Kimkim Trip Reviews for Egypt

When you initiate a travel plan with Kimkim, the company will assign you to a local agency who makes all the travel arrangements for you. The price was steep and was a black box, there was no breakdown when I asked for it. I should have stopped by this hint.

The agency works with certain hotels that give them an agency rate that’s lower than the consumer rate. They put me in fairmont, an Arab owned establishment. The problem was that they have a party every other night hosted by the Arabian Club/ casino (yes hotel has a casino) until 3 am. The noise could be heard from the highest floor of hotel(20th). For the Cairo Representative he was very nice but didn’t speak much English. I was a little devastated by the difficulties of communication as I just arrived in a foreign country. The tour guides, their English are mostly heavily accented. At the end or middle of the tour days, they take you to commissioned shops for overpriced and roughly made souvenirs (not included in the itinerary, you are on your own to defend from the hard sell ). The extra events are also marked up with a lot of room for the guide/company. For example the hot air balloon at Luxor is marked up very steep, for 140USD per person, if you book through the hot air balloon business directly, you can easily get a quote at 30 USD/person. It is a very dark industry with people who are careless about your wellbeing.

The flight returning home was a breaking point for me. You pay everything with a fat margin but you don’t get the best in line, or not even a professional service. The Egypt agency(Egypt Promotions) was careless as to mistaking the flight times to return home. After the first negotiation, they refused to book the flight for me. They think it is my fought for not checking the travel plan they made. Told me that I should buy another ticket out of my own pocket(3000usd). After desperate attempts to battle with the agency. they were finally able to change the flight for me when they discovered that the airline can put me on the same flight for only 300 usd, a discounted price. (I bought business) Perhaps also fearing that kimkim will no longer send them quality clients. egypt has its enchantment but the business is rotten. During the entire event kimkim did not care to reach me via phone or to apologize.

A dark price breakdown:
I paid kimkim 5000usd for 7days in Egypt, not including flights.
fairmont hotel was 200usd/night on Expedia agency should have better price.
200*4nights=800usd
Tour guide + driver: 64 usd/day*5days=320usd
Movenpick cruise: 400usd/day *3= 1200usd

Total paid: 5000
Total cost from agency: 800+320+1200= 2320
They earned about $2700 from me on this trip.

If I booked on my own I could have stayed at four seasons or at St Regis (best line of hotel in Cairo with much better service and no noise from casino/club) and an upper deck suite at movenpick. And I will still have surplus.

And it is a shame that I had to flight for my ticket back home. I was on the edge of experiencing a full mental breakdown at the airport.
If you decide to travel to Egypt, it’s best to book the hotel by yourself, tours with a local company separately.

This was our first time booking through Kimkim so we didn’t know what to expect. The trip was complicated because it included three countries each with different local specialists: Egypt, UAE, Jordan. Mohamed did an amazing job working with me to get us the tour we wanted. For example, we added the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza and the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi.

Our Cairo tour was excellent. Our tour guide Dalia was both knowledgeable and compassionate. She took time to take pictures of us as we visited the different sites. She even captured the pyramids from the Citadel. Dalia also organized the visit so we avoided most of the crowds and traffic. The driver was highly skilled and helpful.

The sunset on the rooftop restaurant before the sound and light show at the pyramids was magical. The felucca boat trip on the Nile was unforgettable. The Grand Egyptian Museum was well worth adding to our tour. Finally, I appreciated the SIM card which made communication seamless.

Another Mohamed did an excellent job guiding us around the sites in Luxor. We were able to see the important sites in a packed 24 hours.

In UAE, our tour of Dubai was very comprehensive. The driver had a comfortable van and was very punctual. He kindly provided water and even gave us 10 AED so we could take the boat to the Old Souq at our first stop since we hadn’t converted any money yet. The best part was that Navas worked with us to customize our tour so that we didn’t have to spend more time than we wanted at any one site.

We visited in high season so there was plenty of traffic and a long line at the Burj Khalifa. Unfortunately, we were also booked for a visit at 10 PM which made for a long day. The Palm monorail tickets were not included so be prepared for 30 AED round trip if you want to go to Atlantis.

