Kimkim Trip Reviews for Egypt

This trip was arranged by Ibrahim & Amr perfectly! We were a group of 15, all the sites, transport, guides were absolutely amazing. We selected the 'luxury' trip and it was exactly that, the hotels were out of this world, nothing less than 6 star. The dahabiya was beautiful and so relaxing. Mostafa, our Egypt guide was the best guide ever - he was so engaging, smart, knowledgeable about everything we saw - he made everything so relatable and so interesting. he has a wonderful sense of humour and got on so well with each of us. Akram, our guide in Jordan, was so kind and calm and knowledgeable and ensured we all enjoyed all our site visits in Jordan. This trip was a once in a lifetime trip and everyone loved it and will remember it forever. The contact from Ibrahim and his team was constant even once the trip started. He even organized a surprise birthday cake for me in Jordan . Perfect trip. Could not recommend highly enough using Kim Kim to organise

From start to finish the experience was first class. Sherif managed to put a tour that was exactly what we needed. Excellent service from Mohammed and Ahmed at Cairo Airport where they made sure we had got through security and checked in as quickly as possible. Lina was our guide for Cairo pyramids and museum, very engaging tour and so knowledgeable. Ismail looked after us from Luxor to Aswan and was our tour guide. He again was so knowledgeable, friendly and funny and we learnt so much from him. The highlights were the Valley of the Kings, Karnack Temples but also mixed with many others at Edfu and Aswan that were all very different. Philae temple by boat was also very special.

Activity Reviews

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan-Philae Temple / Unfinished Obelisk/ High Dam - Overnight in Aswan

Aswan

Really interesting to bring Egypt story up to date with an understanding of the dams but the unfinished Obelisk and explanation of the how they were made and transported was a highlight.

Quality of Experience

Flow of trip through history. We liked the Luxor to Aswan route for this.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge of guide again was perfect.

Transport

Comfortable and enjoyable

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan-Edfu & Kom Ombo Temples - Overnight in Kom Ombo

Egypt

We saw the temple at night which made for a variation in the experience which we loved. Seeing the temple lit up and night was incredible

Quality of Experience

Lighting of temples at night

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge, humour, friendliness

Transport

5 minutes walk to temple

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan- East Bank- Overnight in Luxor

Luxor

Good food and lovely boat

Quality of Experience

Scenery along the way sitting in a very comfortable environment

Food

Varied and good quality

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable, friendly, highest possible service

Transport

Very comfortable

Tour to Giza Pyramids & Egyptian Museum

Cairo

The pyramids or just iconic and clearly a must see. The Egyptian Museum was actually mind blowing, the amount of artifacts collected and brilliantly explained by Lina.

Quality of Experience

The whole experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendliness, knowledge

Transport

Comfortable and always close to hand

We are very happy with the trip and looking forward to returning when I have more vacation time available. The Egypt based team handled everything for our small group. From hotel check-in & check-out, baggage handling, visa processing, and airport transfers, the Egypt Promotions team provided constant assistance through all of the processes from our arrival in Egypt, transfer to and from Jordan, and return to the U.S. We felt very safe, and confrontable the entire time in Egypt & Jordan. Our drivers and guides were always very personable, accommodating, and polite. All aspects of this tour meet or exceeded our expectations. We wish to thank everyone at Egypt Promotions, Ahmed Khaled, Ibrahim, Mohamoud Hashim, Moustafa Yehya in Cairo, and Zain in Luxor for making the trip a wonderfully enjoyable experience. Our driver Shadi Talal in Jordan also went beyond our expectations in providing an excellent experience in Jordan and working with us to adjust the schedule around inclement weather. I would also highly recommend our Egyptian guides Shenda Adel in Cairo and Ahmend based in Luxor. They were excellent resources for explaining the history and culture of Egypt and provided additional information on which sites or tombs would be of interest. It is always impressive to me when the Egyptologists reads the hieroglyphics that are inscribed on the walls in the temples while explaining the stories of the kings, queens, or gods. I would highly recommend to anyone to visit and experience the wonderful culture and history of Egypt and Jordan. I am looking forward to returning to continue learning about the history of these remarkable civilizations.

