A day of discoveries and Indiana Jones type adventures.
We had a fascinating day out this morning with the help of our knowledgable tour guide Fatima. Picked up bang on time from our hotel, the drive from Giza to Sahara was a little over half an hour.
Saqqara is considered one of Egypt’s most remarkable archaeological sites. Most famous is the Step Pyramid of Djoser, built around 2650 BCE, which is considered the world’s first large-scale stone monument. Designed by the architect Imhotep, it represents the transition from traditional mastaba tombs to true pyramids.
The Pyramid of Unas, the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, archaeologists discovered the Pyramid Texts — the oldest known religious writings in the world, carved directly into the walls. These hieroglyphs consist of spells, hymns, and prayers intended to guide the pharaoh’s soul safely to the afterlife and unite him with the gods.
From there it was on to The pyramids at Dahshur, south of Saqqara. These are among Egypt’s earliest true pyramids and mark a crucial stage in pyramid evolution. The most famous are the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, both built during the reign of Pharaoh Sneferu (c. 2600 BCE). The Bent Pyramid is unique, with its angle changing midway, possibly due to structural issues, giving it a distinctive shape. The Red Pyramid, named for the reddish limestone used, is considered Egypt’s first successful smooth-sided pyramid and a direct predecessor to the Great Pyramid at Giza.
Fatima, today’s guide, asked if we wanted to descend into the centre of the tomb. 85 metres down a three foot square tunnel which sloped down into the Bent Pyramid. Then climb up 20 metres hoping like hell the flimsy lighting doesn’t fail. A fascinating experience but not for the faint hearted or unfit. Currently I’m lying in bed nursing muscles I didn’t know existed in my body.
Having survived our Indiana Jones descent into the Bent Pyramid (no snakes, rolling rocks, or poison darts), it’s off to Memphis. Not the Elvis associated one, the Memphis in Egypt founded around 3100 BCE by King Menes, and the first capital of unified Egypt. Located at the apex of the Nile Delta, it served as a political, administrative, and religious hub. Dedicated to the god Ptah, Memphis housed great temples and was associated with craftsmanship and creation. Its strategic location made it a center for trade and culture, linking Upper and Lower Egypt. The museum has the second largest Sphinx and the second largest statue of King Ramses II. To close off another great tour we were then treated to a delicious lunch of buffet and bbq meat.
In summary, Fatima and our driver helped to make this a memorable day, one we will treasure for a long time. It can be a pretty exhausting day, so come prepared.
David_L · 2025年9月 · Viator より
Lovely and interesting tour to Dashur, Memphis and Saqqara
We had a wonderful day with our guide Ehab, who was both very pleasant and knowledgeable. By the end of the day, our knowledge about ancient Egypt had tripled, if not more.
Would recommend this tour any day!
Overgaard789 · 2025年9月 · Tripadvisor より
Great experience
The driver was a very nice person we had a nice experience. Basically we got to go to all the places that were mentioned on the description.
Also, we were in 4 people and we got to go on a private vehicle, which it was very nice and a very clean vehicle.
Gabriel_F · 2025年9月 · Viator より
¡Fantástica excursión!
La excursión fue maravillosa. Nuestro guía Ache fue muy amable, atento y simpático con nosotras. Merece mucho la pena conocer esta parte de la historia.
260aroas · 2025年9月 · Tripadvisor より
My guide, Logdy (sp?) was...
My guide, Logdy (sp?) was informative and helpful. The tour itself was good, and took me to where I wanted to go.
The only part that bothered me were the stops at shops or stalls at the bazaar where it felt like I was being coerced into making a purchase. Which, after 8 days in Egypt already dealing with the near constant selling, was a bit too much.
That said, the tour was good, driver got us around safely, and I did get to see what I signed up for.
Jennifer_K · 2025年9月 · Viator より
Totally worth it!
Highly recommended! My wife and I had the best time with Fouly, great person and driver. We visited Sakkara, Dahshur and Memphis.
Highly recommended and thank you Fouly for your kindness, best regards.
Alberto M · 2025年9月 · Tripadvisor より
Don't miss it!