We also did a day tour of Abu Dhabi. The highlight for us was the Louvre Museum and the Qasar al Watan palace. It was great that we could customize our visit so we didn’t spend time in places we didn’t want to visit.
In Jordan, we were only able to visit Petra. Both Oqba who drove us to Petra and Ali who guided us around were highly knowledgeable. We learned more about the history of Jordan than any other country we visited. The natural beauty of Petra was amazing. Ali took us off the normal tourist path to show us the colorful rock formations. He is also an expert photographer and took outstanding pictures.

In conclusion we would definitely use Kimkim again for another trip.

We had such an amazing time in Egypt. Egypt has so much history and the people were great.
We were so lucky to have our own private driver - Ahmed - you were amazing!
And all of our guides were extremely friendly and helpful. Mohad, Sayad, Ezzart and Mohamed. They made the culture come alive and made us feel like family. Thank you for a wonderful anniversary trip!

We were hoping to get all the details and iternary before we landed, the iternary in kimkim was not updated with correct dates even though I asked several times. We did not know who would pick us up at the airport and was told there would be a sign. Upon landing, noone was there and we had to catch a taxi to get to the hotel. Our kimkim rep also did not pickup his phone.

Once I got hold of kimkim agent, things started rolling in place. The local guides and reps were extremely good and we had an amazing experience in Egypt. Highly recommend the local agency used Egypt Promotions. Excellent work by them.

Activity Reviews

Cairo Walking Food Tour

Cairo

This was rushed because we lost time trying to find out who our rep was when we landed. I don't think we had the full experience. Thought it might have been food tasting but was more of just 1 meal.

Quality of Experience

Not rushed and taste various food

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pyramids, Sphinx, Camel ride 15min, Sakkara & Memphis

Cairo

Great experience also little rushed, would have liked to spend more time there. Camal ride was fun.

Quality of Experience

Just being there

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly

Transport

Friendly

Day tour to visit Old Egyptian Museum, Citadel of Salah El-Din & Old Cairo

Cairo

Amazing seeing ancient artifacts and learning more about it

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Karnak Temple and Luxor temple

Egypt

Great experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hot Air Balloon - Visit Valley of the Kings - Hatshepsut temple - Sail to Edfu

Luxor

Balloon is a must and adds to the experience. Valley of the kings was amazing

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Edfu-Komombo-Aswan

Edfu

Good experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Abu Simbel temple and Aswan

Aswan

Unique experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alexandria day tour 1

Alexandria

Good to see but was expecting to reflect the ancient times in its building and content

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alexandria Day tour

Alexandria

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My review is related to the value of the trip. It would have been fine if we were on one of those $2500 per person trips. We paid almost $7,000 per person and for that amount it was disappointing. Guides were really poor. Took the minimum time to explain things and then left us in our own. We had to discreetly join other groups to learn more than the basics. Hotels were ok with one terrible exception (Tolip in Aswan was really awful).

As far as I can tell KimKim doesn’t do anything except contract with lessor know agencies in each country. You would be better off working directly with the known agency.

To sum it up, the itinerary was planned and executed as per our requirements. However, we would have appreciated it if the driver's name and contact details were shared in advance ie a day before travel as it did cause us last-minute panic situations twice. Also, the lunch buffet given to us at Cairo on 24th Dec 2023 was not good. My 11-year-old daughter got Egyptian diarrhea from that food and she suffered for 2 days after that. Please make sure to get off that restaurant from the list of Sun Pyramids Tours and Kim Kim.

Furthermore, on our second last day in Cairo, the guide given to us by Sun Pyramids Tours via Kim Kim named Mohamed who picked us up from Cairo Airport on 31st Dec 2023 and took us to the market on 31st Dec 2023 urged us to do an Islamic architecture tour next day ie on 1st Jan 2024. He committed to us that he will come next day. But he didn't turn up next day as he claimed he was very good in it. We paid an additional 70 USD upfront to Sun Pyramids Tours and they had said that everything is included. However, this Mohamed switched his phone off next day and didnt even have the courtesy to tell us that he isn't coming. And everything went haywire the next day. First of all, the alternative guide sent by Sun Pymrids Tours was hopeless and useless in all aspects. I forgot his name unfortunately. He arranged a car in which neither of our luggage would fit. Sun Pyramids Tours very well knew its our check out so we would be having bags as we were going to check out and do sightseeing and head off to Cairo airport directly. This was already mentioned. The new guide was useless in all aspects. He did not know the places of interest we visited that day. He was not giving any information. He was not at all interactive. Really a hopeless guide ive ever come acrosd in my life. Also, we were not told that we would have to buy the tickets separately and the add-on price we paid did not include that. This all left a very bad taste regarding the people of Egypt, the country of Egypt, Sun Pyramids Tours, and also Kim Kim as we felt we were cheated. This is not Kim Kim's fault as we did the last day sightseeing directly from Sun Pyramids Tours. The guides and drivers kept on asking for tips. It was very irritating. I would however request Kim Kim to kindly review Sun Pyramids Tours properly before giving them any more work from hereon.

