Looking for guide in Egypt who will do a custom tour

We have only one day in Egypt, and rather than have a rushed trip to the pyramids, we wanted to work out a custom tour to places closer to and in Alexandria, as well as El Alamein. I had printed out several recommendations from CC about a month ago, but the papers have been "moved". I wasn't too worried, because I had decided to go with Debbie from Casual Cairo, but her guide in Alexandria is booked on the day we are in port.

Does anyone have the name of the guide who is American from California who became an Egyptologist and works with an Egyptian who moved to the states? Or the company that operates in both Norway and Egypt? Their websites were very intriguing, but I have lost their addresses.

I of course am interested in other names as well - the more I have to pick from, the more likely I will find someone who is still available for the day we need.

Any recommendations for things between El Alamein and Alexandria would be appreciated too.

I am still taking recommendations, but so far all the votes are for George! From a board like this, where there are usually many opinions, that is quite a statement.

Millertime - thank you for the invite, but we willl be in Alexandria the month beforehand. Of course, we may just stay behind and still be there when you arrive, but I don't think that would work for many reasons! ;)

We used Nile Blue twice and were extremely pleased. We had custom tours and Hazem and his wife Ghada were wonderful. They made sure we were escorted at all times, even when I wanted to walk through a local market. Nile Blue is not the biggest tour company but I doubt if any company can offer such personal service.

We used Temo Tours and had a wonderfdul two day experience in early February 2009. They will customize your tour however you wish. Found them very easy to work with and very reasonably priced. Our contact person was Taymour and email inquiries can be sent to:

info@temotours.com

We used GAT Tours. They were fantastic. Not American but easy to deal with, efficient and good value. We used Ahmed Omar - would highly recommend.

Thank you everyone for the continued response to my questions. I did sent a note to Ramses tours over the weekend. How long does it normally take to get an answer back?

I also appreciated getting the recommendations for Nile Blue and Temo Tours. It may turn out that Ramses is booked for my one day in port, so I am glad to know that there are very good alternatives.

Thank you Jeff for the extra address. I found notes from Ramses going into my spam filter also. I am not convinced it was filtered because it was from Egypt, since they use a hotmail address. I wondered if it was because their name is similar to one used by male prophylactics.

Anyway, I made sure that checked that their address should be recognized, and has fixed things.

Lol.... I NEVER thought of that! Could be but I had the same problem with Nile Blue.

We (two adults plus two teenage children) just returned from the Ancient Empires cruise on Celebrity Equinox. In Egypt for two days, we used Ramses Tours (info@ramsestours.com) and found both Mr George (who organises everything) and the tour itself to be excellent. On the first day, the ship docked in Alexandria at 10am, too late for anything except for tours local to Alexandria. We saw all the usual sites included in the ship's tour (eg catacombs, library, fort, palace, unknown soldier, mosque, corniche etc) but in greater comfort, and with a highly knowledgeable guide. In Cairo on day two, we again did everything the ship offered (Giza pyramids, Cairo museum, Papyrus Institute) but also got to see the mummies in the Cairo museum and Cheops boat (both at our request). We also did some shopping not included in the ship's tour. The total cost was about $180 per person compared with about $280 per person charged by the ship. As usual, by using a good local guide, we got to do more, for less, in greater comfort, and at our own speed and leisure. We would definitely recommend Mr George and his company.

We had a terrific tour of Cairo with Radwa. You could contact her at the following for information. She has her own company DET Travel. http://www.discovering-egypt.com

radwa@discovering-egypt.com

We found her delightful; very knowledgable and informative about the history, sites and culture.

Hi, I think we are on the same cruise in November with Princess. I would like more info on your tour package. Are you staying overnight in Cairo and meeting the ship back in Alexandria?

We are just back from 13 night Ancient Empires on Equinox. We used Nile Blue Tours for our overnight independent tour and they were fantastic!! We would definitely use them again in a heart beat - they absolutely spoiled us. Did not have to give a deposit and could choose to pay at the end of the tour in US $, Euro or credit card. The owner, Hazem, was our Egyptologist guide, Islam was his assistant and helped with DH's wheelchair and Abraham (sp) was our driver. Whoever you decide on we hope you have a wonderful trip!

Recently returned from a 13 day cruise on the Equinox. We used Ramses Tours for our tour of Cairo on day one and for Alexandria on day two. No payment was required till the end of the day. Both guides and vehicles were excellent. George responded quickly to our inquiries.

We are going with Pamses in Jan,2010 and would appreciate feed back on which is best, light show or Nile cruise and I thank you in advance...

As we are about to leave for our cruise and our upcoming tour with Ramses, I was wondering if anyone had recently returned and have experience to share?