All of the sites on the typical Ancient Egypt tour were very impressive. Our group was primarily interested in the history of Egypt and the peoples that inhabited the Nile valley and the Levant.

We were very impressed when visiting the valley of the queens in addition to the valley of the kings. There were some very impressive tombs in the Valley of the Queens of the children of the Pharos. Another temple that I was not familiar with before the trip was Din Darah. This was almost as impressive as Karnak and I think should be added to the standard itinerary. Fortunately our Luxor based guide, Ahmed, suggested this temple complex when we were discussing what we were most interested in seeing during our time in upper and middle Egypt.

In Jordan, the ancient city of Petra was very impressive and required more than a day to hike to all of the different spots and visit the museum at the entrance of park that encompasses Petra.

I would also recommend visiting the Egyptian Civilization museum at the beginning of the trip. This will provide a condensed overview of the thousands of years of history that you will be able to explore while in Egypt. If you are not familiar with the history of Egypt, the exhibits will help you understand the significance of the sites you visit.

Hotel Reviews

Sonesta cairo

cairo

Modern hotel near the airport. Very close to the sites on the east side of the Nile River and the airport. Chose this hotel to avoid as much traffic as possible while visiting old Cairo and the civilization museum. The drive to the airport was only about 20 minutes with traffic and checkpoints.

Authenticity & Character

Typical modern hotel

Location

Very close to the sites and airport.

Staff

Staff was very polite and provided immediate solutions to requests.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Old Village Resort

Wadi Musa

Fascinating hotel with charming rooms, great staff and facilities.

Authenticity & Character

Very much like an old village, very charming.

Location

On a hilltop overlooking the town, although it takes a few minutes to drive to the entrance of Petra a shuttle was offered to guests so there was no issue for transportation. A very quite place to rest after a long day of hiking with all the needed amenities. Much closer than the Marriott to Petra

Staff

Everyone was very polite and responsive to requests.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Amman

Amman

Wonderful hotel in the center of Amman. Great staff and amenities. I will stay at this hotel again when in Amman.

Authenticity & Character

Modern hotel with great amenities

Location

Center of Amman.

Staff

All staff went above and beyond what was necessary for a hotel and are very well trained and responsive to service requests. Very happy with our time here and looking forward to returning to experience the wonderful hospitality.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Steigenberger Achti - Luxor

luxor

Nice, modern hotel in Luxor.

Authenticity & Character

Typical modern resort hotel.

Location

Not in the center of Luxor on the Kornish, but far enough away that the hustle and bustle of the down-town does not cause a lot of noise.

Staff

Everyone was very responsive to requests and questions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Typical modern resort hotel. Everything was in order and correct.

Radamis Nile cruise l

cairo

Comfortable cabin, everything worked as designed. There were no problems or issues. The crew was very courteous and efficient. I would not hesitate to spend another Nile cruise on the Radamis.

Authenticity & Character

Everyone was gracious and polite.

Location

Staff

Everyone was very nice and respectful. Everyone enjoyed their time on the ship

Cleanliness & Comfort

No issues, it was like staying on a typical cruise ship

Hilton Pyramids Golf

Cairo

New and modern hotel located outside central Cairo. Spacious rooms, good food, and near the mall of Egypt should you need to purchase something that you forgot to pack. Selected this hotel since we were interested in visiting Saqqara/Memphis & Giza and wanted to avoid the traffic in central Cairo as much as possible. Only downside is that if you need to go into central Cairo, you will be joining the rush-hour traffic in the morning to visit the museums in the city.

Authenticity & Character

This was a typical modern Hilton hote, could pass for a property in Europe or the US.

Location

Away from central Cairo, but if you are going into town, you will be going with rush-hour traffic.

Staff

Everyone was very gracious and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

No issues with the facility.

