Sun Pyramids Tours

My 18-year-old daughter and I planned a long-awaited bucket-list trip to Egypt over winter break. The ancient history lived up to every hope: standing beneath the pyramids, visiting the Valley of the Kings, sailing the Nile, and seeing temples thousands of years old was genuinely awe-inspiring. Egypt’s monuments are unlike anything else in the world.

Unfortunately, much of the experience outside the sites themselves was uncomfortable. With the notable exception of our Cairo guide, Mary—who was warm, knowledgeable, and consistently professional—we experienced repeated boundary-crossing behavior from multiple male guides. Two different guides showed us shirtless photos of themselves without prompting. Another explained women’s dress codes by comparing women to uncovered chocolate bars melting in the sun, then laughed when asked about men. These moments were jarring and far from isolated.

There was also frequent miscommunication and poor planning: very early wake-ups followed by long waits, delayed flights and ships, missed evening tours, and vague or misleading information about schedules and amenities. Aggressive sales tactics were constant, from shops to boats pulling alongside our cabin windows on the Nile. Even while dressed conservatively, we experienced intense staring and persistent discomfort in public spaces. My daughter summed it up as “belittling vibes and patronizing energy.”

We understand that our guides are shaped by their own society and circumstances, and we recognize that tourism is complicated in a country facing economic and political strain. Still, the lack of professionalism, cultural sensitivity, and care—particularly toward female travelers—was disappointing. We came to Egypt to stand in awe of its ancient past, and we did. I would strongly recommend that KimKim reconsider its local tour partner and invest in clearer communication and more rigorous guide training, especially around professionalism and respectful conduct.

Hotel Reviews

Pyramids Resort by Jaz

Cairo

We spent very little time here but it was beautiful, comfortable and clean with delicious breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Far from everything!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

M/S Semiramis III

Aswan

The Semiramis III is an older Nile cruise ship that shows its age, but it was generally clean and comfortable. Our cabin was surprisingly spacious and one of the nicer aspects of the experience. The food was consistently good, and the housekeeping staff was kind and attentive—creating lovely towel sculptures each day that genuinely made us smile. That said, there were several drawbacks. The ship smelled strongly of cigarette smoke in many common areas. Wifi was repeatedly promised but never worked. While docked in Aswan and Luxor, dozens of ships were packed together, so our “river view” was directly into another cabin window. Once underway, the experience improved, but scheduling was unreliable. We were told departure and arrival times that turned out to be hours off, which caused us to miss anticipated evening temple visits. While sailing, vendors in small boats approached the ship and shouted into cabin windows—even while we were sleeping—which was jarring and disruptive. The sundeck itself was lovely, but swimming and sunbathing felt uncomfortable, as very few passengers used the pool and there was intense staring from men on staff, even while dressed conservatively. Despite these issues, cruising the Nile itself was genuinely special, and traveling together along the river was a highlight of our trip. With better communication, stricter policies around vendors, and improvements to onboard amenities, the experience could be much stronger.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It's on the Nile! However, the ships are all packed together.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Royal Great Pyramid INN

Giza

The Great Pyramids Inn is a clean, basic hotel with an unbeatable rooftop view of the pyramids—but otherwise, it fell short for us. Our room was simple and comfortable enough, with very comfortable beds, but several things were broken, including the bathroom door and the shower waterproofing. Breakfast was disappointing and limited. The rooftop restaurant offered a stunning view and good food, but it was noticeably overpriced for what it was. The hotel’s location is also a drawback. It’s not in a walkable neighborhood, and there isn’t much to explore nearby on foot. It’s also very far from the airport, which made late-night and early-morning transfers especially tiring. Overall, it was fine for a short stay focused on pyramid views, but given the condition of the room, food quality, and location, I would likely choose a different hotel next time.

Authenticity & Character

It's just basic. Nothing wrong.

Location

There is no walkability. It's on a highway. However, it is across the street from the GEM and has a (polluted) view of the pyramids.

Staff

The staff of the rooftop restaurant ignored us; it was hard to get their attention.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean. Just broken doors and flooding shower.

