Classical Egyptain Tours

a large extent, Egyptian tours are not so very complicated, companies offering them. With regards to Egypt, classical classical times. Typical, classical tours almost all hit the up their largest variations.

Originating in due to the international airport there, one usually spends a few days either at the beginning, at the end or split between the beginning and end exploring Cairo's heritage. From Cairo they go south, usually to way or the other visiting both cities. Sometimes they include a in this arrangement.

They will frequently visit a few of the other temples above Luxor, between Luxor and Aswan, and just below Aswan. Add-ons might also extend the tour and perhaps some sightseeing at and . Recently, many classical tours are also purchased add-ons.

More exotic add-ons may carry tourists into the , or the , but all in all, the basic classical tour is not all that complicated. Yet, when looking from tour operator to tour operator, there often seems to be a whole maze of confusing options for many people. take a look at what some of this really involves.

fifteen days. One can, of course, find shorter tours, and longer tours. Shorter tours are common, but are generally very limited in scope.

They may only visit the environs of , for example, and so they are not really full classical tours. They are, however, useful, mostly to people passing through Egypt on their way to someplace else, there on business or at a conference, or for people with limited time visiting from ocean cruise ships. Tours longer than fifteen days are less common, as people simply do not have that much time.

They must also either wish to have a very comprehensive tour of Egypt, justify a longer tour.
On these tours, one usually has one or more tour leaders. Some tours will travel throughout Egypt under the same leader, and frankly it is wise to choose such a tour.

Others may shift For example, there might be one tour leader in , third if, for example, on a addition. Economically, this makes some since, as the tour company is not having to pay for the guides' travel, which would frequently be by air, and he may go home at night to his own home, rather than having to stay in a hotel with the group. Also, a tour leader who specializes in a specific region may be able to better deal with local hotels, restaurants, tourist authorities, etc.

On the other hand, not having one person on site and times caused some problems, though not all that frequently. The biggest complaint comes when a tour leader drops the ball, for example, being late to pick up the tourists at an airport as the group moves from one area of Egypt to another. This is, however, rare.

It is perhaps more common, in fact, for larger tour operators to use multiple tour leaders. Smaller tour companies may in fact be led by the owner of the company, and this is particularly true for some foreign arranged tours, from a local Egyptian agency, but the tour is led by the company selling the tour from an outside country. It should also be noted that, in some instances, there may not be a visible tour leader at all.

Sometimes, the guide will also be the on-sight tour leader, while behind the scene in the tour operator's offices, others monitor and control the tour. In fact, most of the time there will be employees of the tour All of this can seem, and is somewhat complicated, and even more so due to the guides. For smaller companies, the tour guide may in fact also be the owner, as well as the tour leader.

Even in the larger companies, the guide may act as both, with others managing the tour from the company's home office. However, unless the company is very small, there will almost surely be more than one guide during a classical tour, though the guide will almost certainly be Egyptian. If the tour has been arranged from a foreign country, the leader may by foreign, but they must use local, licensed guides.

And guides are frequently specialized, meaning that they are not There is one not so obvious reason for this.
Smaller tour companies, or even larger tour companies who arrange more fluid tours could have a single guide. But for large tours, there is a time table.

Its not just that a guide must know most of the information about a single site, he or a very specific period of time. There is little margin of error. The guide will have practiced the speech to be given in every section of a specific site, and will have little time to deviate.

They will have specific stopping points at each site, and a specific time at each.
In many respects, this is a good thing. One tourist complaint that we see is when sites on an itinerary are, for some reason, skipped, and if the guide cannot keep to a good schedule, this may very well mean missing the next stop on the tour.

In a small, custom tour, where the traveler is somewhat more intimate with the guide, this may be no problem if the tourist wants to linger at a specific place, while informed that it may mean less time at the next, but in larger tours, that may have fifty or more people, such arrangements simply cannot be made.
Much of the time, the tour leader will be an employee of either the company selling the tour, or the Egyptian ground tour operator, though this is not always the case. Some may be independent contractors, but this is much more rarer than it is for guides.

Many guides do not specifically work for the tour operator. For very small tour operators in Egypt, the owner may be the guide, or a family member who is licensed to be a guide. For larger companies, they may employee a few guides, but most usually, at least some of the guides they use will be independent.

These independent guides may be hired by request, particularly if they are very, very good as both guides and in working with the tourists. Other guides basically bid on tours, and at times, they may even pay the tour company to lead a tour! Why would this be?

It is mostly where they lead their tourists during the tour, and sometimes because they may expect to receive large tips. There is a the pyramids, and at alabaster shops in . little (or a large) commission from the store owners.

This is a practice of just about all the tour guides in Egypt, and most people. There are only four basic forms of transportation, by land, either in tour busses or by train, by water, meaning specifically , or by air. Of course, some small custom tour could only employ a car, but this will not be the case in any sizable tour.

Short tours will almost always use air for most Luxor/Aswan and , or between the Nile Valley and , for obvious reasons. It is the fastest way to get from point a to point b. A second option between Cairo and Luxor/Aswan exists, which is not unreasonable.

