Egypt Travel Guide

It's hard to know where to start. First off, everything went as smoothly as could be. I traveled with a friend to Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel, and Alexandria. We also took a four-night cruise on a dahabiya.

Our guide in Cairo and our guide in Luxor and Aswan were excellent, and presented us with far more information than it was possible to digest. Our guide in Luxor and Aswan, in particular, gave us a history lesson as we were sailing on the boat, as I sometimes found it hard to contextualize all that we were seeing. That was an enormous help.

We were taken to a couple of shops in Luxor and Aswan, and I'm always a little nervous about bargaining, as I worry I will come out on the losing end and resent being taken advantage of. I didn't buy anything at the alabaster shop, as I felt their prices started very high. I did buy some essential oils and a handcrafted bottle at a shop in Aswan, and though I don't know if I paid too much, I was very happy with what I bought, including a gift for a friend, who was thrilled.

My mobility is limited and I fatigue easily, so I was apprehensive about going on this trip and yet still eager to visit Egypt. The first few days I was very jet lagged, having traveled nearly 40 hours, and I was somewhat dazed and confused and didn't take everything in like I wanted to. But as time went on, I got progressively more into the journey.

The cruise on the dahabiya was so relaxing. We would see some sights, but also have time to gaze out to the river banks dotted with date palms while lounging on a chair. I kept pinching myself to think that I was sailing on the Nile River.

We met three other pairs of travelers, who were very pleasant. We had a barbecue on shore one night, where some hardy travelers could swim in the cold Nile River. There was local music and dancing. Ordinarily, I hate to dance, but they forced us all to join and before you know it, we were having a blast. The next night there was a belly dancer before dinner on board. If you can afford it, a small dahabiya is the way to go—far better, I can only imagine, than a huge cruise ship where you're stumbling over masses of people.

We took a side trip by plane to Abu Simbel. For some reason, our regular guides did not accompany us and a couple of Nubian guides took us around. They were subpar in their guidance, but very pleasant. And just to see Abu Simbel was worth the 3.45am wake-up call. Absolutely breathtaking; I will never get over it.

Before taking this trip, I was apprehensive, as I said, about my ability to get around, but our guide in Cairo, especially, was extremely considerate in making it possible for me to see everything in a way that was as smooth as possible. I am very grateful to him. He was a delightful man—warm, humorous, engaging, and, of course, highly knowledgeable. And our driver was lovely and the most amazing driver I have ever seen.

When I returned home, a friend who had been to Egypt last year asked me what my favorite experiences were. It's So hard to choose, but I would pick the Valley of the Kings for the brilliantly preserved and colorful iconography, Abu Simbel for its sheer overwhelming magnificence, and, of course, sailing on the Nile.

Through Zicasso’s travel company and its agent, my husband and I had a wonderful experience in Egypt and Jordan. 

While we loved all the sites, the most unexpected visit was to the gorgeous Wadi Rum in Jordan. We were glad we missed the flash flood at Petra by a few hours, so we were still able to enjoy the ancient city and lovely natural canyon. And we were only minimally touched in Luxor by the sandstorm in Cairo! 

The whole experience was five-star, especially in terms of the sites visited, guides provided, hotels, and kindness of the people.

Thank you for arranging such a memorable and enlightening trip! We strongly recommend traveling to Egypt and Jordan through our travel agent and his team "on the ground”.

Our experience with Zicasso’s travel company was fantastic. When I started planning our trip, Zicasso’s travel specialist was very helpful in giving me ideas on putting together an itinerary to cover the historic sites of Egypt, as well as Petra in Jordan. He sent a detailed proposal with hotels, inter-country flights, tours, and optional activities. He made himself available to answer any questions via WhatsApp during the planning process.

When we arrived at and departed from various airports (Amman, Cairo, Aswan, Abu Simbel, and Hurghada), we were met by company representatives to ensure everything went smoothly. We were also given WhatsApp contacts for the operations team while in-country in case we had any questions.

Our three guides in Jordan, on our Nile River cruise from Aswan to Luxor, and in Cairo were all excellent. They were very knowledgeable and made our trip logistically stress free. All of our drivers got us where we needed to be on time. All of the hotels, as well as our Nile River cruise, were excellent.

Everyone at the travel company really wanted to ensure we enjoyed ourselves and all our needs were taken care of. We decided to do a hot-air balloon ride in Luxor last minute and switch from a horse-drawn carriage to a boat ride, and they made it happen. Our two-week trip was relaxing, enjoyable, and stress free.

The trip was excellent. We really had a great time! The "ground staff" (drivers, airport greeters, etc.) were terrific. We had four guides.

Our hotel in Abu Simbel and our hotel in Cairo were great.

The cruise ship, the ship in Egypt, was wonderful. The food could have been better, but the entertainment, cleanliness, and staff were all first-rate.

The lady who led the food tour was wonderful. Her English was very good and she was very personable.

Our guide at Abu Simbel was terrific and knowledgeable, and able to find shade on a hot day.

Our guide in Cairo was very knowledgeable, although we struggled to understand everything he said. (Although his English was much better than our Arabic.) As we went to many of the great sites in Egypt, I wanted to buy souvenirs, but I wasn't able to get near the shops. I have heard that souvenir shop owners will, at times, try to rip off tourists, but I don't know if that was the only reason he wouldn't let us near one.

Our fourth guide in Luxor was also very good, personable, and intelligent. However, it was hot and we could have used a break in the shade. He was a lot younger and more fit than we were and didn't seem to notice we were struggling.

Thank you for putting this trip of a lifetime together for us. Ron is taking his grandson to Rome and is using Zicasso.

This trip, arranged by Zicasso's travel agent, was by far the most amazing vacation ever! The rich history, explained by our guide in Cairo and Alexandria and our guide in Aswan and Luxor, made all the sights so memorable! Our driver was the best ever!