Emo Tours Egypt — Attraction in Giza

It's going to be a long one, but I hope other travellers find it helpful. Don't hesitate to book with the agency, but be prepared that guides in Egypt are a huge hit and miss in terms of honesty (NEVER SAY YES TO VISITING ANY SHOPS!) I am still leaving four stars because the tour satisfied our needs and went smoothly. But I hope the agency reads this and takes measures so that travellers could leave with good memories. We have just finished our 3-day Cairo, Luxor, Aswan tour with Emo Tours. We were really nervous about booking it after having read some negative reviews, but it is the only company we could find offering such a tour. We didn't have many days, but we really wanted to see all the highlights, so we decided to take the risk, and we didn't regret it. Of course, it is a very tiring programme, but it is great for those who want to see most sights in comfort. We were accompanied by a driver and a guide at all times, our tour included all the airport/hotel transfers, lunches, entrance tickets, and even our flight tickets from Cairo to Luxor and from Aswan back to Cairo. It is definitely worth it, we are really happy we did it. Customer support: The agency was responsive 24/7 via WhatsApp. We always received replies very quickly. Hotels: We decided to book our own hotels, which, we are pretty sure, was a good idea. Food: We were extremely satisfied with our lunches, which were included in the tour. Of course, they bring you to places meant for tourists, but luckily the food quality wasn't compromised. We truly enjoyed Egyptian food, we never had any stomach problems. Every time there was plenty of food. We had a buffet lunch in Cairo, a set lunch for two in Luxor, and takeaway kebab kofta in Aswan. Drivers: Every single driver was very courteous, punctual, smiling, and, what's most important, a safe driver. Every single company car was clean, spacious, quite new. Our Luxor driver even gave me his breakfast (which was super delicious by the way) because I was really hungry and we didn't get any opportunity to eat before the tour after our 6 am flight! It was an extremely sweet gesture of his, which put me in a better mood after a relatively sleepless night, and made me feel very welcome. Aswan Felucca Tour: We truly enjoyed our sunset felucca ride, our guide Samir was friendly and polite, our driver collected and dropped us off on time. We had an entire boat for ourselves, everything went smoothly. Tour guides: We had two different tour guides showing us around during the these three days, one in Cairo and one in Luxor + Aswan. Mahmoud was our Cairo guide. He speaks good English, is knowledgeable, didn't try to upsell us, scam us, took amazing pictures. Unfortunately, our Luxor and Aswan experience was a bit less positive. History-wise, our guide was well versed, he could answer the questions we had, knew lots of facts. He spoke good English. We appreciated that he had respect for the archeological treasures, he doesn't touch artefacts, he stops others from doing so. However, several things left us feeling sour. We hired guides from a reputable agency for a reason. We spent two days with the same guide, but we felt sad that we couldn't trust him, and we couldn't relax. We understand that everyone is doing their best to make their living, but we don't appreciate when we are taken for fools and when it starts affecting us and our experience. First, in two hot days we only got one small bottle of water to share. We were supposed to get four bottles though... Second, we got scammed by being sold fake alabaster from a "factory" shop where we bought a candle holder. Our guide was the accomplice. 5 min later at our last temple location we found the same item for half price. We mentioned it to our guide, but he got extremely defensive. We tested it with a candle the same night, and it melted. It was made of resin! Third, when we went to visit the tombs, he offered to buy the tickets to the Tutankhamen's tomb saying it was very cheap, just 1,000 pounds, but when we came to the ticket office we saw it...

