10 Day Treasures of Egypt Tour Giza Pyramids & Cairo & Nile Cruise & Abu Simbel

Posted By : Getaway42841965723
Our experience with Look at Egypt was incredible in every aspect. All of the sites along the way were amazing, the food was great, accommodations were very comfortable, and our guides were very informative and great to work with. Every single employee within the company was wonderful and helped bring this life-long dream to fruition. A special thanks to Walid, our driver Ibrihim, and all of our guides including Mohamed (nile cruise), Fayed, Marwa, Mohamed (desert guide), and so many more wonderful people!
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Posted On : 2024-01-04 00:11:53

Posted By : justincY5279VG
My wife and I (who live in Oregon, USA) went to Egypt for 2 weeks over Christmas 2023 with Look at Egypt Tours. We had both wanted to go since we were little kids, so we had high expectations. Look at Egypt Tours just blew our expectations out of the water. We had the trip of a lifetime! We could not be more happy with our experience, and we highly recommend this company and travel team.

We made life long friends on this incredible journey. We felt safe, comfortable, heard, and in control the entire time we were there. While some people seem hesitant to travel to Egypt right now; in my experience, it is the perfect time to go.

If you are considering traveling to Egypt, here are some more details about our trip and our experience with Look at Egypt Tours.

Everything was well organized, transparent, affordable, comfortable and just flat out amazing. Our trip planner, Ayat, organized the perfect itinerary for us. We were able to set up a video chat to go over everything before we left for Egypt, and she was available on Whatsapp for the whole trip to answer any questions.

Our liaison, Walid, was extremely helpful for the entire time we were in Egypt. He met us at the airport (x2), set us up at our hotels in Cairo (x3), and with our individual guilds. He played point man, interpreter, intermittent guild, and travel companion at times. He was even able to organize additional itinerary for us on the spot when we had a little extra time! He and our driver, Ibrahim, were just a delight to spend time with and get to know.

Driving in Egypt is a wild experience. Ibrahim (sometimes with Walid) always picked us up on time, made us feel comfortable and safe, and remained flexible to accommodate anything we wanted to do on our excursions together.

Our guilds were also amazing. Mohamed, who guided us up (Southward) the Nile to places like Karnak, Luxor Temple, Valley of Kings, Edfu, Abu Simbel (just to name a few), we got to know fairly well over the course of 5 days. He was knowledgeable, flexible, funny, and professional. I almost cried when we had to say good by. The boat that our small group took, Nile Paradise, was aptly named. The food and accommodations were great, but it was the staff members who really shown. Everyone was extremely helpful, kind, and professional. I felt like I was in a movie!

Our other guilds were also top notch! Fayed, who took us to Sakkara, Giza, The Citadel, the Bazaar, and the Cairo Egyptian Museum was a delight. He knew all the best photos to take, what we were most interested in, and helped us ride camels. He was even able to assist us in purchasing some papyrus art that we'd been looking forward to since planning the trip.

The first of our two extra day-trips that Walid was able to organize for us while we were already there, was to Alexandria. Marwa, our guild, was incredible. She knew we only had 1 day, and was great at showing us as much of Alexandria as we could see. Having fresh caught fish out over the water after looking at ruins and the new Library of Alexander, was especially fun.

The second of our impromptu day trips was to Fayum (the desert), and Waliid (with our driver Ibrahim) was able to accompany us. We had an experienced guild, Mohamed, pick us up in a 4x4 and take us through the Egyptian desert. We saw whale fossils, rare birds, incredible desert landscapes, and even did some dune off-roading and sandboarding!

I really cannot recommend this team enough. Egypt is an incredible country with vast ruins and a rich culture. The experience is something that we will never forget.

Thank you Look at Egypt Tours!
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Posted On : 2023-12-31 11:24:58

Posted By : 260kaushikn
We had a great time with during our tours with look at Egypt tours , the only concern was just that our hotel was far from airport but it was nice and clean.

Walid was very professional and dealing with our tours and explaining our itinerary even explaining every part while he was with us in the Car .

We loved the dinner in the nile with belly dancer with walid .

