During my week-long trip to Egypt, I booked several independent tours to experience the significant historical sights. I booked most trips through TripAdvisor under the tour operator EMO TOURS. I also booked one tour directly through the EMO TOURS website and had no problems. The TripAdvisor bookings had flexible cancellation policies, which I appreciated and took advantage of when we changed our minds about an activity.
The biggest challenge with the tours was finding the guide on the morning of departure. All of the tour confirmations stated that a guide would hold a sign with “Emo Tours” on it in our hotel lobby, but we found that most of the time, guides would wander through the lobby looking for their tourists. I had to WhatsApp message with the customer service team a few times to locate our guide, but that bump aside, we had a great time.
You can check out my reviews/individual experiences with our tours below:
Sound and Light Show
A Great Appetizer for the Pyramids
RATING: 4/5
TOUR OVERVIEW:
We were looking for something to do after a mid-morning arrival to Cairo before diving into our week of tours. With hopes of catching a night view of the pyramids, we decided to treat ourselves to this tour for dinner and the sound and light show.
Our guide, Arm Ramzy, met us in the lobby of our hotel and escorted us to our private vehicle. The drive to the pyramids took around 30 minutes from our hotel (InterContinental Semiramis). Along the way, we were asked to submit our dinner orders (Chicken or Mexican? We opted for chicken). The dinner was hosted on the rooftop of The Great Pyramid Inn, located directly across from the Sphinx with a view of the Great Pyramids. Our food was served promptly along with non-alcoholic drinks at an additional charge. The show began shortly thereafter and lasted about 40 minutes. Following the show, we spent some time talking with our guide on the rooftop before our 30-minute drive back to our hotel.
THE SHOW:
Let me start by saying the view of the Great Pyramids was breathtaking, especially this being our first glimpse at them. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t know if I would’ve been as blown away by the view itself if I were staying in Giza or had visited the pyramids on their own before this tour.
The show itself is a little hoaky, harkening back to mid-19th-century entertainment/Disneyland vibes. The lighting on the pyramids themselves wasn’t anything impressive. There were some lasers projected on rocks near a “stage” within the pyramid historical site that may have been better viewed from that location. From our vantage point, the lasers were hard to see. The audio was also a bit distant, making the narrative a bit hard to follow. If you’re hoping to enjoy the show itself, I might recommend going to the viewing platform at the historical site rather than a rooftop.
THE FOOD:
Our meal consisted of chicken, nan bread, hummus, rice, some steamed peas and carrots, and a small salad. We paid extra for a bottle of water and a cola. We found the chicken to be a bit dry and the nan a bit cold, but the rest of the food was sufficient. The food by no means blew us away, but there was plenty to eat and we didn’t leave hungry.
THE GUIDES:
Arm Ramzy did a great job! He mentioned he was new to his role, but we appreciated his humor and energy. He went out of his way to take care of our needs. We enjoyed learning some Arabic with him in the car. He knew English fairly well (the other guides on other tours were a bit better), but we didn’t have any major communication issues.
Our driver was Mohammed Hassan and he was wonderful as well. We reconnected with him on another tour a few days later and just truly appreciated his big personality. He did a great job navigating the wild streets of Cairo!
THE VALUE:
We paid around USD 40 for this tour which was probably what a dinner on our own at the hotel would’ve cost anyway. With that context and the great service, we felt our dollar was worth the investment.
TLDR:
If you’ve already seen the pyramids or are staying in Giza with a pyramid view, you could probably pass on this tour. But if you are like us and are looking for a fairly inexpensive way to enjoy a view of the pyramids for the first time, this is a fun way to introduce yourself to Egypt!
Pyramids & Cairo Museum
The Perfect Way to Explore Egypt
RATING: 5/5
TOUR OVERVIEW:
Emad, our guide, met us right on time in the lobby of our hotel and we immediately hit the road with our driver Ahmed. Our first stop was the Pyramids of Giza, about a 30-minute drive from our hotel in downtown Cairo. Once at the pyramids, we spent time walking around the base of the Pyramid of Khufu, snapping photos and learning about the history of the site. From there, we stopped by Queen Hetepheres’ tomb, which we were able to climb inside. We opted to pass on going inside Khufu (which we ended up regretting later).
From Khufu, we relocated to the panoramic viewpoint of all three pyramids where we took a few photos. We also paid USD 15 each to ride the camels on the “safari.” The camel ride was about half a mile round trip and lasted around 30 minutes with some great photos coming out of it. Following the camels, we stopped by the Sphinx for more photos and sightseeing.
