This being my first escorted tour I must say I had a fantastic experience! Their website is great and very informative. Transfers to and from the airport were provided, hotels were 4-5 star, awesome ground transportation from (very clean and comfortable) coaches and mini buses. Only thing keeping transportation from being 5 stars is the overnight train! Sleeper train should be included! Our guide was awesome! The itinerary was exactly as described and we spent sufficient time in most spots. The Nile cruise aboard a ship was the highlight of this trip! I would do more tours with Travel Talk in the future!
(This tour was found from the bugbitten.com site)
the egypt section of the trip was absolutely fantastic, was full days and always on the go, definately saw more in the 15 days than i could have done on my own.
the felucca was a definate must. while no toilets on board (biggest concern!) there were plenty of stops along the river with adequate cover to... do your business. the food was great and despite warning beforehand, no one got sick from the felucca, travel talk seem very committed to providing clean and safe eating experiences wherever we went.
our time in dahab was our only complaint, the people in charge in dahab were not at all helpful, didnt seem to communicate with each other so info wasnt always passed on, and nothing was on time! though this part was probably more due to the laid back atmosphere of the town, and only spending 2 days there, the rest of the trip made up for this.
jordan was fantastic. our tour guide went out of his way to make our trip a bit more exciting, taking us off the traditional touristy routes in order to get better views and photos. definately recommend adding jordan onto the trip.
the group was mainly in their 20's but made a nice mix, none of the immaturity of a contiki tour but still able to have a good time.
This was the best trip we have done so far. Travel Talk were well organised, our tour guide Sam was amazing and the group we had was fantastic.
The trip was well priced for what you received, the accommodation was good to excellent depending on which city we were in. The food was reasonably priced and the sights are amazing.
Highlights of the trip were the optional day trip to Abu Simbel, Dahab (absolutely amazing place)...if you are considering doing the 14 day trip and only being in egypt but are interested in seeing Petra, they do organise a day trip from Dahab for those staying there. But in saying that a definite highlight was swimming in the Dead Sea - something that can only be imagined if you actually do it!
Would definitely recommend travel talk as a company to travel with.
I did the Essential Egypt Discoverer trip by Nile Cruise Boat.
I recommend this trip for the following reasons:
- Discoverer trips are more expensive but they include all enterance costs so you never need to worry about finding cash day to day while on holiday, everything is taken care of.
- The nile cruise boats unlike the feluccas have full facilities, excellent sun decks for relaxing and a small swimming pool.
We did a tour with Travel Talk of Morocco. There were so many highlights of the trip I can't list them all. It was completely different to anything we had done before and sooo ssoooo hot. I would recommend not going in the middle of summer. It was really well organised and had a bit of everything - 4WD in the sahara, camera trek, beaches, port towns, markets.
The heat was something you need to be prepared for so pack light and breezy clothes, we didn't have any problems with having to cover up but it was actually cooler to just by a really light long sleeve top once you are there. There was a good mix of nationalities and age groups. Would definitely recommend this tour and fitting in the sahara part. Such a magical country.
Travel Talk 8 Day Anzac Premium Tour 2010, 22nd April 2008
Reviewed 28th August 2008
Attending the Anzac Day dawn service at Gallipoli is a major highlight of all the travels I have done. I went with Travel Talk and they were fantastic. The guides were very knowledgeable and easygoing. They knew all the history and statistics about the campaign.
The tour I did was 6days and you had days in Istanbul, Gallipoli, Pergamum and Avalyik. The whole experience of being a part of the dawn service is very moving. Being there really shows the impossible task they were faces with when landing at Gallipoli. On the tour we also got to visit Chunik Biar and Lone Pine a couple of days after Anzac day so there weren't huge crowds of people. Make sure you take a sleeping bag as it can be freezing cold throughout the night.
There was a day trip organised to Pergamum to see the Acropolis ruins and a stop at a carpet factory. If buying a carpet make sure you barter them down. They always start way above the price they are willing to accept. They're a great souvenir!!
I flew into Marrakesh on Sat ready to be picked up by our guide Said (pronounced saa-ede) for a week travelling around Morocco with 12 other people. We were a random bunch but it worked out well and provided good entertainment and banter with the different cultures and theories.
The first day involved a quick meet and greet with a debrief. Then we set off to explore the famous medina of Marrakesh. Watch out for pick pockets and hustlers� its their way of life here and they are really good at getting your money one way or another.
The next day was one of many early rises, we travelled for a day in the van to get out to the Sahara desert. This was a main highlight of the trip; It was an amazing sunset and sunrise. It was just a surreal place to be. We sat around the campfire singing songs from our home countries, had a few drinks, a few mint teas (copious amount of mint tea is consumed during the week) and and listened to the guides traditional Nomad songs.
The time out in the Sahara included a 2 hour camel ride which included a walk through a town we were staying near which had only been open to foreigners for the last 2 years, by the end of it we had 20 kids following us wanting to play, wanting our help with their French homework and asking for stationary for school.... (Tip- take stationary for the kids, pens, colouring in pencils etc I really wish I took something along like that).
The next day was the biggest travel day of the tour after an early rise we arrived just before sunset in the resort city of Agadir. After dinner we cruised to some bars. In one bar we are certain that most the girls there were �working girls� a strange site to see in an Islamic country.
After Agadir we drove to Essaouira a really cool little fishing town on the coast near Marrakesh Jimmy Hendrix lived here for about a year back in the day. On the way to Essaouira we stopped and checked out the goats in the trees eating the berrys which made for some wicked photos. There are some great photo opportunities in Essaouria so keep your camera on you at all times. It has some good seafood too.
The tour finished up in Marrakesh on the 6th day. I went to this Fantasia show with a couple of other people which was a stupid show and very touristy, honestly don't even bother.
The day after I had a Hamam where you get a sauna, a body scrub and a full body massage it was a weird experience being massaged basically naked (just a small towl round your waist)by a man who was wearing just a towel too who cant even speak english. Another one of those once in a life time experiences.
Morocco is a wicked country, It it one of my favourite countries i've been to and I cant wait to head back there. If I had a house and needed to decorate it I think it would be perfect. There were just so many cool things that I wanted to buy!
With this particular tour you do spend a lot of time in the van travelling, and don't get a huge amount of free time from the group. But its a great introduction to Morocco and I would recommend it to anyone.
The Egypt part of this tour was fantastic. Our tour guides name was Sam and he was extremely knowledgable about Egypt and the heirogliphics. We started in Cairo and then made our way down the Nile visiting Aswan, Luxor and even a day trip to Abu Simbel. This was the favorite part of the trip. It was VERY hot - one day it was 53 degrees! The felucca trip was a great experience - dont let the idea of no privacy put you off. Sleeping under the stars was great.
Travel Talk Egypt Felucca Odyssey 9 Days, 21st March 2008
Reviewed 15th April 2008
Travel Talk in Egypt were brilliant. Egypt is a fascinating place but i really think the tour was one of the best and most organised i have been on. The information provided upon arrival incorporate everything and allowed you to budget well so you could have a great holiday. The highlight would have to be the Felucca - it was by far the best, and seeing Abu Simbel temple, although it was an early start it was worth the effort. The tombs with all the hieroglyphics was superb and by the end of the tour you started to recognise what some symbols meant. The age was really varied from families to mid 20- mid 30s. It was mostly Aussies and Kiwis but who else really travels!!! Another tour guide in Egypt actually said that Travel Talk stay at the best hotels and let me tell you they were superb. The holiday was jam packed with plenty of sightseeing but also oodles of time to relax. I would definitely recommend this to anyone!
