Holiday Reviews
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same trip can have different views!
Read our review policy
Egypt and Jordan holiday, Petra to the Pyramids, independent reviews
 Reviewed 13 Nov 2005 by Tony Evans |  |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The knowledge that something new and interesting was going to happen or would be seen each day.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
I feel that the pre-holiday documentation gave the impression that the holiday accommodation would be more austere and spartan than it proved to be - in some cases it bordered on the luxurious. Consequently I would advise them not to be put off by the thought of frugal or plain hotels or hostels.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
To an extent, but not significantly more than most holidays.
4. Any other comments?
I cannot say that I am reborn! However, it was the best holiday I have been on.
| Reviewed 26 Jul 2009 by Samantha Fong | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The desert at Wadi Rum, and climbing Mt Sinai.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Bring a pashmina.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, to an extent.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was very well planned, with a good balance between rest and activity. The best small group tour I've been on in a very long time.
| Reviewed 25 Dec 2005 by Glynis Griffith | |
There were 12 of us; home countries from Australia; New Zealand; America; Canada; Scotland. It was very interesting. A lot of information, the tour leader was very helpful (her name was Carrie), made the holiday. Only complaint was that is was not long enough - it could have been longer to take in all the information.
The Dead Sea was an experience, Petra was wonderful. I had a lot of help from Carrie all the way because I twisted my knee. I was looked after the rest of the holiday, made sure I was ok. Would book again, it was a really really good holiday. It has opened a new world for me - thanks a mill. I am already planning my next trip and will certainly do it through your site - every one was very helpful.
The Dead Sea was an experience, Petra was wonderful. I had a lot of help from Carrie all the way because I twisted my knee. I was looked after the rest of the holiday, made sure I was ok. Would book again, it was a really really good holiday. It has opened a new world for me - thanks a mill. I am already planning my next trip and will certainly do it through your site - every one was very helpful.
| Reviewed 30 Oct 2005 by Anna Borghesani | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Arriving at the entrance to Petra..just behind a canyon, you start seeing a facade of a building excavated in the rocks thousands of years ago. Breathless!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Sleep a lot before you go, as this holiday is great but VERY tiring. Lots of early morning: average wake up: 6ish in the morning, with an extreme at 2:15 for the trek to Sinai! but it is worth it! Bring hand disinfectant with you to clean your hands every time you use a loo or handle money. Bring medicines for digestive problems as everybody on the tour felt sick at least once...but the food is so good you can't miss it!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes. We visited a Nubian village and that felt very nice. We used local services as well.
| Reviewed 15 Apr 2007 by Kwan Lee | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Going to The Valley of the Kings by donkeys.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Don't expect too much comfort and sleep.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes
| Reviewed 10 Apr 2007 by Ann Rodger | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Ok being upgraded to 1st class out of Cairo was nice but maybe not really what you needed to hear (got home about 2 hours ago!). Petra was more than I expected and although it's touristy it still has a bit of an untouched feel about it - this is the reason that I chose the trip so everything else was a bonus. Mount Sinai on Easter Sunday (& I'm not religious) was also good - great views... Pyramids - nice to get there before the crowds and how can you fail to be impressed. Cairo car drivers are amazing! Snorkelling always impresses me so Dahab & the Blue hole was a fun day including the 4x4 access... Too much to chose from!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
You need to make it clearer what the choices are at the start of the trip (I did Jerash on my own & then found out it was an option). Otherwise I think its fairly well covered on the sheets though I didn't realise about the US dollar thing until I read the Q&A's the night before departure - my fault. Probably be forearmed about the Sauna experience at Petra for almost everyone it was unpleasant but we were too polite to tell the guide. Another story to tell your friends...
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
More or less. Local people - most of us didn't want to eat in KFC or have a big Mac so local restaurants were good. Tipping kitty was a black hole although the tour guide did offer to show us the break down - nice not to be hassled with this. Most hotels in our price range were locally owned. Environment - as far as I could tell it was exactly the same impact as any other trip (plane, coaches, standing on coral in Dahab etc) . The exception is the £1 you added to my bill. (not a criticism)
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
*** Very enjoyable. I have been on a few of these (SA / OZ / NZ) but this is the 1st in Middle East - enjoyed it and would go back with the knowledge of hotel standard / local customs / friendliness of people / be even more careful about what I was eating. Maybe the group was slightly big. As always lots of pleasant people from different backgrounds who make the trip interesting.
Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for your review. We are glad that you had a good holiday and enjoyed seeing all the fabulous sites in Egypt. We try to keep group sizes as small as possible. We have a good reputation for this and it is one of our unique selling points. Imaginative traveller keep the costs down and still have a small group of people.We train our tour leaders to give the clearest possible information about any choices you may have at the start of the trip. They are always very happy to answer any questions and will try their best to make it the perfect trip for you. The majority of our reviews suggest that the sauna is a positive experience, however we will investigate and check that it is still an appropriate option for our travellers.
We have a dedicated team to responsible travel, we use as much public transport as possible and always encourage our guests to use their initiative when visiting places of a fragile environment. Any feedback that comes to us or to our tour leaders is respected and we constantly strive to improve our tours responsibly. Thank you
| Reviewed 17 Sep 2006 by Kate Marriott | |
Sorry for the delay in response, we were in the tour group attacked in Amman last month and when we returned it didn't feel like the right time to answer this.
Petra was amazing, fab especially as there were hardly anybody there although that shows the state of Jordan’s tourist industry at the moment and they are such lovely people. The pyramids were also fab.
Pack light, talk to the locals and be open minded about the general good nature of the majority of people.
Yes, most definitely. We were upgraded on our tour to very good quality hotels but in some respects it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was amazing of course, but we met fewer locals as a result and didn't get as much interaction with other people.
Circumstances in Amman aside it was amazing. We've already thought about next year’s trip with this operator. They represented everything I believe in for travel in far flung places, now if I can only get there without flying it will be perfect!
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Petra was amazing, fab especially as there were hardly anybody there although that shows the state of Jordan’s tourist industry at the moment and they are such lovely people. The pyramids were also fab.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Pack light, talk to the locals and be open minded about the general good nature of the majority of people.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, most definitely. We were upgraded on our tour to very good quality hotels but in some respects it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was amazing of course, but we met fewer locals as a result and didn't get as much interaction with other people.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Circumstances in Amman aside it was amazing. We've already thought about next year’s trip with this operator. They represented everything I believe in for travel in far flung places, now if I can only get there without flying it will be perfect!
| Reviewed 2 Oct 2005 by Brian Dahlstedt | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The most exciting/memorable part of the trip was walking thru the seq and coming upon the Treasury in Petra.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take more money then the operator recs. The entrance fees to all the sites will eat away the budget fast--so make a bigger budget. And expect a whirl wind tour cause that is what you are getting. There will be plenty of times that you will only be a simple Tourist and the only locals you meet are the shop owners or ticket sellers. And expect bad hotels. Though it advertised that the places were clean, they were not even by my well travelled standards.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I would put this in the "low" category. Although travelling benefits the local economy I did not see anything extra special in the way of that support.
4. Any other comments?
I had a terrific time but at the same time the tour part was very disappointing. We had a great tour escort but she was required to move us thru the tour very quickly.