Happy new year for all look at egypt tours that made our trip come nice
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Posted On : 2023-12-29 15:39:12

Posted By : A7483SKjaniceg
We had a wonderful time on our tour of Egypt. Mamoud greeted and welcomed us and took us effortlessly through customs. Upon arrival to the Ritz Carlton hotel in Cairo, he got us our rooms and exchanged currency for us.

The first tour guide we had was a lady named Randa. She was extremely knowledgable and a fantastic tour guide. You could tell that she was proud of Cairo. We did so many interesting things and all of the tours ran very well and smoothly. We visited the old and new Pyramids as well as going on a camel ride. We also went to the local market, the mosque and Coptic Cairo and did many other interesting things.

All of the drivers we had were very impressive as driving in Cairo certainly was not easy as it was driving through the Sahara desert in the wee hours of the morning on the second part of our tour.

Our second tour started in Luxor. We did a four day cruise on the Nile River. The scenery was spectacular and our tour guide there was knowledgeable. We went to the valley of the kings and did many other temples. We were picked up always on time and returned when we expected. There were a lot of early mornings though, so be prepared!!

I would highly recommend this tour company. Everyone was very friendly and things went very smoothly. We created a lot of wonderful memories. We felt extremely safe at all times despite what is going on around Egypt.
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Posted On : 2023-10-30 12:35:55

Posted By : Ash R
If you want to tour Egypt, the only way to do it is through this company, Look At Egypt Tours. They truly made our trip to Egypt so memorable. Every person we met who worked with this company were so helpful, knowledgeable, and treated us just like family. They made us feel very safe the whole time, and stayed with us throughout our 10 day experience. Everyone accommodated us and they specifically catered our trip just to us. They truly prioritized what we wanted to see and do. My trip to Egypt would have not been as memorable and as special if we did not do it through Look At Egypt Tours.

Special thanks to our Egyptologist Randa who was the absolute sweetest. She helped us get the most beautiful and memorable pictures of Egypt.
We loved our guide Mahmoud, who helped us out with everything (even watching over and taking special care of my papyrus painting for a few nights) and took us to the best restaurants in Cairo. Our favorites were koshary at Abou Tarek, and our favorite restaurant experience was at Elbayt Baytek, along the Nile. They had the best pizza and the our waiter was such a comedian!
We loved the driver we had in Cairo. He was such a gentle giant who took great care of us through that crazy Cairo driving experience. I don't recall his name, so I'll include him in the photo because we truly loved him.
I loved the papyrus museum they took us to and the guy that worked there was awesome. I bought a beautiful papyrus painting as a souvenir.
One of our favorite experiences was our Nile cruise and I would only do it through Sonesta St. George. All of the crew members were so amazing. From the chef to the DJ, they all made our trip so much fun, and the food was the best. It was truly beautiful on board.
The highlights of the trip for me were going inside the Great Pyramid and the Valley of the Kings burial chambers, especially King Tut's. Thank you to our guide Muhammad for making our time in upper Egypt so fascinating. Overall this was the most amazing trip of a lifetime, and it was truly perfect because of Look at Egypt Tours. Thank you guys so very much!
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Posted On : 2023-08-17 15:45:01

Posted By : Shruti N
Extraordinarily well planned trip. We had to put in zero thought process in the planning which is big for us. Big clean vans , drivers, and guides to assist you at every stop. We had an amazing trip. I wish these guys were in more countries. Everyone was very patient with our toddler despite her tantrums and being a messy eater.
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Posted On : 2023-07-09 10:22:26

Posted By : wackypack
A+ for Look at Egypt tours! Our group of 22 felt like celebrities the entire trip. Ahmed and Mahmoud did a stellar job with the logistics of getting us from place to place. Our personal guide, Mohammed was the best! Funny, engaging, and an expert on Egyptology. If you are considering a trip to Egypt, don't even look further for a tour company. Take my word, you will NOT be disappointed with Look at Egypt tours. My husband and I left Egypt with a love of the egyptian people and the culture. We cannot wait to go back.
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Posted On : 2022-03-15 13:08:48