Activity Review

Pyramids and Cairo Sightseeing

Cairo

Our guide Saeed was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Food

My daughter got diarrhea due to the lunch buffet organised by Sun Pyramids tours on 24th Dec 2024

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a very well planned trip with Kimkim and specially our local trip specialist, Mohamed. He patiently worked with us to customize the trip according to our needs and was available on call or message whenever we needed. He put together a great itinerary that included Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel and Sharm el Sheikh. The guides he arranged for us in all of these places were also very good and knowledgeable, which made the experience richer. We had a minor issue with flights which also was sorted out eventually. Definitely a trip that will stay as a cherished memory, Egypt is a wonderland. Thanks to Mohamed, Sun Pyramids team and Kimkim for making it a great experience!

Activity Reviews

Tour to Egyptian Museum, Citadel, and Coptic Cairo

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to High Dam, Philae Temple, and Obelisk

Aswan

Aswan Dam was interesting, and Philae temple was outstanding and so worth it! Unfinished Obelisk was okay

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Abu Simbel Temple

Aswan

An outstanding experience and so worth the 3 hour drive from Aswan. Our guide in Abu Simbel was extremely knowledgeable and patiently explained the history and significance of the temple along with the key things to look for, since guides are not allowed inside. He was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to The East & West Bank of the Nile

Luxor

The best day of the entire trip for us. Luxor is breathtaking, and the only thing that was a negative was that we just had one day to spend here. Our guide Ahmed Ameen, was the best guide of the entire trip. He made the day what it was with his knowledge, patience and wit. Starting with Valley of Kings and Hatshepsut temple to the beautiful Karnak and Luxor temples, this was easily the busiest and the best day of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Edfu, and Kom Ombo Temples

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip to Pyramids, Memphis, and Sakkara with riding a camel

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor, Egypt

Luxor

An early morning balloon ride that lasts for about 45min - 1 hour. It was amazing to watch the Valley of Kings and the temple from above. Totally recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mount Sinai & St. Catherine Monastery

Sharm el-Sheikh

A difficult trek, but well worth it. The sunrise views from the top of the hill are stunning, and make the hike up worthwhile.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was a very great experience for us, when we visited Egypt for the first time in December 2023.

Potentially more on the higher price side, but we had a very smooth trip.

The quality of the tour guides varied, as some were a bit too pushy to bring us to tourists shops, which we indicated not to be in favor.

The best and most outstanding experience we had was with Abdul Hamid Ahmad.

Also Sameh (and the driver Romi) was very knowledgeable for our Cairo Trip.

The whole trip was excellent. Hesham Nour was our Cairo and Alexandria guide. He was excellent. He helped find good local restaurants and taste good local food.
Ahmed was our Luxor, Edfu and Aswan guide. He was excellent.

Overall the trip was excellent. A few things that I suggest are:
A) The Nile cruise overall is ok. It is for sure not new and not 4+. I would rate it 3. The staff in the cruise are good but the floor was creeky and the carpet was not well laid. The bathroom was a bit leaking. I would suggest to prefer another cruise. Sightseeing and other things in the cruise are good.
B) There were too many staff changes. The guides were consistent but the drivers changed often. I prefer I stick to a team so that I get to know them better. Before I knew someone a new one comes in.
C) I would suggest kimkim to suggest an appropriate tipping guide. Other travel agencies do that. I had to read other blogs for tipping guide.

Thanks to the whole team for making it a memorable experience.

Hotel Reviews

Hyatt Regency Cairo west

cairo

This is excellent. The front desk staff were very helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is very close to the pyramids

Staff

The staff helped us with international charges.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Baharia Camp

Bahariya

The hotel was ok. A 3 star

Authenticity & Character

The staff are good

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Steigenberger Achti

luxor

A very good hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in heart of the city.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara & Memphis

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day tour to visit Old Egyptian Museum, Citadel of Salah El-Din & Old Cairo

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hesham took us to an excellent restaurant to taste Kushari.