Activity Reviews

Old Cairo churches and local local food lesson

Cairo

Enjoyed seeing and learning about the Coptic tradition in Egypt. This is a fascinating excursion into the early history of Christianity and how it forms a part of Egyptian culture.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Petra -The Dead Sea - Amman airport

Petra

Fascinating to see the topography of the area. I was expecting the water of the dead sea to be very cold since we visited in February, but it was quite warm. This would be a good location to visit for a day if you were completing strenuous hikes in Petra or the Wadi Rum area. The baptismal site on the jordan river is about 30 minutes north and could be an interesting 1/2 day experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day to explore the lost city ( Petra )

Petra

Amazing place, I knew nothing about the history of the people who inhabited Petra. It will take at least 4 hours to hike to the monistary from the entrance. I would recomend more than one day if you want to visit all of the different sites within the national park.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amman - Madaba - Nebo -Kerak - Petra

Amman

Madama is suprisingly mundaine for the impressive mosaic. Mount Nebo provide an amazing view of the Jordan river valley. Petra is an impressive place and requires more than one day to visit all of the ruins.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amman - Jerash - Ajloun – Amman

Amman

The citadel provides an excellent view of Amman, and the museum provides an overview of the civilizations that thrived in Jordan. Since it had snowed, we were unable to visit Ajloun castle so more time was spend at Jaresh, which was needed since it was such a large site. The ruins were fascinating, in very good condition, and very much like visiting Rome.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Q.AIA AIRPORT /AMMAN CITY TOUR/AMMAN

Amman

Amazing to see the roman ruins in the center of the city. Very reminiscent of Rome. Amman appears to be a very modern city with excellent infrastructure. Arrival and transfer to hotel was very easy and smooth. Local representative handled visa and customs.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valley of the Queens - Temple of Medinat Habu (Ramses III) - Ramsseum Temple

Luxor

Valley of the queens was just as interesting as valley of the kings. The temple in Dendera was a bonus. If you arrive at the valley of the kings early enough, you can visit the Valley of the Queens the same day. The village of the artisans / tomb workers was also very interesting as you are able to visit the tomb of the head of the workers. It was very interesting to see a less opulent tomb for a commoner.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Air hot Balloon and Visit The Valley of the Kings and Hatchepsut temple and overnight Luxor

Luxor

Very amazing to see the old tombs in such good condition. Purchase the addional King Tut ticket to visit his toomb.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Edfu temple & Luxor temple and Karnak temple

Egypt

Impressive sites. Could have spent a lot more time exploring the different areas at each temple.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Abu Simbel temple and Kom Ombo temple

Aswan

Very impressive sites

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aswan

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Enjoyed the visit to the Nubian village and trying their traditional dishes.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Old Egyptian Museum & Citadel Of Salah El Din and Khan Khalili market

Cairo

The old Egyptian museum still had many great exhibits but you could tell they were moving items to the Grand Egyptian museum which was not open yet. It was still very impressive and I would recommend a visit even when the grand Egyptian museum is open. The citadel and the Mohammad Ali masque were very interesting and beautiful. The Khan Khalili market was the typical tourist market that sold things that could be purchase elsewhere in Cairo. The visit could be skipped if you are not looking for souvenirs.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara, Memphis and camel ride

Cairo

Some of the sites in Sakkara were closed when visiting, will have to return when the Grand Egyptian Museum is open.

Quality of Experience

Food

Very much enjoyed visiting the falafel restaurant for a taste of the local cuisine on the way to Memphis / Sakkara

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very knowledgeable and polite

Transport

Thanks you for connecting us to the best guide for our trip to Jordan and Egypt.
Amman-Dead Sea-Petra-Cairo
Feb 2023
My wife and I were paired with Mr Sherif Khalil from Dunes and Beyond in February 2023, for an 8 day trip of Jordan and Cairo, Egypt. Everything went perfectly! This company is very professional. Do not have any doubts whether or not to use them. They delivered exactly as described and were always punctual. Thank you Sherif. Thank you Jad in Jordan, and Lina in Cairo, and Mohammed, our driver. The Middle East is my favorite part of the world. This is our 3rd Middle East trip, and I will be using Dunes and Beyond (KimKim) for our next trip.

