3 Night Luxor and Aswan Nile Cruise with Hot Air Balloon, Abu Simbel from Luxor

Posted By : Alexandru_I
Fantastic experience.
We had the most knowledgeable guide Ahmed, who looked after us the whole trip and made everything extremely enjoyable. 5☆
Thank you!
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Posted On : 2024-01-07 04:26:51

Posted By : Roli J
Here Egypt Tours

We booked 3 nights 4 days tour by ‘Here Egypt Tours’ through Viator when our earlier tour operator ‘Mody Egypt Tours’ cancelled our booking on the last minute! Although it was not our first choice, I have to say, we had one of the best holidays with ‘Here Egypt Tours’!

Ms Mona Rahim was on point on organising, always keeping in touch to see if our tour was going on fine.
Our tour guide Mr Ahmed El Mahdy was very knowledgeable and guided us extremely well throughout the tour. He was very amicable and funny at times. Highly recommend him for any tours.
We were picked up by the tour operator from Luxor Airport on time and were transferred to our Cruise. Our cruise ship was called ‘Semiramis’. It was a good ship with clean rooms and good facilities. The rooms were clean and included a safe, mini fridge, hair dryer, towels, bath sheets for swimming, tea- coffee making facilities etc. They did not have an iron though. All meals were included and the meals had a great selection including vegetarian dishes but you pay for the drinks separately - even water.
The cruise provides afternoon teas on top deck with a selection of cakes and biscuits etc .
The cruise also includes a souvenir shop, swimming pool, open gym, pool table and a massage room.
The tour is fully packed and there are some really early tidings for the Balloon Ride and Abu Simbel trip. But everything is managed smoothly!

For a comfortable and enjoyable no fuss holiday, I highly recommend ’Here Egypt Tours’!

Some tips for a comfortable stay:
- Egypt’s economy relies a lot on tourism so be ready to tip everyone whose services you use. It is rude not to tip. This is what I figured during my stay~
Taxi Drivers- US $ 3.00-5.00
Horse and Carriage - US $ 2.00-3.00
Guide (At the end of Tour)- from US $ 30.00- 40.00 ( Depending on number of days and number of people in the group-we were a family of four)
Cruise Staff (At the end of stay)- from US $30.00-40.00

- When shopping for souvenirs always quote 10 times less the price. I liked a dress which was quoted at 1200 LE and bought at 200 LE. I think I could have gone much lower. So get your bargaining and haggling skills on and don’t relent.

-Always be polite. Egyptian people are immensely polite and courteous. Don’t forget to smile at them and show courtesy by wishing them Good Mornings or thanking them (Shukran in Arabic).

-US dollars is the most valued currency but if you wish to change money there are ATM’s that charge the same exchange rate any where you go.
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Posted On : 2023-12-31 04:09:55

Posted By : Rahul J
Mona Rahim was our travel executive from the travel firm. She thought of everything and provided information proactively. At the same time she remained connected on daily basis during out tour to ensure that we did not experience any issues. She was just a message away. This is an exceptional service. The tour guide selected by Mona was Al-Ahmed Mahdy who was assigned as 1-2-1 and was throughout with us. He is very experienced, knowledgeable and very jovial .
I will definitely recommend this tour firm. Thanks
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Posted On : 2023-12-24 14:05:36

Posted By : Damiano_G
Amazing experience, we'll see many beautiful place, we are always with a very friendly guide that explain everything! Perfect pick up and drop up and we'll spend a great time in the cruise (good food and very friendly people). One particular thanks to the guide (Owf Abo Amman) and to our contact of the agency (Bassant, she always control that we stay good). Thanks and hope to see you soon!
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Posted On : 2023-09-21 06:37:07

Posted By : K1644LXbrians
This was a really great experience. The boat was very nice. The lounge area and the rooftop has plenty kfnskave and comfortable seating. My room was spacious and so was the bathroom. The the food was pretty decent, I definitely ate well. Ahmed was an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. I never felt rushed out like I missed anything. Seeing all the temples in real life is so incredible, you must do it.
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Posted On : 2023-09-05 05:18:41

Posted By : oliviapU4117EW
Me and my husband (USA) came to enjoy a 2-week trip in Egypt. Cruise through the Nile as a must, but was in general very expensive when aiming for small group cruises (<25 people). This cruise (130 people capacity) made it possible. Our guide, Mohamed el khady was great; enthusiastic since day 1, quizzing us, and also balancing the amount of information in between overwhelming us and being scarce. He always looked after us with shade and was available for deeper questions or any follow up mythology questions! He was kind and friendly at all times. It was a great experience that I highly recommend (specially for tight budgets) . 3 nights 4 days allows to see the most essential places.
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Posted On : 2023-04-24 14:08:20

