Lady Egypt Tour and Hotel Reservations
Apr 15th, 2007, 08:45 PM
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Lady Egypt Tour and Hotel Reservations
I know that at least two board members (vegaslover73 & drano) have used Lady Egypt Tours (aka Experience Egypt Tours) with excellent results lately. Since I've only read good things about them on all the postings I've seen I have booked their 10 day Nile Dream tour which includes reservation at
all the hotels at which I will stay. The hotels I will stay at each stop have been clearly identified. Everything has gone well and I've been asked to pay the tour in full via their website either with money wire transfer or credit card (3% surcharge) which is all fine.
My worst case nightmare scenario is to pay for all of this and then get to Cairo to find out I have no room reservations and hence no place to stay. Should I check with each of my hotels before I go to make sure that the tour company did in fact make the needed reservations ? What do you guys think ?
vegaslover73 or drano, did you guys reserve your own hotel rooms or let Lady Egypt reserve them for you ?
all the hotels at which I will stay. The hotels I will stay at each stop have been clearly identified. Everything has gone well and I've been asked to pay the tour in full via their website either with money wire transfer or credit card (3% surcharge) which is all fine.
My worst case nightmare scenario is to pay for all of this and then get to Cairo to find out I have no room reservations and hence no place to stay. Should I check with each of my hotels before I go to make sure that the tour company did in fact make the needed reservations ? What do you guys think ?
vegaslover73 or drano, did you guys reserve your own hotel rooms or let Lady Egypt reserve them for you ?
Apr 15th, 2007, 10:11 PM
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Hello Sai, I've been working via quite a few emails with their representative Amanda Whittome. They have been extremely professional, responsive, and very accommodating. I will be in Egypt in early May at the start of a long trip that will also take me to Greece, Turkey, and Italy.
Apr 16th, 2007, 10:30 PM
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For what it is worth, I wouldn't bother to call the hotels and check about the reservations as you may get very frustrated. The hotels may not have you by name yet, and their response to you might not be what you want to hear. The English of the person you might talk to might not be quite as perfect as you hope for, for your needs too. If other people have had good luck with Lady Egypt, you need to put trust in them. Keep records of all your correspondence with them, and money paid and go for it. If your worst nightmare were to come true, don't panic, there are going to be loads of rooms available and you can go after them later, but odds are with you that everything will go fine.
Get a local (Egyptian) address for them and bring it with you. If you have to go down there and raise some hell because they didn't make your hotel res for you, at least you'll have a place to go.
But probably everything is going to be fine. They've done this before.
CasualCairodetours
Get a local (Egyptian) address for them and bring it with you. If you have to go down there and raise some hell because they didn't make your hotel res for you, at least you'll have a place to go.
But probably everything is going to be fine. They've done this before.
CasualCairodetours
Apr 17th, 2007, 07:54 AM
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Causal Cairo, thanks for your reply which makes perfect sense. In all my prior travels I have always arranged all my flights and rooms, and this trip to Egypt is the first time in my life where I'm totally dependent on a third party to do all this for me. So I feel a little bit like a trapeeze artist without a net. As you say, the worst case scenario would have me hunting for rooms on arrival which appears to be easier in Cairo than in most western European cities.
Jun 6th, 2007, 04:02 PM
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We just returned from Egypt, doing a tailor-made tour by Lady Egypt / Experience Egypt. No need to worry about room reservations - everything was always in place, and our guide / rep always assisted with check-in and checked to make sure all was well with our rooms.
Sep 9th, 2007, 08:49 PM
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gatorbill,
Did you post any information or a Trip Report about your trip to Egypt (and Istanbul_?
Would love to read it - we're trying the same combo and wondering especially about the transportation between the two.
Did you post any information or a Trip Report about your trip to Egypt (and Istanbul_?
Would love to read it - we're trying the same combo and wondering especially about the transportation between the two.
Apr 2nd, 2008, 10:05 AM
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Wow, I can't believe that pretty soon it will have been a year since my trip to Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. But I've been so busy at work that I've had very litle time to put together a trip report and post my photos.
I will try to get this together in the coming weeks since it looks like I'll finally have some spare time. But as for Egypt I can highly recommend Lady Egypt Tours as well as Debbie of Casual Cairo Tours. I had an unbleivably great time there. In the mean time you can look at some of my photos of Egypt at my Zenfolio site by using the following link.
http://www.gatorbill.zenfolio.com
I will try to get this together in the coming weeks since it looks like I'll finally have some spare time. But as for Egypt I can highly recommend Lady Egypt Tours as well as Debbie of Casual Cairo Tours. I had an unbleivably great time there. In the mean time you can look at some of my photos of Egypt at my Zenfolio site by using the following link.
http://www.gatorbill.zenfolio.com
Apr 18th, 2008, 06:47 PM
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My daughter and I had a fabulous program (very good price too) with Lady Egypt. Everything was very good.
I worked with Amanda who was very professional. We chose a non-cruise trip to Cairo, Luxor (don't cut this short), day cruise on the Nile north of Luxor which was great, car caravan to Aswan, air to Abu Simbel for overnight at Seti ! which was a great decision.
Bonnie
I worked with Amanda who was very professional. We chose a non-cruise trip to Cairo, Luxor (don't cut this short), day cruise on the Nile north of Luxor which was great, car caravan to Aswan, air to Abu Simbel for overnight at Seti ! which was a great decision.
Bonnie
Apr 25th, 2008, 09:05 AM
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BonnieN,
Yes, your trip was identical to mine it's really a pretty standard tour of Egypt and it's really a wonderful experience. I also worked with Amanda of Lady Egypt and she and her company are just tremendous and I very highly recommend them.
