Splendours of Egypt (Small Groups, Winter)

Traveler Reviews

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  CarolMico

  December 13th, 2022
  3.0
  The tour in Egypt was lovely but dealing with Insight Vacations direct - DON'T. They dumped me at Cairo airport...
  The tour in Egypt was lovely but dealing with Insight Vacations direct - DON'T. They dumped me at Cairo airport where I had to pay for a hotel room myself and then pay for a plane ticket home and then, to add insult to injury, they did not arrange a car to take me home from Heathrow. The day before I came home they sent me an e-mail changing my flight details and when we tried to contact anyone - no response or message that the office was closed (because it was Saturday afternoon and Sunday). Spring Tours in Egypt found me a room but would not pay for it without confirmation from Insight. I shall be claiming everything and more back from them but MOST IMPORTANTLY, this was my first door to door holiday with guided tour and guess what - I WILL NOT BE DOING IT EVER AGAIN.Show more
  Traveled in December 2022
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  MarilouNavarro

  January 21st, 2022
  1.0
  Splendors of Egypt - DO NOT TRAVEL WITH INSIGHT VACATIONS TO EGYPT. We had two previous trips with Insight Vacations...
  Splendors of Egypt - DO NOT TRAVEL WITH INSIGHT VACATIONS TO EGYPT. We had two previous trips with Insight Vacations which were wonderful. We have toured with Gate 1 Travel for the last 5 years but decided to go with Insight Vacations to Egypt, even if we had to pay $1,000 more for a similar tour, because of Insight Vacations “more legroom” coaches and “guaranteed departure”. This trip was for NYE celebration on the Nile and a guaranteed departure. When we arrived in Cairo, the local company used by Insight Vacations called Spring Tours informed us that my husband and I are the only guests on the tour which is a classic tour and would normally have 30-40 guests. We quickly realized that Insight Vacations can guarantee the tour because it doesn’t operate the tour in Egypt but have a local tour company operate the tour so regardless of the number of guests. 2 or 40, the tour operates because it’s the local tour company’s daily tasks of taking tourists around Egypt. All services were provided by Spring Tours. We believe there is safety in numbers so we were very disappointed to be taken around Egypt just the two of us in a small uncomfortable van and not the “more legroom” and more comfortable coach with WiFi on aboard. Had Insight Vacations disclosed the fact that the tour has only two people (us) in it and gave us option, we would have canceled the trip and went with Gate 1 Travel. Spring Tours assigned us a local guide who can hardly communicate in English from Luxor to Aswan and back. Each time our local tour spoke or explain something to us, we would have to put a lot of effort trying to understand what he wanted to say. It was stressful and not an enjoyable tour trying to figure out what the local guide was saying. On the cruise from Luxor to Aswan and back, the cruise staff on MS Medea were very helpful and the food was excellent. However we are expected to give a mandatory tip of $10 per person per day which was a bit too much given that we also tip as service was provided. When our tip didn’t sum up exactly to $10 per person per day, the local guide from Spring Tours brought it to our attention and told us that we were supposed to give the correct amount of tip. This is disgusting as tip is supposed to be “gratuity” and not “supplemental wages” to augment the low wages paid to the cruise crew who sleep two to three hours at night, we were told by the staff themselves. How low can an Insight Vacations go with its local guide interfering with tip issue between guest and the cruise crew? There were days we had two different drivers and escorts. So many people to give tips to that we lost track of how many we have given tips to. On our excursion to Dendarra, we were on an uncomfortable van for 4 hours (2 hours one way) while the Trafalgar (same company as IV) guests were on a comfortable coach. The Splendor of Egypt tour by Insight Vacations costs more than those similar tours by Trafalgar. In addition, since there were only two of us on the tour, the guides didn’t use Whispers. So we had to stay close to the guides to be able to hear and understand the narrative and the guides were not wearing masks! But the scary part of it all was the means of transportation we were on touring Egypt (except the cruise) which was a small van. We were trying to avoid an incident similar to what happened to the Mexicans who got killed due to mistaken identity as they were transported in a different tour van. We booked an excursion to Alexandria on our last day in Cairo. Since our COVID testing time conflicted with the Alexandria tour departure time, we told the local guide to cancel Alexandria and replaced it with two other local tours in Cairo whose departure time was after our COVID testing time. We were told by the local tour company contracted by Insight Vacations that it can arrange a COVID test that can be post dated meaning the specimen can be collected the day before but will be dated the day after so that it can still be within the one day requirement for PCR test for the US and we can still go on with the Alexandria tour. We were even told that is how it is being done in Egypt nowadays. We said NO to the post dating of the PCR test and the local tour company agreed to refund the difference between the cost of the Alexandria tour and the two short tours we had in Cairo. Very disappointed with Insight Vacations. We will never tour with Insight Vacations again.Show more
  Traveled in December 2021
  

  Reply from: Insight Vacations

  We thank you for sharing your experience with us; as here at Insight Vacations, we take all feedback we receive very seriously. With that said, we were genuinely disheartened to learn that your recent Splendors of Egypt guided vacation had fallen beneath your expectations, and that this was due to a few different aspects of the trip. Please be assured that your concerns have been shared with our Reservations and Operations departments for their attention and careful consideration going forward. In this way, they will endeavour to establish what potential improvements we might be able to implement, to continue to provide the most enjoyable, comfortable and seamless travel experiences to our valued guests. We note that you have also shared these concerns with our Guest Relations team, and would like to confirm that someone from the team will be reaching out to you directly in due course. In the meantime, we hope that you have returned home safely, and with some positive memories from your time in Egypt.

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  Richard

  March 30th, 2020
  5.0
  Tour program was great but was cut short by four days. Will Insight give a partial refund. Thanks.
  Traveled in March 2020
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  Lynn

  April 15th, 2019
  4.5
  the trip was fantastic. Our group was small and we were able to get to know everyone and we all got along. The...
  the trip was fantastic. Our group was small and we were able to get to know everyone and we all got along. The sights we saw were just unbelievable. There are just not any words to describe all the great things we got to see. Our tour director was great, very personable and so very knowledgeable. Can't say enough good things. the only down side was the boat on our Nile cruise could use with a little updating, biut the food was good and the beds were comfortable.Show more
  Traveled in March 2019
  

  Reply from: Insight Vacations

  Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Splendours of Egypt tour with Insight Vacations. We are very happy to hear that you enjoyed your time on the road. Even more, we are proud to learn of the immense effort put in by our staff to ensure a seamless and memorable experience for our cherished guests. Similarly, we are without a doubt happy to have hosted you and we hope to welcome you back to travel with us again soon.

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  marina

  March 11th, 2018
  5.0
  Thank you, Insight Vacations, for making our dream come true! We have had a fantastic experience in Egypt since...
  Thank you, Insight Vacations, for making our dream come true! We have had a fantastic experience in Egypt since 26.2.2018 to 09.03.2018 and really appreciate true dedication and top level of professionalism demonstrated by our Tour Director Mohammed Abd Allah, our guide Ramaddan and coordinator Rafaat. Those people were always there to deal efficiently with any request or wish we had and answer any question. We can highly recommend them as well as the company in general as the best facilitators of international travel ever. They provided us with a safe and reliable way to get introduced to the wonders of Egypt as well as it's friendly and hospitable people. Show more
  Traveled in February 2018