Has anyone traveled with Archeological Paths to Egypt?

Alrighty, I have a love/hate relationship with this company.

LOVE: guiding is excellent. Private entrance to the great pyramid before it opens. i have ben in it durign regular hours and it is very claustrophobic. We met Dr Moustafa Waziri who took us into some temples not normally open to the public in Karnak. He is full of enthusiasm and really loves dealing with us tourists. We had 4 lectures with Dr Zahi Hawass. They were good but he did complain about having to deal with us at every lecture. Madame jehan Sadat warmly welcome us to her home and talked about her life with Pres Anwar Sadat and her philanthropic work. It was very special. We stayed at the Four Seasons First Residence and the Mena houses hotel, both of which were excellent

HATE:

The cruise ship was above average, the food was okay. Just skip the beef- the cats on shore will love it, but it is too tough for people to eat. A previous cruise had better food, no weird assigned seating and the rooms had patio door that opened. We were glassed in and it was a problem.

There are many add on tours, which are exorbitantly priced:

Khan Khalili and Coptic churches for over $200. Viatour will do it for $40 for a private tour.

Valley of the Queens was not included and they wanted $295 per person. Medinet habu was an extra 95 a person. We did it for 84 per person which included crossing the Nile on a felucca, getting a cab going into the Nefartari tomb and then stopping at Medinet Habu and tipping the locals for special guiding and a Nile cruise on the way back.

They ran two groups of FORTY. They told me 25-32, which is still huge.

Entrance to the new museum was $595 while some people found it elsewhere for $280. They still said it wasn't worth $280.

There are tombs that they will get you into as an optional tour but these tours range from 795-995. Sotry is you only get 15 minutes in each tomb.

They email you and call you constantly trying to sell upgraded rooms and additional tours.

They want an additional $250 per person for tips and knock on your door every couple of days to ask where the money is when you delay.

They can't give you any sense of the schedule even when you arrive. You have no idea what time you'll fly our to Cairo for Luxor (6 am thank you.) Since they don't pin down the schedule, you can't plan your own activities. They want you to sign a piece of paper if you go off on your own in case you die so that they are not responsible.

They were all excited about us being able to enter the Luxor temple after hours, at night with the temple lit. There were 21 of us. And an obese guide assistant wearing white who trailed into every picture.....The last time I entered after hours, there were 5 other people there. (I have been there twice before this and it is magical)

Bathrooms require a 5 pound (Egyptian tip) which is about 30cents. They made us BUY 5 pound note from them. SHIT at $8000 for the trip, you think they could throw in restroom tips!

So I don't know what to tell you. You just feel like they are constantly ripping you off, but the guiding was EXCELLENT! I have been there twice before and the guiding made a real difference. I would consider a private tour through someone like Kensington or Audley for this price and it would probably be a better tour. If you are a Hawass fan, it would be worthy and certainly Dr Waziri and Mrs Sadat were wonderful. If you are not a Hawass follower, I would do the private tour with another company. If you are fluent in Arabic, I would do this on your own with a good local guide.

We have family there and if we go back, we will fly into Luxor, grab a taxi guide and have him advise us.

I have a bunch of friends I invited on this trip and I am glad they didn't come since we were trying to decide if we were happy until the last day.

Replies

Daniel T Hawtree November 18, 2019 at 12:32pm

I can truly appreciate the Love Hate thing. Thank you for the great trip review. It has certainly been of help to me, and I suspect others will find it useful also.
Ann Swinford November 18, 2019 at 11:33am

Alrighty, I have a love/hate relationship with this company.

LOVE: guiding is excellent. Private entrance to the great pyramid before it opens. i have ben in it durign regular hours and it is very claustrophobic. We met Dr Moustafa Waziri who took us into some temples not normally open to the public in Karnak. He is full of enthusiasm and really loves dealing with us tourists. We had 4 lectures with Dr Zahi Hawass. They were good but he did complain about having to deal with us at every lecture. Madame jehan Sadat warmly welcome us to her home and talked about her life with Pres Anwar Sadat and her philanthropic work. It was very special. We stayed at the Four Seasons First Residence and the Mena houses hotel, both of which were excellent

HATE:

The cruise ship was above average, the food was okay. Just skip the beef- the cats on shore will love it, but it is too tough for people to eat. A previous cruise had better food, no weird assigned seating and the rooms had patio door that opened. We were glassed in and it was a problem.

There are many add on tours, which are exorbitantly priced:

Khan Khalili and Coptic churches for over $200. Viatour will do it for $40 for a private tour.

Valley of the Queens was not included and they wanted $295 per person. Medinet habu was an extra 95 a person. We did it for 84 per person which included crossing the Nile on a felucca, getting a cab going into the Nefartari tomb and then stopping at Medinet Habu and tipping the locals for special guiding and a Nile cruise on the way back.

They ran two groups of FORTY. They told me 25-32, which is still huge.

Entrance to the new museum was $595 while some people found it elsewhere for $280. They still said it wasn't worth $280.

There are tombs that they will get you into as an optional tour but these tours range from 795-995. Sotry is you only get 15 minutes in each tomb.

They email you and call you constantly trying to sell upgraded rooms and additional tours.

They want an additional $250 per person for tips and knock on your door every couple of days to ask where the money is when you delay.

They can't give you any sense of the schedule even when you arrive. You have no idea what time you'll fly our to Cairo for Luxor (6 am thank you.) Since they don't pin down the schedule, you can't plan your own activities. They want you to sign a piece of paper if you go off on your own in case you die so that they are not responsible.

They were all excited about us being able to enter the Luxor temple after hours, at night with the temple lit. There were 21 of us. And an obese guide assistant wearing white who trailed into every picture.....The last time I entered after hours, there were 5 other people there. (I have been there twice before this and it is magical)

Bathrooms require a 5 pound (Egyptian tip) which is about 30cents. They made us BUY 5 pound note from them. SHIT at $8000 for the trip, you think they could throw in restroom tips!

So I don't know what to tell you. You just feel like they are constantly ripping you off, but the guiding was EXCELLENT! I have been there twice before and the guiding made a real difference. I would consider a private tour through someone like Kensington or Audley for this price and it would probably be a better tour. If you are a Hawass fan, it would be worthy and certainly Dr Waziri and Mrs Sadat were wonderful. If you are not a Hawass follower, I would do the private tour with another company. If you are fluent in Arabic, I would do this on your own with a good local guide.

We have family there and if we go back, we will fly into Luxor, grab a taxi guide and have him advise us.

I have a bunch of friends I invited on this trip and I am glad they didn't come since we were trying to decide if we were happy until the last day.
Daniel T Hawtree November 1, 2019 at 4:40am

Be very interested. Safe and happy travels
Ann Swinford November 1, 2019 at 2:41am

It starts tomorrow I will keep you posted
Daniel T Hawtree November 1, 2019 at 1:55am

Just wondering, did you take the trip?

This reply was deleted.