Fabulous day out
We had a wondeful day out with Ahmad the driver and Said in the tour guide. Ahmad has picked us up right on the agreed time. The vehicle was clean, comfortable and nicely decorated - it even had little pillows which made huge difference for napping! Ahmad was offering drinks and snacks throughout the trip. He seemed like a very experienced and safe driver and got us to Luxor quickly.
Said was incredibly knowledgeable guide throughout the temple and tomb visits, answering every question and fuelling our curiosity as we went. I highly recommend taking the 40 minute boat trip and experiencing Luxor from the middle of the Nile. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day
This trip is also a great way to authentic Egyptian life outside of hotels safely. Myself and my friend (2 females) had our concerns about venturing out by ourselves, however having the driver and the tour guide with us made us feel very safe and avoid unwanted attention
Aurelia C · März 2023 · über Tripadvisor
Buen tour con una agenda apretada
En general, buena experiencia durante un día lleno de actividades. El guia ( Said) estuvo bien y tienes suficiente tiempo en cada una de las paradas. Buena relación calidad-precio, pero hay un par de cosas que hacen que demos una nota más baja:
- En la descripción del viaje, el viaje en barco por el nilo durante de 40 minutos (opcional) debería costar 10€/persona extra. En nuestro caso el guía dijo que por ser un grupo pequeño (4 personas) deberíamos pagar 15€/persona. Tuvimos la sensación de que nos estaban mintiendo y el guía quería un extra. Sería bueno que si esta información es cierta, se incluyera en la descripción del viaje.
- El conductor (Ahmed) iba a gran velocidad para llegar antes que otros turistas por la mañana, pero también en el camino de vuelta. En la ciudad de Luxor, con el tráfico, la velocidad y los adelantamientos, puede resultar un poco sobrecogedor comparado con la conducción en Europa.
- Varios puntos donde intentar venderte cosas durante el tour, como por ejemplo la fábrica de alabastro, la de papiros y el guia (Said) que intento vendernos unos collares.
Departure47917981045 · März 2023 · über Tripadvisor
Just do it !
OMG - Egyptian roads !!! Let’s get one thing clear from the start - if you are a nervous back seat passenger, or, like me, horribly prone to travel sickness and not keen on early starts , this may not be for you . Hotel pick up for us was 4.40am , and even earlier for others . It’s a four hour trip there, and another four back , so consider yourself warned !
That said, it is not for nothing that the ancient Egyptian temples at Karnak and Luxor etc, and The Valley of the Kings just across the Nile from them, are UNESCO World Heritage sites - they are utterly mind boggling !! I still struggle to get my mind around the concept - the astonishing complexity, effort, and artisanship that went particularly into constructing the tombs, with the intention at the outset that very few would ever even know of their existence - let-alone witness their beauty - and that almost from the moment they were completed, they would be sealed up and hidden away for eternity, never be viewed by another living sole…“Ye Gods !”still doesn’t quite cover it !
Our transport for the day was a very modern and clean Toyota Hiace van. Ramashka Tours made a considerable effort to get us to Luxor ahead of the larger Coaches, and specifically the hordes from Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh they would contain. This meant we got to Karnak before the crowds made unobstructed viewing difficult. Ramashka Tours also included a comfort stop halfway across the Eastern desert (in both directions) for the usual necessities. Again - be warned - you should expect to pay as much as £10 EGP (but usually £5) to use the loos in Egypt - very few are free.
Our English speaking guide for the day was Said, he was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. Travelling in a small group as we were meant he was always available to answer questions or engage in any light chat, which helped make the day feel more bespoke. He also arranged for a Nile cruise upstream as far as the Temple of Luxor (a small extra fee) and optional visits to view papyrus and (genuine) alabaster craftsmen at work. If you wanted to buy that quality souvenir, this was your opportunity, but we didn’t feel under any pressure to do so, and we certainly were not harassed by salesmen.
Lunch was in a clean and pleasant restaurant on the banks of the Nile, and while the choice of dishes was modest, it was nevertheless delicious, and we only had to pay for the beverages that we consumed (£60 EGP for a large fresh squeezed glass of orange juice).