I am always wary of reviews that are gushingly good and when I read the reviews I thought surely too good to be true. Now I am a hard one to truly impress and i complained to managers of companies whilst in Egypt but Emo Tours were simply exceptional! A splendid example of Egyptian hospitality In total we took two emo tours and they were the best days we spent in Egypt! If I could have dreamed of a tour experience Emo Tours surpassed it... I sound like an advert,I promise you I am not! They were seriously that good. The first tour we took was in the Cairo area on our first day in Egypt - we had had a bit of a bumpy time with taxis and hotels the evening before and our tour guide was like our knight in shining amour! Our first tour guide was called Tito - and just the most lovely guy! He was waiting for us in the lobby then lead us on a mystical time travelling tour around the pyramids. The manner in which he talked and taught us kept us on our toes asking questions and addressing us - a great teacher. The tour was magnificent and we got to see loads. Our guide was so supportive for us all the way round letting us know how to get around some of the tricky parts and giving us hints and tips on survival. There was also a chauffeur that took us from place to place - giving those extra hospitable touches like opening the door for us. At the end of the tour Tito was aware we were catching a train at 1930 and offered insistently that he extend the tour and escort us to the train station where he put us exactly where we needed to be for our train. Of course Emo Tours may not be able to do this for everyone - but we were so so grateful for this extra effort - really going the extra mile! I was so impressed with Emo Tours that I decided to book the company again in Luxor. Always the pessimist I was sceptical that the second tour would not live up to the EXCELLENT standard set by Tito. However I was absolutely delighted when Shymaa (please forgive spelling) greeted me like an old friend in Luxor! To have a male and female guide was just a perfect balance. The tour of Luxor (needless to say) did not disappoint. Again just incredible. Shymaa is incredibly intelligent, had a firm knowledge of her subject and language and again that gorgeous personal touch. Again everything was to hand, we had everything we needed and a great guide. I loved the tour of Luxor it was amazing! We mentioned to Shimeea that we needed to catch the train again as it was later her and the chauffeur dropped us at a lovely coffee bar where we could relax for a few hours - great view great smoothies! And just around the corner from Luxor station. Both the pyramid \ Memphis tour and the Luxor tour were just exquisitely rich with culture, history, natural beauty and art. Both the drivers on both the tours were the best drivers / chauffeurs we had whilst staying in Egypt. The tours provided us with snacks and bottled water along with changing some big notes in to little notes and coins for us. Just everything we needed to make us comfortable. The lunch is included but not the drinks - for what we got out of the tour I would have paid for both! And the drinks were charged in Egyptian prices ( which is so cheap at the moment such good quality in egkand would have cost 5times as much) - we were taken to two beautiful traditional Egyptian restaurants. Bother the restaurants Emo Tours took us too were full of character and the food was delicious! As an extra note here I must add that I am vegan - I was so nervous coming to Egypt being vegan and was slightly embarrassed to have to mention to Emo Tours so that we could eat somewhere where I could eat something. However yet again I needn't have feared! When I mentioned it to Tito he said he was a vegetarian too! :D We felt ABSOLUTELY 100% SAFE supported and guided on both tours. Emo Tours did not let us down once. The service is just exceptional. Seriously I would recommend Emo tours if you need to go anywhere , tours, airport transport - its seriously the most reliable and...

We did the 5 night 6 day package tour. This included Cairo and Giza, Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel Egypt. All 5 star accommodations. All of tours were my wife and I only, no one else (no other tourists) in our group. My first package tour, as I usually do all planning myself, but I would go with a company in a poor country like Egypt (like my native India) for ease of transport etc.

Booking: I compared at least 3 tour companies. I chose Emo mainly for the itinerary as we had a late arrival in Cairo, and wanted to spend 2 nights (other companies had us leaving the next day). We did have to pay the entire amount in advance (other tour companies needed only deposits). We did an online booking. There were a few options (we chose the extra ticket for King Tut's tomb), but not all additions were listed (for instance we wanted to go inside the pyramids in Giza, which we tried onsite but our foreign credit card didn't work on the Egyptian site because of 2 factor authentication (no access to our home cellphone number).

Arrival: Yes, the tour agent greeted us before customs (nice fellow) who got us the visa on arrival and walked us through immigration (so easy, this NEVER happens in any other country). After getting baggage he passed us off to our representative and driver, who dropped us off at hotel, where check in was easily done (Ramses Hilton downtown).

Tickets: Company arranged all site and museum tickets in advance, with no wait at the sites, as well as domestic airline tickets (Star alliance Egypt Air).

Hotels: All were 5 star and excellent, with awesome breakfast and rooms. We wanted a hotel close to airport on last day because of early morning flight, and they managed to change the downtown Hilton to an airport hotel I chose, the Novotel (although this took a little back and forth and persistence on my part, thanks to Omnia and ops team).

Communication: Emo was available 24/7 for any issues (which I didn't have emergency wise, everyone was on time). I got an Egyptian e sim card so I could use WhatsApp for this (I highly recommend Orange travel sim, have used them in France as well).

Cairo: Our guide greeted us on time the next morning, and we did the tour of Giza, Citadel, bazaar, and Egyptian museum. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable, but there was a little language barrier (his second language was German rather than English, so 4 out of 5 stars I would give him). He never made us feel rushed, and we enjoyed our time. Even though they take you shopping with their preferred store, no obligation to buy anything and we didn't.

Luxor: Our guide Sam was Excellent (5 stars), driver was great. Had a wonderful experience. He also gave us ample time to roam and do our own thing at sites. Again the obligatory shopping stop at the alabaster stone works not really necessary ( I would skip in future)

Aswan: Our guide Zak (and drivers) were Excellent (5 stars). had a wonderful experience! We had him for two days as he drove with us to Abu Simbel as well. The obligatory shopping stop was at a spice store (this time we actually bought something because all pricing was upfront, Nubian coffee and hibiscus tea). We had some extra time after return from Abu Simbel, and our guide took us to Nubian village but didn't mention additional cost until afterword, which we felt a little uncomfortable about as we paid him in cash $USD 40, but confirmed as legitimate with tour company (again this was not offered in advance).

Overall, highly recommend this company. Every excursion was private (I did notice their van at some sites, maybe these are for day tours by the company). Felt very safe. Lunches provided at each location (did have to pay for beverages including water, the guy at Luxor demanded a tip, but nowhere else was a tip needed). Every guide receives the itinerary in advance so you know what you are getting. I used the tip guide in trip advisor elsewhere for amounts to give each person, which was very...