Kim Kim did a great job at organizing our 15 day trip to Egypt. 1st of all the people , culture, food and sights are wonderful. While I know using a travel agent usually cost a little bit more, it was well, well worth it. My husband and I usually like to go to any location for at least 2 weeks or more and try to pack in as much as possible. Kim-Kim and their Egyptian team was able to lay out a great final literary after several versions to get to what we wanted. We had a heavily pack literary, and Kim-Kim travel and their Egyptian team ( Ibrahim, Mahmoud Hashim and so many more) made it happen smoothly with no worries. When I think of it, to do it on our own would have been a logistical nightmare.
We captured all the great sights in and around Cairo, a day in Alexandria, 2 days, and a night in the White Desert (A MUST DO!!). Our Guide in the North was Khaled Roshgy and he was wonderful, very well informed, energetic and enthusiastic to show us all the sights. We then flew south to visit all the sights in Aswan and took a Dahabiya sailing boat trip down the Nile to Luxor to take in everything it had to offer. The sailing trip included 4-5 stops at ancient sites that many of the motorized boats don't have access too. Our southern guide was Mohamad Helmy and he too was a fantastic guide who was very informative at every level. He made us feel so welcomed and was not only very informative of all the sites, but also Egyptian everyday life past and present. I would highly recommend the Dahabiya sailing over the motorized boats. The Food and Crew of the Maya was fantastic! We then moved on to Hurghada for some diving and some beach relaxation at the Sheraton Soma Bay. (Great Hotel and team providing great service )

My husband and I booked a 12-day trip to Egypt through KimKim/contracted with Egypt Promotions and it was the best trip we could’ve ever imagined. Ibrahim helped plan the itinerary and I took most of his recommendations since I was unfamiliar with the best places to visit. From the moment we landed in Cairo & throughout the trip there was always a representative waiting to take us to our hotel/destination. We never had to wait for anyone and we never felt lost or confused. Our tour guide in Cairo, Mostafa, was so cool, informative, patient, friendly, and knew the best spots for photos. The Farah Nile Cruise was absolutely amazing and I can’t say enough great things about the boat, staff, food, service. Abanob was our tour guide in Aswan and Luxor and he made us feel safe and was extremely informative. He was well educated and provided great facts and insights and I know we wouldn’t have had the same experience if we visited the sites alone. There was one night that my husband and I ventured off alone in Luxor city and it was overwhelming with the aggressive street vendors. This brief experience gave us a bigger appreciation for the tour guides and drivers. Yazeed was our driver and guide in Jordan and we loved his calm and friendly demeanor. He provided the needed information and gave us the time we needed to enjoy each stop. We never felt rushed with him. Despite the numerous destinations, cities and hotels, moving through each one was seamless and there’s no way we could’ve planned this kind of adventure on our own. Everything was absolutely wonderful and the only things I’d mention is that I would’ve liked to have more time and opportunity to visit the small street vendors. We were always told to avoid them and their cheap souvenirs but then we were taken to specialty shops that charge much higher prices and it’s obvious the guides received commission for our purchases. Also, at the end of the cruise our tour guide had us give him the envelope with the boat crews tips instead of putting it in the box at the front desk which is standard protocol. I would like to think that the money was given to the boat crew but not sure why I couldn’t give it directly to them.

We loved seeing the sights of Egypt and Jordan! Booking the trip went really well. Amr was very quick to respond considering the time difference. Our guide in Cairo Amir was very good! He's very knowledgeable and fun to be around. His English is perfect. All pick-ups were on time besides one. That was for the Nile dinner cruise. Every other time everyone was early. My favorite place to visit was Dashur. The pyramids are well preserved and almost no tour groups go there so it was very empty.

Hotel Reviews

Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa

Sweimeh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Old Village Resort

Wadi Musa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kempinski Nile Hotel

Cairo

Very nice hotel in a nice part of Cairo.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa

Luxor, Luxor Governorate

Very nice hotel. The pool area is right on the Nile. It's a perfect place to relax.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff is very friendly. Everyone greets you cheerfully

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

AMMAN /PETRA

Petra

We were surprised how big it is. A lot more walking than expected but it's worth it to see one of the wonders of the world.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valley of the Kings and Luxor Museum

Luxor

Seeing the tomb of Seti I was definitely the highlight. It's an expensive extra ticket but you get to see one of the best tombs with very few other visitors.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day tour to visit Pyramids& Sphinx and Old Egyptian Museum

Cairo

I loved that I had time to walk all around the Giza pyramids. Taking as much time as I wanted was definitely a plus of a private tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sakkara & Dahshour and Memphis

Egypt

Dahshour was my favorite. Not a busy place at all. It's cool to see amazing pyramids with no crowds of people.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dendarah temple and Abydos & Luxor temple

Luxor

It was a long day because Abydos is far from Luxor. It's definitely worth seeing though.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mahmoud was a great driver! We felt perfectly safe with him.