Included in the cost of the tour are of course entrance fees to all of the temples etc, but the authorities have decided that to keep crowds visiting the Valley of the Kings at a manageable level, tickets would only include entrance to three tombs. Said made a point of saying Tutankhamen’s was a waste of time as there is nothing in it and very little decoration - so we went with his top three recommendations instead, and I have to say I didn’t feel as thought we had somehow “missed out”. It was always going to be a long day, and quality - not quantity - was the key to making the trip worthwhile.
I perhaps would have given this review five stars were it not for the fact that from a European perspective, the road trip itself from Hurghada cannot really be described as pleasant, nor particularly “safe”. That is not a criticism of RAMASHKA TOURS at all - it’s a long way and they certainly tried their best.
In summary - if you are holidaying in Hurghada and Luxor is on your bucket list, this trip is pretty much essential.
Gregory P · März 2023 · über Tripadvisor
Excursion à recommander 😉
Superbe excursion, guide vraiment trés gentil. Les visites étaient toutes trés intéressantes. Merci à Ahmed et Saïd 😉
Angelita_R · März 2023 · über Viator
Wonderful experience
Well what a day !!!! From the moment we were picked up from our hotel Tropitel Sahl Hasheish it was a roller coaster. We experienced the wonders of Egypt through Ahmed the tour operator and Said the tour guide. We sampled eating/sucking sugar cane to seeing the Temples, Valley of the Kings and more. We had lunch on the Nile followed by a boat trip on the Nile. Ahmed was a fast driver who we nicknamed Shumacher but was very safe. Brilliant day although long but worth ever penny. Thank you Ahmed TOP MAN.
Safari573884 · März 2023 · über Tripadvisor
The driver was very unprofessional
The guide was very professional and knowledgeable and did a very good job. The driver was rude, drove very recklessly and aggressive. The drive demanded a good review before being dropped off. He complained bitterly we didn't make a review in the bus while we where being shaked like a cocktail due to his reckless driving. Everything mentioned in the tour brochure was done. The lunch was good. The driver had plenty of water and soda with potato chips. Everything was on time. We saw all the advertisemented sites. The guide knew his material and did a great job
Brian_P · März 2023 · über Viator
Luxor is truly amazing, a must see
what an amazing trip, Luxor is truly a must see. Said our tour guide was perfect, he was so knowledgeable and gave us time for everything we needed, top top top service for him. We had lunch by the Nile which was a buffet and was pretty good, then we paid extra for the Nile boat trip, which was good but didn’t have to do it unless you really wanted to do it. A full 15/16 hour day with drinks and snacks in the van for free was really nice, they even stopped to get us sugar cane juice which was great. I would recommend this trip to anyone.
There was only one downside however… at the end of our journey we was hassled to write a review and was told we had hours to do it in the bus (even though I slept) and felt a bit like we were being told off. After that, we were then shouted at for not giving a tip to the driver (which we should have) but I gave the rest of my Egyptian pounds to the tour guide as a tip. The driver even threw rubbish out of the van at our hotel and shouted something!
This though does not put me off reviewing this as a 5 star trip which says a lot of how good it was! Said was an honestly amazing host. Just bring more money to tip both 😂
jamie_c · März 2023 · über Viator
Luxor and Valley of Kings
Amazing trip to Luxor and Valley of the Kings. Picked up on time by Ahamed and arrived at 8.30 before the crowds. Said, our guide, was so knowledgeable and made the whole experience perfect. Very nice lunch and then a 40 minute cruise on the Nile before the Temple of Hapsetshut. The only criticism of the tour was constant haranguing to put a 5 star review on TripAdvisor which became quite unpleasant on the trip back. Ahamed was verging on aggressive and made us all feel uncomfortable. A 5 star review is my choice to make as a result of good customer service.
Please don't let this put you off the trip because it was amazing!
ruthriches · März 2023 · über Tripadvisor
Top Preisleistung !
Bereits am frühen Morgen ging es los. Dies hat aber auch den Vorteil, dass man einen wunderschönen Sonnenaufgang beobachten kann.
Die Tour wurde super geplant, uns wurde die Option geboten die erste Pause zu verkürzen, sodass wir an jeder Sehenswürdigkeit früher als andere Touri-Gruppen ankamen. Es kam zu keinen Problemen bei den Passkontrollen und wir sind super an den jeweiligen Spots angekommen.
