clare0704

Hi everyone, I hope that this is the right place to post my question. My parents are travelling on a cruise ship just now and they wanted to try to arrange a guided tour just for themseves when they arrive in Port Said. They have only one day there, but they don't want to do the tour with the cruise ship and asked me to try to find them a good reputable and trustworthy guide / company that could take them for a day tour.

Can anyone recommend someone they have used before.

i don't have a lot of time to arrange this for them as they get to Egypt on 21st January. Just a few ideas of who to try would be super.

Thanks so much!

Clare

Casual_Cairo

I would suggest Lady Egypt. Google them to get to their web site. I assume they have one. You may need to call them to organize it this quickly, but if they are dead set against doing a ship tour, then LE is probably as good a choice as any.
The problem is Port Said is a long way from Cairo and the trip into and out of Cairo will take up a good portion of the time here.
Best of luck.
FYI - anyone looking at cruises that come to Egypt - I HIGHLY suggest taking one that arrives in Alexandria instead of Port Said. The trip is about the same distance, but the port itself is more accommodating, and the highway is MUCH better, or you have the choice to take a train. I work with Alex cruises frequently.

Travelline

From my experience at Cruise Critic and other sites, I recommend to contact, De Castro tours or Le Caire Travel

http://www.decastrotours.com/tourdet...tid=73&pid=547

http://www.lecairetravel.com/Shore_Excursions04.html

clare0704

Thanks Casual Cairo and Travelline for giving me your ideas, I have booked now with someone called Egypt Today Travel (www.egypttodaytravel.com) who are part of Egypt Quality Tours or the other way around? who I got recommended to in another travel advice site

I tried a few other agents who were recommended to me also in here and in some other forums, including your one Casual Cairo and most of them didn't get back to me, but of the ones who did some of them were a bit vague or dry in their replies, and some just didn't reply to me. This one I chose came across really supportive and helpful so I've took the chance on them, and I have got my fingers crossed and toes crossed .

Following advice I did check them out and they have got some good reviews and recommendations on here and in other forums but also I was sure to check the license number they gave me was right and was definately them. I used the ETAA website for that, as I found that also in another travel guide forum.

This is it if anyone needs it:

www.etaa-egypt.org/index_en.aspx


I did look at one of the agents above (which was also on my list when I did a search of travel agents too)but I had put their IATA number into IATA's number checker and it said it wasn't valid so I just scratched them off my list then.

This is the site if anyone needs it:

https://www.checkacode.com/GlobalDat...CodeEvaluation

Thanks Casual Cairo for telling me about the geography of Port Said, when I looked at it I saw that it was quite some way away! and maybe that is why some agents never got back to me, or i'm thinking maybe they didn't think it was worth it since it was only one day trip?

My parents have no fear and are really very happy with what i've booked for them, but i'm nervous because I just want to be sure that they are safe, especially even on the cruise itself given the latest news on the cruise boat disaster in Europe

As they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating so I will just need to wait and see what happens in a few hours when they get picked up and I will report back to you all and let you know how it all went and everything.

Dad's telling me they will be fine and he might sell mum for camels so they are taking it in their stride, they are hardy travellers, but i'm just hoping all goes to plan and they will be safe and sound.

Thankyou Travelline and Casual Cairo for giving me great some help, it has been amazing the people who have helped me in this and in some other travel forums also.

will be back soon with news

Clare

clare0704

sorry, casual cairo when I said I contacted your one I meant your recommendation, not your tour company, sorry if that didnt read right, I cant edit it either!

Clare

Casual_Cairo

Thanks for clarifying that Clare, although I think it read fine the first time through. Most people here know that Casual Cairo doesn't blow people off with no reply. Like I said above, I do NOT like the Pt Said port and avoid it if possible, but I am surprised with the slow down in tourism now that the ones you did write to didn't enthusiastically reply. Perhaps many of them went out of business this last year. It wouldn't surprise me.
From the big Fan Club Lady Egypt seems to have on this site, I'm surprised they were not more responsive. I know them only by seeing them on sites and their reputation. I can't say I know anyone there personally or I'd have a word with them about that.

Naboli

Just have fun

Travelline

Hello Clare, I tired to find any reviews about (www.egypttodaytravel.com) are you sure about this agent??
Please can you send us any link about this company

clare0704

Hello Travelline, and everyone, I had planned to write a bit of a report before now as my parents had a truly wonderful time in Egypt, but my eldest son broke his leg and so it's been chaos at home. How do you bath an 11 year old boy with a plastercast on? Do you consider his pride or his plastercast? I'm still trying to work that out.

So here's a quick report from my very limited notes that I took when I spoke to my Mum on the phone.

My parents are not back yet so I only got a brief feedback from them but basically they were absolutely taken aback with how great Egypt was and now they plan to go back for a longer trip.