Activity Reviews

Tour to Citadel, and Coptic Cairo

Cairo

This was another excellent experience thanks to Mary. The Citadel offered fascinating insight into medieval Cairo, and learning about the Mamluk massacre was chilling and memorable. Touring Coptic Cairo—the churches and synagogue—was deeply interesting and meaningful. As an AP World History teacher, I especially appreciated Mary’s ability to connect these sites to broader historical themes. She handled sensitive topics with care and clarity. This tour felt thoughtful, educational, and well paced.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cairo food and walking tour and khan elkhalili bazaar

Egypt

The food itself was delicious. Koshary Abu Tarek was a highlight, and wandering through the streets and Khan el-Khalili was colorful and lively. However, the tour was uncomfortable in several ways. The guide, Hani, made inappropriate and misogynistic comments, including comparing women to uncovered chocolate bars melting in the sun when explaining why women should cover themselves. When asked how men fit into this analogy, he laughed and refused to answer. He also showed us shirtless photos of himself and bragged about working out. He offered little explanation about the food or its cultural context. Aggressive sales tactics in the bazaar were relentless, and the overall experience felt more awkward than enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Food

The Koshary and the juice at Fishaway were highlights

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traffic made this tour soooooo long. I would say to make it a walking tour all centered in one spot.

Check out to Luxor West Bank

Luxor

The West Bank tour was incredible in terms of content. The Colossi of Memnon were striking, and the Valley of the Kings was unforgettable. The tomb artwork was astonishingly well preserved. Guides are not allowed inside the tombs, but Ahmed explained the history beforehand, which helped us appreciate what we were seeing. Seeing King Tut’s tomb—his mummy still inside—was a powerful experience, and we appreciated that the ticket was included. Lunch afterward at Oriental House was excellent and easily the best meal we had in Egypt. While the sites themselves carried the day, the guiding was competent but not especially engaging.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor, Egypt cruise

Luxor

This was absolutely worth it. Despite the very early wake-up, the hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings was flawlessly organized. The crew and pilot were professional, calm, and safety-focused, and we felt secure throughout. Floating above the temples and farmland at sunrise was breathtaking and one of the most awe-inspiring moments of the entire trip. This experience exceeded expectations and was a clear standout.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There was no communication about what to expect.

Transport

There was no communication about what to expect.

Luxor East Bank

Luxor

Karnak and Luxor temples were breathtaking in scale and preservation. Walking through these massive complexes gave a real sense of ancient grandeur. Unfortunately, we arrived much later than expected—after 8 p.m.—and missed the anticipated evening experience and light show because of delays earlier in the day. The sites themselves were extraordinary, but poor timing and communication diminished what could have been an even more memorable visit.

Quality of Experience

Food

Ahmed took us to Oriental House, where we paid for our own lunch. It was really good!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Travel from Aswan to Luxor via kombo and Edfu

Egypt

The concept of traveling the Nile between Aswan and Luxor was magical and a highlight of the trip. However, communication around timing was consistently inaccurate. We were told specific departure and arrival times that were hours off, which resulted in missed evening temple visits we had been looking forward to and super early wake up times. The promised "gym" did not exist, and sunbathing or swimming on deck was not appropriate or comfortable for women. While sailing, vendors in small boats pulled alongside the ship and shouted into cabin windows, even while we were sleeping. Despite the logistical frustrations, being on the Nile together was genuinely special and memorable.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food aboard the Semiramis III was delicious but the beverages were insanely overpriced.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

kom Ombo, and edfu Temples

Egypt

Kom Ombo Temple was interesting and lovely to see in the dark. We especially enjoyed the crocodile mummy museum. Again, the visit felt rushed. Our guide, Ahmed, seemed frustrated by crowds and eager to finish quickly. On the walk back, vendors aggressively accosted us, throwing items at us as we said no. Edfu Temple was visually stunning and historically rich, but the experience was dampened by logistics. We were required to wake at 4:30 a.m. for a carriage ride, only to arrive with thousands of other visitors already present. Our guide again seemed impatient and disengaged. We stayed positive and enjoyed the site, but the guiding did little to elevate the experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

There was no food on this tour.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ahmed was rushed and grumpy. His English was unclear, and he didn't make the sites more interesting than, say, reading the plaques at each place would have been. I'm a history teacher and I didn't learn much that I didn't already know.

Transport

Tour to High Dam, Philae Temple, and Obelisk

Aswan

Philae Temple was truly spectacular and one of the most beautiful sites we visited. Learning about its relocation and seeing it by boat was fascinating, and Ahmed provided helpful historical context once we were on-site. However, the overall day felt disengaged. After arriving in Aswan during a sandstorm, Ahmed was reluctant to help us plan alternative afternoon activities and instead lingered in the souk smoking. We were taken to a spice shop with extreme overpricing and very pushy sales tactics. While the sites themselves were impressive, the guiding felt uneven and lacked initiative.

Quality of Experience

Visiting Philae Temple itself was spectacular and seeing the High Dam by boat (on day 2 because it was obscured on day 1 by a sandstorm) was cool.

