Medhat was very knowledgable as he is a student of history and was from Alexandria. We made a stop at the rest stop along the highway, for some pastries and some Turkish coffee (must have, it tase like chocolate and coffee together). Our first stop was the Catacombs of Kom al-Shoqafa understanding first hand about the Pharonic period, life, death, and the after-life. We then went to Pompey's Pillar which explained even further the impact the Romans and their need to destroy the old library so as not to have any evidence of the old Egyptian Library that existed. As we ventured deep into the old library in which the built ins were the concrete structure itself. Additionally, where meetings were held, were the scribes sat as he recorded the meetings and where the minutes and the agendas were placed to make them accessible for those who were not in attendance or who wanted to know what what took place a the previous meeting. Then we went to Qaitbay Citadel, again even more history about the military importance of Alexandria as a main port to Egypt in which the Seas meet. We got a chance to enter into what was the second oldest Mosque in Alexandria which comprised of the second floor of the citadel. Medhat, was awesome in taking us to lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean Sea! The view was amazing. We drove through town getting a view of the largest mosque in Alexandria, the new library along the promenade and then off to the Museum of Alexandria in which we were able to view the art work of there different period of Egypt to include the Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, and the Coptic, Islamic and Modern Section. We then headed back to Giza, but before we were taken to our hotel we stopped at the Papyrus institute and was given both history and demonstration as to how the paper is made, and the beautiful art that is done over it. We also went to the perfumery and selected some various oils, blends and scents that are the basis of some of our day-to-day perfumes. Experience was amazing!!!
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