I will definitely report back here after our experience!!

MC

Used Nile Blue this past August for a 2-day tour and were very pleased with the guide, transportation, security, accomodations, meals, etc. The guide was very flexible and adjusted to suit our needs. We assembled a group of 14 fellow travelers on the cruise critic boards, had a wonderful time, and paid a fraction of the cost of the ship tour.

As we are about to leave for our cruise and our upcoming tour with Ramses, I was wondering if anyone had recently returned and have experience to share?

 

I will definitely report back here after our experience!!

 

MC

I'll be eagerly awaiting your report on Cairo and other ports as well. Have a terrific trip.

Kathy

Used Nile Blue this past August for a 2-day tour and were very pleased with the guide, transportation, security, accomodations, meals, etc. The guide was very flexible and adjusted to suit our needs. We assembled a group of 14 fellow travelers on the cruise critic boards, had a wonderful time, and paid a fraction of the cost of the ship tour.

I'd be very interested in what kind of vehicle you had. Minibus? How many would it hold (maximum)? Were people crowded three to a seat? Could everyone hear the guide?

Thanks.

Kathy

We are home from a cruise that had 2 day port stop in Alexandria. We used Ramses Tours. They were easy to work with for our tours, 1 day in Cairo & I day in Alexandria. They had informed, personable guides who spoke excellent English, very capable drivers and A/c'd vehicles in immaculate condition. We were really pleased with our tours and happily recommend them.

We just got back from a 6 person tour with a guide Mohamed K who was recommended by a friend. We had the most amazing time and got to see a side of Egypt that our other cruisemates on other tours didn't get to see or do. Mohamed is a very personable and funny guy who was only too willing to impart his knowledge of egyptian history as well as his culture. We did an overnight at Le Meridien Pyramids and were fortunate enough to have pyramid view rooms. We sailed on a Falucca down the nile, went to the Sound & Light show, went to Sakkara, the Citadel Old cairo and coptic Cairo, Giza pyramids, The Sphinx, Cairo museum as well as the the oldest mosque in Africa (Amr Ebn El-As Mosque). Had great local cuisine in Sakkara and in Cairo. If interested, his email address is: komaty_m at hotmail dot com.

Through a friend who had used Mohamed K two years ago, I contacted him and arranged for a tour. Originally I had planned on just my husband and I but it ended up with three couples which worked out great and lowered the cost considerably. Denise has posted just prior to mine but I wanted to add my "two cents." Mohamed is one of those guides who is totally flexible and only wishes to show you the highlights YOU want to see. We put ourselves totally in his hands, as we did not know exactly what should be seen and what should be skipped. His tour includes two lunches, entrance to all sights (except the sound & light show), and everything except the gratuities at the end of the trip. After you experience Cairo traffic, you have a generous outpouring of gratitude to the driver he uses! His van was very comfortable, air conditioned, and what I really appreciated was the police car either ahead of us or behind us, plus the undercover policeman in the Grand Bazaar who kept any aggressive vendors at bay. Highest recommendation for Mohamed K.! Trish

We used Nile Blue twice and were extremely pleased. We had custom tours and Hazem and his wife Ghada were wonderful. They made sure we were escorted at all times, even when I wanted to walk through a local market. Nile Blue is not the biggest tour company but I doubt if any company can offer such personal service.

Were you on a cruise ? What do you mean by escorted at all times?

I need to post a more complete report, but I just wanted to thank everyone who recommended Ramses to us. Our day in Egypt was exactly what we were looking for. Our guide, Nesrina, is excellent. She not only studied at the University of Alexandria for this career, she has continued her studies to be as up to date as possible.

Her tour was exceptional, and we thought Ramses's prices were a complete bargain for what we received.

Just returned from cruising on the Equinox and booked the two day tour with Ramses. Samo was our guide and he was excellent. I told Ramses everything that we wanted to see - George replied that it was a very intensive tour - but Samo made it all happen. We just moved from site to site and saw everything that I wanted to see. He was a great guide.

Just returned from cruising on the Equinox and booked the two day tour with Ramses. Samo was our guide and he was excellent. I told Ramses everything that we wanted to see - George replied that it was a very intensive tour - but Samo made it all happen. We just moved from site to site and saw everything that I wanted to see. He was a great guide.

Reba, would you mind sharing your exact itinerary with me? We want to pack in as much as possible, so yours will give us some ideas. I'm reading and watching videos to get some ideas as well.

My email address is kathypeters123 at bellsouth dot net.

Also, how many people were in your group and what type of vehicle did you have? We can adjust our small group up or down, and I am picking people's brains about this as well.

Many thanks.

Kathy