Transport

Cairo - White Desert

Bahariya

The trip was good. But a long travel to the desert. Not very convenient for restrooms.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Karnak Temple and Luxor temple

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Ok

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bahariya - Cairo

Bahariya

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The driver was ok. We had to keep telling him to close the windows as it was noisy

Transport

Visit Edfou temple and Kom Ombo temple

Edfu

Quality of Experience

Look

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Abu Simbel temple and Aswan

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Over day Alexandria

Cairo Int. Airport (CAI)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Valley of the Kings - Hatshepsut temple - Sail to Edfu

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Look

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful trip! Thanks to Lareine for sorting things out so well and in particular to Ahmed on the Nile Cruise and Khaled in Cairo for a brilliant time. We could not recommend KimKim highly enough!

Fantastic trip arranged by kimkim and Ibrahim and through them the Egyptian promotion company.
Good hotel choices in Cairo and Aswan and a pretty good cruise liner from Aswan to Luxor. Every day we had knowledgeable guides, private AC vans with a driver at our disposal. Hisham at Cairo and Zakariah at Aswan/Luxor were knowledgeable enthusiastic guides. Mahmoud (Cairo) & Zin (Aswan) met us at the airport at arrival and departure and made it a smooth experience . The optional trips to visit a Nubian village and the hot air balloon was unforgettable . Mohammed our driver in Cairo was super helpful and kind.
Ibrahim’s itinerary and hotel/ flight bookings were 5 star.
2 small points, which I hope will be taken as constructive feedback
1. Communication from Ibrahim could have been a bit more prompt and saved us some worry
2. On the return to Cairo from Luxor we only had 12 hours to spend in Cairo. Perhaps a hotel closer to the airport could have been chosen saving us a 1.5 hr trip each way from airport to hotel and back.

Our trip to Jordan and Egypt, organized by kimkim, was excellent. All accommodations were great, with special mentions for Harir Palace Amman Hotel and Kempinski Nile Hotel in Cairo. Our driver in Jordan, Rashid, was punctual and safe, and the guides in Jerash and Cairo were knowledgeable and friendly. The desert tour in Wadi Rum was a unique experience, and our guide there made it even more enjoyable.

Visiting the pyramids and museums in Cairo was a highlight, particularly the Egyptian Civilization Museum. Our guide, Khaled, made the visits even more enjoyable. The sightseeing in Aswan was also amazing, with a visit to the Nubian village by boat being a standout experience. Our guide, Abraham, added a lot of value to our experiences in Aswan.

The Movenpick Sunray Nile Cruise was luxurious and the food was fabulous, with the staff going out of their way to accommodate my vegetarian diet!

Hotel Reviews

Rum Oasis Luxury Camp

Wadi Rum

The Rum Oasis Luxury Camp in Wadi Rum was very nice. It was an interesting experience to have such luxurious accommodation in the middle of a desert.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Harir Palace Amman Hotel

Amman

The Harir Palace Hotel in Amman was adequate for our needs. The food was great and the staff were friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dead Sea Spa Hotel

Sweimeh

The Dead Sea Spa Hotel was great. The facilities were good and the location was convenient for diving into the sea.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kempinski Nile Hotel

Cairo

The Kempinski Nile Hotel in Cairo was amazing. We enjoyed the food at their various restaurants and the sleeping accommodations were really great. The location was safe and convenient for walking around at night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Petra - Wadi Rum Desert Tour

Wadi Rum

The Petra to Wadi Rum desert tour was a lot of fun. Our driver was friendly and the journey was interesting and safe.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Old Egyptian Museum & Citadel Of Salah El Din & Old Cairo Mosques

Cairo

We visited the Egyptian Museum and the Citadel of Salah El Din, which were both impressive. Khaled, our guide, made the visits even more enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)

Cairo

The Egyptian Civilization Museum was a highlight of the trip. The exhibits were arranged in a way that showed the progression of Egypt over thousands of years.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome in Jordan ( Queen Alia airport )- Amman

Amman

The welcome in Jordan was a smooth process with someone guiding us through the airport. Everything was well-organized, which gave us a great first impression of Jordan.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amman - Madaba - Nebo -Kerak - Petra

