A must do experience if you’re in Egypt
Our tour from Cairo to Luxor was absolutely fantastic. The morning started with a boat ride with coffee and tea across the Nile river. From there we took an unbelievable balloon ride that soared over the temples and other statues.
It was definitely better than I expected.
It was nice to have an hour to freshen up at our hotel and enjoyed a boxed breakfast.
After that, we met up with our tour guide, Ahmed Bahaa. Very friendly with a great personality and well-versed in Egyptian history. Plus, since I was traveling with my daughter, he was very tentative in including her. We saw all the major sites in a timely manner, and had extra time to walk around by ourselves as well. We enjoyed a wonderful Buffet, with a view of the Nile River and another boat ride. The valley of the kings was probably my favorite and my daughter really enjoyed the hot air balloon ride. I definitely like to thank Elaria for staying in touch with me during the whole trip to make sure that my driver had arrived and if we got to our hotel, how the balloon ride was even when we were in the air. I definitely feel like they put an extra effort into making sure everything went smoothly.
Ronnie A · cze 2023 · przez Tripadvisor
Amazing experience!
Wow what an amazing trip! My husband and I were a little apprehensive after reading some reviews but after having just got back I can say the entire trip went smoothly and we were well looked after.
Elarya was very helpful in answering questions before the trip and checking in with us afterwards.
We were picked up at 11pm and had our own individual transfer which was great. Mansoor was our driver ( we had him to ourselves the entire day!) he was very friendly and pleasant, and always on time to take us to our next destination during the trip.
There was a bit of an odd moment at the start of the trip, where we were taken to a temple on the roadside and were asked by one of the other transfer drivers ( Bomba I think, he was driving another couple) to leave a review on the trip advisor app. He wouldn't take no for an answer. We thought this was a bit odd as you would usually complete the review at the end of the trip not at the beginning and found it a bit intimidating. We ended up doing the review then and there but felt uneasy, I would advise you to decline and say you want to review at the end if you feel uneasy about this. Just to add you can remove and add a new review on the Trip advisor app. Other than this Bomba was fine throughout the day.
It took us a few hours to drive from our hotel in Hurghada, we made a stop at a service station along the way and there were a couple of stops by the roadside to wait for the other taxis to catch up. We had breakfast at a restaurant around 4am, the owner had opened up especially for us- we had coffee and pastry bread which was nice! Next stop we were put on a van for transfer to the hot air balloon site with people allocated to our balloon. We found this process straightforward and were quickly transferred to the site and put on a hot air balloon. Each hot air balloon takes around 20 people, and 4 people to one carriage. The hot air balloon ride itself was magical and one of the highlights of our holiday to Egypt!! Cannot recommend it enough, the sunrise and the views were just amazing!
Our pilot was friendly and knowledgeable, talking through the local area during the ride. We felt very safe during the ride, it was a bit of a bumpy landing but that's to be expected! The ground crew were on it straight away and kudos to them for getting the balloon tidied up and taken away so quickly. Next we were put back on a minivan and taken to meet our Egyptologist Ahmed Ali ( a professor in hieroglyphics). This bit went smoothly and Ali was great, we had him all to ourselves too. Very friendly, passionate and knowledgeable, you can just tell he loves what he does. Ali really looked after us during the day -guiding us as to what tombs to enter, helping us buy tickets, what shops to avoid, put no pressure on us to buy anything, where to stop for refreshments and toilet breaks. He had a sense of humour and made us laugh lots! We had a great morning exploring the tombs, we added Tutankahmun as an extra to the 3 tombs that you get as part of a standard ticket. We went to see the Hatshesput temple next which was fascinating and opted to go see the Karnak temple as it had more shade and was closer (it was a v hot day). From here we went to lunch (buffet option- was nice enough with enough options). Afterwards we went on the feulluca ride on the Nile which was pleasant and had the boat to ourselves! We were then taken back to our driver who transferred us home (about a 3.5/ 4 hour drive and we got back at 4.30pm).
Communication could have been a tiny bit better before the day and also on the day i.e the transfer was only confirmed the day before. Luckily it all went smoothly and we had read reviews before so knew what was happening at various time points.
Other tips/ advice- It was very very hot at the Valley of the Kings so bring lots of suncream, a hat, water and a shawl to wrap around your head if you can. You can ask a local to wrap around your head properly for a small tip. Also bring bug spray (there were mosquitos at the service station stop).
It really is good value for money when you look at the itinerary- a driver for the entire day, Egyptologist for the day, breakfast & lunch, separate transfer from the balloon site, boat ride (you'll need to pay for entrance fees to the tombs: a standard ticket for 3 tombs cost us 260 Egyptian pounds which is around £7, they accept cash or card).
With that said, don't underestimate how tiring the trip is, it really is a long and adventurous day!
We are glad we booked this trip and would highly recommend it, the itinerary was well organised and all went to plan! Ps well done if you have managed to read to the end of this review 🤣
C9341IYmatthewt · cze 2023 · przez Tripadvisor
Très bon guide et chauffeur ! Je recommande
Super expérience je recommande! On est parti à 22h30 et on est rentré à 16h tour de montgolfière magnifique et belle présentation des lieux
Batrice_B · maj 2023 · przez Viator
Great trip about Egyptian heritage
We had a private tour to east & west bank of Luxor with balloon and it was so nice with our tour guide Ahmed Bahaa. Before the tour we were a little disappointed because a civil aviation cancelled our balloon flight, but the company did a partial refund for that (plus we were offered to do safari instead). We started our journey from Hurghada with a driver and then the guide came to us in Luxor. He’s been very friendly and passionately told us a lot about Egyptians and their ancient civilization. Also Ahmed was very kind and always offered to take a photo with us. We really enjoyed the tour and strongly recommended Ahmed as a guide.