By using the overnight train, one really misses very little, and the cost night's hotel stay. These leave late in the evening and arrive early in the morning. I have to think that the night train can be more fun for a group than for an individual, though, as you missing for some years now, may soon be reemployed.

Nile Aswan to a few of the antiquity sites north of Luxor, but have not been allowed to go or come directly from Cairo. We understand that this may soon change, however, giving another back for larger groups is by bus, which must be considered the least favorite way to go. First of all, the Nile Valley roads least expensive ways to make the trip, it is also the slowest and most uncomfortable.

But we must take a little closer look at busses anyway. One way or another, tour groups will travel at least locally, if not for longer distances, aboard busses. They are used for local transportation between sites, as well as often between In fact, there is really no other way to travel about the Sinai, or practical ways to reach other areas such as some of the Western Oasis, etc.

For these we must consider the tour bus itself. First and foremost, make sure that the tour busses that will be used are well air conditioned! Not just one of them, but all of them.

Be sure to ask about the age of the tour bus as well, but the second most important factor might be a clean, onboard restroom, particularly if the buss is used for long distance travel. In many parts of Egypt along the roads, there is simply no good facilities, and an onboard the trip even more enjoyable. As a side note, many of the tour specialized companies.

Now while trains are trains, and airliners are airliners, both having few options, the other form of transportation, , may vary considerably. However, it might be best at this point to make an observation. Typically, we call these Nile Cruisers, but Egyptians have another name for them.

They is an apt name. Nile Cruisers really do very little cruising, another. They spend most of their time in dock, while tours sites.

This allows for a fairly comfortable tour. As opposed to chance to settle in, which is an annoyance on many tours, a along for the tour.
certain features and services.

Normally, they will have, beyond guest cabins, at least one restaurant and a deck area. down the Nile, but surely even those have these basic elements. Even on these ships, there is probably at least some restaurant during the evening.

But most of our readers with much more. In fact, I doubt that the poorest of the Nile Cruisers are ever even offered to westerners. Typically, the pool, probably a hot tub, a bar that may be integrated into one of perhaps more than one restaurant, or even another area specifically set aside for entertainment.

They will almost certainly have one or more onboard store, where one may purchase necessities or even a few souvenirs. They will for example, various video's available. These boats will entertainment, dancing and other activities.

Some of the best boats will also provide internet access, though it may be a bit expensive. These boats will have more extensive room video systems, from which one can often even watch the shore. By the way, the newer, better boats will also have an automatic fire suppression system, rather than a red bucket of water by each door
star boats is the level of service and the room size.

Many nice boats even have very small cabins, not large enough to have even a table and sometimes not even an extra chair. But this is certainly not always the case. Some boats have very nice, roomy cabins, and when booking a , one should ask about this, even though not much of one's time is expected to be spent in the cabin.

Of course, appointments and appearance can also be important, but distinguish some ships from others. Many Nile Cruisers will be all inclusive, some even including alcoholic beverages.
As a last consideration, hotels can play an important part in any classical tour.

We have already written about some of is worth reading, but there are two other aspects of hotels that need to be addressed. However, both aspects depend more on the tourist than the hotels, and both are somewhat related. For example, many of the Sheraton hotels in Egypt make it tourist isolation and security.

The is one fine example. Though it sits on , a good location, it is in a district of the island that makes for that matter, walk away from. This makes it more secure, but at the same time, inconvenient if one wishes to browse about, for example, to shop.

For many tourists who come to Egypt to see its heritage, but are not all that interested in local culture, this is probably a benefit. For others, and I am one, it is an inconvenience. This certainly does not make the Sheraton a bad hotel.

All of them are in fact very comfortable and pleasant. Another of their hotels, the , appears to be almost a fortress in , though in reality if one wishes, it is easier to get away from and take a walk about. It's just not in a part of town I like that well.

Nevertheless, I have to say that it had some of the most comfortable beds that I have ever slept in in Egypt, as well as being a very grand hotel. Even in , of the rest of the city, though there it is easier to reach some of the shopping districts.
equally appeal or not appeal to various tourists.

For example, many tourists who have never been to Egypt enjoy the , and other hotels within the view of the , but at the same time, they are far removed from Cairo's downtown district and its many shops, restaurants and other sites.
admit that in Aswan, the is certainly one of my favorites, but it is also a bit isolated, though not that bad. In general, hotels along the most convenient, but not always the finest hotels (or the most So basically, travelers should consider two issues, how safe they need to feel and the location of the hotel.

The two issues are not mutually exclusive, but not the same either. More isolated hotels do provide a safety factor, but at the same time, do not provide much else in the way of local culture. Considering that many travel organizations now consider Egypt one of the safest of all world destinations, shopping and enjoying the local flavor doesn't work for me, have already been made.

Then they find out how safe they feel). All in all, I personally prefer the more open including the Cairo Sheraton, but to each his own.
One final word about hotel and classical tours.

One will almost certainly not be placed in any cozy small hotels, such to contract with for larger tours.
Now the reason for me writing this article, and its follow-up on specific sites on a classical tour, is really to allow our readers to ask the proper questions, so don't be shy when dealing with a tour company.