At this point, we were running a bit ahead of schedule and diverted from the itinerary for trips to the papyrus and perfume stores. We spent about an hour shopping and made a few purchases (some good, some admittedly regrettable). Purchases in hand, we relocated to a restaurant called Caviar for a lunch buffet of Egyptian cuisine. We spent about an hour eating and cooling off before driving around 30 minutes to downtown Cairo to tour the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The tour of the Egyptian Museum lasted around 3 hours. We stopped by several old Dynasty highlights on the first floor before heading upstairs to view the newer dynasties. The upstairs included the notable collection of King Tut’s tomb including his sarcophagus and funerary mask. Our tour ended with a quick 5-minute ride back to our hotel in downtown Cairo.
HIGHLIGHTS:
I don’t have words to describe seeing the pyramids up close. Just being in their presence was remarkable, but immersing ourselves in the history and environment stands out not only for this tour but the trip as a whole. An unexpected highlight during our time there was going into the tomb of Queen Hetepheres. This was our first entry into a tomb and was a great sampler for many tomb/pyramid entries on this trip.
We also sprung for the camel ride which I see as a must-do. I was a little hesitant ahead of the tour as I worried about the treatment of the camels. However, upon inspection, I felt okay about riding them based on the conditions of the animals we were riding (They were eating piles of green leaves when we approached and looked healthy and well-fed). The pyramid viewpoint from the camels made the ride worth the extra charge and the photos from the experience are some of my favorites from the trip.
At the museum, I mostly enjoyed the crown jewel; the collection of King Tutankhamun. Seeing the death mask in real life is otherworldly, but seeing it alongside the full sarcophagus, his throne and an assortment of treasures took the cake. There was a bit of a line to see the collection, but this alone was worth a trip to the museum. I'm grateful to have seen the collection in the "old" museum, where the treasure has been since its discovery.
LOWLIGHTS:
Despite enjoying my time at the museum, it was a bit sad to see its current state. The museum was in the process of moving many of its treasures to the new Egyptian museum, which will be located near the Pyramids of Giza. Because of this, many of the objects were haphazardly located in curio cabinets in the middle of hallways or even wrapped up ready to move. Except for King Tut’s collection, many of the antiquities weren’t stored in lit displays, or even in protective cases at all. This made some of the artifacts hard to see or difficult to learn about due to the lack of what I consider to be traditional museum staging.
The other “lowlight” of this tour was more of a learning experience. We were told that we were running ahead of schedule after seeing the Sphinx, so our guide suggested a trip to the papyrus and perfume stores. I’d wanted papyrus as a souvenir, so we took the guide up on the offer. Both stores were essentially “no pressure” sales pitches, though we felt the pressure was "on" and ended up with items from both locations. We suspect the guides do receive a commission on these visits. This wasn’t the only tour with sales attempts built in during our trip. We learned a lot, even if we did feel a bit pressured into buying things on this tour.
THE GUIDE:
Trip to the stores aside, Emad was a wonderful guide and we enjoyed our time with him on this excursion. He did a great job of teaching us about each of the sites and was patient to repeat things when we didn’t fully understand how some of the history connected. The conversation was easy and understandable. Emad assisted us in dodging pushy salespeople around the sites and kept us ahead of many of the big bus tours arriving at locations which allowed for a better overall tour experience.
THE VALUE:
I cannot understate the value of having a tour guide to visit the pyramids. We watched as folks traveling in big groups struggled to hear their guides or keep up and we witnessed people traveling without guides struggle with hustlers at Giza. Our guide provided us with the best experience possible and we wouldn’t have done this any other way. I cannot recommend this tour enough.
TLDR:
A trip to the pyramids is a must-do for anyone traveling through Cairo. This tour allowed us to see everything we wanted to see without hassle or fear of safety. We had a great experience (so great that we actually did it again on the same trip!).
Day Trip to Alexandria
A Slightly Underwhelming Odyssey North
Rating: 4/5
TOUR OVERVIEW:
Our driver Mohammad picked us up right at 7 am from the driveway of our hotel (InterContinental Semiramis). From there, we set off on a three-hour drive toward the city of Alexandria to meet our guide, Marwa. She joined us before heading to our first stop, the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. We explored the catacombs for just short of an hour alongside Marwa before relocating to the Ancient Roman Amphitheater. Marwa introduced the site briefly left us to explore this area on our own time. We spent about 45 minutes here before returning to the car and relocating to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. This was another “self-guided” experience where Marwa introduced us to the location and then left us to explore on our own. We spent about an hour and a half here before relocating to our final destination, Fort Qaitbey, which Marwa referred to as "The Citadel." We spent around 45 minutes here before heading to lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant (Athineos Restaurant) on the water. Our return drive took around 3 hours.
