Egypt: Alexandria to Aswan

This is our 11th trip with Exodus and this is the first time there were no significant criticism. We felt all fellow travellers gel very well as a group with lots of laughs. We made new friends which is always a bonus. The itinerary is jammed packed with a few early starts but we went with the flow. Perhaps an extra day would help. We saw lots, exceeding our expectations. From the ancient pyramids, temples, monasteries, Nubian culture & hospitality, bazaars, crazy Cairo traffic, visit to war cemetery, sailing on the Nile, hint of a glamorous era in Alexandria, funeral treasures in the Cairo museum, lunch on a felucca experience, camel rides to Egyptian cuisine - we enjoyed it all.

Thoroughly enjoyed this trip. We had a great variety from ancient Egypt to modern (such as the library at Alexandria). Our guide was terrific, always attentive and prepared. The Nile cruise was a highlight. There were more early starts than I might have liked, but that was dictated by distances we needed to cover. The hotels were rather bland (except for the wonderful one in Alexandria), but no doubt chosen for their cleanliness and safety. The overnight train was a real adventure, although most of our group found it hard to get any sleep. We had an armed guard with us for most of the trip, which was both reassuring and a bit alarming!

I and my wife visited Egypt in this tour with Exodus during Christmas holiday 2021. We have been travelling quite a lot with Exodus and other tour companies. All I have to say, Egypt: Alexandria to Aswan is one of the best tour we had so far. Egypt is a fascinating country which you have to see and to learn. The tour we had worth every penny we paid for. Our guide, Andrew was absolutely helpful and knowledgeable. Very effective and efficient. I have learned a lot from him about ancient Egyptian culture. He opened my eye. Thanks Andrew. The only thing not satisfactory may be the overnight sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan. Our cabin was so cold and the heater was not working. They, the train staff certainly can do it better but they seems just don't care. Overall the tour is good and again very knowledgeable for everyone who has a passion to learn. If you travel in winter and use the overnight train, my advice is to take some warm covering with you.

My first trip to Africa was a revelation! The history and archeological monuments of Egypt greatly exceeded my expectations. The culture is very different from North America and took a bit to get use to. Fortunately our Guide, Andrew N. , did a superb job of bridging the gap between our reality and theirs. Andrew was so much more than a guide , he is academic Egyptologist. We learned so much. Thank you Andrew. We visited over twenty major attractions in the 14 days, each one special and unique. We felt safe every step of the way and I have no problem recommending this trip to those who revel in ancient Egyptian and are not afraid to experience African culture .

A very well planned and operated trip, one of the best I've been on with Exodus. We were a capacity group of 20 and were provided with a superb 40 plus seater luxury coach throughout which greatly enhanced the long often slow travel journeys, particularly in Cairo where our elevated viewing position above the traffic mayhem was a delight. The hotels used and the cruise ship were all of a very high standard throughout the tour. I found the staff welcoming and helpful, particularly on our cruise ship MS Style. The cuisine on the cruise ship was exceptional, and breakfast buffets in the hotels were all very good. My one criticism is that where packed breakfasts were provided these were singularly unimaginative, being heavily bread based, with excessive non recyclable plastic packaging. The Hotel Metropole in Alexandria is an Art Nuveaux time capsule and a real experience to stay in. The Luxor Iberotel Hotel is superbly sited with beautiful gardens and a swimming pool overlooking the Nile; great for winding down at the end of your holiday.

Another excellent Exodus adventure. I was pleasantly surprised that we were fully occupied every day with tours and activities. Temples, tombs, mosques, monastery, local baths, perfumery, pottery, animal sanctuary, papyrus institute, museums, war graves and souqs. We used all forms of transport (luxury coach, horse and carriage, felucca, cruise boat, sleeper train, camel, power boat, plane). Truly a memorable trip, so much fascinating history, colossal architecture and lovely weather too!

This trip has lots of early starts, in fact most days and long days on the road. Reasonable quality hotels are used throughout, excluding the overnight train which was basic first class. It was disappointing that the best hotels had the shortest stays. Trip content was good but often intense, sometimes it felt like too much was being crammed in, but I would argue that the time devoted to the Cairo food tour was excessive, in fact I used it to get a better look at Misra St. Maybe there is room for some rescheduling here, particularly given that the day leads up to the overnight train journey. After the train journey, although the long days continued the intensity relaxed a bit enabling the highlights of the Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel to be enjoyed. Although the Nile cruise was relaxing, I was not prepared for the convoy of cruise boats, although I understand that this is to enable better security for this stretch of the Nile, it does detract from 'cruise' element.

The trip is really interesting and we definitely learnt a great deal about Egypt's history. Starting in Cairo my disappoint came from the choice of hotel. We stayed right on the outskirts opposite the new museum (not open yet) with a great view of a Pyramid opposite. The hotel was of an acceptable standard, but overall, the lowest of our trip, but so far from the city it was difficult to venture out for sightseeing or dinner. The group all agreed that our trip to the museum was too short and as we arrived back at our hotel quite early, we could have stayed longer as there is so much to see. We travelled to Alexandria from Cairo via El Alamein and visited the war museum which is not particularly good. The old colonial hotel in Alexandria is a great spot with a superb rooftop terrace & restaurant. The local fish restaurant was poor quality although it had a great view, so a different venue would have been better. The following morning, we visited the castle which was good, but then on the road again to Cairo for our sleeper train. The round trip took over 9 hours by bus for a one-night stay and although I wanted to visit Alexandria 2 nights would have made the round trip more worthwhile. The sleeper train to Aswan went without hitch and better than I expected for a developing country. Aswan was great and the activities were good with one small issue in that we had a really great meal on our Felucca trip and in the evening a Barbeque on a Nile Island which was much too soon after. The cruise to Luxor was very good quality and my only comment would be lack of language training of the waiters which I think may be due to Covid disruption, although our guide ate with us and was always there to help. The temples were incredible and certainly lived up to or were better than their reputation. The engineering fete of moving 22 ancient monuments is almost as incredible as the original build and Abu Simbel really shows this. A word to would be travellers, this trip is full on and with many early starts to beat the crowds or comply with the Tourist polices schedules. The tourist police are very apparent throughout the trip and in fact on our trip to Alexandria with had an armed guard on the bus who was I have to say was pleasant guy. All in All, the trip was well organised and ran smoothly.

I had visited Egypt before, but wanted the opportunity to see Alexandria, more of Cairo, and aspects of Aswan which I had missed due to gut problems. Plus Luxor is always worth seeing. So the trip worked well for me.

A great introduction to Egypt, with a fantastic guide who really brought it to life. Always on the move, and two or three really early morning starts. Perhaps a day to long in Cairo and the food tour in Cairo was a bit disorganised/rushed. Stops on the way to Alexandria were underwhelming.