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Nicholas
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January 11th, 2026
Overall we had a fantastic time. The week is packed with interesting visits which were very well selected and provided a complete overview of what Egypt has to offer.
Positive:
* Abdou has been a perfect guide to show the pyramids and the EGM. He is very passionate and provided a lot of details without getting boring.
* Saladino was our guide for the rest of the trip (river cruise). He is one of the best guides that I ever had in my life. He has the basics, meaning that he can explain every site in detail without getting boring. Aside of that he was very good in creating good atmosphere in our group of 30 persons of very different characters.
* Other employees who picked us up and brought us to the airport and several sites (Omar and Ali).
* Food and organisation on the cruise ship. Staff were very friendly.
Negative:
* Mohamed kept insisting on everybody to write a review (we were reminded about 20 times). Rest of his organisation was average at best.
* Wifi (paid) on the ship was very bad and shower was just fine.
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Claire
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January 11th, 2026
My family and I recently returned from the Pharoahs Nile Cruise Adventure with Beyond the Nile Tours. On a scale of 1-5, this organization is a stellar 10. I travel A LOT and I have never before experienced this level of customer service.
I was nervous leading up to the trip. Egypt has always been my number one bucket list destination, but I was concerned about safety. My son found this tour during a Tour Radar sale and we spontaneously booked it. But I stayed anxious. This was a budget tour. Was I skimping on my family’s safety? Whenever I got anxious I would pore over their thousands of five star reviews to reassure myself. I will add my voice to those thousands of five star reviews.
Our Friday night flight from New York was cancelled for weather after we sat on the tarmac, in the plane, for 4.5 hours. By the time we deplaned, retrieved our luggage, and took the train to a friend’s house, it was 6:30 Saturday morning. I kept Beyond the Nile Tours updated as to the late flight and then the cancellation. They always replied promptly: keep us informed.
My adult son arrived separately from the rest of us and there was a miscommunication that he was on the cancelled flight, but as soon as the miscommunication was realized, the tour people sprang into action. He made it to the hotel and got into his room with a minimum of fuss.
With JFK shut down for fourteen hours, re-booking was a nightmare. We could not get on a flight until Sunday afternoon, getting us to Cairo Monday morning. By that time we had missed the tours of the Pyramids in Giza and GEM, and the rest of the tour had taken the flight to Luxor. But this is when we met Mohamed.
He found us replacement flights to Luxor in the afternoon and arranged a place for us to rest for the interval between our arrival and the flight to Luxor. When I asked that instead of resting, could we please see the Pyramids, he made it happen. He picked us up at the airport, grabbed a tour guide on the way, and got us to the Pyramids. We had about 2.5 hours, but we saw them; we wandered around; we got the information; rode the camels; took iconic family photos; and then were bundled into a van and brought back to the airport in time for our flight. It was a whirlwind, but it was spectacular. He kept us moving, but I never felt rushed. I just felt chills looking at the Pyramids for the first time. The dream of a lifetime.
We were met at the Luxor airport and whisked off to the Sonesta Nile Goddess. We had missed the tours of Luxor and Karnak, but we arrived in time for the Karnak Sound and Light Show. I pre-booked the Sound and Light Show even though all of the reviews said it was bad and cheesy, but it is also the only way to get into the Temple at night. The reviews were correct: the show was terrible, but it got us inside the Temple, which was spectacular lit up at night.
The Sonesta Nile Goddess was great. Our stateroom had a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and balcony. All spotlessly clean. My sons each had a single room, which were also very nice and spotlessly clean. The steward was lovely and really leaned into the towel creations: the mummy and the zombie were my favorites. The rest of the staff was equally kind and courteous. The waiters and bar staff were on top of things: Dirty plates whisked away; water brought promptly. The food was plentiful and good. I would have liked a couple of child-friendly options at the buffet for lunch and dinner; a little more white meat chicken; but my more adventurous family chowed down. Tea at 4 pm on the upper deck was lovely. After only one day of ordering my tea at the bar, it was thereafter delivered to my table, with a “Your tea, Miss Claire.” Table service was not part of tea, the bar staff just did it. It was a lovely touch.
Many of the reviews, even the five star ones, mentioned feeling rushed on the cruise. We took the five day cruise and the pace was perfect: up early to see another bucket list temple, back to the ship for lunch, afternoon on the upper deck playing cards or reading, with tea and snacks at 4 pm; back to another bucket list temple for the early evening; followed by dinner at 8. We were all relaxed and happy.
