Got up at 3.30am for pickup at 4.30am. The trip had been confirmed & paid for. No one turned up!!!! No communication from operator. At 5am spoke to tour operator who eventually offered a cancellation & refund or next day trip ( this didn’t work.) No explanation or apology. Dreadful service
Our trip was supposed to start at 0430 am with a pick up from Ramses Hilton in Cairo to Abu Simbel. We were staying at the Marriott Mena House so my fiance and I got up at 0245 am for our taxi to Ramses hotel at 0315 am. Closer to our pick up time we both started asking staff if they knew where to be picked up at assuming they get lots of others going on the same tour as the pick up is from their hotel. Not one staff member knew what we were talking about one even stating I had the wrong date even when it wad clearly the 12th. Although they were trying to be helpful none of us (staff included) could reach the tour guide provided number by phone, live chat, text or email, not Ramses staff fault at all. After waiting for a couple hours, I finally just requested a refund as the tour guide never showed up. It was a waste of a day and our time. There is a huge lack of communication with this tour. Don't book this one and save yourself the headache. Just waiting on our refund from this place!!!
If you are staying more than a week in Egypt, you have to see Abu Simbel! It is a long trip from Aswan and you are sitting in an air-conditioned van for most of the trip but WOW. I highly recommend having a guide to point of all of the interesting features about this site. Our pickup time was at 4 am and we went about 7 people in a van. Driver and passenger were nice enough. Even if you don’t want to sleep, you probably will fall asleep at some point. We had one rest stop an hour away from the site. It is 5 Egyptian pounds per person. We got to the complex and our guide met us right where our van stopped. I don’t remember his name but he was a very nice guide. Generally, you have two hours to see the two sites. There is a visitor’s center but I would recommend reading up on everything beforehand if you don’t take a guide. Lake Nasser is beautiful so take a few minutes to appreciate one of the largest man-made lakes as well! You will want to take plenty of pictures. We regret not paying extra to take pictures with our professional camera inside. Outside, you can take pictures with whatever camera you want. If you have more time in Aswan, and in Egypt, you might want to stay the night in Abu Simbel. As said above, the tour is three hours in a van, two hours at the site and three more hours in the van. Two hours at the site was just enough time for us. We really could have been there longer. Aswan is an amazing, quiet little city and it, and Abu Simbel, were the highlights of our trip.
I had an issue booking through La Vacanza Travel but these guys were able to solve my problem quickly and I was able to have an amazing time. The pickup and drop off was effortless and the guide was very knowledgeable. Highly recommended!!
Driver had no list of names. Not sure we were on the right tour as the other couple didn’t have same tour name. Driver didn’t answer when we tried to verify. Bus very crowded and overly warm for such a long trip. We must have read about a different trip because we thought we were supposed to get a bottle of water. Assistant jumped out at beginning and bought himself one, and we took off. On the plus, we liked the very early departure and fast return. Good time management, but it was not enjoyable on the mini van. June Cherry Arizona