Posted By : MileHiRob
Everything about this company is first class. I used Look at Egypt for 3 group tours and they made all of our guests feel like VIPs. Ahmed the owner runs a fabulous company with an emphasis on making sure no detail is over looked. He is a perfectionist and his staff including Mahmoud does a great job of planning all phases of the tours. Everything in our 10 day package was as advertised. No surprises, and all of the tours where on time and exceeded our expectations. Our personal guide Muhammed was super fun and extremely knowledgable. The hotels and Nile cruise we booked where all 5 stars. Our guests left Cairo with sadness because they didn't want the trip to end. Make sure you do a hot air ballon ride if you vista the Valley of the kings. Thank you Ahmed for all the time you personally spent making sure our group felt welcomed and cared for. I also appreciate your fast email responses too! The Egyptian people are super friendly and we are already preparing more group trips with Look at Egypt tours for 2023.
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Posted On : 2022-03-13 14:22:50

Posted By : Navigator98388
Look at Egypt are extremely well organised, with considerate drivers, knowledgeable guides, smooth airport pickups. Willing to listen to any suggestions (we requested a later start for Abu Simbel which actually worked well!),and made some of our last minute requests look seamless.

I am very happy to strongly recommend using the team.
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Posted On : 2022-02-11 05:12:33

Posted By : deckman722
In case you don’t want to read my full review below, we would HIGHLY RECOMMEND using Look at Egypt Tours to book your adventure. They were great in providing options, let us customize our itinerary, were quick to respond to questions, and everything included was a good value. Try to get Ahmed as your guide while in Cairo, he was awesome.

Below are the details about our experience using Look at Egypt Tours.. You will find specifics regarding our itinerary below that.

My wife and I travel quite often and Egypt has been on our list of places we must see sooner than later for the past few years, but just hadn’t worked out until now. We started researching what we wanted to see and do, and more importantly, what we didn’t want to miss. We were referred to a tour company by a friend, and the rep we were paired up with just didn’t seem to want to work with us regarding the itinerary, timeframe, cost, etc., and we actually almost pulled the plug altogether. I decided to do a quick search for other options, and stumbled across what seemed to be a nearly perfect itinerary with Look at Egypt Tours, so I reached out and was connected with Nesma, who immediately began working to fit my needs with what they are able to provide. I was impressed with the tour itinerary options we had available to pick from, including options of hotel and cruise levels depending on where we wanted to stay and how much we wanted to spend. Nesma also made it clear, that they are very open to customizing our itinerary for some of the things we did not want to see and do, and add on some things we did want to see and do that are not usual destinations for the average tourist. So, that is just what we did. This was a big trip for us, plus we decided to take my mom along for the adventure, so we had a ton of questions. Nesma was quick to answer no matter what time of day it was, or Ahmed would make sure to get back to me if she wasn’t available. This made things so much easier, especially since we were booking this trip with less than two weeks before we left.

Upon arriving in Egypt, everything was basically taken care of for us. We were met at the Cairo airport by Terek. He made sure we had our bags, showed us where to get Egyptian Pounds, and gave us a bunch of very helpful information on what to expect, how to tip, gave us our inter country flight confirmations, etc. He then accompanied us with our driver to our hotel (Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir Cairo). The location is great, the lobby was nice, the staff warm and welcoming, but the rooms were not very nice. We weren’t expecting anything fancy, but were a little disappointed. The furniture was a basic, the beds were awful, the bathrooms were alright, but the carpet was disgusting. If the carpet was fresh and clean, or if they had laminate wood floors, it would have been a game changer. Since my mom was a solo traveler, they gave her a room with a twin bed. Why would a hotel even have a twin bed? Having said that, our bed was really just two twin beds that were pushed together, and then started to separate during the middle of the night. The view was decent, but being next to Tahrir Square also meant that we were in a very busy part of an already very busy city. The windows are not double pane glass and the walls are papyrus paper thin, so the noise from the city below, from the cars honking, and from the party music and guy on yelling on the microphone until after midnight one block over on the Nile sure did make it hard to sleep. The one thing that help compensate for all the bad with this hotel, is that their breakfast buffet was one of the best you’ll find for free at any hotel, especially in Egypt. They had plenty of options, including American, European, as well as a few Egyptian options, plus they even have a gluten free bread option. On a side note, we stayed our last night at this same hotel before flying home, and were excited for breakfast. The staff at breakfast was also great. My mom woke up with a sour stomach and really didn’t want to eat anything that might make it worse, so we were trying to find her something simple. They didn’t have any rice out, but I decided to ask one of the staff, and he said unfortunately they don’t have it for breakfast. He then said to wait a minute, and he will see what he can do. A few minutes later, he delivered a fresh bowl of steamed white rice to our table, absolutely making my mom’s day. Depending on how important a good breakfast experience is to you, it might be worth it to look into booking your own hotel, then using the tour company for everything else.