Amman

The journey from Amman to Madaba and Nebo was filled with fascinating historical sights and beautiful landscapes. Our driver, Rashid, was punctual and safe.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara & Memphis

Cairo

Our guide, Khaled, was fantastic. He took us to the Giza Pyramids and Sakkara in a way that was both informative and fun.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aswan sightseeing - Overnight at hotel

Aswan

Aswan offered an amazing sightseeing experience. We visited the Nubian village by boat and saw local people and birds along the Nile. Our guide, Abraham, added a lot of value to the experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Abu Simbel temple & board the Nile cruise

Egypt

The visit to Abu Simbel temple was very interesting. Boarding the Nile cruise was a unique experience, and the Movenpick boat was quite luxurious.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I only have wonderful things to say about Lareine - I have extensive travel experience having been in more than 60 countries, I am not exaggerating when I say that working with Lareine was my best experience so far.
She is extremely efficient, she gets everything done in a little time, she immediately understands your needs and customizes an incredible journey for you. Not only the planning was impeccable, but she also followed up with me throughout our trip in Egypt to ensure everything was going as planned and taking care of additional activities that were not originally planned. She is a smart, hard working and caring travel specialist, I strongly recommend working with her.
Egypt is a truly wonderful countries, it is breathless to stand in front of temples and pyramids that are more than 4000 years old - this is a must go destination at least once in your lifetime! So much to learn and enjoy.

All trip was planned per our request and Ibrahim did excellent job.

Hotel Reviews

Fairmont Nile city

cairo

Enjoyed our stayed at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

yes

Location

excellent

Staff

good service

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean rooms and overall all areas of the hotel

Steigenberger Achti

luxor

Overall enjoyed

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

M/S MAYFAIR Nile Cruise

Aswan

Excellent cruise experience

Authenticity & Character

Excellent

Location

Great

Staff

Very accommodating and courteous

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

BenBen by Dhara Hotels

Excellent location , in fact one should stay at least for 2 nights to enjoy this hotel

Authenticity & Character

Great

Location

Location of this hotel is on top of the hill with 360 water view

Staff

Great

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean hotel

The Nile Ritz-Carlton

Cairo

Great Location facing Nile river

Authenticity & Character

Great

Location

Great

Staff

Great

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great

Activity Reviews

Free Day in Cairo

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Transport

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara & Memphis

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valley of the Queens - Temple of Habu (Ramses III) - Ramsseum Temple - Check in on Nile Cruise

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Edfou temple and Kom Ombo temple

Edfu

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

West Bank of Luxor (Valley of the Kings - Hatshepsut Temple - Colossi of Memnon)

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aswan

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Disembark Nile cruise & visit Abu Simbel temple

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coptic Cairo - Salah El Deen Citadel - Mohamed Ali Mosque

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Karnak Temple and Luxor temple

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day tour Alexandria

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Every Person associated with this trip in Egypt were awesome, they all went beyond to make our trip a memorable one.
Could not be any better.
Very good planning and coordination.

Hotel Reviews

Fairmont Nile city

cairo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Steigenberger Achti

luxor

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

BenBen by Dhara Hotels

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Nile Ritz-Carlton

Cairo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

M/S MAYFAIR Nile Cruise

Aswan

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara & Memphis

Cairo

Our trip to Egypt far exceeded our already high expectations. Sherif, Dunes and Beyond, was the perfect partner for planning the trip. He was always open to our many ideas, and focused on helping us include these ideas rather than telling us to drop them. Sherif truly was superb…he made our trip the success that it was.

Our guides were amazing. Lena, our guide in the Cairo area, was excellent. She accommodated our needs fully, including some mobility issues of one member of our trio. She had great passion for the ancient wonders of her homeland. She enabled us to go into the Pyramids and to see historic sights, such as Coptic Cairo and Islamic Cairo. She was most patient for our deliberate pace in Cairo’s wondrous museums.

In Luxor (ancient Thebes) AlluhDin was our guide. An expert Egyptologist, he was without equal in enabling us to experience the wonders of Ancient Egypt; his passion was contagious. He never tired of our endless questions, and his answers reflected his deep knowledge and insight. He stayed with us throughout our visits to Thebes (home of the Temples of Karnak, the greatest manmade monument that I have ever seen in my extensive travels around the world), during our four/day Nile cruise and the historic sights along the way, and during our several- day stay in Aswan. He was the key to the success of our grand tour of Ancient Egypt. We could not have asked for more. Thank you to AlluhDin and KimKim and Sherif for giving him to us as our guide…that is what made all the difference.

