Clients
Letters,
Testimonials and Photos - 2009
Details below or click here for more information INQUIRY FORM
Phone: 1-888-682-6449/1-303-670-5640
Fax: (425) 984-7676
Details below or click here for more information INQUIRY FORM
Phone: 1-888-682-6449/1-303-670-5640
Fax: (425) 984-7676
John Cowley – Egypt – June 2009
Just a short note to let you know again that our two tour guides on our trip to Egypt were what made the trip so special. Both guides did a fantastic job of explaining not only the sites, history, and culture of the ancient Egyptians, but also the Egyptian culture, religion, and day to day life of the present. Mark and I came to understand the beauty of the Egyptian culture as it is today, and to appreciate its differences with our culture. It was like being in school again and learning things from the beginning. And even threatened to give us test for graduation.
Just wanted you to know they are both special and to highly recommend both of them for future use with your company. Thanks Again. John Cowley
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Kathy Jacob – China - June 2009
A thousand THANKS to you and to Myra!!!
What a fantastic trip we had! Every single participant is calling it THE trip of their life!!! - and we know these folks have gone lots of places...
Forget complaints of hotel rooms too this or meals and buses too that or even not enough shopping/free time. The typical remarks go something like this: ''Yeah the hotel in Beijing was not up to par but I don't care, it was a great trip'' or ''I really don't want to have Chinese food for the next 6 months but I wanna go back to China'' or ''I wish I could have had more time to just hang out but when I go back I want to have Rocky again as my guide''.
At the end of the day, everyone agrees this was a wonderful journey into a different world. They all want to go back and they are all telling their friends. And we now have all sorts of people asking me to put together another trip to China!
Congratulations on the selection of M Shi Jun Yan - aka Rocky Stone - as our guide. He was the perfect host and ensured we had a grand time throughout. He shares his knowledge in the most relaxed fashion and his sense of humour is delightful. Attentive in subtle ways, patient and most certainly a gentleman, he is happy to share his culture with ''foreigners''. Everyone want Rocky again!
By the way, even those who had to be dragged on this trip - a few husbands - have come back enchanted and are calling it their best trip... Aïsha had a fabulous time. As for me, it is a dream come true. I just have to go back and see the rest of the country now ;o)
The clients were overall EXTREMELY pleased with this trip!!! I have added some of their comments below.
1) The group decide to check into the hotel upon arrival in the early morning though Rocky had warned us that if we chose to do so the best rooms might not yet be available, therefore the few who ended up in a room not to their liking -bedding obviously not changed, carpet seriously stained, etc- did not complain about it but instead, asked for the situation to be corrected when possible, mentioned to me how it was for them and hoped for better luck at the next hotel. Anyway, we spent so little time in our rooms...
My room and the other family rooms were absolutely great! All appreciated the non-smoking rooms and even those which did not specify non-smoking had no smoke aroma left behind.
2) Personally, I feel that when in China...you must eat Chinese food!
The meals were the ones to obtain the lowest review by all, but no one rated them below satisfactory. Perhaps simply offer a couple Western choices when possible and some child friendly options - though disconcerting, the fries in Shanghai were a huge hit with the kids. Some with more adventurous palates wished they could have tried more "far-out" food - scorpions etc- but all enjoyed the specialty meals - Peking duck, noodles, dumplings, farmer's lunch, etc. Further, Rocky never had a chance to sit or relax as he spent our mealtimes explaining the dishes to us, which we greatly appreciated. I think this culinary exploration should be part of the deal!!! It means a little foray into local culture and an unusual chance to develop our taste buds.
3) The drivers were very skillful and the buses were just fine. No one, not even one passenger, complained about the buses. Which is a first for me! And we have gone to many many countries in Europe and elsewhere. In my previous email, when I wrote "buses being too that" I was referring to the usual complaints and CERTAINLY NOT ON THIS TRIP. Yes, our groups have experienced the best, but being military and having gone on certain missions they also experienced the worst, which is why I like to deliver a comfortable vacation for them. As far as China is concerned, they have said only good things about these buses and their drivers.
Comments from group:
"Thanks for everything Kathy. The Trip was fantastic!!!"
"The China Trip was an incredible experience that we will never forget. Our teenager thought this was far most the best trip ever and to be able to meet interesting people felt as a privilege."
"Thanks Kathy for providing us a trip way beyond my expectations. It is something I will remember for years to come. Like you, I now want to go back and explore a whole lot more. Lets hope we will get the opportunity."