Our first day was a full day tour of Cairo and Giza. We spent the day with our tour guide Ahmed. Let me tell you, Ahmed is way more than a tour guide. He is very knowledgeable about the cities, the sites, and the history. He made the day stress free, and was always willing to do what he could to make sure we had a great day, including offering to take as many pictures of us as we’d like. He is also very funny, and he made us feel like we are already his friends. Our driver was also very good. The conditions on the drive to the Cave Church seemed difficult to us, but he had no problem making it through the narrow, crowded, and muddy streets while keeping us safe. It was important to me that my mom was comfortable while we travel through Egypt, and this day she repeatedly told me how much fun she was having, especially because Ahmed and our driver took such good care of us. We were happy that when we returned to Cairo at the end of our trip, we would again have Ahmed as guide/friend. Ahmed didn’t disappoint when we returned to Cairo and spent another day with our new friend.
We then flew to Luxor where we were met by Rimon, who would be our guide for the next four days while we sailed down the Nile and saw all the temples, tombs, etc. Rimon has been a guide for quite a while, and was unbelievably knowledgeable about all the places we went, and even took time to share details or answer questions about places we didn’t go. The one downside to having been a guide for so long, is that he seemed a little bored, and wanted to go at a much faster pace than we would like. We were on a “Once in a Lifetime” vacation, and want to take our time, take pictures, and soak everything in. It seemed as if he wanted to go through the motions, go to the places on the itinerary, show and tell us about the sites, then get us back to the boat so his day would be done and he could relax. If Ahmed in Cairo had not been our first guide, maybe Rimon would have seemed better. On the fourth day with Rimon, he did mellow out and actually seemed a little more fun, but maybe that was also because it was an easy day and he knew it was his last day to spend with us.
When we flew back to Cairo, we were met at the airport by Mahmud. He was very friendly and took extra care to make sure we had a better check in experience at the hotel, got slightly better rooms (including a full bed for my mom), and that the doctor showed up to do our COVID Test to return to the US.