Our 11-day visit (3 full days in Cairo, nearly 3 days in Luxor, the stops along the way during our cruise to Aswan, our 3 days in Aswan, and our flight and stop in Abu Simbel) was just right for a fulfilling introduction to and emotional engagement with the magnificence of Ancient Egypt.

I recommend buying the extra experiences along the way such as going into the Pyramids, taking in the panoramic view at Philae Temple, and adding the tombs of Seth 1 and Ramses V and VI in the Valley of the Kings. The experiences are well worth the added cost.

My only suggestion for improving the experience is to upgrade the cruise ship. The SemiRamses II was clean, but the meals were pedestrian at best. Getting into the bathtub/shower was a dangerous and frightful experience for both my wife and me.

Thank you, KimKim, Sherif, Lena and, most especially, AlluhDin for this grand experience, truly a highlight of our lives.

Most of the feedback was given to Egypt Promotion Tour manager during departure and end of trip. Below are the highlights.

1. Day 1 tour described by KimKim was completely different than what was executed by Egypt Promotion. It was definitely NOT a food tour. It was a walking city tour ending with lunch buffet. Disappointed.
2. Day 1-4 on all 4 days I did not have lunch until 4-5pm. Even after calling this out on Day 2 and Day 3 still no attention taken.
3. The itinerary provided never mentioned my visit to shops and art shops which I think must be provided during planning. While whether to buy or not is my choice. These visits itself took priority over for all the guides that we had to skip lunch and cover all these shops and demos. While I understand the importance for supporting local artists and art and making purchases, definitely not at the cost of skipping my lunch and also the guides make these shopping stops a priority evident across all cities. If it was so important for all to make me buy stuff then why was it not mentioned and timed accordingly in my daily itineraries.

With no compromise on my high price I was charged by KimKim, it was not even suited to my comfort with all the above points.

Another very important thing KimKim needs to do is to provide tipping guidance to foreigners. While I am aware tipping is a choice, but how much is more and how much is less is totally unknown to us visiting Egypt for first time. This guidance must be provided as it depends local cost of living that will help me decide what the tip is. Due to this confusion I may have ended up paying more to few and less to few others

Activity Reviews

Attend Sound and Light Show at Karnak Temple

Egypt

This being a local activity in my itinerary, it did not happen on the same day as planned. It was closed due to a private function and it happened the next day. It would have saved some time going and being turned back at the venue if the local on ground updates were known to Egypt Promotion. If the venue was blocked for private gathering and not open to public on the day as planned.

Quality of Experience

Knowing ground realities and updates about venue being blocked for private gathering

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Egypt - Cairo Walking Food Tour

Cairo

This was a not a food tour so please rename thr tour and also your description you give in KimKim itinerary. This is a walking tour that ends with lunch. There is no trying of 4-5 different local delicacy with stops at different food stops as described

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day tour to visit Pyramids& Sphinx, Old Egyptian Museum, Salah El Deen Citadel & Mohamed Ali Mosque

Cairo

This was one of th best tours of my entire itinerary. Well paced and covering the main spotlights of Pyramids. Hope we had a little more time. (Read skipping the shopping and art demo places - Day could have been better) But I liked what the guide did and cover all main spots.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Habiba made the whole planning and booking process extremely easy. She gave us a lot of great options and suggestions and took into consideration the things we did and did not want to do while in Egypt. Overall, the whole planning and booking experience was great. While we did still greatly enjoy the trip and our visit to Egypt, there were a few things that we weren't so happy with.

Our trip began in Cairo. After we landed at the airport, we were able to find our guide easily and he and our driver took us to our hotel. The guide (sorry I can't remember his name!) was very friendly and knowledgeable and told us a lot about Egypt and its history during the one-hour drive to the hotel. We were very impressed with our driver, as well. Cairo traffic is no joke, but he navigated it like a pro.