Great value for money, so much to see in a 5-6 hours time. Even tough I was the only customer, the program was fully respected. Cood car, aircon was the blessing ...
bobojovanovicyahooco · 2025年8月 · Viator より
Descubriendo Egipto con H un guía 10
La excursión ha sido excelente, me han hecho sentir como en casa en todo momento. H ha sido un guía de 10, tanto por sus explicaciones claras y completas como por el cuidado con el que organizó cada detalle de nuestro día, siempre pensando en nuestros intereses y preocupándose por nosotros. Gracias a él hemos visto y entendido todo muy bien. Los trayectos en coche fueron muy cómodos, con aire acondicionado y buena música, lo que hizo el viaje aún más agradable. La comida, auténtica egipcia y de gran calidad, ha sido otro punto fuerte de la experiencia. Recomiendo esta excursión al 100%.
mariagU4517QD · 2025年8月 · Tripadvisor より
恐ろしい体験
このツアーには満足していません。エジプトでツアーを始めて以来、今回で4回目になりますが、今回のツアー以外はどれも素晴らしかったです。
まず、昨晩深夜（深夜）にあなたの運転手からメールと電話で、ギザへのツアーを予約したか、詳細がわからなかったかのように尋ねられました。彼が真夜中に私に電話して、このことをはっきりさせようとする理由はない。
2つ目 - 今朝20分遅れて迎えに来ました。誰も電話もメールもしてない手を差し伸べなければならなかった。他のすべてのツアーの他のドライバーは、前夜に迅速に伝達されました。車の写真と到着時のメールを送った
第三に-私は全体のツアーを急いで！ガイドがスピードを出してツアーを進めていたので、ほとんど撮影できませんでした！各ピラミッドを何も理解せずに放置した！その瞬間を捉え、アートを鑑賞できるように、スローダウンしてもらわなければなりませんでした！
第四に-ガイドはほとんど私と対話しませんでした！彼らはその間ずっと、彼ら自身の間で話していました！後部座席に座っているだけで、笑ったり話したりしながら、とても居心地が悪かった。
50 - 私はガイドに私が気分が悪いことを言い、私達がレストランで坐るかわりに私達のホテルに行く/取るために昼食を取ることができるかどうか頼む。彼女が合法的にホテルに 連れ戻してくれた！昼食のために停止しませんでしたし、私は昼食のために私のお金を取り戻すためにツアー会社に連絡することができますと言った！文字通り言葉が出ない!彼女は、彼女の国では、彼らはレストランで食べ物を取り上げないと述べ、我々はすでにレストランを通過したと述べた彼女は戻らないだろう。まったくプロじゃない ! !
恐ろしい体験 ! !推奨しない !
Mikayla_S · 2025年8月 · Viator より · 翻訳
Be prepared to hike!
Tonsi our guide and Ali our driver picked us up at 9a.m. We headed to Sakkara first. The drive gave us the opportunity to see the green side of Giza as we passed through farmland. The location is very expansive, and does require walking. We had an opportunity to enter one of the tombs where you need to squat while walking downward to enter. Your guide is not allowed in the tombs, so you will encounter a tomb 'guard' who will give you a quick unofficial tour inside if you like. He will want a tip at the end. If you are looking for a spot for great pictures, this is it as there is a large courtyard in front of the step pyramid as well as the main building create a great backdrop. There are a lot of stairs, rocks, and uneven surfaces.
Next we headed to Memphis which features the fallen Ramses II statue. The site itself is equivalent to walking in your backyard garden, or community park, but it still has a lot to see including more of Ramses II! We then headed to Dahsur for the red pyramid. If you have any mobility issues, I would recommend staying in the car. The pyramid is amazing in size and you are able to go inside of it. It does require you to climb a winding staircase up to the pyramid and once at the door, you will have to squat and walk backwards down into the pyramid. Once in, there are two main rooms to explore. There is a staircase going up the wall that takes you into another compartment. You will have to exit the exact same way you came so take this into account. As mentioned before your tour guide is not allowed into the pyramid. I definitely recommend paying the tip for the tomb guard to take you into the tunnel as you will need a flashlight if you do not have one. If you are claustrophobic, SKIP this one.
If you have any energy left, there are other structures a distance walk away.
After the three sites, we headed to a restaurant for lunch. There was ample seating, and variety of food items.
-If you are someone who gets hot easily or sweats a lot, I recommend you bring a fan! Wear your walking/hiking shoes. Even with starting at 9 a.m., it was still extremely hot with the high heat index and my clothing was soaked.
Monika_W · 2025年8月 · Viator より