HIGHLIGHTS:
We’d never been to Catacombs before and enjoyed our stop at the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. There was a unique blend of Roman and Egyptian art/architecture that I found particularly interesting. It was also quite eerie being in the location itself. If you’ve seen the catacombs in Paris or otherwise, it might not have been as impressive.
The Citadel was picturesque and we enjoyed our time there quite a bit. The site itself is the location of the former Lighthouse of Alexandria, so being on the grounds was pretty moving. We would’ve enjoyed a bit more time at this location.
LOWLIGHTS:
It was a bit of a bummer to be left to explore several of the locations on our own. We couldn’t appreciate some of the smaller details that a guide would’ve provided. I do believe some of this was due to guides not being permitted in certain locations (like the library).
The lunch was also not our favorite. We weren’t given any option other than whole fish (We like fish, but don’t typically order whole fish) and the fish in question was a very small sea bass. The sea bass was accompanied by some rice and vegetables, as well as nan bread and hummus. The flavors were okay, but the portions overall were really small. We paid a bit extra for wine and water, which was fine. We left feeling a bit hungry ahead of our long drive back to Cairo.
Which brings me to the drive itself. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world and it is cool to get a sense of Egypt outside of Cairo, but it did make for a long day. Our driver unfortunately didn’t speak any English, so we weren’t able to learn or chat with him to pass the time either. The description of the tour mentions that not many tourists see Alexandria, and I think that’s simply because not many people are willing to put up with the long drive.
THE GUIDE:
Giving a real review of our guide, Marwa Galal, given the timing of this is challenging. As a caveat, I feel it necessary to share that we took this tour the day after an unfortunate tragic incident involving tourists visiting Pompey Pillar. Upon arrival, Marwa shared that the tourists impacted were on the same tour itinerary we were taking. Marwa was intended to be the guide on the tour the day before, but asked a friend to fill in. She was incredibly distraught (understandably) given the circumstances. We were a bit on edge concerning safety following this incident, but Marwa assured us she’d do everything in her power to keep us safe and made changes to the itinerary in light of the incident. We had a nice tour despite the circumstances and hope that Marwa continues to give great tours in the future!
Our driver, Kareem, was pleasant and a safe driver. As previously mentioned, we did have a bit of a language barrier, but we felt well taken care of in his vehicle.
THE VALUE:
This tour ran at USD 80 per person and included lunch, our guide, the driver, and entrance to the sites. I did find it a bit odd that I had to provide my credit card at each location to purchase the tickets as the ticketing window did not accept cash. Our guide did provide us with the proper cash exchange in Egyptian at each location, but on other tours, the tickets were purchased on our behalf. We tipped and paid for some additional beverages at lunch. For a 12-hour day of touring, the value was there. However, if the long drive wasn’t factored into the cost, I probably wouldn’t have seen the value.
TLDR:
There are a few gems to see in Alexandria and this tour provides the opportunity to say you’ve “been there.” But overall, the so/so experience alongside the long drive makes this tough to recommend to others. Unless you’re spending a significant amount of time in Egypt and have a desire to see the Mediterranean coast, I’d say pass on this one.
Day Trip to Luxor
The Highlight of Our Trip to Egypt
Rating: 5/5
TOUR OVERVIEW:
A bright and early 4 am departure kicked off this very long, but incredible tour. Our driver Mohammad Hassan (whom we’d met a few days before during the Sound and Light Show tour) safely transported us to the Cairo International Airport for our 6:15 am departure to Luxor on Egypt Air. We had ample time to grab a quick breakfast at the airport before boarding. We did have a 40-minute ground delay at the airport, but arrived by 8:30 am. Our guide, Salwa Fathy, was easy to find at the Luxor airport and she walked us over to our car and driver Mohamed Hussein.
We started our tour with a stop at the Temple of Karnak. The size of this temple cannot be overstated and we appreciated stopping here first before the crowds picked up for the day. I especially enjoyed walking around the massive ornate pillars and seeing the remnants of color left behind from thousands of years ago. We spent around an hour and a half exploring. This was one of my favorite stops during our entire time in Egypt.