P_M,
Glad you also enjoyed your tours with Lady Egypt. Where in Jordan did you go ?
Yes, your trip was identical to mine it's really a pretty standard tour of Egypt and it's really a wonderful experience. I also worked with Amanda of Lady Egypt and she and her company are just tremendous and I very highly recommend them.
P_M,
Glad you also enjoyed your tours with Lady Egypt. Where in Jordan did you go ?
Apr 26th, 2008, 06:20 AM
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Hello gatorbill.
Jordan exceeded all expecations. The highlights were Wadi Rum, Petra, Mt. Nebo, Jerash, Kerak Castle and the Dead Sea. If you would like more detail you are welcome to read my trip report, and I will be happy to answer any specific questions if I can.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=35097421
Jordan exceeded all expecations. The highlights were Wadi Rum, Petra, Mt. Nebo, Jerash, Kerak Castle and the Dead Sea. If you would like more detail you are welcome to read my trip report, and I will be happy to answer any specific questions if I can.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=35097421
May 21st, 2008, 02:07 PM
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Can anyone give me a rough idea as to the pricing of Lady Egypt tours. I understand they are land only. I sent them an email and have not received a response. I am interested in either the 14 day or the 11 day. I'm just looking for a rough idea. Everyone seems to be very pleased with this company.
May 21st, 2008, 02:45 PM
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Aussie417:
We used Lady Egypt for a customized 2 week trip in Jan 2008. For the most part it was excellent & many fabulous memories and photos to prove it.
However, I advise you to be VERY specific with Amanda about what is included in your package. For example, our itinerary said we would "visit" Elephantine Island in Aswan. According to the local guide, that did not mean we would actually stop there and walk around, it meant that we would sail past the island on a felucca ride. In Sharm our itinerary stated that snorkeling equipment was included, however the local guide said that was not the case. Neither is that big of a deal, but I felt taken advantage of.
The tour package we paid for was approx $1100 US per person for 2 weeks and included some nice hotels (like Mena House in Cairo for the first 2 nights), the overnight train to Aswan, 3 night Nile Cruise (Domina Emelio Prestige), hotel in Luxor, flight to Sharm el Shiek, 2 full days of tours in Sharm, day & night in St Catherine, and a day trip to Alexandria. All entrance fees were included plus a couple meals (and breakfast everyday).
We used Lady Egypt for a customized 2 week trip in Jan 2008. For the most part it was excellent & many fabulous memories and photos to prove it.
However, I advise you to be VERY specific with Amanda about what is included in your package. For example, our itinerary said we would "visit" Elephantine Island in Aswan. According to the local guide, that did not mean we would actually stop there and walk around, it meant that we would sail past the island on a felucca ride. In Sharm our itinerary stated that snorkeling equipment was included, however the local guide said that was not the case. Neither is that big of a deal, but I felt taken advantage of.
The tour package we paid for was approx $1100 US per person for 2 weeks and included some nice hotels (like Mena House in Cairo for the first 2 nights), the overnight train to Aswan, 3 night Nile Cruise (Domina Emelio Prestige), hotel in Luxor, flight to Sharm el Shiek, 2 full days of tours in Sharm, day & night in St Catherine, and a day trip to Alexandria. All entrance fees were included plus a couple meals (and breakfast everyday).
May 21st, 2008, 05:57 PM
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Thanks Kay 5, I thought it was very reasonable. Do you know if they offer any "group" tours of say under 8 or 10 people? I travel alone and I don't think I want to be "alone" on a tour with just a guide. I would like to have some other people there as well. Did you have a contact here in the US? or did you plan everything via emails? Any info would be appreciated. How was the weather in January? chilly at night?
May 28th, 2008, 03:43 AM
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aussie417 -
We planned everything via e-mail with Amanda. I had no US contact, so much of the planning was a huge leap of faith. Luckily it all turned out fine. I've seen quite a few traveler's reports using Lady Egypt so I was reassured that they were legit.
It was surprisingly chilly in January. Many of the hotels did not have adequate central heating and space heaters were brought in for overnight. I wore long pants and a windbreaker-type jacket every day.
I'm not sure how long this link will work, but here is a travel journal entry that was published in my local newspaper about the Sinai Peninsula part of the trip: http://www.syracuse.com/cny/index.ss...260.xml&coll=1
We planned everything via e-mail with Amanda. I had no US contact, so much of the planning was a huge leap of faith. Luckily it all turned out fine. I've seen quite a few traveler's reports using Lady Egypt so I was reassured that they were legit.
It was surprisingly chilly in January. Many of the hotels did not have adequate central heating and space heaters were brought in for overnight. I wore long pants and a windbreaker-type jacket every day.
I'm not sure how long this link will work, but here is a travel journal entry that was published in my local newspaper about the Sinai Peninsula part of the trip: http://www.syracuse.com/cny/index.ss...260.xml&coll=1
May 29th, 2008, 07:14 PM
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Hi Kay5,
I am having difficulty getting an answer regarding pricing from Lady Egypt. Do you have a better or more direct address to reach them? Maybe you still have Amanda's email address? I am using the one directly from their web site with no luck. I have written twice and just now a third time. I can't understand why they don't answer.
I am having difficulty getting an answer regarding pricing from Lady Egypt. Do you have a better or more direct address to reach them? Maybe you still have Amanda's email address? I am using the one directly from their web site with no luck. I have written twice and just now a third time. I can't understand why they don't answer.