Food

There was no food on this tour.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ahmed was rushed and grumpy. His English was unclear, and he didn't make the sites more interesting than, say, reading the plaques at each place would have been. I'm a history teacher and I didn't learn much that I didn't already know.

Transport

The Nubian boatman who took us to Philae was iconic.

Giza Pyramids with a camel ride & the Grand Egyptian Museum

Cairo

This was an outstanding first day in Egypt, largely due to our guide, Mary. She was warm, knowledgeable, and consistently professional. She navigated the massive Giza complex smoothly, chose engaging stories that brought the pyramids and Sphinx to life, and never rushed us. The camel ride was touristy but fun, and Mary helped us avoid unnecessary hassle. The Grand Egyptian Museum was a highlight. Mary guided us through about 20 pristine galleries, helping us make sense of the scale and significance without overwhelming us. She also brought us to a papyrus “museum” where sales pressure was noticeably lower than elsewhere. This day set a very high bar and showed what excellent guiding in Egypt can be.

Quality of Experience

The incredible sites and the excellent guide, Mary

Food

Lunch was at a touristy buffet with only other travelers. A more local restaurant would have been much better.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mary was open-minded, chatty, knowledgeable and sweet

Transport

Cairo has some serious traffic but our driver navigated it well

My family of six had an amazing trip to Egypt and Jordan. It was two nights in Cairo, 4 cruising up the Nile, 2 back in Cairo and the last 3 nights in Jordan to visit Petra and the Dead Sea. We are repeat customers of Kimkim, and on the last 15 months have spent almost $60,000 with them.

Overall we were very pleased with the trip. To improve our experience the communication during the planning process could have been better. I was surprised by the difficulty on this trip because the year before we used Kimkim for a family trip to Spain and we didn’t have the same problems.

For the Spain trip our specialist was in Colorado at the Kimkim headquarters and communication was excellent. For the Egypt and Jordan trip our specialist, Aya was in Egypt. Aya, was very good, but communication was difficult due to four factors: 1) the time difference, 2) some language barriers, 3) some technical glitches which resulted in scheduled calls not going through, and 4) Kimkim subcontracted all of its Egypt work to Sun Pyramids, who subcontracted the Jordan portion to a third company. As a result, the Jordan information was slow in coming, and the Egypt information seemed forced into the Kimkim framework.

A few times there were gaps/delays in communication and I reached out to Kimkim corporate twice. The first time they were helpful (your advisor has been sick and will be in touch shortly), the second time they were not helpful at all (please write all your comments in the trip chat and you will get a response - I did and but they didn't). Overall, I expected more from Kimkim, and I felt they were not actively supervising the people with whom they contracted/ delegated.

Guides and Drivers:
The guide in Cairo (Mahmoud Imam), was very good. The Jordan guide (Mohammad Al Najjar) and Jordan driver (Mohammad Masoud) in Jordan were excellent. We had one bad experience with a vehicle in Luxor that was substandard. We complained to Aya and Sun Pyramids was very responsive and positively resolved the issue very quickly, compensating us with upgraded tickets in the Valley of the Kings.

Hotels / Cruise:
The MS Nile Premium Cruise was rated 5 Star, but was on the very low end of that The personnel and service were excellent, the cabins were tired, and the food was mediocre. The Sofitel in Cairo was excellent. The Petra Canyon Hotel in Wadi Musa was very good, although the dinner fare was so-so. The Holiday Inn Dead Sea was excellent (rooms, food, service).

Tips for working with Kimkim:

Responsiveness - Be aware that you have their full attention and they are very eager to work with you before the deposit is placed. Once the deposit is placed, responsiveness drops off noticeably. (This was true of our Spain trip and the Egypt/Jordan trip). I was happy to give a deposit to secure hotels during a busy season, but their assumption was that the trip had been finalized, and we were still working on it. To Aya's credit, she worked with us on changes throughout the planning for the trip.
Trip Details - Kimkim is a little slow on some information. For example, we repeatedly asked how much driving was planned for each day. We we wanted to minimize our time in the vehicle. The information was not readily available. I had to plot the stops myself, to figure out which days were too long and request adjustments accordingly. After the first one or two adjustments, it would have been great if a thorough analysis had been undertaken to help us.
Confirmations - in Spain, confirmations and contacts for all hotels, transfers and guides were sent one week in advance. In Egypt this was not the case. Sun Pyramids did not provide confirmation numbers and telephone numbers in advance for transfers and guides, and no confirmations for hotels in Jordan.
Service - We were always picked-up on-time, and never left hanging, but it was more comforting in Spain to have all the telephone numbers and names in advance. It was disconcerting to have no contact information when landing at an airport, or when expecting to be picked up at the hotel at 2 am for a 6 am flight. Again, everything went well, but not having a telephone number or contact beforehand was not comfortable. This appears to be a Sun Pyramids policy.
Laundry - A very small thing, but important. Our trips tend to be long and midway, we usually need laundry. Hotel laundry for a family is usually ridiculously expensive. I asked for some recommendations/suggestions for local laundry, and help here would have been amazing.
Tipping - When I requested information about tipping I received general information that was not always useful. Since Kimkim (Sun Pyramids) paid the guides and the drivers, I didn't have a reference (for example, an extra 10% or 15% of what?). We resorted to AI several times. More direct guidance from Kimkim would have been valuable.

