Lady Egypt Tours/Experience Egypt - still in business????????//

I had e-mails from Lady Egypt last winter when I was planning an Egypt trip. They were slow to respond but eventually did. I decided not to go with them because of their high price (at least for the service I wanted, an overnight tour of Luxor from a cruise ship port), and the insistence that we pay 100% up front, among other things. It's a very large company and I assume it's still in business.

I went with GAT Tours instead. They were good, professional and reasonable, for a standard tour, which is what most of these large companies do. My contact there was Noha, who was always quick to respond and very flexible when we added people and had several last-minute changes. www.gattours.com, or contact Noha at gat9@gattours.com

I have been e-mailing Mohamed Kamel of Lady Egypt at this address: m.kamel@ladyegypt.com He has been very prompt and has answered all my questions in a day or two. The payment plan he explained to me was 50% at time of booking and the balance 30 days before arrival.

LAleslie and judi_in_guatemala, thanks for the feedback. Judi, I am sending Mohammed an email.

Judi, I gotta say in my experience it's easy to find operators who agree to 50% in advance and 50% on arrival.
What if you get sick, or something else untoward happens? If so, they'll keep all your money. 50% seems more than fair.

LAleslie, I can see your point so that's why I always buy travel insurance. You will be covered for an unexpected illness as well as a variety of other problems that can arise.

I was very happy with Lady Egypt.

I too agree about travel insurance, but you need to check the fine print of the policy.

Another thing that concerns me is that if the company goes bust how are you going to get funds back? Be it 50%, 100% or even 10%.

As least if you by from some tour operators, they belong to organization have some sort of protection from this.

Depending on the policy your travel insurance will cover you if the company goes bust.

I never knew that, thanks P_M, I'll look into this next time I purchase an insurance policy.

And, if you do have insurance and your tour operator does go bankrupt, you'll still be last on the list to collect even if they belong to some organization - years down the road.

that's why I've always dealt with operators in my area who are protected by various organizations, yes, it may cost a little more but I'd hate to be out of pocket for the cost of the trip.

There was a post in the lounge a few days ago, which was interesting about how a cc member was taken for a ride by a company across the country.

I'll find it and post it here, I know that at least if something were to go wrong with my booking at least if my travel agent is local I can go into the office and raise hell before the trip. If they go belly up, then I'm out of luck.

here's the link:-

http://www.fodors.com/community/fodorite-lounge/what-a-mess-220919-2.cfm

sandi I'm confused, I thought the insurance company would pay if your tour company goes bust. That's always been my understanding from TravelGuard, but thankfully I've never had to put it to the test.

PM It depends on the travel company. Insurance companies have lists of companies that they will not cover, which include companies that are in bankruptcy (Delta was on the list while it reorganzied some time back). We are talking about an Egypt-based company, here, and good luck. They are not part of any U.D. based tour operators associaltion.
If you pay with a credit card, that's more secure, but be sure to call and find out what their policy is on collecting on unprovided services. Also, the illness thing has gotten very restrictive. You have to read those policies very carefully. My understanding with ady Egypt and others was that the deposit is non-refundable.

Thanks for that info LAleslie, next time I'll ask TravelGuard if my company is covered.

justshootme: I have added some free days and will have 7 nights total in Cairo at the Cairo Marriott Hotel and will have 17 nights total in Egypt. The final price is $2169 per person in double room; $3255 per person in a single. Maybe a bit more, but hey! I'm worth it!!!

Mucho Gracias, judi_in_guatemala. You are right you are worth it! Enjoy your trip.

Judi-you are paying $2169 for 17 days in Egypt? Is that through Lady Egypt?