Roman_N · maj 2023 · przez Viator
Over night trip from hurghada to luxor for valley of the komgs tour and hot air balloon ride!
What an experience!!! Pick up was a little on the sketchy side being an overnight drive from Hurghada to Luxor. BomBa definitely let us know what modern day egyptian life is like. He was a safe and efficient driver.. Along the drive we stopped at a couple different hookah bars for coffee and bathroom breaks. I didn't mind but on the way home after an 18 hour excursion we were just ready to get back and sleep! Our tour guide Hamdy was very kind friendly and knowledgeable about the history of the Egyptians. We fit alot in to our trip and got to see everything we wanted and also skipped anything we weren't interested in. The hot air balloon ride was absolutely stunning and breath taking! I definitely recommend to anyone who doesn't mind a very long day of adventure! To say we were exhausted is an understatement, but very fun and worth the sleeplessness! Go enjoy for yourself, you won't be sorry but be ready to have your pocket book out and ready!!
Connector15946598271 · maj 2023 · przez Tripadvisor
Tour was good
My husband and I wanted to take a private tour of Luxor from Hurghada. This tour fit our needs.
Sadly the ballot ride was cache due to winds. We were notified tge evening before and promised a $40 refund,which we appreciated.
Our driver picked is up at 2:30 in the morning to have us in Luxor at sunrise.
Once in Lucknow we picked up our Egyptologist, Summa who was very nice and knowledgeable. We did have a bit of a language issue. She spoke English but her accent had a different cadence and that was difficult.
When you go to Valley of the Kings make sure buy tye extra tombs. Sethy I is worth all 3 of the extra tickets. You will not be disappointed.
Our driver to Luxor has gotten good Rev, I had reading those. This next part if in our opinion and our experience. Boomba picked us up and had to grab fule, no problem. Once on the road he was constantly on the phone, in the dark and with foggy.
After on the road about 45 minutes Boomba stopped on the side of the road at an exit ramp and got out of the car. This woke me up. He appeared a bit agitated and was pacing while on the phone. This was disconcerting to us. After he got back in car and we started driving, Dr asked if all OK and he sad something about needing to get a call from his company in 10 min to move on. Odd...
After we were on the road from this stop the driver slowed down to almost a stop several times. Again we were uncomfortable with this behavior. Suddenly Bomba just increased speed and no more sudden stops. After about an hour we pulled off at a place that had many people sitting around with tea oe coffee. Boomba has us go inside with him and he chatted with several people , got coffee and a Shika /Hookah and brought to our table. Inhave asthma and migraines and could not be around this so my hi asked him to please move to another table. We sat there another 15-20 minutes and finally my husband asksd if we could go and we did.
We had to go over mountains and climb altitude with increasing fog and for some reason Bomba thought going 160kph was a good idea on these windy, windy roads.
This scared me a bit.
Bomba ended up with car trouble and we got another driver. We hope his car is ok.
As for the tour, yes, book without these people amd who knows maybe it was an odd day for Boomba.
gabahatcher · kwi 2023 · przez Tripadvisor
Amazing. Great walk! We recommend too!! Great guide.
The walk in luxor was incredible. The balloon ride is an adventure that has no words to describe, it is something truly unique. After that our guide ahmad bahaa, led us to the Valley of the Kings which is an amazing place, where you can see impressive details of the tombs. In the course of the day we visited the other places of the route and thanks to our guide (we highly recommend him, because he speaks very well English and has an incredible ease of explaining the history of each place) we were able to understand the culture and the meaning of each place. It was amazing.
leandro h · kwi 2023 · przez Tripadvisor · Przetłumaczone
Hot air balloon and Luxor really the best 🤩
Truly one of the best experiences you can have in Luxor ❤️ the hot air balloon at dawn just fantastic , is the tour in the Valley of the Kings and the Karnak temple really spectacular , thanks to Elarya Hany for always being in touch via phone
VinzAdvisor87 · mar 2023 · przez Tripadvisor · Przetłumaczone
Trip to Luxor
Thank you Araea and Bomba for the service. They were very nice and accommodating. Bomba is a great driver!
chelseajC7660CA · mar 2023 · przez Tripadvisor
100% recommended experience
Beautiful experience with Nice tours.
This is a private tour. Our Bomba heater was exceptional, very kind. We were treated to a guide in French who presented us well with the history of Luxor, while respecting our rhythm and we desire.
Lunch is made in a buffet restaurant by the Nile with excellent views.
Unfortunately the balloon tour was cancelled due to the strong wind that took place all week. But Nice tours agreed to stagger the day free of charge at the weekend and, since the wind was always present, we were reimbursed the part of the balloon tour.
Communication was really great with Elaria! Always very friendly and kind.
Great experience!
filipabelinha · mar 2023 · przez Tripadvisor · Przetłumaczone