"It was a good trip and I told others here it was well worth it. It was a well coordinated trip and Rocky did a fantastic job. We were keep busy every day and could have possibly used the odd night off to relax and/or shop. Overall a very good trip and I wish my son would have come. He would have really enjoyed it. Thanks."
"The best trip I ever had. Loved it and I would love to go back to China. Maybe Hong Kong or Tibet. It was worth the long time travel. Hopefully with the same guide Rocky."
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Dawn Fadely – Egypt – June 2009
My trip was great! Amany in Cairo is an excellent tour guide! She was so much fun and she knows SOOO much about the Egyptian history and Islamic religion. We had a blast. I really like my driver, for Cairo. He was funny. My tour guide for Luxor, Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu, was fun too but there was a little bit of a communication barrier some times. Muhammad out in Hurghada was excellent and very helpful.
I really appreciate the tour company accommodating me of some issues that I had on the tour. It really made up for a couple of inconveniences.
The hotels on the trip were great. The Nile Cruise was awesome. I was on La Terasse and I would definitely recommend that cruise to other tourists in the future.
Thanks to you, Khaled, the tour guides, drivers, and A-Z for giving me a memorable trip to Egypt! I really enjoyed it
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Archana Aliyar – May 2009
Thanks-everything went very well-we enjoyed the trip and all went smoothly!
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Dave and Wendy Beenie – Egypt – May 2009
Our Egypt trip was a great success with many highlights, the mix of history, snorkelling and desert was the perfect mix. Everything ran smoothly and our fluent English speaking guides, Asmal and Mohammad were wonderful. A few minor hiccups are not even worth mentioning. However we have a few suggestions, no complaints!
- The Hotel upgrades to Pyramid/Nile views were well worth the extra. We suggest all clients be aware that they can upgrade. This absolutely made our holiday!
- Camping in the desert was a wonderful experience and we appreciate Mohammad making this available. Clients should be aware that the 4 wheel drive vehicles are unroadworthy by Western standards, may not have seat belts and the AC is winding the window down.
- The Hot Spring Hotel is ok for a stop over but when included in 4/5* trip the client should be aware that the rating does not apply here and there is no AC.
- It was unfortunate the sand storm prevented our day trip to Abu Simbel. We were well entertained on the day with alternative visits.
Thanks for organising the trip. All the best.
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Bodil and Erik Eriksen – San Diego & Golden West Adventure Tour – May 2009
Thanks to you we had a wonderful tour in California. It was a rather strenuous experience, but it was worth all our efforts. The guide was very good, he knew all about the route, and also the driver showed great skill.
The California-tour was fine in all respects, and also when it comes to the San Diego trip, we were very satisfied. However, we must say that our stay on Doubletree Club Hotel, 1515 Hotel Circle South, San Diego was not very smart. The hotel was fine, but its position to Downtown, was most inconvenient, when you don't have your own car. Too troublesome to get to town!
We take liberty in recommending you to choose another and more suitable hotel for your other carless-clients in future. But San Diego is a wonderful place. We are happy that we took that extra trip.
Once again we thank you so much for the way you arranged the tour. You were most helpful.
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Michel Jacques – Egypt & Jordan – May 2009
First, let me say we had a great trip.There is not much we would change and the only surprises we had were good ones.The weather was fine, not too hot, but a sandstorm led to the cancellation of a few excursions. Other than that and a little change we made for the visit to Ste-Catherine, everything went according to plan: hotel reservations were respected, guides, planes and cars were on time and food was appropriate (although one does not go to Egypt to enjoy gastronomy – the desserts in Jordan are quite nice though). Egypt is all and more than one could imagine. Generally speaking one of the discoveries was that Jordan is a `more comfortable country` to visit than Egypt. It is cleaner, with little dust, more green with grass and some trees, the infrastructure is in better shape, drivers are not as crazy, hotels and the food were better. We did not care much for the visits to the carpet, perfume and alabaster factories included in our program but the people were nice and not too pushy - we told our guide outright that we did not want to spend much time `souvenir hunting`.
Here are some more detailed comments, which I wrote to help you and fellow travelers:
-Cairo portion: the Mena House is a fine hotel (our rating 5*) but we could have stayed only 2 days rather than 4 and still have a satisfactory palace experience at a lower cost. We did get a pyramid view and the room was modern and very chic. The Movenpick Pyramid hotel (our rating 4*) is very good and our room was OK. Although we would recommend to combine the visit to the Gizeh pyramids with the ones in Sakkara in a single day. We visited the Citadel, the Coptic area, the Egyptian museum and the Khan al Kalilli all in one single day: that is too much and we would have like to spend more time in the museum and in the Coptic area.
