Lorenzo
·
November 26th, 2025
It's a complex experience to review. In summary, it delivers what promised. However it does so in a way that for us was way too rushed and inefficient to enjoy. Great if you want to check a list of places. Not good if you want to enjoy them. Some travelers might enjoy this more than others (especially if you're just there to say you have been there), but for us it was ultimately disappointing (overcrowded sites, so many people trying to get money from you in any sort of way without giving a real good service, consumeristic experience). These considerations might not be unique to this tour, but to the customs of Egypt.
The good:
- All of the listed activities were done, except the air balloon due to weather (even though it was clear with little wind, so not really sure what the problem was)
- Hotel, cruise, flights and overall services were fine
- We were able to customize the schedule of a couple day to fit more things (GEM, some mosques in Cairo)
- A couple guides in particular stood out for being very passionate about ancient Egyptian history and very available and fun
- We really enjoyed the wild and quiet vibes of the white desert, probably one of the highlights of the trips, with the day at the pyramids and the gorgeous Grand Egyptian Museum
The not so good:
- No information ahead of time. Would have helped with expectations and maybe changing a few things to customize the trip, which should be included given the price quite high compared to local economy
- Hotel in Cairo was very far from downtown in the middle of an amusement park. We would have appreciated spending a few days close to downtown in a more authentic place
- The tour is too packed. For one reason or another you end up spending very little time at sites, especially with the cruise, when floods of people invade temples all at the same time, so you see very little. And the entry tickets are expensive. Over 200€, just to see them superficially. It's great the tour wants to cover everything, but in my opinion it doesn't create a good experience, and overall you end up feeling like a cash cow. Some guides suggested targeting April or May, not the high season...
- The cruise is extremely inefficient. The excursion to Abu Simbel was some 8hrs round-trip in the minivan, 1hr to explore it, while overcrowded (all bushes arrive at the same time and leave at the same time - nonsense). The second day we had to rush out of the Edfu temple, just to spend over 4hrs in the middle of nowhere, waiting in line to pass the locks, meaning we didn't have time to explore Luxor before the light show (which is a separate ticket to pay BTW), and that made the day after extremely packed. This problems affects all the ships transiting, so it's not unique to this tour, but should be accounted for in the itinerary.
- Every guide will fit into the already packed schedule a visit to one of the shops to influence you to buy something expensive, so they get commissions. I understand this isn't unusual in the tourist world, but with so little time available this feels like a steal of our own time, and also the shops can be very pushy on you buying something, which is not a good experience. You can say no, but they sell you the experience as something special, while it's just a shop of papyrus, parfumes, stones, etc.
- There is an overall lack of clarity from the guides about the daily schedule. It does not provide the right expectations. Almost every day we had every early pickups to allow visiting the sites. Some of them made sense (the ones in Cairo, and we asked for them to be at 7AM), some other were just pointless (during the cruise and flights, like 4-5AM). We really felt things should have been made clearer for us, to allow choosing between trying to see the entire checklist and enjoying little of it, or perhaps prioritizing unique places to enjoy more extensively, leaving others as best effort only
- The overall price doesn't feel competitive for the local cost. It would be different if entry tickets were included. But at the end of the day you spend a lot to be in a non authentic hotel far from everything, and on an inefficient cruise that is mainly a waste of time. It was great to have private driver and guide for the 4 days in Cairo, but they had a schedule to follow and we feel we should have owned it more for the price we paid.
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LeAnn
·
October 20th, 2025
We had a wonderful time on the tour. We had requested a group size of 10 or less, and actually were the only two with the guide and driver on all but two days of the tour (and then only two others), which was a real luxury. Kareem was Excellent in Cairo, Alexandria and the Desert. We also appreciated Abdullah in Luxor and Peter in Aswan. It was so nice to know that someone would reliably meet us at the airports to bring us where we needed to be, WhatsApp worked well for communication. All drivers were great! The last day in the Desert to include the Al Fayoum Oasis was truly magical and a nice way to end the trip.
The Hotel Sonesta in Cairo was excellent, as was the Renaissance Boat on the Nile. We enjoyed the dinner and entertainment on the Nile while in Cairo and the Balloon ride. The historical sites were superb: Giza Plateau, the Saqqara, Dahshur and Memphis, Abu Simbel, Luxor and Karnac and Valley of the Kings. Actual cost for Museums/Sites was ~$210 per person and we averaged tipping at ~$40/day. It would have been nice to get some upfront guidance on the tipping, we depended on the internet and received conflicting information. One downside were the internal flights, it might be worth it to go with a more reliable airlines and increase the price. We lost about 8 hours due to flight delays combined between the two flights.
Be prepared for early rises. Due to the aforementioned flight delay, we were up at 1:30 a.m. for a 2:00 a.m. departure to Abu Simbel, good news, we were there for the sunrise!
One other detractor, it appears that all of the boats on the Nile are on the same time schedule, so meant for crowds at the sites and the locks.
