Pilgrim Tours & Travel, Inc. — Local services in Caernarvon Township

Firstly, let me say that my wife and I enjoyed the trip (Egypt, Jordan and Israel with Nile Cruise)--and we WOULD do it again, with Pilgrim Tours. However there were a lot of issues before and during the trip that were very irritating. The communications overall with Pilgrim was poor, at best. We were assigned one initial representative, who we had for about 7 months, and then we were assigned Moon about 2 months before the trip. Moon was wonderful--very knowledgeable, quick to reply--first class. The first rep was another story. In those 7 months, I had multiple times where I did not receive replies to my emails for 3-4 weeks. On 3 occasions, I had to re-send my emails to get a response. In addition, on emails where I asked 2-3 questions, typically, I would get one question answered, and the others not addressed at all, and I had to resend. We, along with many on the trip were told that we would not need to take much cash for the trip--20-30 American singles was mentioned to many on the trip. No one told us that EVERYONE in Egypt preferred American money to their own currency--and that 20-30 dollars would not last very long. Unfortunately we found this out, after we arrived in Egypt--when we had no access to getting any more US money--the ATMs only spit out Egyptian pounds. Frankly, having at least 100 American dollars is more what was needed--a point to be considered for future tour guests Our tour guide in Egypt, Mido--was first class. He was very knowledgeable, helpful, and ALWAYS available. Very professional. in Jordan, our tour guide seemed very knowledgeable. However, she was short in height and frequently got lost in a crowd--difficult to find. She also had a very tiny voice--and did not use the "whisper devices" so most of us heard little to nothing of what she had to say. She also had a habit of turning her head to aim her voice at parts of the tour group--but those not in the line of her voice heard nothing. This objection was widely discussed by other tour members. We also had an issue with a lost bag. The bag was discovered to still be in the storage area of the bus. But instead of her waiting around to assure we got the bag (contained medicines, etc), she disappeared--next day asked us if we ever got the bag. For all she knew the bag never did show up--as she was not around She also started her dissertations at sites, before everyone arrived. Again, most of what she said was lost If she had employed the 'whisper devices", I think all of these issues would have been solved---a point for Pilgrim to consider for future tours. In Israel, our tour guide seemed very disorganized--many discussed whether this was his first tour. We had an issue with airport transportation requiring an action by him--in a timely manner. We ended up handling the issue ourselves--as when we asked to talk to him and were told "he went home" In fact, I looked for him 3 times on the tour and got that same response. One other issue. When in Israel, we were told about the 3 different types of control--A, B,and C. Breakfast and dinner were at our hotels. But why was every lunch at a restaurant in the Palestinian controlled areas (like Jericho). Whose choice was that--why not support the Jewish people of Israel, when it is their land given by God? And why were there so many shopping stops. I can't recall the number of pre-planned and supposedly unplanned shopping excursions we went on--1-3 every day--and the times allotted were ridiculously long--these lengthy stops extended our frequent long days, and shortened our relaxation and sleep times. We have taken many land tours with several other companies (Gate 1, Trafalgar, Globus, Central Holidays, etc), and considering what this tour cost us, the tours with those other companies were a much better value. If I ever wish to go back to Egypt, Jordan or Israel, I would consider Pilgrim, due to the Christian aspect of the tour. But I do not think I would use them for any tour anywhere else...

WORST TOUR EVER.

The tour guide knew so little. Frustrated, my daughter started listening to other tour guides at the sites, and then later told me all she learned from them. Our Israeli tour guide told us such surface information and very little overall. The other guides shared so much more! Wow! SO disappointing!!

All of our hotels were downgraded the week of departure. We were told they were "upgraded," but after comparing the actual hotels in Israel, it was clear we were downgraded. We were in "cattle" hotels. One hotel had totally dirty hallways with all walls being grossly marred. No one on the tour could believe it.There are better hostels - we stayed in them after the tour, so we know. I have been to 60+ countries.This is not a newbie review.

The tour was POORLY ORGANIZED. Timing and pre-planning were in desperate need. EVERYONE on the tour was exasperated. I have arranged my own tours. This was just terrible.

We were constantly told we would see scheduled sites "if we have enough time." The tour company should have created a realistic schedule we could rely on. They over promised and under delivered. We would have missed sites had the tour members not insisted we receive what we paid for.

Even if you inform the tour that there are special dietary needs, you won't be accommodated, rather totally ignored. Sometimes there were diabetics who never even got lunch until 3:00 P.M. Gluten-free? They offer pizza on the bus. They mis-scheduled, so no time for lunch.

Instructions were rarely given about when we would leave a site. Over and over the bus would be leaving without notice. All of us on the tour had to look out for each other and stop the driver from leaving. Any times that were given would change without notice.

The listening devices used were very poor.

At the Dead Sea, we were told that we had to rush to get there by 3:00 P.M. (We always had to rush through the sites, so this was just another.) When we got to the hotel at the Dead Sea, we were told that we were really privileged that the hotel let us in EARLY at 3:00 P.M. Okay, which is it?!

A disaster at every turn. Pay a little more, and travel with a better tour company. You will be...

Going to Israel was a chance of a lifetime treat. We were very nervous about the civil unrest that we were seeing on the news and I know some US based corporations had stopped travel to Israel for their employees, so we knew that some of the US news had elements of truth. After talking to Matt and a traveler from the late February trip, we decided to trust in God for our safety and “go for it” Our first day in Israel was in Netanya and when we went to a local restaurant the owner came and thanked us for visiting Israel and made a significant point as to how the tourism industry had been hit so hard and for so long. From that point onward we recognized the scarcity of tourists and began to appreciate the small (or non-existing) crowds. Because of the low tourism we were able to see about 20% more sites, and we stood in one or two lines the whole time we were there, and even those lines were no more than 10 minutes long. Often our bus was the ONLY bus in the parking lot. Mickey was an excellent guide being able to share the Jewish history and the Christian significance of each site since he is a Messianic Jew. His understanding of history, scripture and political climate was bar none and he was always open to answering any questions. There was only one visit that I felt was outstandingly poor and that was The Jerusalem New Souvenir Store which specialized in olive wood carvings. The prices were absolutely outrageous. At the end of the trip, I was looking forward to coming home as the taking in of all that we had seen and heard was a lot to process. I have felt sorry for the Israeli tourism industry because I really did feel that it was safe in the areas that we visited. After all Pilgrim has every interest in keeping their groups safe. Once home, I don’t think I will ever read the Bible again but what I will have a mental picture of the places and things that we saw. My objective in being able to get a lay of the land and appreciate the size and proximity of the towns and countryside was absolutely...