Our hotel was NOT what we were expecting, though. Great service, but the place simply was not done. Our itinerary said we were staying at the Great Pyramids Inn in Giza which, if you look it up on Tripadvisor, is a beautiful (completely built) hotel with a restaurant/bar on site. The hotel photos that were provided in our itinerary were extremely misleading. A completely different hotel. We were brought to the Royal Great Pyramids Inn (or something like that, Royal Pyramids Inn, I can't remember), which is still under construction. The first 4 floors are still being built and there was construction going on the whole time and there was a lot of dirt and dust from the construction. It looked nothing like the photos. Our room was very pretty and well decorated with a great view of the pyramids, but again, it wasn't finished. There were no towel racks or bars or hooks, nowhere to hang anything. Lots of hangers but no place to hang. We had to set our towels on a small table to dry them. 10 bottles each of shampoo and body wash, but no other toiletries (conditioner, lotion, etc.). The power went out for a little over an hour on our second day. That happens; not a big deal. It made us very hesitant to take the elevator in the building, but the staff insisted that we take the elevator anyway (I think because of all the construction mess on the stairs). The staff was incredibly kind and friendly, so that made it not quite as big of a deal that the hotel was totally different from what we were expecting. We were under the impression that there was a bar and restaurant on site. They did feed us the first night and breakfast was provided, but I would hardly call it a bar/restaurant. They were also surprised to hear that I am a vegetarian, even though I made that clear in our questionnaire before we started planning the trip.

A different guide took us to Cairo Tower the second night for dinner. We were expecting a nice romantic dinner, just the two of us, but our guide actually sat with us the whole time at dinner, and didn't eat anything. He was perfectly nice and pleasant, but it was a bit awkward. It also seemed like there were lots of issues with us getting into the tower and getting dinner because the guide kept having to get up to talk with the restaurant staff, and it took about 20 minutes for him to get our tickets into the tower. We weren't given a menu and were told that our options were chicken or beef. We were told that there were no vegetarian options, even though we noticed on our way out that the menu had plenty of vegetarian options. This was frustrating since I had included the fact that I'm a vegetarian in our questionnaire before we started planning the trip, so I would have hoped that some arrangements would have been made in advance. We also weren't offered any drinks or anything and had to ask for water after we'd been sitting there for a while. We saw after the fact that there were lots of drinks/wine/cocktails, etc. on the menu.

There were a few instances where our guides took us to places that weren't on our itinerary and which we would have expressly declined if we'd known in advance. Eg., we went to a papyrus store to "learn how papyrus is made" but it was really just a high-pressure sales pitch to get us to buy something. We were also taken to a jewelry store and a perfume store. Towards the end of the trip one of the guides pulled up to the front of an alabaster store. We said "we're good here, we don't need to go in" knowing that we'd just be pressured to buy something. I have no problems with these businesses or their sales tactics and I understand they're all just trying to make a living, but I would have appreciated a heads-up that we would be visiting these places. Because we would have said "no thank you." Our trip was jam-packed with sightseeing and we had very little downtime to begin with, so we would have preferred to skip those extra little outings that we didn't ask for.

It also seemed there wasn't clear communication with the timing of our itinerary at times. For example, we took a 3-night Nile Cruise and our itinerary said we would have lunch onboard on the last day before we departed on a 4-hour drive to the next destination. But we actually had to check out of the cruise at 8am that morning so we had to ask our guide to take us somewhere so we could buy lunch before we left.

None of that ruined the trip by any means. We still had a great time and got to see and do all the things we wanted to see and do. All of our guides and drivers were friendly and kind and helpful and, with the exception of the Cairo hotel, our accommodations exceeded our expectations.

The trip Sherif helped me plan was magical! Jordan was absolutely spectacular. Our driver, Omar, was so good. He wasn’t just a driver, but showed us some amazing areas of Amman and introduced us to his childhood sweet treat! He really made our time in Jordan special. Petra was an unbelievable experience. The guide, I apologize that I don’t remember his name, gave us informative information as we walked down the hill to the Treasury. We loved how he had us turn our back and then moved us into position so that when we turned around the treasury was between the rock formations. I actually had goosebumps! On our way to Petra, Omar took us to the smallest hotel in the world! I had actually read about it a year or two before! We spent time with the owner and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Wadi Rum was another cool place. Our accommodations were so much fun! Sunset camel ride and a Jeep safari were highly enjoyable! Our last stop in Jordan was at the Dead Sea. Floating in it was an experience I won’t soon forget. Omar was fantastic!
We were able to meet Sherif at our hotel in Cairo the first morning there. Because we were meeting up with our cruise several days later, I had sent Sherif our itinerary of things were we’re going to see with the cruise guides. Sherif worked his magic and gave us a perfect compliment of places to visit! We had fantastic guides and visited places that we were not going to otherwise visit, Coptic Cairo, the hanging church, the NMEC as well as a day trip to Alexandria really rounded out our Egyptian experience. Sherif was attentive all through the process as well as when we we on our trip. I would highly recommend working with him if you want a quality experience in Jordan and Egypt!!!! I only wish we had more time to explore. Back home we are continuing to learn more about this amazing part of the world. Thank you Sherif!