Aside from those two detractors it was a super, super trip. This is the second time we have used Tour Radar (also for a trip to Turkey two years ago) and would use your services again for a trip to an area that we would prefer others to organize. Thank you for a wonderful time in Egypt.
Show moreDI
David
·
September 24th, 2025
Excellent itinerary at a very competitive price. Visited the top sites in Egypt at a very comfortable pace. The guides where excellent providing tons of information to better understand the history of Egypt.
Hotels where clean and comfortable, not luxury, but very good.
Most of the vehicles where in great condition and the drivers where the best.
Perhaps the only inconvenience is that entrance fees to the different sites were not included. While other groups were speeding and getting into the sited because they already had tickets, we were waiting in line (mostly short lines) to buy tickets. It would have been better if they increase the price to cover the cost of entrance tickets in order to avoid having to buy tickets at every stop.
Will definitely use their services next time we visit Egypt.
Show moreItaca Holiday commented on this review
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your detailed feedback with us!
We’re delighted to hear that you found the itinerary well-paced, the guides knowledgeable, the hotels comfortable, and the transportation and drivers excellent. It means a...
Show moreTrip date: September 2025
C
Catherine
·
July 9th, 2025
The tour was great. There were too many different people sending texts to organise tours, flights, cars etc. Also, you should let people know that most of the sightseeing is done early mornings before the heat of the day i.e. meeting at 4.30 a.m. or 6.00 a.m. on several mornings. And if you're not told about breakfast boxes, you miss out on breakie quite a few mornings. Otherwise our guides were excellent, friendly, knowledgeable and so patient.
Show moreItaca Holiday commented on this review
Thank you very much for your honest feedback and for traveling with us!
We're so pleased to hear that you enjoyed the tour overall and that our guides made a positive impression with their knowledge, friendliness, and patience — they’ll truly...
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Christophe
·
June 13th, 2025
It was an unforgettable experience. Very well organized by the office and led well by the tour guides: Sara, Peter, and Karim. :)
Show moreItaca Holiday commented on this review
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear your experience was unforgettable and well-organized. We'll be sure to pass your appreciation along to Sara, Peter, and Karim — they’ll be so happy to know they made a lasting impression.
We...
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Communication with Itaca was challenging ahead of the tour. We only knew the specifics of the days itinerary in terms of pick up times the night before. Made it hard to plan. Understanding the guides was often difficult in spite of their efforts with English. Extremely early starts of the tours, particularly on the cruise, made it so it was necessary to go to bed directly after dinner. Repeated days of early mornings resulted in exhaustion. We understand the purpose of the early mornings but would have liked to know in advance of the tour in order to know what to expect. Both of our guides were knowledgeable and friendly and helpful. Communications with our guides via WhatsApp was excellent. All logistical details worked with the exception of our flight from Cairo to Aswan…. we were the last to board because the flight left over an hour earlier than our ticket indicated. The light show at Luxor was suppose to be included but we were told by the guide it was an additional charge. We never were taken to the bazaar in Cairo although I believe it was part of the itinerary.
Show moreHS
Hans Patrick
·
April 16th, 2024
This trip is highly recommended. The two days in the desert at the end of the trip are perfect for resting after a deep dive into Egypt's amazing history. In our opinion it is advisable to alternate the day in Alexandria with a day in Saqqara and Dashur. This is to get a complete picture of the history of mastabas and pyramids. The white dessert is one of the most beautiful things we have ever seen in our lives. Unbelievable that this place is not world famous, so enjoy it before mass tourism finds this place.
The trip is really well organized by “Itaca Holiday” (thanks to Eyab and Mahmoud) and the system of all the different local guides is really good. They all know their place very well and can tell us all about it. Ehab, Abdullah, Doa and Ahmed, and the two local guides in Kom Ombo and Edfu, made our trip unforgettable. Thank you very much to all of you!
Show moreItaca Holiday commented on this review
thanks for your great recommendation, We much appreciate your beautiful words and we hope to see you again soon in Egypt Thanks
JG
Joanne
·
August 29th, 2023
Excellent from start to finish, everything requested was taken care of. Communication was perfect. Would highly recommend, took away the stress of planning and booking everything ourselves as we were traveling within the week before booking.
Show moreItaca Holiday commented on this review
thank you for taking the time to review and leave your feedback about your trip to egypt . We are glad you had a great time in egypt with us and we are happy you enjoyed your tour . Ithaca holiday team
CN
Cristina Jer
·
August 23rd, 2023
The tour was very complete, in just one day we managed to see everything we wanted to and we even managed to take a spectacular sunset boat trip on the River Nile as a bonus, thanks to our guide, Ihab, who was very helpful and knowledgeable about the history of his country.
Show moreItaca Holiday commented on this review
Thank you very much
It was a pleasure to serve you
EG
Edwin
·
August 20th, 2023
Excellent information and attention from Ihab, a 100% recommended tour.
Show moreItaca Holiday commented on this review
thank you for taking the time to review and leave your feedback about your trip to egypt . We are glad you had a great time in egypt with us and we are happy you enjoyed your tour . Ithaca holiday team
