Feluccas & Pharaohs - Family Holiday

The experience of traveling in Egypt will be unforgettable. The sites we saw and the activities we were able to participate in were beyond compare. From temples, to pyramids, to tombs, to stand in structures that are thousands of years old was amazing. To see our children absorbing the history of Egypt and the earliest civilizations, seeing the development of various religions, seeing how it all ties to our many varied current cultures was a truly an incredible experience.   Ned, our guide, is a very special person. He was exceptional with the kids. He had a great way of making things interesting and fun for all ages. From the instant we met him, Ned became our brilliant, tireless, trusted teacher, guide, protector and friend. He assisted with every aspect of the trip. He is an amazing soul and we feel honored to have had the opportunity to travel and to learn from him.   We are very glad we made this trip. We hope the change in the political environment doesn't completely stifle the Egyptian tour industry.

[Least enjoyed] Lodging and food. Seems someone could explain to the felucca captains and the Nubian families that rinsing food in bottled watered (vs river water) would help keep us healthy. Sleeping situation was a continuous issue. We wanted double beds and got twins, other family wanted singles got doubles. The first night, there was no bed for our daughter, we had to wait over two hours before we got one. Having an exhausted 8 year on day 1 is less than ideal. Better organization would save such frustrations. Better hotels would be in order. We had broken showers, broken air conditioning, no towels, bathrooms that smelled, filthy floors. The rat in the toilet at one of the pit stops has made for a rather funny story though.   The snorkeling trip in Hurgadha was a cluster, too many people and boats. The boat itself was lovely and fun but we were literally amongst 100s of people in the water. It wasn't a safe situation for someone unfamiliar with the water. Hiring our own boat provided a much better experience.

It was a very nice trip, I only point out the negatives because I believe you as the tour operator should know what the daily issues were. More importantly, with a little better planning and organization most the issues we had could have been avoided. Imodium was a must despite our entire group being very disciplined about washing hands, avoiding raw vegetables and unpeeled fruit. All of us still got stomach bugs that lasted weeks afterwards. Again, seems this could be avoided with a little more attention to detail. I have to believe if the cleanliness issues we had in the room extended to the hotel kitchens its no wonder we all were ill. I do think the buffet at the hotel in Hurgahda, in particular, did us all in, although those rooms were certainly amongst the cleanest we had.  I look to a tour company to help us avoid such situations so hopefully someone will look into some additional hotel and meal options for this tour.

Ned was awesome, brilliant, fabulous, wonderful. We loved, loved, loved traveling with him.

Mrs O - Travelled in June 2012

felucca trip. karnak.

[Least enjoyed] flights late as usual. heathrow is rubbish.

[Itinerary] v good overall.

excellent.

Mr W - Travelled in April 2012

Different highlights for each of us.  My son liked the camel ride, I liked the temples.

[Least enjoyed] The Mosquitos and the hotel in Cairo. I'm sure the brochure said there weren't many Mosquitos but we've never been so badly bitten. Would have preferred an extra night at one of the nice hotels to another night in cairo

Really good bloke, he exceeded expectations and added value to the holiday.

Mr C- Travelled in March 2012

The felucca trip was a wonderful, relaxing interlude in a fast paced itinerary, and a chance to get to know other families. The Red Sea boat trip was our very favourite activity. The Nubian Village meal was also a highlight. The care and service we had from Sun Boat travel was fantastic, with special thanks to Magid, our tour guide.

The last day in Cairo is really a waste of a day. If the itinerary could be arranged to fly back from Hurghada, it would avoid 2 very early mornings and 2 trips through the Cairo traffic. Also, we needed another day in Aswan to recover from the train. Everyone on the trip was too tired to do the Philae temple excursion. The low points were the lack of sleep due to late evenings and early starts, and the hotel in Cairo which was noisy and unsafe.

For the brochure, we would rate the trip as moderate paced, not easy, and for 7+, not 5. It would be worth mentioning that a wet suit is recommended for smaller children as the Red Sea is quite cold in April, and it did seem a bit mean to make us pay for a sleeping bag on the felucca, as no other bedding was provided, and it was necessary.

Aswan piramisa, excellent. Luxor Iberotel excellent. Hurghada Piramisa above expectation, Cairo piramisa standard fine, but noisy and full of groups of young men roaming about. Didn't feel very secure there. Overnight train got a negative review from our family! we didn't know what to expect, but I wish I had, so I could have prepared the children better.

Magid was brilliant

Ms C - Travelled in March 2012

this was our first Adventure Company trip in 2007 and it's a thoroughly enjoyable action packed holiday that all the family enjoyed. Our tour guide Morad was fantastic and so good with the kids