Need Help in Planning Trip to Egypt/Israel

ttt

anyone please???

Contact an Israel specialist, as Isram (located in NYC), who also does trips to Egypt and Turkey.

Their trips are mostly groups, but they do individual itineraries; just tell them what you want and they should be able to design as you wish, where, hotels, Nile Cruise (I'd go for the Oberoi Zahara - all suites... their new boat), # of days, guides, etc.

Egypt is terribly hot in July, but so too will be Turkey and Israel.

Thanks sandi,

Can they accommodate upscale travelers?

Do you have a website address?

If you are specific with the accommodations you wish, cruise boat, etc, they should.

Try: www.isram.com or www.isramtours.com

or do a Google search. They're located in NYC on 3rd Avenue.

tripgirl - see my post - link here

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=35105688

Suggest you do it yourself with Ahmed......

Oops - should qualify that post - we booked Egypt/Jordan with Ahmed but I assume he could do Egypt/Israel as well......

elizabeth,

Thanks

are you confident he can put together something very upscale and special. We are used to traveling this way and anything less would be a compromise.

If so, would it be alright to e mail you? Just let me know.

Hi tripgirl - at least as far as Egypt and Jordan goes - yes I'm confident - don't know about Israel though.

For example - the guide Ahmed arranged for us in Jordan had previously guided Laura Bush and Pope John Paul.....he appears to be the go-to guide for VIPs.....

Feel free to email me.

great, what is your e mail address?

Sorry - here it is

eseibertca AT yahoo DOT ca

tripgirl:
Let me respond to Israel. We are leaving for there on May 2 to be there for Israel's 60th anniversary. We have been there before, and therefore have put our own agenda together. We are going with my brother and sister - law who have also been several times. If you e-mail me at spiegelcjs@aol.com and title the e-mail Israel Iteniary, I will send it to you.

If you want to go to places normally not included on tours you might contact the Jewish Federation where you live. They sponsor many different kinds of trips.

Regarding Hotels in Israel I would suggest the Inbal or the Citadel. We have stayed at the King David and although lavish and wonderful the rooms have become slightly tired I am told. Do try to have one Shabbat dinner there, however. We tried to get into these two for our trip but because there are so many tours going when we are they were fully booked.

I do not know where you are located but we used a travel agent in New York that specializes in Israel travel even though we are from LA.I do not know about Egypt.

Regarding temperature, anywhere you go in that area during the summer will be hot. We were in Turkey in July/August a few years ago and when we were there the heat was brutal. I thought I would pass out in Ephesus with heat well over 100 degrees.

In Israel, you can choose a tour guide that is certified by the Ministry of Tourism. To be certified, a potential guide must pass a rigorous 18 month training program. Google "Israel tour guides" and there will be several sites that list certified guides with their specialties, e.g. history, nature etc., and other useful info. All will tailor a trip to your interests.

Dear tripgirl,

We are like you preferring private guides and top luxury travelers. We are also Jewish and we are doing Egypt/Jordan this November. I have contacted A&K and Big Five tours but then also heard from this site about Ahmed Yousif who sounds wonderful. We would also love to do Israel so if you get any info on who to use that would be top notch but also very safe please let me know. My e-mail is charyv@aol.com
Thanks

Tripgirl,
we are going to israel in October. We are using a TA recommended to us named Steve Jacoby 800-247-7235. We also travel upscale. I believe he can help you. Good luck

We are all set for Israel

We are using a TA named Susan Weissberg, she is so far fantastic

We'l let you know how it all pans out

I was in Israel over the summer and had a wonderful guide who very well informed. She also helped us make hotel bookings. I can highly recommend contacting her. Her name is Gila and her email is: gilarose@zahav.net.il

First of all, thank you for the excellent posting on South Africa. I'm leaving for Singita and Capetown towards the end of August and will be visiting many of the restaurants and sites you recommended. I'll be carrying your detailed list of wines.