Although there are complaints online about the early morning start for Abu Simbel, I would advocate for leaving one hour earlier. We were able to get into the main temple, but the line was too long and the sun too strong for us to attempt the smaller temple. The earlier you arrive, the smaller the crowds. And the sun is relentless.
Ahmed, our tour guide on the ship ensured that everyone knew where to be when we needed to be there and generally kept us all in line with efficiency and humor. He gave us the right amount of information and then let us have some free time in the various locations. My only quibble with the tour portion was the time spent at the perfume place. I understand it was thematically appropriate, but I, and I think many others, would have greatly preferred a stop at a fair trade souvenir shop.
We, and many others in the group, pre-booked extra days in Cairo for the Saqqara and Old Cairo tours. I strongly urge these tours. The Saqqara Tour in particular was incredible: Standing before the Step Pyramid is chills-inducing. Entering the Bent Pyramid was a highlight of the trip for my sons.
The Old Cairo tour was a tad problematic in that all involved thought there would be a stop at the Cairo market, which was not on the program. Mohamed helped sort this out via Whatsapp and we ended up walking through the market, stopping to browse, and finished with coffee at the Khan el Khalili Coffeehouse - totally touristy and a highlight of the day.
Mohamed was a running theme throughout the trip. Whether he was there in person or via Whatsapp, issues disappeared, wrinkles were smoothed, and people smiled. For the Cairo portion of the trip, it seemed that Mohamed never went home. He was always in the hotel lobby, keeping the various tours and airport pickups running smoothly, solving problems before they occurred. He was endlessly patient, endlessly kind, and the real driver of the success of this trip. He is a treasure and I hope the tour company appropriately values him.
We missed the GEM tour included with the trip, so we went on our own after the Old Cairo tour, taking an Uber from the hotel. We arrived at 18:30 and the museum closed at 21:00, but it was perfect. The museum was empty. We walked right up to Tut’s mask and there were only five or six other people at the Solar Barque. The museum was magical lit up at night with no crowds.
I would also urge buying the supplemental tickets at the Valley of the Kings. The Tomb of Seti I is not just remarkable, but it is also not crowded, allowing one to actually see and appreciate the artwork.
I heartily recommend this tour and am sincerely grateful to Beyond the Nile Tours, Nourbelle Tours, and Mohamed for making it happen, against all odds. My family will forever remember the Pyramids, the temples, playing cards on the upper deck as the Nile flowed by, climbing through the Bent Pyramid feeling like Indiana Jones, the clatter of the markets, and the kindness of the people. Take the trip.
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NADIA
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January 11th, 2026
It was a marvelous experience to do this tour....
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Kamal
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January 11th, 2026
Overall Experience
The tour was excellent and...
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Merin
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January 10th, 2026
I can’t rave enough about what a wonderful experience this was to fulfill my dream to be able to go to Egypt. My friend had done this same tour last year and had such a great time so we went as a family of four adults. This was a big change for us to go on a group tour as we usually do private, but we felt that there is safety numbers and because this group tour was priced so well as long as we went with an open mind, we would have a good time!
The good: We adored Ali, who helped with transfers in Cairo and Mohamed, who was the Tour ground person who got us all set up (and I swear that man never sleeps!) A different Mohamed was our driver for two of the pre trip days and I can’t believe that somebody can actually drive in the city. He was so cautious and helpful and smiled all day! We loved Ahmed in Cairo for our private pre trip City tour. He was so knowledgeable and also was kind enough to add in the Civilization museum to fulfill my dream of seeing mummies up close. Having him take us through the museum to show us the highlights and give us such great explanations was incredible. Abdul (Abdou) in Cairo was by far one of the best guides we’ve ever had in our lifetime and we travel a lot! He even was an archaeologist at Saqqura and brought such great insight to our tour. We were lucky to have him again when we joined the group tour. He gave us the most amazing explanations at the pyramids, coordinated a quick sit on a camel and was so incredible at the Gem museum. I wish we had had more time at the museum and if I could’ve stayed longer in Cairo I would have returned.
Ash, our tour guide on all the days on the Cruise was so knowledgeable and kind and caring and thorough and managed our large group very well. He guided us so well through all of the major sites with explanations and tips on how to navigate. He used WhatsApp to communicate the upcoming schedule for the day which we really appreciated.