Valley of the Queens - Temple of Medinat Habu (Ramses III) - Ramsseum Temple

Luxor

This is a very cool place to see. Not a common stop so it's not crowded at all. Very unique to see where workers lived. The tomb of Nefertari was amazing to see. Well worth the extra ticket.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Petra - The Dead Sea

Petra

It was a very nice and relaxing end to a busy trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip to Egypt and Jordan was organized for us very nicely. Mr. Ibrahim planned an itinerary based on my requests and gave me options for hotel and cruise boat options and then booked the ones as I chose. The team on the ground, tour leaders and drivers were all great and well organized. I highly recommend using them as Egypt and Jordan require guides to be explored and enjoyed. This team made it unforgettable.

Hotel Reviews

Concorde El Salam

cairo

Hotel had a nice lobby area but rooms are old and mattress was sagging so uncomfortable. Close to airport for convenience. There are no food options around hotel other than it’s own restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

KaiSol Romance Sahl Hasheesh

Hurghada

Hotel is beautiful and on a perfect stretch of the sea

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel was located 20 min by car to city so nothing around it.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Farah Nile Cruise

cairo

This is absolutely beautiful boat with an amazing staff. Choose this one. You won’t be disappointed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel El Borg

cairo

Great hotel and great location. Other than hotel restaurants, there were not many other food options around but it is on the Nile with walking distance to museums so very centrally located.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Petra Guest House

Wadi Musa

Fantastic, clean and modern hotel right by trail to Petra. Amazing staff and great food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mazayen Rum Camp

Al Dissi

Great accommodation in the dessert. Nice, clean with great food and great staff. Highly recommend

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

West & East Bank Luxor

Luxor

Luxor was amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Abu Simbel - Kom Ombo

Egypt

Even though it was a long drive to get to it was one of the most amazing temples we saw. Definitely worth it

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I think KimKim as a platform is quite good - we had good responsiveness from the local agency.

Egypt is a truly amazing place and I think, overall, the trip was a good success. I would not really hesitate to recommend KimKim or Egypt Promotions (EP) to work with.

There were, however, a few glitches and recommendations I can offer. EP does a nice job of having a lot of people interact with us in terms of transportation - we had a glitch on the initial meeting at the airport and needed to have data and phone working to communicate with them. In our trip from Luxor, the rep was totally unaware of us not having tickets (booked by EP) and was completely unprepared to do anything about it - that was a bit of a shit show. Otherwise, the trip managers were cordial and helpful.

The guides we had were quite good. We had a private trip and the guides let us adjust as needed. Shahenda in Cairo and Muhammad in Aswan/Luxor were very knowledgeable with good English and good energy. Sha in particular know just what pictures to take and was really delightful to work with.

We did a driving trip to Alexandria - not sure that was entirely worth the extra time. The driver was almost falling asleep at the wheel at some points which was, obviously, disconcerting. We could definitely spent more time at the library in Alexandria visiting the planetarium, seeing the movie and visiting the exhibits.

Definitely do the dhabiya - it's a nice way to break up the trip between being inundated with facts and incredible sites and just relaxing and chilling along the beautiful Nile river. It would behoove EP to offer upgrades - we definitely had a luxury experience (the hotels were simply amazing) but one of our party would have liked the opportunity to book the "suite" room on the dahabiya and paid a bit extra.

We'd also suggest to EP to offer more details and options for the difference locations and let the guide work with the travelers to plan the day out. It seemed several days were pretty much planned out and then ended fairly early.

Tipping is always a bit of a mystery and, while EP gave us guidance for drivers/guides, we were less clear on who and how much to tip the trip managers and various other people. The tipping guidelines seemed quite a bit higher than what we read on the internet but I did not think they were unreasonable (e.g. $25/couple/day for the guide).