Overall, I highly recommend this trip with Kimkim with the above caveats.

We just returned from our magical 13 day trip to Egypt. Aya planned us an amazing trip and knew all of the best things to do and see. She was super responsive and was open to any input we had for this trip. We typically don’t love a trip either a tour guide, but for Egypt it is necessary. Aya found the best tour guides in all the various spots in Egypt. We loved our tour guide Anna and would recommend her to anyone who travels to Cairo. Overall great experience!!

All the guides were great, particularly Fatima and Achmed. I forgot to mention that each time we arrived at the Cairo airport, from Heathrow and Aswan, there was no on there to greet us. From Heathrow we waited 50 minutes before we found someone from Sun Pyramids and from Aswan we had to find the sun pyramid representative who spoke no English and seemed completely lost.

Hotel Reviews

MS Salacia Nile cruise

everything was great except that they missed two wake up calls.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Cairo Grand Nile

cairo

Everything was great. As a 81 year old senior citizen getting in ad out of the bath tub was a challenge as the tube wall was about 2.5 feet high.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour to High Dam, Philae Temple, and Obelisk / Check out

Aswan

we did not go to the obelisk. we went to the botanical garden and nubian village intead

Abu Simbel Temple

Aswan

We did not go. We did not realize that this was four hour drive to and from through the desert in a caravan for safety with a one hour visit. We should have been told this when the trip was being planned originally

Edfu, and Kom OmboTemples

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Luxor West Bank

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Food

Transport

Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, and Luxor Museum

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Food

Transport

Tour To The Newest Saqqara Tombs

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Transport

Half day To Egyptian Museum

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to National Museum, Moez St. and Khan El-Khalili

Cairo

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Tour To The Grand Egyptian Museum “GEM”

Egypt

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to Giza Pyramids With Camel Ride

Cairo

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The tour guide for the first 2 days was good. The rest was a disorganized mess. This was my third international kimkim trip in 2025 but this one was the opposite of the first two. I emailed Alison at Kimkim to try to help out as I had spoken with her in the planning phase. (When she assured me the contact they set me up with would be good). No one from kimkim got back to me. The tour was poorly run, disorganized, and lastly (though honestly least of my concerns) was a terrible value for the price paid. One of the events booked was cancelled - without informing us and we were only refunded $130 for that. I’m pretty sure we were charged 10x that amount. But again, money aside, we were not told of this cancellation even though the company finalized our itinerary the day before. They weren’t able to communicate the cancellation to us despite having the kimkim chat and WhatsApp and my active cell service as options. Our family was disappointed with this one. From Egypt we went to Athens and Rome and black tomato provided stellar service.

Hotel Review

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL CAIRO AT NILE PLAZA

Amazing hotel, location, cleanliness, and service. 5 star luxury with a concierge that was able to set us up with trips and excursions when Kimkim left us hanging. The hotel concierge facilitated our trip better than Kimkim.

Authenticity & Character

Four seasons class!

Location

Cairo is a hectic city. This location was a sanctuary in the middle of the city.

Staff

The concierge, the wait staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Housekeeping did great and came 2x day.

Activity Reviews

Female-Led Cooking & Countryside Farm Tour in Rural Egypt.

Egypt

Not really that interesting. Small farm tour with the owners (very nice family). Took about 15 minutes. Then a preparation of an Egyptian lunch which wasn’t more than 20 minutes. We got to make bread in the oven which was fun. after that it was eating the lunch and driving back to Cairo. The whole experience was about an hour and though it was nice to see the countryside not really worth it. They didn’t book anything else for us for the day but luckily the hotel concierge was able to find activities for our free time. (Our rep from kimkim was useless)

Quality of Experience

Food

Cleanliness

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giza Pyramids with a camel ride & the Grand Egyptian Museum

Cairo

A must do obviously while in Egypt. The camel ride was adventurous, kids loved it!