Der Bus war gut ausgestattet (Klimaanlage, Wlan, Fernseher, etc.) und unser Fahrer hat uns mit guter Laune immer etwas über die jeweiligen Orte und die Sitten mitgeteilt. Außerdem wurden uns über den ganzen Tag kalte Getränke angeboten, was bei 40 Grad (im Schatten) sehr gut getan hat.
Auch kleine Snacks gab es in den kleinen Pausen.
Unsere Reiseführerin hat uns ab der ersten Sehenswürdigkeit begleitet. Durch die recht überschaubare Gruppe von 4 Personen (davon 2 deutschsprachig und 2 englisch) haben wir eine exklusive Reiseführung erhalten. Neben den schon fast unerträglichen Temperaturen haben wir sehr viel geschichtlichen Input erhalten (manchmal schon zu viel… ab einem gewissen Punkt viel es uns schwer dem zu folgen bzw. aufzufassen was uns erzählt wird). Sie verfügt über ein sehr großes Wissen was die Geschichte des Alten Ägypten angeht, jede Frage hätte beantwortet werden können. Zum Tagesablauf wurden uns viele Informationen mitgeteilt, jedoch wurde über unseren Kopf hinweg entschieden, ob und wie viel Trinkgeld bei der Nilfahrt verteilt werden soll. Uns wurde lediglich ein Preis genannt (wie sich dieser zusammengesetzt hat, wissen wir bis heute nicht)… Hier wäre eine Aufklärung schön gewesen.
Gegen Mittag wurde es noch wärmer, sodass ich mit gesundheitlichen Problemen zu kämpfen hatte. Es wurde sich jedoch bestens um mich gesorgt… mir wurden immer wieder Getränke angeboten, sowie Tipps wie ich mit der Hitze am besten umgehe.
Auch an den jeweiligen Sehenswürdigkeit haben sich die Personen um mich gekümmert. Mir wurde immer wieder ein Platz zum sitzen angeboten und ich bin bis heute sehr dankbar darüber!
Leider muss man auch die negativen Aspekte an den jeweiligen Sehenswürdigkeiten erwähnen. Hierfür kann keine Organisation etwas und dies betrifft keinesfalls alle Personen, aber seid euch bewusst, dass kriminelle Personen unterwegs sein können. Handys und andere Wertsachen solltet ihr gut im Auge behalten… auch wird aufdringlich und unhöflich nach Trinkgeld gefragt bzw. wird dieses schon eher gefordert.
Die Tour ist wirklich toll gewesen und vor allem lehrreich!
Schlaft am besten gut aus bevor ihr die Tour antretet, denn es ist sehr viel Input und auch körperlich anstrengend… aber es lohnt sich!
Wir sind auf jeden Fall sehr glücklich an dieser Tour teilgenommen zu haben und würden es jedem empfehlen der mal eine Reise nach Ägypten antritt :)
Vielleicht noch als kleiner Zusatz: wir geben gerne Bewertungen ab, nur leider wurde dies durchgehend (seitens des Fahrers und der Reiseführerin) von uns gefordert… nach so einem anstrengenden Tag sollte es nicht die Voraussetzung sein den Bus zu verlassen indem man eine positive Bewertung abgegeben hat.
Eine Bewertung sollte immer freiwillig verfasst werden und nicht aufgezwungen!
5 Sterne sind wohl verdient und die bekommt ihr bei dem guten Service auch so ;)
Julia Sophia S · März 2023 · über Tripadvisor
Great day trip to Luxor
Great day out from Hurghada to Luxor to see Karnak Temple, Valley of the Kings and more. Ahmed (driver) and Said (guide) treated us really well, nice air conditioned luxury 12 seater, plenty of snacks and drinks on route. Picked up exactly as stated and Ahmed wasted no time getting us there quickly before it got really busy. Said guided us well through the temples and tombs, nice lunch and also enjoyed the Nile boat trip. A special experience with loads of spectacular photos to remember it by. Thanks Ahmed and Said
andrewcX1791ZT · März 2023 · über Tripadvisor