It would have been nice to see modern Cairo or Heliopolis, which we only glimpsed at as we drove to the airport on the last day. We enjoyed the dinner cruise on the Nile not for the food or scenery but for the Dervish and belly dancers. The light and sound show at Gizeh was a good experience but we should have brought warmer clothing.
-Oases and the White desert: the White Desert was a highlight of our trip. Had we known we would have planned to stay overnight in the desert and witness the sunset and sunrise…. Must be absolutely fantastic! The Hot Spring hotel (our rating 3*) in Bawiti is OK, not fancy but clean. The visits of the Golden mummies museum or the tombs in Bawiti are of little interest and deserve just a few minutes, which we gave them.
-The cruise on the Nile: Our ship La Traviata was very good (our rating 3*+) and probably from what we could see walking through others, one of the best in its class. Our cabin was small but clean and well located. The ship is getting old however. Food was good but a little repetitive after a few days. The 4 days from Aswan to Luxor is the right length of time for such a cruise.
-The Aswan portion: We did not particularly care for the visit to the High Dam but the visit to the Philae temple was great – the approach by boat, the land visit and the surroundings.The visit to the Botanical Garden was disappointing but the ride on the Nile to Kitchener island was very enjoyable, as was the minutes spent in the souk in Aswan on the way back. We could not make the felucca ride because of strong winds. We could not go to Abu Simbel as the roads and airports were closed because of weather conditions. We used the available time to see the Nubian village (worth a quick look) and climb a giant sand dune along the Nile (not as easy as it looks).
-On the Nile: the stop at Om Kombo was interesting but the real treat was the visit to the Edfu temple. That day cruising was very pleasant and a nice way to relax and recharge. We were glad to overnight on a larger vessel and not on a felucca (I guess we are of that age now)..
-The Luxor portion: We visited the Luxor museum on our own and can recommend to include it in the standard itinerary. The light show at the Karnak temple was very different from the one at Gizeh and well worth it. We enjoyed the visit of 3 tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and enjoyed just as much if not more the visit of 2 tombs in the Valley of the Nobles (not initially in our program but added as we missed Abu Simbel). The visit of the Karnak temple was a true discovery – this one is huge! The Steinberger hotel (our rating 5*) in Luxor is excellent, well located and first class service and accommodations.
-The Sharm el Sheik portion: One should not expect much ‘Egypt’ in Sharm – this is a new, bland tourist zone with little if any Egyptian content. We could have been in any large, very large resort town. The Crowne Plaza (our rating 5*) is a great hotel and benefits from direct access to one of the best snorkelling areas on the Red Sea. We arranged an optional snorkelling excursion thru AZ Tour – and had a great day at sea. However it must be said again that we did our best snorkelling right in front of the Crowne Plaza. Food and taxi prices in Sharm are on a different level,at least twice the levels of elsewhere in Egypt.
-The excursion to Mount Sinai and Ste-Catherine: The climb to the Mount Sinai (Moses’ mountain) was another highlight. What a sight as the sun slowly burns its way in the sky. We were happy we had decided at the last minute not to stay in Ste-Catherine but to keep our room in Sharm and leave directly from Sharm in the evening to begin our climb. We had breakfast at the Catherine Plaza upon our descent. This was also a much better use of the time since there is little to see in Ste-Catherine other than the monastery, which we visited in one hour.
-The Amman portion: Jordan is very different from Egypt and surprisingly to us, appears to be much more modern and developed. Amman is a new city and there is not much to see other than the Citadel and the roman theatre, but the small archaeology museum at the Citadel contains fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls and some very old sculptures – worth a stop. On the same day we visited the old roman city of Jerash, which is most impressive and again a nice discovery, and the castle at Ajlun, some old ruins from the middle ages. The Royal Amman hotel is the best we have seen during this trip ( a true 5 *+) and we had one of our best meals at the Kan Zaman restaurant just outside Amman.
-Dead Sea, Petra and the Wadi Rum: We spent two days criss-crossing Jordan. The visits of the old Christian church and its mosaic at Madeba, the castle of Karak and the stop at Mount Nebo were interesting but our dip into the Dead Sea and the mud bath were another highlight of our voyage. It was well worth the few hours we spent there. Now Petra! We enjoyed Petra more than anything else in Jordan – what a site! We have fond memories of the Petra by Night excursion and can recommend it. There is much to see in Petra but one day was fine for us. Luckily we were well rested and in good form because we walked here more than anywhere else during this trip. The views from the Monastery and the surrounding hills is a fair compensation for the arduous climb. The Movenpick hotel is first-class (5*), with the best location just 100 meters from the entrance to the Siq. The excursion in the Wadi Rum was probably too short to do it justice but it was somewhat ‘ordinary’ after seeing the White Desert in Egypt. This is a place to experience more than to visit quickly and our opinion would surely change if we explored it more thoroughly and slowly.