They arrived in Egypt safe and well and they left Egypt safe, well and all buzzing about Egypt so finally I could relax because I had visions of them ending up stranded somewhere at the side of a desert road.

They were collected from the Port Said by their Guide called Gaba? Gabar? Gabal? and headed off to Cairo in their personal mini bus. This was a proud moment for my dad because other people from the cruise were boarding buses and they were met with their name on a card and had their own mini bus and private guide. My mum said my Dad was like a peacock looking around to see if other people from the boat noticed how he was going "private"

Apparently on the journey my dad kept on talking about the roads and mum was hanging onto her seatbelt as she said the road was a bit harrowing at times, but apparently their driver was fabulous and took great care in making sure they were ok.

As you said Casual Cairo it was a long journey (just over two hours) and my mum was irritated by how it took a lot of their time up getting to Cairo and back.

Gaba talked to them at length on the way to Cairo telling them all about the protests, the uprising and the fall of the president mubarak and Mum said that he was so passionate about how Egypt will now hopefully be bringing more tourists back now that the situation there is much calmer. He told them all about the elections and that he was really pleased to see that the tourists were starting to return as it the protests and recent incidents had badly hit the people who worked in travel in Egypt.

They arrived at the Pyramids and were dumb struck by the size and structure of them and how they had been built so long ago, as according to my dad, Gaba has some contacts there apparently because he is some guy up high with regards to the pyramids so my dad said they had one of the top men, but whether that is true I will have to wait and see (when they get back)

From the Pyramids they went to see the Museum and they went along past the place where the big protests were last year, Liberation Square? They had a walk around the square apparently and Gaba pointed out where the police had been on the roofs and where the medical areas had been etc. They also had a few people talk to them that were beside tents still in the square and they said that everyone was saying hello and shaking their hands and welcoming them to Egypt. Mum said that Dad just lapped it up. And made out like he had been in Egypt for weeks, even though it was only a day tour. He was telling them that he was coming back soon and would "pop down" to visit them all Mum was so embarrassed.

The Museum they said was fabulous and they said they saw the government building that had been set on fire during the protests as that was nearby. Gaba had told them that they were worried that the Museum would also go on fire but that the protestors had tried to protect it.

Then they had lunch at a nice restaurant my mum said, lots of choice, but like a buffet style (I dont know the name because I didnt think to ask but will find out when they come back)

and then they had what my mum said was the next best thing after the pyramids, they had their own feluca boat sailing on the Nile, so she was really pleased with that. She said it was just wonderful, although a bit cold as it was later in the afternoon by that time, and she said it wasn't as warm in Egypt as she thought it might have been

Anyway, they finished off their day with a stop at an egyptian cafe, mum said there were no women there but that she had been entertained when my Dad had a coughing fit when he tried out the water pipe. He had tried to show off apparently and nearly choked to death. My mum thought this was hysterical when she told me.

After that they headed back to their cruise boat and it took about 2 and a half hours going back because the traffic wasn't so good and it was slow to get out of Cairo.

All in all they had a brilliant time, and they said that they were surprised when they found out from other people on the cruise that they had been taken to a carpet factory and a gold shop and felt that they had to buy stuff, but my mum said that this didn't happen with them and they were pleased that they hadn't had to spend time in these types of places because it would have taken more time away from their day trip.

Would they go back? definately. They are already planning their longer vacation there. As Dad promised a load of people apparently that he would see them when he got back to Egypt!

I'm really really pleased that I chose the travel agent that I chose because it seems to me that it was more enjoyable for my parents to have their private tour. Knowing that they got value for their money was good to hear and that they hadn't had to go into shops and things. Because during my research I did see that some people doing these tours had said they had gone to shops and some agents had said in their schedules that there would be a visit to some shop or another, so this agency seemed to be more about the tour than the shopping, even I read before that guides get comission, so I would have thought they might have been gently persuaded to go, but they weren't and so that gave this agency in my mind more stars for service.

Travelline. am I sure about this agency? no I wasn't sure, of course, because you just never know, but my parents having tried them out then I can most definately say that they get my recommendation.

The reviews I found about them were mostly on the Egypt Quality Tours part of their agency (which is owned by Egypt Today Travel - sorry I got that the wrong way around in my first posting) and when you ask me for a link about them you actually put the link in that I would have sent you so I don't know what link you are meaning.

So thanks again everyone for helping me, and for giving me good advice (particularly yourself Casual Cairo on the distances etc)

If I get any more info from my parents (on the restaurant they went to for example) then I will pop it in here soon.

Thanks again!

Clare

Casual_Cairo

I'm so happy they were happy and we would all be happy to have them come back to Egypt for a REAL tour of the place!! Thanks for reporting.

sf7307

What a fantastic report! So glad they had a great time, and we're "game" for the experience.