If any one has any questions regarding this tour or even Egypt in general feel free to ask...This was one of the best tours i have ever done and Sherif the tour guide was awesome

Hope you all have a blast....

how did you find the train ride???? I've heard horror stories!

it wasn't that bad actually..The "club car" or the party car was the best part and breakfast was literally bread related( bread roll, croissont, pieace of bread and a pieace of cake) so i hope you like carbs...the trip from cairo to aswan ended up being like 14hrs and the trip back to cario from luxor ended up being like 12 because Egyptians don't really like to run on a schedule..Otherwsie it was awesome all round

How much money did you take with you?

Did you happen to notice how suitable the food tended to be for vegetarians?

How many people were there on the tour?

What were the optional trips like?

Lots of questions sorry...

How easy was it to get to the hotel from the airport? I'm just a bit worried about the language barrier!

Anonymouse,
I budgeted about 1000 Aussie Dollars for the 8 days tour and hardly spent much at all.. Everything is fairly cheap with proberbly bottled water (at hotels) and alcohol being the most expensive. I recommend buying your bottled water in bulk from service stations along your way.
People on tour- About 30 i think (great bunch too)
Otionals- I did them all and they were great..Abu Simbel is a must..if you don't do it you'll regret it !!!!!
The village tour was cool too
group photo- the guy who took it photoshopped the sphinx in the background so that was funny
**NOTE**-We were also able to do the hot air balloon ride over luxor. Its no longer an optional by contiki but if they have numbers it can be organised for you to do..it was awesome about $250 USD i think
pyramid light and sound show- cheesy and only about half the group went along but if your in egypt you might as well right???

hope i covered everything

explorer,
I had a private transfer booked for my arrival as i arrived a few days before the tour started, but if you arrive just before the tour contiki have a transfer organised for you.. for the private transfer and if you are from oz go to www.octopustravel.com.au..the prices are listed depend on want transport you want (car, limo etc).
Otherwise a taxi should be about 90-100 egyptian pounds. Don't let them go over $100 becasue they are ripping you off..
Most drivers speak a little english (and they love asking where in the world you are from ) but if you have some paper with addresses of hotels, they can stop to ask if they dont understand you, you'll be fine though.. i learnt 3 arabic words before i left home, hello- Merahba, Thankyou- shukrun and no thankyou - la shukrun...that got me by for about 2 weeks no hassles...good luck and have a blast

Hi Rhee,

I leave for this tour in 7 weeks, can't wait!! I just wanted to know how you paid for the optional extras, do you pay cash or do they take credit card?

Thanks

If you're arriving a day or two in advance of the tour call contiki with your flight info. A transfer from the airport is included, though not guaranteed. I came in a day early and had no trouble, there was a guy waiting for me with a Contiki sign, he showed me where to go through passport control and then took me to the hotel.

Hi there!

Did you get an Egyptian Visa before entering the country, or at the airport? If you got it at the airport, was it a hassle at all?

Thanks!

Check this out:
http://connect.contiki.com/eve...12105522/m/484106014

just buy your visa from the window before passport control. the guy from contiki who met me, actually met me on the inside of passport control (scary though as in the us you can get anywhere on that side of security) pointed me toward the window and then told me to come back with the visa and he would show me where to put it in my passport. he then met me on the other side of immigration (which was interesting... a LOT of waiting in line where no one really pays attention to lines) and then showed us to the private transport contiki had arrived.

i got in a few days early but contiki still had hte pick up for me for free. they also had arranged a return to the airport as well. just make sure to call them with your flight info and they will set it up for free. cant beat it and they guy who metme spoke good english and we got to the hotel (about a 30-45 minute drive) with no problems. my advice would be to take the transport if you can... its free and reliable - something you dont see a lot of in egypt.

Are there hair dryers on the cruise ships? I am trying to cut down on my packing...

Hi, how was the weather? Was it terribly hot? Also, what restriction(s) on clothing is there for women?

Does anyone know whether the hot air balloon ride in Luxor needs to be paid in USD, Egyptian pounds, etc..?

I am trying to figure out how much cash to carry with me and which currency would be the best.