A few additional remarks in closing. We had 3 guides over our stay. They were all very helpful, punctual and well organized. We now appreciate better how important the guide is to the travelling experience. Mohammed, who accompanied us for our Egyptian travels except the Sharm portion, is most knowledgeable and has a great personality, which we tested thoroughly. He made a huge difference! Ahmed (not sure of the spelling), who climbed with us the Mount Sinai (a Bedouin guide is mandatory so tour guides generally do not make the climb) was alert to all our needs and truly wanted everything to be perfect. Lastly Rami, our guide in Jordan, was very professional, well organized but we spent less time with him. We also had very good drivers… and that is most important in those two countries. The driver Ahmed for our jeep excursion in the White Desert and Afram Michael, our driver in Jordan, in particular were top class, made us feel safe and kept us on schedule.
I also want to mention that the Australian couple who joined us to the Nile cruise and the Sharm portion were most pleasant and we got along very well. I hope they agree! They added to the enjoyment of our trip.
This trip in Egypt and Jordan is and will remain I am sure one of the best. We discovered and learned a lot, had the right mix of comfort and adventure and met with the unexpected but in a managed way.
We want to thank you for your help.
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Maria Perez Lee – Egypt – May 2009
Yes, Wing and I arrived safe and sound yes. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and found the accommodations and the food of the highest standards. We also enjoyed the company of Hepa, the tour guide who was like our `governess' during stay at Luxor and for the duration of the cruise. She proved herself to be an exceptionally caring and attentive individual and we felt safe the whole time we were with her. NO problems with any of the pick-ups or drop-offs with any of the guides/drivers too. We trusted A-Z so much that we actually booked another city tour with your company which was handled expertly by another guide by the name of Mona.
Rest assured that you will be hearing from us in the future for any special travel needs! Thanks again for a truly memorable trip!
You and Avril can rest assured that A-Z Travel will be highly recommended to family and friends should the opportunity arise. And I do intent to contact you in the future for my other travel needs. Thanks again for your part in making my 'first' trip to Egypt so memorable and I hope A-Z continues to prosper despite the state of the world's economy right now. Now I have to start accumulating vacation days again :-).
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Victor Feder – Nova Scotia – Vacation Planning – May 2009
The itinerary was great with good balanced use of our times. The reservations worked well and we were pleased with the accommodations. We really enjoyed the trip and your service was very good. I wish I'll have similar services when I travel to other places.
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Dr.Ann Langlois - Palm Beach Atlantic University Group – April 2009
Thank you for a wonderful visit in Egypt. The students and faculty continue to talk about the Egypt Business and Cultural trip as amazing and outstanding. Your efforts in ensuring that the trip ran smoothly and the experience the students gained will be life long memories.
We enjoyed learning first hand experiencing Egyptian business, culture and political environment. Thank you for sharing information on your business and the challenges in doing business in this dynamic and developing country.
On April 28, the students and faculty will host a Global Forum on Egypt. We will share with the university our experiences, the business visits, and warm memories.
I hope to contact you in the summer since Kim and I am interested in writing a case on “Doing Business in Egypt.” We would mirror the case on your professional experience as we discussed during our visit.
Thank you for making this business trips a success. We will be in contact soon.
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Eldon Sheirer – Egypt – April 2009
Had a great time—we are all “templed” and “tombed” out—The trip home was a bit daunting, but it was what it was—Had a great time with our Daughter in Dubai and then Egypt was an experience not to be forgotten—now to get over the jet lag
Thanks to you and your team in Canada and Egypt—they treated us great!
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Donna Preece – Egypt – April 2009
I had a wonderful time. The climb up Mt. Sinai left me with very sore legs but I made it. I just opted out of the tour activities on the following day which was my last in Egypt. I stayed at the hotel and had a massage and sauna and early dinner so I'd be ready for my 5 a,m. pick up the following day. I enjoyed everything.
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Sharon and Margaret Schooley (mother) – Egypt – April 2009
I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip, and appreciated your help, advice, and scheduling. Our accommodations were top quality, and the sightseeing was amazing. The trip exceeded all of our expectations. We especially liked our guide in Cairo, Mona, and our guide in Luxor, Mahmood. Mona was charming, intelligent, and informative, and Mahmood made everything fascinating, and had a lovely personality. All of our guides and drivers were punctual and helpful. The included sightseeing was outstanding. Thank you so much for all your assistance with making our trip such a wonderful experience.