This is a very comprehensive tour and you will see all of the important highlights but you must know that there are a lot of early mornings and very little free time for shopping or exploring outside of the schedule. We were prepared for this and this shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, but just be aware.
And now the critique that pains me to write because truly, this was such an amazing tour, and the people were so wonderful and I did like everything except…
We were told that the Tour group would be 15 to 24 max and it is advertised this way. Our group was 37. We thoroughly enjoyed the people that were on the tour who were from all over the world, but 37 is just too many people, creates longer periods of time to gather, you are further away from guides to hear, and slows down pacing, and we had no recourse.
The Gewan hotel was definitely not a nice hotel. The first two rooms our children received did not have locking doors but the hotel rectified it and got them a new room but all of that takes time away from your trip. On the return trip with a stop over before leaving Cairo, the hotel room smelled horrible and there were non-working lights and limited towels. Again, not something that would prevent me from recommending this trip…the sheets were clean, breakfast buffet and boxes were fine, and you’re not really spending much time in the hotel, just be aware.
We were on the MS Renaissance for the cruise. The room was nice and adequate and the staff was truly lovely. Internet service was awful and made it challenging to check in and we had to keep going to the front desk for them to help us re-login. Also, you’re only given one key to the room but they did give us two when we insisted. However, our keys had to continually be reprogrammed . We did miss one of the tours (crocodile temple) because there was a delay in getting through the locks which was not their fault at all, but just something that happens. The massage on the ship was fabulous. The crew staff could not do enough to make sure we were all happy. The beds were comfortable and room size was fine. We did not look the food on the ship but our server (Mosuafa) was always attentive.
On the second to last night of our trip, I got injured (fell down) and thankfully I had medical insurance on my own. The cruise ship called the Dr. to the boat who saw me and my insurance company coordinated for me to get home in a lay flat seat. Don’t skip getting evacuation insurance on the side…it is so important! Getting injured was a challenge because boat did not have an elevator and we were on the fourth floor. The staff was so great in helping me get up the stairs. (They carried me Cleopatra style in a wheelchair) Ash, our tour guide was incredible in making sure that I was able to go on the last day tours by having somebody from the ship go along to assist me and told the tuktuk driver to go slowly so I wouldn’t get bumped. I’m so grateful for that as the Nubian village is not something to miss! Ash, our guide, went above and beyond by taking my husband to the pharmacy to pick up some things for me and also taking my son to a book shop as he didn’t want him to go alone. We are very grateful that we had Ash as our guide.
Also, originally we were not going to do the balloon ride because I’m deathly afraid of balloons, but I’m so glad that we didn’t skip it. The early morning wake up call to get there before sunrise was absolutely worth it. Another highlight was the add-on of the horse drawn carriage ride through the city. Do not miss that! It is something we will never forget.
All in all, group travel is not what we were used to, but going to Egypt with this Tour Company is something I would definitely suggest to other people and I would recommend going but just know what the shortcomings are. If you go in with a good attitude and know that all they want to do is make you happy and share their country, you will come out with beautiful memories and feeling very grateful for having gone on the trip.
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Frank
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January 10th, 2026
The tour was excellently prepared and organised. All transfers worked perfectly. Communication was fast, reliable and also smooth.
All the highlights on the tour were perfectly chosen. The selected guides were reliable at all times. They are both highly trained and professionally capable of conveying all the information in a concise manner.
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Silvia
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January 9th, 2026
Overall, I very much enjoyed the Beyond the Nile Tour! It is jam packed though with sometimes long drives and full days of sightseeing, it is impossible to maximise the time even more!
Be mindful that a lot of the activities are add ons and come at an extra cost (not cheaply), ballooning your final tour price. Even famous sites, like Abu Simbel, are not included and are sold over priced at US$125: That is for a 7-8 hour mini bus roundtrip and does not include anything else. Meals, entrance fees and tips are extra on top! I am uncertain how that can be justified.
Another example: The Luxor 45-minute hot air balloon ride comes at US$135. On Tripadvisor you get the same from about less than half the cost.
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Lorraine
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January 9th, 2026
There is a lot of amazing cultural exhibitions
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Sharan
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January 8th, 2026
Overall great cruise with excellent guides and great service and friendly people. Got to see and do a lot and optional tours were great. They took good care of the tourists and we felt safe and well cared for.
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Jay-are
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January 8th, 2026
The tour was well-organized. The itinerary went well as planned. From the flights to the hotels to the tour itself, it's on point.
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