Posted By : Brian_G
Boat cruise was amazing! Jam packed with activities each day taking you to all the great sites. Boat was clean, staff was friendly, food was great! Our tour guide Ahmed was insightful and gave great history lessons at each site. He answered all our questions and made the tours great! Thank you!
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Posted On : 2023-01-08 08:38:16

Posted By : Julia_v
I just loved the tour. Traveling by myself being on a private tour was perfect. We were a total of 5 persons and had lots of fun! Our guide HAMDY (yes write this name down and ask for him) was wonderful, friendly & kind, knowledgeable and taking care of us so well! We just loved him! The boat was clean, great food, personal super friendly and professional! Excursions were even better than expected. Don’t miss the ballon tour. It is definitely worthwhile to get up this early!! Yes, just buy this trip! Egyptian history is awesome!
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Posted On : 2022-11-30 07:21:11

Posted By : charlyz240
Great way to discover all the main sites from Luxor to Abu Simble without having to worry about logistics.
Most appreciable was the egyptologist guide Ahmed, who’s kind, reliable, knowledgeable and fun.
I was also lucky to get on the Nile Serenity boat, which is honestly spotless and very comfortable, with good food and incredible panoramic windows in the bedrooms to gaze at the Nile riverbanks.
Prepare to wake up early (4 am) for the hot air balloon and Abu Simble excursions.
Last tip: clarify beforehand with the guide when the first visit starts on the first day, so that you don’t land in Luxor unnecessarily early.
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Posted On : 2022-11-22 08:46:41

Posted By : Kevis_l
First thing I would suggest when booking this tour is to check with the tour company to get the name of the boat. The pictures on this tour were not the boat I was on. I was put on probably the worst possible boat, Royal Adventure. I had written to HereEqypt to get the boat name but never did get a response. When I set up the tour, I requested pickup from Luxor airport. The day before I left for Egypt, I had not heard from them so sent a message to advise my flight number and how I will locate my pickup. They did respond back immediately advising they will be waiting for me just outside the exit with a sign with my name. I was still concerned, but they were there waiting for me. I had the most amazing tour guide, Ahmed, he knew everything. My first 2 days were private which was a nice surprise. It was amazing.
When I checked in on the boat it was a little outdated, but probably what you should expect from Egypt. I loved that my room had a picture window that opened up. That was the best part of the cruise because we spent most of our time there watching the scenery. I noticed the room next to me did not have the balcony, so I must have gotten lucky.
This boat was late for everything, for our sunrise hot air balloon we arrived very late and sun was already up, it was a major disappointment since this was what I had been looking forward to most.
We also arrived over 2 hours late Edfu temple, imagine 5-10 boats all arriving at the same time (we were last) it was a mad house and impossible to get into the temple (see pic). The only time being late was welcomed was at Kom Ombo temple. We got there at sunset as all the other cruise ships were leaving and we had it to ourselves. It would have been enjoyable if the staff was not yelling at us to hurry every time we turned around.
The staff also yelled at us for almost everything. Dinner we were required to sit in the same spot every night, we did as we were told but others did not and boy were they yelled at. For meals the buffet line was usually 15 minutes, but we would wait patiently while several others would just come and walk right up in front of everyone. We almost got into several fight in regard to this. One of the chefs were awesome and when he saw that happen would make them go to the end
The pool, not the one shown in the pics of this tour, I have attached the one for my ship, was very small. And with temps at 107-112 you can imagine the whole boat trying to get into that small pool and 50% of them smoking. We were not able to enjoy the pool, because the air quality was so bad and then all the smoke as well in that small area there was no way we could breath.
Abu Simbel was also a disappointment, the desert road opens 5an to 5pm, so imagine every tour and cruise waiting for that to happen and then all arriving at the same time. It was crazy. Fortunately, our awesome tour guide Ahmed got us there before the line became unbearable, but it was still crazy. Not sure it was worth 6 hours of driving, there and back. for 1 hour. I think next time I might stay there overnight to avoid the crowds. The dam I would skip, wasn’t impressed, but I did enjoy Philae temple. So I would definitely NOT recommend this cruise. I actually would suggest seeing the sights on your own so you miss the cruise traffic.

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Posted On : 2022-10-16 15:02:40