From the Temple of Karnak, we moved on to the Temple of Luxor. Similar in size, but more complete than the Temple of Karnak, the Temple of Luxor offered another unique and mesmerizing experience of the ingenuity of Egyptian architecture. More so than the Temple of Karnak, the Temple of Luxor offered glimpses into the Roman period with alterations to the temple that I found of interest as well.
At this point, we briefly strayed from our tour plans to stop by a perfume store and jewelry store (both at our request) to make some souvenir purchases. Then we headed off to the West Bank of Luxor for an authentic Egyptian lunch at Nile Panorama Restaurant.
From the restaurant, we headed off to the Valley of the Kings. Here, we visited the tombs of Ramesses IV, Memeptah, Ramesses VI, and Tutankhamun. We had to pay a bit of extra money (USD 15 each) to see Tutankhamun’s tomb, but this was entirely worth it. We spent about an hour and a half exploring the tombs and a quick half hour at the “rest house” in the valley for a water break (We needed to rehydrate after sweating inside the tombs!).
We made a pit stop at an alabaster shop at our guide’s direction. The shop employees put on a great show and I once again walked out of a shop with some (slightly unneeded) purchases.
After the intermission, we headed to our last major stop on the trip, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. We arrived in the afternoon just minutes before ticket sales closed and enjoyed the Temple almost entirely to ourselves. The location was stunning and I found the history of the female Pharo particularly moving.
Our tour wound down with a quick stop to pick up some “sugar juice” from sugar cane plants and a photo op at the Colossi of Memnon. From there, we returned to the Luxor Airport.
Unfortunately, we ran into some flight delays and ended up stuck at the airport until late in the evening. Somehow, this information was not communicated from the tour company to their driver who was picking us up from Cairo Airport. We felt awful that Mohammad Hassan had to wait for us for hours without knowing where we were. We’d assumed the tour company would check flight statuses and communicate that information to their employees, but I guess that wasn’t the case. I’d love to see that improved if we did this tour again.
HIGHLIGHTS:
I entirely underestimated just how incredible the Temple of Karnak would be! Pictures simply cannot do this temple justice and I felt incredibly moved standing in the shadow of such rich history. This temple surpassed the Great Pyramids for me in terms of favorite stops. I wish I could go back and relive this experience over and over again.
The Valley of the Kings was equally exciting. Imagine my surprise when I walked into King Tut’s tomb and met him face to face! Maybe this is common knowledge that escaped me, but before this visit, I didn’t realize that Tut’s body remains in his tomb. Perhaps we were visiting during an off time, but during our visit, there was a moment in which we were the only people in the tomb aside from Tut himself. This experience genuinely moved me to tears which I never expected.
Another welcome surprise came during our lunch hour. This lunch offered traditional Egyptian cuisine we hadn't encountered previously. We enjoyed koshari, bamya, and molokhia alongside more familiar offerings of tahini, tomato salad, baba ganoush, and chicken. Our guide also offered us “sugar juice” as a fun afternoon treat. We enjoyed eating alongside our guide and learning about the local cuisine.
LOWLIGHTS:
While I loved the food and I can’t entirely fault the tour company itself, the cleanliness of the restroom at the restaurant was a bit unsettling. I’ll spare you the details, but I’m still a bit scarred by this experience.
As with previous tours, we had mixed emotions around the souvenir stops. This is a double-edged sword. On one hand, we appreciated our guide going out of her way to take us to a jewelry store to fulfill a need for souvenirs for loved ones back home. That said, this request opened the door to some mildly pushy sales tactics to (presumably) make a commission off our purchases. While I understand the hustle, it made me a bit uncomfortable a few times and led to an unneeded purchase on my part.
THE GUIDE:
Despite the aforementioned souvenir situation, I genuinely enjoyed getting to know our guide, Salwa. She was incredibly patient, answered every question we had, and went out of her way to give us the optimal experience. She took some nice photos and offered a friendly demeanor the entire trip.
Likewise, our driver in Luxor Mohamed Hussein was an absolute sweetheart and shared a bit about his life with us which was interesting to hear. He did a great job navigating the streets and keeping us safe throughout our trip.
I also cannot say enough about our Cairo transfer driver Mohammad Hassan. He was so patient with us despite the flight delay and miscommunication and went above and beyond for us while we were in his car.
THE VALUE:
At around $280 per person with flights, lunch, water, our drivers, tour guide, and entrance fees, this tour was an absolute steal. The sights we experienced were priceless themselves and this tour was beyond worth it in my book. This might just be the best $280 I’ve ever spent.
