MISR Travel
 

I've been reviewing the postings and have seen several recommendations for MISR Travel as a reputable tour company- within Egypt. Has anyone had experience with this company traveling from the States?

I had a bad experience with this company at their New York office. The particular agent I was dealing with was unhelpful, inattentive, and impatient. After two weeks of trying to verify discount flight arragements I gave up and went to Liberty Travel. I paid an extra $150, but they took care of me in twenty minutes.

The funny thing is that I believe all tour companies have to use MISR in Egypt. It is some kind of tourism law. We went on a globus tour and it was run by MISR when we arrive. A Globus agent met us and explained that all official tours in the country were conducted by MISR. There may be some ease of mind when a US company books them and can be held responsible if they don't come through with anything promised on the tour. The US Tour company would also be on sight to help resolve any disputes, but ultimately they are the middle man.

We were happy enough with our trip. It was packed and we saw a lot. The MISR people were very professional and well informed. I'd be tempted to leave out the middle man and book with them directly.

I guess another advantage of booking with a US tour company is that everyone in your group will be from the US. If you book with MISR directly, they will mix people from all over the world (nothing like hearing things translated into 5 different languages)- may be interesting though!

I thought MISR was some sort of official government tour agency in Egypt - but am not really sure. We went on a Globus tour, but sometimes the bus we used said MISR on the side.

MISR is the official government agency, but there are other tour operators in Egypt that many US Tour Operators use (that have nothing to do with MISR).

"pdsms" - You might have been better having used MISR direct in Egypt, then their US office, though I wouldn't hesitate emiling their Egypt operation and tell of your disappointment.

As to whether MISR in Egypt will put you in a group with other than Americans or English speaking guests, not necessarily. Our friends did a booking thru MISR (Egypt) and they had an independent tour, except for the time during the Nile cruise.

Egyptian Connections, which has been mentioned on this board is a private tour operator. They run their own show in Egypt.

And when we did our trip through a tour operator in the States, they used another Egypt outfitter that had nothing to do with MISR. So apparently MISR isn't the only kid on the block.

Just saw your posting.

My wife and I just got back on the 19th & we used MISR, NYC. They were just great. I dealt quite a bit with Eunice Roy who was always very helpful. And her assistant was helpful as well.

I highly recommend them.

Bob

Below you will find a copy of a letter that I just sent to Misr Travel:
My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Egypt which we planned through Misr's New York tour office. We loved Egypt and found it to be amazing and awesome. We would not hesitate to recommend a trip to your country. Unfortunately, because of terrible experiences that we had with one particular Misr employee, we cannot recommend to anyone that they use that tour company.
My husband and I arrived in Cairo on May 12th where we were met at the airport. When we arrived at our hotel, the tour agent went over our itineraries with us . When we discovered that we had a late night flight returning from Sharm el Sheikh, we asked him to please change it to an early morning flight, because we wanted additional time in Cairo. The next day he reported that we had been ?wait-listed? for that flight. The night prior to leaving for Sharm el Sheikh, I called the airport myself to determine if there were early morning flights available for my return to Cairo. To my surprise, there were numerous early morning flights from which to choose. I called our tour agent that evening, and he made no comment as to why he had lied to us about there being no available flights and instructed us to have our guide in Sharm el Sheikh to make the change.

While we were in Sharm el Sheikh, we discovered that we left our swim suits in our room in the Mena House Hotel. We told our agent in Sharm el Sheikh about the items that we left, and he assured us that we would get them back and not to worry. He called our agent in Cairo and asked him to retrieve our swim suits on one of his trips in and out of Mena House. He also informed our Cairo agent as to when to pick us up at the airport on our return trip into Cairo.

The morning we returned to Cairo, there was no one at the airport to meet us. After 30 minutes and after everyone had cleared out of the terminal, a guard within the airport asked for whom we were waiting. He promptly called Misr Travel. Sixty minutes later, someone came for us and put us is a taxi to go to our hotel. When we reached our hotel, we were let out of the taxi, and once again, there was no one there to meet us. We went inside the hotel and attempted to check ourselves in. At the reservation desk, there was some confusion about a voucher, and we were asked to have a seat in the lobby. We could not get checked in, and after sitting there for approximately 30 minutes, we recognized one of our tour guides in the lobby. We grabbed her and asked her assistance. With her help, we were finally able to obtain a room.