Lastly, I'd be suspect of the"government stores" and other places the guides take you - I don't really know what "government store" means and at least in Luxor, we bypassed the "cheap merchandise on the street" to go to a "reputable store with high quality goods" and I think that ended up being inaccurate - I believe we got the exact same goods on the street for about 1/2 the price as in the store. We bought an Egyptian cotton red sweatshirt that pills so bad it's unwearable.

So it may sound like we were not happy with the trip but that is NOT accurate. We DEFINITELY think you need to use a guide company to do this trip unless you speak fluent Arabic. EP was quite good, on time, provided good vehicles and very good guides, so I really do not hesitate in recommending them.

We spent over 2 weeks in Egypt, covering the length and breadth of the country. We planned it with Kimkim travels. The entire experience with them was great. They took all my inputs on board while planning and the on ground execution with Egypt Promption Travel was outstanding. From the time we landed till the time we left, they ensured that we had all we needed even if they were physically not with us. Our guides in Cairo as well as Aswan to Luxor - both Mohammed, were knowledgeable, friendly and made us feel comfortable and at home. All internal transfers - by road and air were done seamlessly without the need for any follow up. I strongly recommend their services.

Hotel Reviews

Blue Shadow Nile Cruise

Karnak, Luxor

It was a great experience to sail down the Nile in this floating hotel

Basma Hotel Aswan

Aswan

Comfortable hotel. Great Egyptian food with extremely generous portions

Baharia Camp

Bahariya

A wonderful experience. I think it would be good to get a more detailed briefing on what to expect in terms of the "accommodation" in the desert. Having said that, this is a not to be missed experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hurghada

Hurghada

I have never seen seas nor skies so blue. The glass bottomed boat and snorkeling was great. It was our first time snorkelling

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit The west Bank and transfer to Hurghada

Egypt

We did the Hot air balloon. It was a terrific experience floating over the Valley of the Kings. The only suggestion I would have is that the number of people in the balloon could have been split across 2 balloons. There were around 30 of us in our balloon which limited one's 360 degree view since much movement wasn't possible

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Edfu temple & Luxor temple and Karnak temple

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Abu Simbel temple and Kom Ombo temple

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aswan

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cairo - White Desert

Bahariya

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alexandria

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cairo City Tour

Cairo

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara, Memphis and camel ride

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Old Egyptian Museum

Cairo

Our trip to Egypt was a great experience, thanks to Kimkim/Egypt Promotion. The tour was well organized: Mahmood met us at Cairo airport and helped with the visa process, etc; the guides on tour (Khalid, Abunob, Mariam) were knowledgeable; and the local tour operators (Ahmed, Zain) kept everything moving on schedule. Other than the pyramids, temples, the Nile cruise, etc, one place that was a highlight of the tour was the White desert; the natural formations there are just spectacular! Overall, we had no problems or issues on the tour, and we had a very good time. We will surely encourage our friends to visit Egypt and recommend Kimkim.

Activity Reviews

Visit The west Bank and transfer to Hurghada

Egypt

Visit Edfu temple & Luxor temple and Karnak temple

Egypt

White Desert - Cairo

Egypt

Hurghada - Cairo - Bahariya

Hurghada

Visit Abu Simbel temple and Kom Ombo temple

Aswan

Boat trip & snorkeling/ Diving at Giftun Island

Hurghada

Aswan

Aswan

Cairo - White Desert

Bahariya

Desert Safari at Hurghada

Hurghada

Day tour to visit Pyramids& Sphinx and Old Egyptian Museum

Cairo

Sherif and his team at Dunes & Beyond (DB) in Egypt and his associates in Jordan (Karma House Travels ) made our dream holiday come true! They were outstanding! Smooth airport assistance and hotel transfers that made us feel like VIPs. And local private-guided visits including transfers that were such a pleasure!

The itinerary was well planned as per our requests and beautifully executed! Sherif also communicated throughout our entire trip to ensure there were no issues. 

Special mention to the guides, Lina in Cairo and Muhammed on our Nile cruise.  The Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan was the highlight of our visit, with Sherif managing an upgrade to an upper deck suite. 

Special mention also to Khalil, who drove us around Jordan. Not only was he a fantastic driver, he was also our walking wiki on all things Jordan! Such a pleasure to have him for our trip!

Thank you Sherif and the team at D&B and Karma House !  