Regarding the itinerary, here is what we did, and what we liked, didn’t like, and would recommend based on what we think could have made the trip better.
Our first day we went to the Salah Al-Din Al-Ayoubi Citadel which has the Mosque of Muhammad Ali inside of it. This was not part of the original itinerary, and was a nice add-on. We decided to skip seeing the Step Pyramid of Djoser since it really didn’t look impressive, and since we knew we would see the Great Pyramids later that day. The Citadel and Mosque are located high up on a hill on the edge of Cairo, but the smog and haze was so thick that we couldn’t truly appreciate the city below. We then went to the Monastery of Saint Simon (also known as Cave Church) located in Mokattam Mountain. This was also not on the itinerary, but we were so glad we did, and that Nesma was able to add it on to our itinerary. This place is unreal. Seriously, it seems like something out of Disneyland… Google pictures to see for yourself. One of the best parts of going to this church, is the drive to get there. You have to pass through Manshey Nasir, which is commonly referred to as “Garbage City”. Cairo doesn’t have a proper waste management system, but the Zebaleen (Arabic for “Garbage People”) of Manshiyat Nasser who collect the trash, then sort and recycle it better than almost anywhere else in the world. The drive through the narrow dirt roads where you see first hand how this life plays an everyday roll in how they live is eye opening, impressive, and inspiring. We then went to lunch at a local restaurant specifically set up for tour groups. It was a typical buffet set up, with a bunch of options including some traditional Egyptian food and dessert. The food was good what you would expect… not bad, but nothing you’d be excited to tell your friends about. After lunch we went to Giza to see the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. As you can imagine, this was an epic afternoon. One of the highlights was going into the pyramid Khafre. I really wanted to do this, my wife wasn’t super pumped on it, and my mom was willing to go along with whatever we did. Our guide Ahmed had a recommendation for us. He said instead of going into Khufu (the first and taller by 10 feet pyramid) for $25, we should go into Khafre for only $7. This was a great call. We paid far less, didn’t have to wait in line, and got the same cool experience. We were all so happy we did this, and would definitely recommend it. We also spend our day with Ahmed when we returned to Cairo, where he took us to the Coptic part of the city to see the Hanging Church and the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church. We also went to the Egyptian Museum, which is old and dilapidated, but the treasures inside were crazy cool. Tons of artifacts, mummies, sculptures, art, etc., and of course… what everyone goes there to see… the treasures found inside the undisturbed tomb of King Tut. His gold headdress was better than expected. FYI, you aren’t allowed to take pictures in this room. A new museum is being built, and supposed to be opened in early 2022. The next day we flew to Luxor, where we toured the Karnak Complex and Luxor Temple. Both are very cool, but the Karnak Complex is much larger and has more to see. We then checked in to our boat for our cruise down the Nile. The boats are all very similar, but I’m sure they vary based on how much you are willing to pay. I will say that our boat was about what I expected. We’ve been on several ocean cruise ships, and this definitely was not anywhere near the same when it comes to luxury, food, and entertainment. The boat was clean and totally fine, the rooms were surprisingly big (and the bathrooms were pretty big for being on a boat), the food was buffet style and had pretty good options (but after four days started to get old), and the staff was really great (especially at the buffet). The cruise up the Nile is nice because you are so close to shore and can see the little towns you pass, kids on the shore wave and say hello as you cruise by, and we had absolutely perfect weather. Unfortunately, they don’t provide any entertainment or have anything to do while you’re on board. So when you’re on the boat, you’re either eating, sitting in your room, or sitting on the top deck. I guess it’s nice to have time to just relax, but it would be nice if you had the option to do something to help pass the time. Their version of a gym on board consisted of a broken treadmill, a rower that didn’t have any resistance, and the most budget stationary bike I’ve ever seen. Again, I wasn’t expecting much, so no need to complain. Another thing about the boat… it’s noisy. Our room was right below the bar/club, which had music playing until midnight (even though nobody was in there), and the walls are thin so you can hear the crew walking and talking when they’re in the hallway. Plus, the boat needs to go through the Esna Lock System before you get to Aswan. This means the boat needs to enter the lock, the gate is closed behind, the lock is filled with water to raise the boat about 25 feet, then the other gate is opened and you continue your journey up the Nile. The 40 minute or so process happens in the middle of the night, while you’d like to be asleep. But because of all the clunking, banging, churning, yelling, and whatever other sounds the boat, dock, and lock workers are making, sleeping isn’t what you’ll be doing. At one point is sounded like somebody was yelling right outside our window, so I peaked through the curtains and a man was literally standing about 2 feet from our window yelling instructions to other workers. From what I can tell, our cruise itinerary was basically the same as everyone else. You’ll see a line of boats up ahead and behind as you make your way up the Nile. One cool thing they offered on our boat, was a behind the scenes tour to see the kitchen and