Floyd

Our family of 4 just returned from 2 weeks in Egypt and we had a great time! I thought I would give my impressions. Our hotels were all great and exceeded our expectations. We stayed at the Zoser in Cairo, cruised the Nile on the Monte Carlo, stayed at the HostMark Great Seas in Hurghada, the Catarac in Sharm el Sheikh, and St. Catherine's Plaza in St. Catherines. The last hotel was plain, but we were the only people there and they took good care of us. Our hotel in Hurghada was away from the main part of town and the beach was very clean and sparsly populated.

We used ICAN travel and although they did book us good accommodations for a reasonable price, they were unpredictable and left us waiting many hours when their representatives failed to meet us several times. They also booked a tour of St. Catherines on a day when they were closed. I also wasn't happy with their representative trying to sell us overpriced excursions during the trip, and we weren't prepared to pay huge tips for everything.

Overall though I would recommend vacationing in Egypt if you don't mind a little unpredictability and having to negotiate everything along the way. I suppose things would run smoother if you went with a large group, but we enjoyed the challenge of traveling by ourselves which forced us to interact more with the Egyptians. They were great hosts!

Casual_Cairo

Very glad to see you enjoyed your time in Egypt overall.

In your report you said, "We used ICAN travel and although they did book us good accommodations for a reasonable price, .... I also wasn't happy with their representative trying to sell us overpriced excursions during the trip"

Everyone doing price comparisons of group tours, please understand that this is how the less expensive companies make their money. Well, one of the ways. They leave just enough sites out that may be interesting and then make that an "optional tour" at an extra price.
I guess, from what you said, they also save money by not hiring decent guides that have a sense of responsibility when it comes to work. Sorry all that happened to you, but it sounds like you faired very well, and enjoyed your experiences.

casualcairo

Floyd

We had a Travel Representative and a separate Guide at most places. The Guides were all pretty good, which I think are independent and appeared work for many agencies. It was the Travel Reps that I think worked just for ICAN that caused us the frustrations. I paid my entire fee in cash up front, which was probably a mistake. I am from the rural US and maybe I trust people more than I should. I should have kept some in reserve to pay at the end in case we had problems. Overall though, it was a GREAT trip and we would do it again.

Brahmama

Floyd
I hope you are still monitoring this thread. We are looking into travel to Egypt and were curious about Hotel Zoser in Cairo. Were you pleased with the location?

I checked out the website and it was really a large hotel. As a rule we prefer small places to say - B&B / pensions/ homestays/ small local hotels. But the Zoser was included on a package deal that I'm looking at.

Would appreciate your thoughts, should you see this post.

Marilies

In response to Brahmama, who is contemplating the Zozer Hotel... I don't know if you're familiar with Cairo? I lived in Cairo for four years and from my experience I wouldn't recommend anyone to stay out in the Pyramids road area. Its a notorius high-crime area, at night its the red-light district, as well as being loud and grimy, ok, all of cairo is grimy but that area in particular. If I was going to come to Cairo as a tourist I'd want an atmospheric, pretty hotel where you can relax. I found the Marriot and the Mina (directly at the foot of the pyramids) to be BY FAR the prettiest hotels in Cairo, without the feeling of a generic super hotel. If you want a cheaper choice then try to find a small pension in the "Garden City" district. There is another atmospheric, historic, smallish hotel called the Helnan-Shepard, rather Agatha Christiesque, if you like that kind of thing. They had a cosy bar, great asian restaurant and a 1920/30 kind of style with original mashrabeya in the lobby. It is also right on the Nile and just across the bridge from the Opera house! A nice walk!

Brahmama

Dear Marilies,
Thank you so much for your reply! I have been reading and searching but haven't had any answers until yours.

Heavens, we have never been east of Vienna! So I have been reading Trip Reports like mad trying to get an idea of a possible itinerary before contacting a Travel Guide or Agency.

I do appreciate your comments. I did look at Hotel Mina (and drooled all over my computer keys) but it's pricey for us and yes, I loved your suggestion for an alternate and will be checking that out.

Our trip is a long time away (a year) and I'll need that to get educated about what/where and why.

Marilies

You're welcome. Glad I could be helpful. Cairo is a sprawling jungle of contrasts. Depending on where you stay and what you do, it can either be the best city in the world, or the worst! When I lived in Cairo I was always surprised when tourists I met told me where their tour companies put them! I think there are a bunch of generic "package tour hotels" in bad locations, for tourist just passing through at night. As I said, Garden City is really an historically interesting area and centrally located. It also felt safe. Many embassies have apartments in there for employees and I walked around in the evening with no problem. That hotel I recommended was on the edge of this neighborhood. I could go on and on about Cairo. It's a great place if you do your homework! Sounds like you have time to do that. Good luck!