Wir hatten einen unvergesslichen Tag in Cairo, was nur durch die perfekte Organisation von Ashraf möglich war. Um 2 Uhr morgens wurden wir abgeholt und waren ca gegen 6 Uhr bei den Pyramiden- unvergesslich! 

Ägyptisches Museum, Khan El Khalili,  Schloss von Mohammed Ali im alten islamischen Teil Kairos  sowie leckeres ägyptisches Essen mittags und abends waren ebenfalls Teil der Tour. Gegen 23 Uhr waren wir wieder im Hotel.

Vielen lieben Dank lieber Ashraf für diesen unvergesslichen Tag!

We spend 3 days with Ashraf and the Team of Luxor Private Tours. The program we requested (Valley of Kings, Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, Habu Temple, Hot air balloon) was executed efficiently and timely. The local guides Rama and Abdul were wonderful. They were very kind, answered all ours questions and did not hesitate to help us with any problems that occurred. Rama walked with us through Karnak Temple in the morning which is a very impressive structure and informed us of its history and the structures which were added by multiple Pharaohs at the time. She also showed used the traces the Greeks and the Christians left. We highly recommend doing Karnak in the morning and visiting Luxor temple in the evening. The light at Luxor temple in the early evening is amazing and with a guide you truly see the stories behind the ancient hieroglyphs on the wall.

The next day in the morning we visited the Valley of Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and Habu Temple with Abdul who is an Egyptologist, who has worked in the valley of the Kings himself at excavation sites. We visited three Tombs and one that was especially beautiful because instead of simply showing the procession of the dead it showed the imagination of what the afterword would be like. The Tombs retain their original colouring a fascinating process that our guide explained to use in detail. At the Temple of Hatshepsut, we were told the story why her Temple and why her likeness was destroyed by her successor and shown the only intact image of her.

We highly recommend taking a private tour with Rama and Abdul as they are able to explain to you the stories and history of each place in great detail so you can really appreciate the ancient wonders you are seeing.The last day we did a Hot Air Ballon ride during sunrise, which was absolutely beautiful. We were picked pt at our hotel at 4am and transported in time for the sunrise to the starting site. Overall, we spent a very nice 3 days with the team of Luxor Private Tours and can highly recommand this company. 

I cannot say enough wonderful things about our trip to Egypt with Luxor Private Tours. Because of COVID, we had many roadblocks pop up before and during our trip,and our mainguide, Ashraf, made sure that were safe the entire time.

We had a wonderful driver and guide in Cairo - we affectionately called them Mohammed 1 and Mohammed 2, because they asked us to and because theyhad the same name. They were always on time and spoke mostly in English so that we didn't feel left out. The information and experiences were terrific. They made sure that we found American food for my teenage daughter, too! Mohammed 2 looks a lot like Robin Williams and was just as funny! Whenever we had questions, Mohammed 1 answered them fully and gave us interesting stories when possible. We saw all of the major sites and were awed by what we saw.

Our hotel was very high quality in Cairo, and we were provided a beautiful breakfast every morning. It was buffet, but people were distancing and wearing masks. In the evening, our main tour guide, Ashraf, took my daughter and me into downtown Cairo to experience night life. We had dinner at an outdoor cafe.  Ashraf ordered for us, because we didn't know anything about the food. Then we went to a rooftop cafe for a glass of wine and a sprite. It was very cool to see the city at night, but would not have been comfortable walking around by ourselves, mostly because crossing the street is scary in Cairo.

Our flight to Luxor was short and brought us to the most beautiful place I have seen in a long time. Luxor is an oasis in the desert. It is indescribable from an American point of view. I've never seen anything like it. It sits on the east bank of the Nile. The Upper Nile in Luxor is much lovelier than the Lower Nile. There are antiquities EVERY WHERE!!

In Luxor, our driver was Buddi (sp?) and our guide was Hanny, although, as in Cairo, we communicated with and saw Ashraf often. He picked us up at the airport in Cairo, Luxor and then took us to the airport in Luxor. He also spent time showing us the city of Luxor from his point of view, which was so special.

Hanny, like Mohammed, is a very well-educated Egyptologist. They connected the stories for us. Mohammed covered the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom in Cairo and Hanny took us through the New Kingdom and later rulers of Egypt. Karnak, Luxor, The Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut - AMAZING. Essentially, the east bank of the Nile was the capital of the rulers of the New Kingdom and the west bank was the Necropolis. Fascinating.

Our trip was seven days, including 60 hours total to get back and forth from the USA. We really felt like we saw and learned so much in the four days of touring that we did. We asked for and were offered five days of touring, BUT we were so tired, that we slept all day the last day. Ashraf was very accommodating and changed our itinerary to suit our needs whenever we needed a rest and when we decided to extend our time in Luxor.

Make sure to ask Hanny or Ashraf to take you to Mohammed's alabaster factory on the west bank. You will learn how alabaster is refined and produced. We ended up buying a lot of alabaster gifts to take home.

We stayed at the Sonesta St. George Hotel in Luxor. It was perfect. There is an outdoor pool RIGHT on the Nile.  EVERY person who works at that hotel speaks perfect English. Anything little thing we needed; we were provided. It was certainly a five-star hotel experience. Room service food is outrageously good. The pizza suited my American teenage perfectly. The breakfast was included and was absolutely beautiful and delicious. There was plenty of "American" food for picky eaters and tons of lovely local cuisine for the adventurous eater.

I think Luxor Private Tours did a magnificent job of picking our sites, hotels, guides, drivers... everything!

72 hours before we were to leave to go home, we received an email from KLM that Netherlands had changed their policy and that we would need a PCR test to transfer to go home through Netherlands. In the USA, it is very difficult to get a test appointment and results within 96 hours, let alone 72 hours. I messaged Ashraf, and he told me not to worry. The next day, a doctor showed up at our hotel, took our samples and left. The following day, 24 hours later, we had our negative tests, and we were all set to go just as Ashraf promised!

I think the most important part of our trip to Egypt, was having someone we could count on to take care of us. We are two women who travel all the time, but we had no idea what to expect or what to do in Egypt. Having this group of people on our team made it easy to relax and focus on the moment.

I would recommend Luxor Private Tours to any group or person planning a trip to Egypt!  

I have included a picture of our guide, Ashraf, and his family who we met on our last night in Luxor.