Quality of Experience

The grand Egyptian museum!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sound and Light Show at the Pyramids

Cairo

They cancelled this on us

Cairo Day Tour to Egyptian Museum, Citadel and Khan Khalili Bazaar

Cairo

Was great and worth it.

Quality of Experience

Food

Kind of dirty for western standards. I saw them taking the unused food from a table that left and serving it to a new table

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My Egypt holiday with your team was extremely disappointing and not what we expected and I don’t think I want to visit Egypt again

Right from day one there were issues , we had planned this holiday in advance but it seemed like a last minute effort by Aya and her team. It felt like the person planning the tour for us had no idea about how long it can take to see one site and the travel time between places was not taken into account and on day one our itinerary was not achievable at all and the amount of back and forth we had to do to adjust it just added to stress and took the joy out of holiday .
On the first day, our tour guide wasted 2.5 hours of our time in the morning picking up tickets from one place and then again he forgot to get the ticket for my 10 year old and we again had to wait outside the museum for him to buy an additional ticket. When he got the tickets he had to stand in another line to get the audio guide system and that wasted another hour. we were up and ready from 8 in the morning and we entered the museum at 10:30 in the morning . As a reminder we were staying in a hotel that was right opposite the museum so u can imagine how organised Aya and her team are. When we went to Giza he again had no tickets and we had to wait for our guide to buy tickets for us.

Further, we had paid for a golf cart for our mom for the Giza trip but on the day we were told it’s not available (the money was later refunded but still it shows the lack of organisation).

When we returned to Cairo on 2nd January we were sent a guide who was extremely rude and was not really interested in showing us anything. when we mentioned that we needed to see the citadel which we had already discussed with Aya on day 2 he was extremely rude and unhelpful. My sister had already mentioned his behaviour this guide ruined our day and made sure we didn’t not get to see anything useful. We found Aya and her team very unhelpful and disorganised

I would never recommend anyone plan a trip to Egypt with this company.

Hotel Reviews

Novotel El Borg

cairo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

M/S Farida Nile Cruise

Aswan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo

Cairo

It’s dated but loved its breakfast and there staff was not very helpful and porter was rude

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in front of museum

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Tour to High Dam, Philae Temple, and Obelisk

Aswan

One star : Dam visit was very boring , avoid Philae temple : 3 star Obelisk: 3 star

Quality of Experience

Transport

We had planned our family vacation a year in advance with great anticipation, but our experience with your tour company was profoundly disappointing. The itinerary provided bore little resemblance to what we had requested. The tour operator was rigid, unhelpful, and seemed more intent on promoting her own agenda than curating the personalized experience we had paid for. We felt deprived of the sights and experiences we had carefully chosen and expected.

It is difficult not to question whether we paid for a custom trip only to be directed toward what suited the company’s convenience and cost savings. Key arrangements, such as purchasing tickets in advance, were neglected—causing unnecessary delays. In one instance, tickets for my niece, a member of our group from the start, were simply forgotten. The tour operator, Aya from Sun Pyramids, created an unrealistic itinerary for the Giza tour day, expecting us to cross the city through heavy traffic to visit multiple sites—an impossible task. The overall planning and organization reflected a lack of attention and care.

Our final day was especially distressing. The guide refused to take us to certain sites, explaining that the company would not cover the ticket costs. This led to significant anxiety and emotional distress, as well as a complete waste of our limited time. It seemed evident that the company prioritized saving money over delivering the experience promised, while shifting the blame to us for what was, in truth, their failure of execution.

Aya demonstrated neither competence nor professionalism. Once the contract was signed, she became largely unresponsive, and her communication—when it occurred—was vague and unhelpful. Despite our considerable upfront payment, we were constantly asked for additional charges. One of the guides, Omar, behaved unprofessionally, frequently smoking and speaking on his phone while disengaged from the group. He appeared unprepared and frustrated, undermining the quality of our experience.

Despite these challenges, our family did its best to remain positive and make the most of our time together. We would like to acknowledge Ahmed on the Nile cruise, whose professionalism, kindness, and attentive coordination were a welcome contrast to the rest of the experience.

Overall, we feel profoundly misled and disappointed. We chose Kimkim because of the excellent experiences we’ve had with them in past vacations, but this trip fell far short of their usual standards. We sincerely hope Kimkim will reassess their partnership with Sun Pyramids to ensure future travelers do not endure a similarly distressing experience.