We never saw our tour agent the entire time we were at the Ramsey's, so I called him the day before we were to leave so that we could get our swimsuits from him in order to pack them. He informed us, that the hotel had not found them. After talking with him, I promptly called the Mena House Hotel and asked about our swimsuits. They had found them upon our checking out and were in their Lost and Found Dept. Consequently, I had no way of getting them at that time. I just recently emailed them and requested that they send them to us. As a result of our agent not willing to help us, not to mention lying to us once again, we are having to pay approximately $20. to have the items sent to us.



To Whom It May Concern:

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Egypt which we planned through your New York tour office. We loved Egypt and found it to be amazing and awesome. We would not hesitate to recommend a trip to your country. Unfortunately, because of terrible experiences that we had with one particular Misr employee, we cannot recommend your tour company to anyone interested in taking a trip to Egypt.

The employee to whom we are referring called himself Mohammed, and at the end of our trip when we asked his last name, he informed us that his last name was Mahmof. However, since I know him to be a liar, that may very well not be his last name.

My husband and I arrived in Cairo on May 12th where Mohammed met us at the airport. After taking us to our hotel, he went over our itineraries with us . When we discovered that we had a late night flight returning from Sharm el Sheikh, we asked him to please change it to an early morning flight, because we wanted additional time in Cairo. The next day he reported that we had been ?wait-listed? for a morning flight. The night prior to leaving for Sharm el Sheikh, I called the airport myself to determine if there were early morning flights available for my return to Cairo. To my surprise, there were numerous early morning flights from which to choose. I called Mohammed that evening, and he made no comment as to why he had lied to me about there being no available flights and instructed me to have my guide in Sharm el Sheikh to make the change.

We had an excellent agent, Mohammed Omar, in Sharm el Sheikh, who met us at the airport and took excellent care of us. He was always there to meet us when we were going out and to greet us when we returned. He helped us to find a lost camera, and he changed our return airline tickets for a morning flight to Cairo. While we were in Sharm el Sheikh, we discovered that we left our swim suits in our room in the Mena House Hotel. We told Mohammed Omar about the items that we left, and he assured us that we would get them back and not to worry. He called Mohammed in Cairo and asked him to retrieve our swim suits on one of his trips in and out of Mena House. He also informed Mohammed when to pick us up at the airport on our return trip into Cairo.

The morning we returned to Cairo, there was no one at the airport to meet us. After 30 minutes and after everyone had cleared out of the terminal, an agent within the airport asked for whom we were waiting. He promptly called Misr Travel located in another terminal within the airport to get us some assistance. Sixty minutes later, someone came for us and put us is a taxi to go to our hotel. When we reached our hotel, we were let out of the taxi and once again, there was no one there to meet us or help us check into our hotel. We went inside the hotel and attempted to check ourselves in. At the reservation desk, there was some confusion about a voucher, and we were asked to have a seat in the lobby. We could not get checked in, and after sitting there for approximately 30 minutes, we saw Soho come into the lobby looking for someone within our group. We grabbed her and asked her assistance. With her help, we were finally able to obtain a room.

We never saw Mohammed the entire time we were at the Ramsey's, so I called him the day before we were to leave so that we could get our swimsuits from him in order to pack them. He informed us, that the hotel had not found them. After talking with him, I promptly called the Mena House Hotel and asked about our swimsuits. They had found them upon our checking our and were in their Lost and Found Dept. Consequently, I had no way of getting them at that time. I just recently emailed them and requested that they send them to us. As a result of Mohammed not willing to help us, not to mention lying to us once again, we are having to pay approximately $20. to have the items sent to us.

I regret to say that we do not feel that we had top quality service provided to us by your clients as you advertise, nor do we feel that your tour operators were ready to assist us when we needed. You have Mohammed to thank for our dissappoint in our trip. He is no asset to your tour company. We loved Egypt, but not Misa Travel.