Kristina Mänd review 6 Apr 2010
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Pyramids, Karnak temple, Petra, Ian's pancakes, fantastic morning in Wadi Rum, burning sensation of the Dead Sea, camel ride, swimming in the Nile, sunset in Mt Nebo, nice travel mates, White Canyon, to name just a few.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Egypt, Syria and Jordan are full of historical values and places to visit; people are not among the best gems. Be prepared to deal with greed, rudeness and garbage everywhere. The climate varies a lot and from the heat in Cairo, you might end up in cold nights in Syria. Just be well prepared.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
We did eat and stay in local communities as much as possible.
Impact on environment - I hope so. But us, the travellers, could have benefitted more from instructions on recycling. At the same time, we can sort the garbage we produce, but if that leads nowhere once the garbage is dumped, more pressure from and education from the tour operator to the local communities, especially the hotels, might be useful.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was rich and varied. I enjoyed it a lot.
Mark Sale review 5 Jun 2010
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Most memorable would be spending a full day hiking & exploring the ancient city of Petra, the most exciting was snorkelling in the red sea from el bells to the blue hole, unfortunately due to the rough sea we only managed to snorkle on one day.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If possible read up a little on the history of Egypt, there is too much to remember or take in when on the guided tours, and if you know a little beforehand I’m sure you will enjoy it all the more. I wouldn't bother going up Mt Sinai unless you are on a pilgrimage (like hundreds were), the bus ride probably was 2 hours, walk up nearly an easy paced 3 hours and guess what - the typical sunrise view, not worth the effort.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
It certainly benefits local people as tourism is their main source of income, but how can it minimize impact on the environment when tourists are traipsing all over the place?
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Very good. Disappointing when you can't spend a little more time at pyramids in Giza, because you have to do the obligatory visit to the perfumery, its not as if there isn't any in Luxor that people can visit in their free time. Personally most of the group thought 2 days & 1 night would have been enough on the felucca, not 2 days & 2 nights. Wadi Rum wants reviewing really, not at all what I expected or non authentic. I was expecting to arrive at a camp a bit more than 2 mins off the main road, with 2 big bedouin tents,1 for dining & socialising the other for sleeping, with it just for our group. Instead there were loads of small 2 men tents and dining with other guests not on our trip. The entertainment the Bedouin gave lasted all of about 10 minutes, the only good thing was the food was excellent. Perhaps maybe the option of upgrading to sleeper on the overnight train from Cairo to Aswan?
Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback on your trip and we’re glad that you found it overall to be ‘very enjoyable.’
We were concerned to read your comments about Wadi Rum as many of us in the office have visited the desert camp we use there and our recollections did not bear much resemblance to your description. On further investigation with our Jordanian operator we discovered that the camp used on your trip was not the one that we normally use. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our operator’s control we were unable to use our usual camp on your trip and an alternative at short notice had to be found. We are now continuing to use our regular camp and will not be using the one that you stayed at again. We are sorry that the camp used on your trip was not what you expected.
Regarding your comments on Mt Sinai and the feluccas, we do find that some people really love both these trips, and, often with the feluccas people wish the trip was longer, but for other people it’s not really them. That’s why both trips are left as optional. We take on board your comments about the perfumery. We partly use it as a convenient place for a lunch break. It’s quite an intense day, with the pyramids in the morning and then the Egyptian museum in the afternoon. Some people do find it interesting but again it’s not for everyone.
Thank you for travelling with us and thank you again for your comments.
Rod Buttle review 27 Nov 2009
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
It's impossible to state the most memorable part of this holiday as it really was superb in all aspects. The holiday was everything and more than we could have imagined. There were 16 of us in the group, 12 young professional people late twenties to thirties and two couples, including us, who were retired but the whole group gelled. All the organisation worked without a glitch, the guide, Wassim, was great. The balance of the holiday was good and although we enjoyed Jordan, for somebody wanting a shorter and incredibly economic holiday without corners being cut then we would say Egypt Encompassed would be a fantastic choice of holiday.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
When you visit the perfume factory or papyrus factory just be careful on their prices. The impression given is that these are well priced places. Maybe not overpriced but certainly not the only choices. We know we didn't have to buy but it's very difficult when you are having lunch, like the perfume place not to feel obliged. We got a much better price in Dahab for a papyrus which was just as genuine as the Cairo outlet. We all felt uncomfortable in this situation.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, definitely. The hotels were all locally owned or run. Probably need to ensure that groups don't get put in all the back rooms, purely because people like this tour operator are their bread and butter. We're not looking for 'royal suites' or anything fancy. There did seem to be times when the hotels weren't full but some members of our group were not accommodated in very good rooms. We appreciate we are talking about 3* but still you expect a certain standard. We had a problem in one hotel and that was sorted without a problem.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Very enjoyable and good value for money, particularly the Egypt section. Jordan is a very expensive country to visit as the Dinar is almost equivalent to the GBP. We feel a visit to Jerash should have been included in our trip on our free day in Amman. We, in fact, did this under our own steam by hiring a taxi through the hotel.