Activity Review

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan-Philae Temple / Unfinished Obelisk/ High Dam - Overnight in Aswan

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

D&B made our dream trip to Egypt easy and INCREDIBLE! They found us the best guides, hotels that matched our budget and preferences, and even got us on our dream cruise down the Nile. They stayed in touch through our whole trip, from airport transfers to hotels to where to eat. We had the best time ever and it honestly exceeded our expectations. Thanks Sharif for making Egypt easy and wonderful for us!

Activity Review

Tour to Giza Pyramids, Memphis & Saqqara

Cairo

Lina our guide was incredible at showing us the sights and telling us the known history of the pyramids.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sherif is incredible. His knowledge of the country, responsiveness and dedication to quality service is unparalleled.

Activity Review

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan- East Bank- Overnight in Luxor

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful experience in Egypt. The planning went smoothly, and my specialist certainly accommodated all our requests. Once we arrived in Egypt we had a very pleasant trip, we were warmly received by Mohamed, we had great guides (Shaima, Mohamed, Zacharias) that went out of their way for us to have a wonderful experience. We absolutely loved the Hyatt Regency at Giza Heights and the resort in Hurghada. The Nile cruise was beautiful and we ate deliciously every day. The camping along Bedouins at the white desert was a very unique experience that we will never forget.
We had a busy trip, visiting Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Philae Temple, Abu Simbel, Luxor, Karnak, Hurghada and the desert and then the white desert; and we did a myriad of activities at every place. We could not have done so much without the help of our wonderful agency. Egypt is so beautiful and so vast, we can't wait to go back and will definitely work with the same travel agency again.

Ibrahim and Amr were great when planning the trip. Responsive (considering the time change) and very active while we were in Egypt if we had any questions. We had a 10 day experience between Cairo, Aswan, Edfu, Luxor, and Hurghada. All of our transportation was timely, the transition between each city was flawless, and the package was well planned. We were greeted at each destination with a contact, and hand delivered to a new guide in each city. Egypt itself was beautiful and I would suggest everyone go visit and see the remarkable sites.

With this being said, here are a few things to know before going. The tipping was extremely aggressive. We were being told by our guide exactly how much and who we should be tipping….which was everyone and an extreme amount. From the agency, we were never warned or given any type of breakdown as to what the suggested tipping is in Egypt. Other couples we met along our trip were sent typed out paperwork on how much to tip and what was expected. We were given nothing which left us blind to it and made us feel very forced and uncomfortable. For future travelers: when switching your funds to Egyptian pounds I highly suggest getting smaller bills to accommodate for the amount of tipping you will be expected to do.

Itinerary with no times.
Although we were given an itinerary, we were never given exact times (which we have in the past when traveling through KimKim). We were never informed that so many days we would be waking up at 3am. The itinerary mentioned ‘morning, afternoon, or evening’ but should have specified how early these mornings would be so we could have been more prepared for it.

Experiences
We were under the impression that all of our experiences or excursions were paid for before our trip began. On our itinerary where we were given free time and looked forward to relaxing and having time to ourselves. However, we were very forcefully told that we needed to pay for additional experiences. Specifically the Nubian village. After being told numerous times by our guide, we finally agreed to go and visit, but told our guide that we had no interest in buying more things. He told us we would visit a traditional village with no markets, stress or aggression. We should have known better at this point, but after our tour we were pushed into having tea and bread with a local family, plus being tricked into giving everyone money. A relaxing stress free trip to a village we didn’t even want to visit ended up costing us nearly 1,000 Egyptian pounds AND my husband got food poisoning which forced us to cancel the next 2 days of tours due to him being very ill.

At the end of our trip, we told our guide that we didn’t want to go to the Alabaster stone ‘experience’ and his attitude changed. He became unfriendly, and he even had us finish one of our temple tours without him. I don’t know if the guides are getting a cut of the profits during these ‘experiences’, but it certainty felt that way. It’s fair to say that it wasn’t just us, it was other tourists we met along the way mentioned the exact same concerns with their guide and time here.