Activity Reviews

Amman City Tour - Jerash - Amman

Egypt

I think may favorite part was actually walking through the open air market and and tasting Omar’s favorite childhood treat!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Petra

Petra

Omg Petra is amazing! We stayed at the Petra House Hotel which is right at the entrance to Petra. It was perfect. Neither of us knew what to expect but having a guide with us to point out the sights and give us background on the place is the only way to go the first time there. The place is enormous! Seeing the iconic treasury carved into the mountain is unbelievable and the fact it is thousands of years old is amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I have been wanting to go to Egypt for years, as it had been on my bucket list for some time. The planning process with Ibrahim seemed to be fine. However, there were a lot of bumps upon arrival. First, we got into Cairo, and went to the St. Regis, which was great. The first night, we were scheduled to go on a Nile cruise for dinner. When we got to the cruise, it was absolutely disgusting, and we ended up not staying. When we talked to out guide the next day about it, he was shocked the tour company sent us to that cruise, agreeing with us that it was filthy and well below average standards (and he recommended we try the nice cruise). The next day, we were surprised that the tour was much shorter than expected and did not include the Egyptian Museum. I would have expected any tour to include the museum, and that a tour operator would know that the museum should not be missed. So, we had to pay extra not only for the museum, but also the guide's time. And, really that became the mantra for the trip - the tours were less than half the day and we ended up paying for a lot of extras that should have been included. When we went to Luxor, only the Valley of the Kings was included, not the Valley of the Queens. So, not only did we pay extra for the entrance fee (which was fine), the tour company wanted an extra $90 USD for the car to take us there (which was literally less than a ten minute drive) and for the guide's time (which we were already paying for, as we had the guide for the day and when the tours we were scheduled to go on were over before 11am). This was disappointing to say the least. I would expect that a tour company should know the things to see and approx. time to take on these tours, and if the tours were only going to be part of the day, I would think that the tour company would tell us ahead of time and recommend other things to do. Further, when we paid for a private tour guide and car, we expected to have use of that car and/or guide not just for a few hours in the morning. And, when we asked to go to a dinner about 10 min drive from the hotel, we were told it was not included, and they asked for $15 USD. Not a big deal, but when you already paid for a private car/driver, it seems odd to charge extra for this. And one of our guides did not speak very good English (almost none), which was quite disappointing. And, even things like breakfast that were supposed to be included, ended up not being included on two of the days.

This is in contrast to last year, when we went to Jordan with the same set up - a private car and tour guide - using this company. Our tour guide was amazing, and the car was always available to take us to lunch, dinner, extra things (minus costs of the entrance fees). Sadly, we did not get the same experience.

One of our guides, Ahmed, was awesome. He was with us for Aswan and Luxor. He was super knowledgeable, passionate and just all around great. He really made the trip amazing. When we had extra time, he helped us find good places for souvenirs, took us off the beaten path to find great dining spots and would take us to interesting places (like a local nubian coffee place) and just talk to us about the culture and his country. We couldn't have asked for a better guide, and I only wished he had been our guide the entire time.

While our trip to Egypt was memorable because it was Egypt, looking back, I would not have used this tour company for this trip. We paid a lot of money to have a private car/driver, and we were disappointed not only that our tours ended up being super short, but that we had to pay extra for things that should have been included (or that the tour company should have asked to be included).

Activity Reviews

Dinner Cruise

Cairo

We ended up not staying for the cruise. The ship was gross, and we were not going to take the chance of eating and getting sick. We were told there are much better/nicer cruises, but this was not it.

Quality of Experience

Pyramids, Sphinx , Salah El Deen Citadel and Old Cairo

Cairo

This tour is a must for anyone going to Egypt. However, we (and our guide) was surprised that the tour did not include the Egyptian Museum, given that the tour (as scheduled) was over before 1pm. We added the museum, which is a must see, but were charged a lot to include it (on top of the entrance fees).