the bridge. It was short and sweet, and only six guest including us took part. We would recommend doing this if they offer it. The next day we went to the Valley of the Kings to go inside the tombs. This is a unique experience, and very cool. It’s crazy to see how close so many of the tombs are, and how they stayed hidden for so many years. We added on to the day by going to the Valley of the Queens so we could see the tomb of Nefertari. The charge to do this was a little over $100 per person, which at first seemed like way too much. Then we saw that the price just to go inside her tomb was $94, and then realized that the extra charge for the drive and tour part of it was basically nothing. If you have the time, and have the money, we would make this a must see. It’s amazing how the colors in the tomb have survived for thousands of years. One thing to note, is that you are limited to only 10 minutes inside Nefertari’s tomb, which is a lot of money to pay for such a short time. Having said that, this was a Once in a Lifetime trip for us, and what’s $100 when you’re already spending thousands. All three of us felt it was totally worth it. Back to the boat for another night of trying to get some sleep, which is not so easy due to the previously mentioned noise. Another thing that is a bummer, is that dinner is not until either 7:30 or 8:00, which means you eat super late, get back to your room super late, shower super late, and get to bed super late. All to wake up super early to get your tour started. We were typically getting to sleep right around midnight, and walking up around 5:00 on this trip, which starts to take its toll towards the end. The next day we stopped at Edfu to see the temple. This is where they say you’ll take a horse carriage to the temple. We weren’t sure what to expect, but were beyond disappointed with what this turned out to be. On the banks of the Nile where you dock, it’s basically a line on the street with of hundreds of beat up horse carriages attached to mistreated horses. You ride a few miles to the temple, bouncing around on the bumpy roads, breathing in dust, and watching these poor hoses suffer. I would NEVER recommend this option, and instead tell your tour guide you would like to ride in a Tuk Tuk. You’ll get the same bumpy and dusty experience, without having to support the horrible treatment of the horses. Back to boat for lunch while you continue sailing, then stopped in Kom Ombo where you get to see the temple with the sunset over the Nile, and that was beautiful. On your way back to the boat for dinner, you should take 5-10 minutes and walk through the little museum next to it to see the huge mummified crocodiles on display. The next day we arrived in Aswan, where we took a day trip to see Abu Simbel. This was another highlight of our time in Egypt. We added this on to our original itinerary, and something that many people do. It’s a 3.5 hour drive EACH WAY, or you can pony up the cash and fly if you prefer. We opted for the drive option, because you have to leave a 4:00 am either way, but at least you can just hop in the car and try to go to back to sleep rather than basically never getting that chance with the flying option since you’ll be constantly on the move, or about to be on the move, and both options take about the same time. Since all the boats are on the same itinerary, that means those who chose to go to Abu Simbel (we were told about half the guest from all the boats went) are there at the same time. When I asked our guide why we didn’t go later in the day, or even the next day, he said it is because you need to have a permit to visit, which we get because we are part of the boat guest. Not sure if that’s true, but I would look into it and see about going when everyone else from the boats aren’t there, and you’ll have the place all to yourself I imagine. This temple is astonishing. Impressive in size, detail, and location. Speaking of location, this is the temple that would have been under the water of Lake Nasser when the High Dam was built, but luckily, with the help of many archeologist, scientist, and engineers, they were able to cut it into pieces and rebuild it above where the lake would be. Back to the boat for one last night, then the next day we went to Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. You take a small boat over to the island, which was nice since this part of the river is the most beautiful. With plenty of time left in the day and nothing else to do in Aswan, we decided to add-on to our itinerary, and took the boat over to the Nubian Village. The pictures online make this little community look so pretty, but that wasn’t the case when we go there. It’s really just a bunch of little store fronts along a dirt road, where they are selling the same souvenirs you find at all the other sites. Then the guide takes you to a local family’s house, where you can have a drink, and see their pet crocodile (trapped in a small block cage and obviously suffering). This is an add-on we definitely would not recommend, and totally regret doing. I’m not sure what would have been a better way to spend the afternoon since our flight wasn’t until 7:00 pm, but it might be worth taking an earlier flight back to Cairo and doing something else there instead. Overall this itinerary was really good, and we got to see and do everything from the list we made when doing research on what we didn’t want to miss out on. We would say that if you are not into seeing so many temples (they all have their own unique touches, but they are all very similar in many ways), and if you aren’t excited about the cruise, then it would be OK to skip that and either spend less time in Egypt, or do some other things like go to the White Desert, or go relax at the end of your trip at a nice resort in Sharm El Sheikh.
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Posted On : 2021-12-13 16:42:07