TLDR:
This was the highlight of my trip to Egypt. If you’re on the fence about booking this tour, just DO IT. It makes for a long day, but the incredible locations make up for the sleep deprivation. I will never forget this experience and I’m so thankful that we took this tour!
Pyramids with Saqqara and Daucher
An Unforgettable Adventure
RATING: 5/5
TOUR OVERVIEW:
We booked this tour at the very last minute after a change of plans and we were able to secure it directly through the Emo Tours site. Our guide Tigo and our driver Ahmed greeted us outside of our hotel bright and early at 8 am. We immediately hit the road for the Giza Pyramids. We’d visited the Great Pyramids earlier on the trip but intentionally decided to visit again to climb inside Khufu and take a better round of photos. Tigo was happy to accommodate us and went above and beyond to make our return trip a great experience.
Upon arrival, we immediately got in line to go inside Khufu as the line typically gets crowded later in the morning. The crowds were manageable, but there were a few moments when we played games of Twister with strangers to climb through tight spaces inside the pyramid. The ascent took around 15 minutes altogether and landed in a small, stone chamber with an empty sarcophagus. Around 15 people remained in the chamber at any given time. The descent took around 10 minutes and we spent an additional few minutes capturing photos from the facade of the pyramids.
With photography as a goal of ours, Tigo took us to several picture-perfect locations and went out of his way to capture as many photos as we wanted. This included the corner of Khufu, the panorama viewpoint, and the right-hand side of the Sphinx. We lucked out and had beautiful weather with limited haze which provided us with some amazing photos we’ll treasure forever.
From Giza, we departed on a 40-minute drive to Saqqara, the step pyramid. Here, we descended into the substructure of the Pyramid of Unas where we took in the ornate carvings of hieroglyphics, including some of the Coffin Texts which are said to be the earliest version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. We also walked around the step pyramid itself and the surrounding temple. Tigo pointed out the entrances of several additional tombs, many of which were active archeological sites. We were unable to go into the step pyramid itself as it was undergoing renovations during the time of our visit.
From Saqqara, we moved on to the three pyramids at Dahshur; the red pyramid, the black pyramid, and the bent pyramid. Here, we entered the bent pyramid and experienced an interesting, albeit strenuous exploration to the top of the pyramid. I'll spare the dramatic details, but just know that this experience was the only panic attack I had all trip.
After getting a solid workout in the bent pyramid, we made a brief stop in Memphis to check out some of the artifacts uncovered in the city. This included a massive statue of Ramses II which was being transported up the Nile from Luxor before it ended in its resting place in the river in Memphis.
We ended the tour with a spectacular lunch at a spot that I can't find anywhere on the Internet. It was located in a hotel along an off-shoot of the River Nile. From there, we returned safely to our hotel around 3 pm.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Exploring the insides of the pyramids and tombs on this tour was a major highlight of the trip as a whole. We missed this on our other Giza tour and saw so much value going inside and feeling the history all around us. The climb inside the bent pyramid offered the true sense of adventure we were after during our time in Egypt.
The lunch on this trip was incredible and probably one of our favorite meals on the trip. We were served sizzling chicken and beef kofta on a personal charcoal grill and were allowed to pick up a variety of side dishes and desserts on a buffet. The meal provided the icing on the cake of a great tour.
LOWLIGHTS:
As cool as going inside the Bent Pyramid was, I have to reiterate that this experience was NOT for the faint of heart, those who struggle with fears of heights, or those who are not physically fit. I struggled with the height factor quite a bit. Despite this being a cool experience, it was not as easy as going into the Pyramid of Giza or exploring the various tombs in the Valley of the Kings. I wish I had known more about the experience before going inside to prevent the panic attack that I suffered during the climb up.
THE GUIDE:
I simply cannot say enough good things about Tigo! He was our favorite guide on our entire trip. From his lighthearted humor to his amazing photography to his knowledge of the sites, I truly cannot thank Tigo enough for making our experience so special.
THE VALUE:
We paid around USD 115 each for this tour, including entrance to the pyramid Khufu (an extra USD 20 each) and a USD 20 fee for being picked up from our hotel located at the Cairo airport. The Cairo airport charge felt a little excessive, especially considering we didn’t have to pay for pickup from our other hotels during our stay. That aside, the tour itself was worth the cost.
TLDR:
If you’re looking for a day of adventure, this tour is the one for you! This tour is all about the pyramids and history, so be prepared for a long day in the sun. Overall, it's a huge recommendation in my eyes!
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