At the end of the day, we loved visiting Egypt. The sites were beautiful, historical and something we will never forget. As mentioned, Amr and Ibrahim were great to work with, and our guide was nice….until he wasn’t. We have used KimKim in the past, and plan on using again in the future. However, we have definitely learned our lesson on asking very specific questions, making sure everything in our package is actually included, and suggest future travelers to Egypt to do the same so you don’t have the same issues as us.

Hotel Reviews

Jaz Aquamarine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kempinski Nile Hotel

Cairo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Movenpick Aswan

Aswan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Desert Safari at Hurghada

Hurghada

Cancelled excursion due to husband getting food poisoning

Hurghada

Hurghada

West & East Bank Luxor

Luxor

Kom Ombo & Edfou

Egypt

Visit Abu Simbel temple & overnight at the hotel

Egypt

Visit Philae temple & High Dam - Felluca ride

Aswan

Day tour to visit Pyramids& Sphinx and Old Egyptian Museum

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip from Aswan to Luxor was a great one, including Abu Simbel. The Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor is one of the best trips, beyond the expectations. Amway Nile cruise was a very good choice. Visiting all arkeologic sites on the way was exciting. Our guide Moode (his nickname) explaind the history full of passion.
Quite a different, but still great experience was the trip to White & Black desert! The scenic views that accompanied us, with the assistance of Mustafa throughout our stay there, made this trip unforgettable. Mustafa was a great driver, guide, cook, very dedicated to his job. Tirelessly, after driving us through the desert, preparing lunch and a 5-star dinner, he and his family singed and played very beautiful music that made our trip even more complete.

Activity Reviews

Visit The west bank then fly to Cairo

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I would suggest flight back instead of sleeping train

White Desert - Cairo

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From Aswan to Kom Ombo temple

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Egyptian Museum, Salah El Din Citadel & Old Cairo

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara, Memphis and camel ride

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

over day Alexandria

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cairo - White Desert

Bahariya

As nature lovers we enjoyed that trip very much!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Edfu temple & Luxor temple and Karnak temple

Egypt

Karnak temple - breathless!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Philae temple - High Dam - Kom Ombo temple

Aswan

Philae and Kom Ombo temples were great

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our time in Egypt was spectacular (because of the incredible sights) however we had a poor experience with our tour guide. There was a constant feeling of being asked for tips on every stop and we were scammed into paying more money for two add-ons to our trip. We raised this with our guide and then with the Egypt Promotion team and the reception was mediocre at best. We then spoke to Sabrina from KimKim, who helped provide a refund in the areas where we were taken advantage of and where services were not provided. Overall, we left our time in Egypt with a poor taste for the tour company and wouldn't work with them again.

Words cannot adequately describe the positive experience we had with Sherif and his team. From the planning stages to the actual trip, no detail was overlooked. He offered excursions that he felt might fit our family; the Fayoum safari and sand boarding adventure was a HUGE hit! This was our first time traveling to Egypt, and it was extremely comforting to know he was behind the scenes making sure everything went according to plan. We truly cannot thank him enough!

If you are thinking of going to Egypt, and feel a little overwhelmed like I did, Dunes and Beyond is your answer.

The sincerest thank you to Sherif, who created an amazing trip for our family. We traveled to Egypt for 16 days in November 2022 and were amazed at everything we were able to experience, all because of his flawless planning. He listened to our hopes for the trip and made them a reality, while also showing us some options that we didn't even know were possible...Desert
Safari anyone?? We were so fortunate to always have an amazing driver, tour coordinator and Egyptologist, but were also given the freedom to explore independently and enjoy family/relaxation time at our hotels. Sherif's accommodation recommendations were superb; there is literally not one thing we would change. Traveling to Egypt is exciting but intense and there is no way our trip would have been successful without him - his customer service is truly impeccable! Additional appreciation to Lina Salah, Ahmed Shazly and Tamer and Mostafa who shared their vast knowledge with us, we truly feel like we made new friends! Also, to Ahmed Abd Rabu and Shehab Saniusy for getting us where we needed to be, always quickly and safely! There are so many more to thank, we truly appreciate everyone who helped make our trip the best it could be! Last but not least, our Nile Cruise on the Merit Dahabiya was an experience like no other, another great find by Sherif!
Bottom line, if you are looking for safe, fun and unforgettable adventure in Egypt, look no further, you will not be disappointed!