With regards to visiting Egypt in July, I don't recommend it. Our first visit in 2004 was at the beginning of November, and Luxor and the Valley of the Kings was still very warm, high 90's. We went back in January of 2008 and spent 2 weeks in Cairo, Luxor and cruising the Nile. Magical! The weather was perfect in Luxor, high 60's to low 70's. Our travel agent, Richard Kaufman of Specialty Cruises (richard @specialtycruise.com), booked our itinerary with Egypt Express, a company he has used for many years. The service was outstanding - an Egyptian Express representative at each city, private cars, private guides, tours, etc. All our lodgings were 5 stars - in Cairo we stayed at the Four Seasons The First Residence. Beautiful, huge rooms with a view of the zoo and the piramids. We flew to Luxor and boarded the Sonesta Star Goddess for a 5 day cruise (Luxor to Aswan). The french singer Charles Aznavour was on board and the cruise company arranged for a concert at the Luxor Temple. When the cruise ended, we checked into the Aswan the Old Cataract Hotel. Absolutely lovely hotel. Our room was beautiful, with french windows that opened up to a view of the river. They were closing down for renovations. If they are already open, I would definately recommend staying there. Our guides were all superb, particularly Karina in Cairo. If you are interested, I can get her telephone number and/or email address for you. My mother, who was traveling with me, has problems walking, so at Abu Simbel our Egyptian Express representative was able to get permission to take our car up to the entrance of the temple. All the other tourist who were there with a group were asking how we were able to get the car to the entrance of the temple when they had to walk such a long distance! We traveled from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan to Abu Simbel via Egypt Air. The planes are brand new and the crew very nice. All in all, a magnificent trip.

With regards to Israel, did it on a cruise. Can't help you with hotels, etc., but is a wonderful country.

Tripgirl, hope you enjoy Egypt as much as we did.

Thanks all

We are all set we are using Ahmed Yousif for Egypt and Jordan and we are all set for Israel.
Yes, we are going in June/July : that is all set. We know about the heat and do not care. We are going for a significant birthday celebration for DH.

Thanks for all your suggestions, but we are all set now and do not need any further recommendations for guides etc.

Feel free though to share any experiences you have had in Egypt, Israel and Jordan.

We are working a trip to Israel (and are Jewish) for next year and were reading info that would be helpful. I am trying to convince my husband that we must do at least a short trip to Egypt. Tripgirl - if you are still thinking about Cappodoccia, my niece lives there and would more than delighted to assist. If you want her address you can email me at sfink@comcast.net.

Glad to hear your plans are all in place. We were in Egypt last year and loved it. Just as a point of information, we stayed in the Four Seasons First Residence in Cairo at the start of our trip and three weeks later, when we returned to Cairo at the end of our trip, we stayed at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza. Both are wonderful but we felt the Four Seasons Nile Plaza more upscale. Since this seems an important consideration, you may want to look into that option. You also stated that you want "unique experinces and want to go with a company that can provide some "normally closed to the public" experiences". We went into Queen Nefreteri's tomb in the Valley of the Queens which is normally closed to the public. Most guides will tell you it is closed for renovation but that is not the case. It is very expensive to get in but it is possible. If money is not a consideration try and go. It is simply the most beautiful tomb in Egypt.
In any case, have a wonderful trip. You are in for a real treat!

We are staying at the FS at Nile Plaza while in Cairo.

The rest of our itinerary is:

Luxor: Nile Palace
4 nights aboard the Sonesta Star Goddess: Beetoven Suite
2 nights Aswan: Movenpick Elephantine
On to Jordan staying in Petra one night and 2 nights at the FS Amman visiting Jerash,etc. I know Jordan is short, but we'll go again.
onto Israel( longest part of the trip)
3 nights David Intercontinental in Tel Aviv
Drive up the coast visting Caesarea, Haifa, etc and landing in Tiberias for 2 nights at the Scots Hotel
Visting Safed, golan heights( visiting winery and cheese production, sites all around the Sea of Galilee
Onto Jerusalem, 6 nights , King David Hotel( upgraded Old City view room), visiting all the sites and Masada and Dead Sea for DH's birthday.

So we'll be away about 25 days in total.

Ahmed Hamed Yousif( who has many fodorite fans!) is arranging all for Egypt and Jordan and Susan Weissberg, an agent here in the US ( she was an agent many yrs in Israel) is arranging all in Israel, all along with my own heavy research and suggestions of what we want.

We are very happy with all of our arrangments and are excited!
Our original plans were to include Turkey after Israel, but we decided to leave it for another time and pair it with Rhodes and Simi ( I've been to greece, but not to places closer to Turkey.

hi,

For those still reading and searching for info about Israel trip planning, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will give you the same info that I give everyone on this board who asks about Israel: I would highly recommend that you contact the Alexander Muss Institute for Israel Education: http://www.amiie.org/.

It is a fantastic organization and the staff/guides are brilliant. I used them to plan and guide a private family trip in 2006. I'm quite sure that they can be of assistance to you. David Mitchell, Dean of Education, knew exactly what we wanted and made it happen, beyond our wildest dreams.

best of luck!
anita

I'm so jealous tripgirl, you trip sounds wonderful I love Israel and have been 3 times but would love to go again.

Just thought I'd tell you that we were staying at the King David over Hanukkah and had such a wonderful time at the hotel as we were invited to join in all the celebrations. I'm sure you are going to love your stay there.

Hope you have a great trip