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Manuela Torrijos – Egypt, Syria & Jordan – April 2009
First of all, I would like to thank you for all our effort. We very much enjoyed our trip to Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
I would like to spend some time giving some feedback that I hope it is useful to A-Z Tours.
Syria
We loved the city and the Sheraton hotel was excellent. Our tour guide and the driver were very friendly and made us feel very welcome.
We both felt we should have spent a bit more of time in Damascus. One day didn’t feel enough to get a flavour of this remarkable piece of history. Definitely we will go back!
Jordan
We loved the Jordan leg of the trip and it was all thanks to our driver (Mahmoud) and our guide (Ali), who made our stay very memorable. The country is very beautiful and very welcoming to tourists.
The tour was very well planned and we felt we saw loads of interesting and varied monuments and sites. .
We felt the Movenpicks hotels were a real treat, especially the one in the Dead Sea. Beautiful location, outstanding service and remarkable decoration and architecture.
Egypt
Based on fantastic experience with the guide in Jordan we thought we would have plenty of time to stroll around by ourselves and being able to take it all in. This was not the case in the pyramids.
We have to say, however, that Mona as a guide was very knowledgeable and very passionate about Egyptian History and Culture.
Our guide in Luxor – Answan, Mauwa, was lovely and very knowledgeable. She really made us feel very welcome and helped us a lot understand the history, the culture and modern Egyptian life. We really enjoyed her company and her stories.
The cruise, Sherry Boat, was excellent. The cabins were very clean and were serviced regularly. The boat staff was very professional, very welcoming and the food was outstanding.
We visited the Botanical garden on a felucca, which was really absolutely fantastic, visited the dam and eat in a Nubian restaurant. It was all fantastic, very well planned and organised.
We paid extra for the Abu Simbel trip and I thought it was worth the money although it is a very tiring trip for a mere 1 hour visit. We understand that it is due to local regulations as the convoy has to arrive and leave at certain times. .
On our last day in Aswan we had some spare time so we suggested Mauwa whether we could visit the unfinished obelisk. .
We arrived back to Cairo at 6am and were delighted to see that we were not driven straight to the airport but to a hotel to freshen up. .
In sum, our trip was truly amazing and we are now back to London with a lot of great memories that we will treasure forever.
Big thanks to you for organising everything and to A-Z Tours for making it possible.
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Lourdes Ruiz – Egypt – April 2009
I had a splendid time during the trip. I would really like to thank you for all of your assistance.
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Jroish Kanippilly – Egypt – April 2009
Our trip to Egypt was fabulous. We didn't have any problems anywhere. It was a well organised tour, thanks to you and your team. The weather was also favourable so didn't get tired at all. Our tour guide, Mona, was also good. She was like a teacher to us, explaining everything in detail.
The guide Mohamed was also good. Egypt is such a beautiful place and it’s sad that we couldn't cover the entire Egypt. We had an entirely different picture of Egypt before the visit. The restaurants where we were taken for lunch were all good and we enjoyed the Nile cruise too. All in all it was a memorable trip. Thank you once again for everything you did for us.
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Margaret & Richard Shurack – Egypt – April 2009
Thanks for planning a wonderful trip for us. We enjoyed every minute
Everything went as planned but a few things we might suggest when planning future trips are:
1. At first we were disappointed when we found our trip was not starting in Cairo as originally planned. But after experiencing it, we are so so happy that we did not start in Cairo. After experiencing all the sights we were able to comprehend and appreciate the Cairo museum to the fullest. There is so much "knowledge" that you acquire on tour that it made the museum a complete experience. If we had gone there first we would not have been able to comprehend all it offers.
2. A suggestion: I would recommend staying at a hotel at the airport for the one night if catching an early morning flight. As you know traffic is horrendous in Cairo.
3. When going to the Karnak Temple Sound & Light a flashlight is a must. The walking is difficult in the dark.
We enjoyed all of our guides and drivers. Azizza was inspirational and had a wealth of knowledge on all Egyptian subjects. We were very disappointed that we were only able to have her as a guide for two days .
Thank you again for an exceptional tour. We look forward to booking with you in the future.
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Kathy Jacob – Egypt – March 2009
So I am sending just a quick THANK YOU for now. You have worked very hard and been very patient and I truly appreciate it!!!
The group was and still is very happy about this experience. Hopefully I can write more soon.
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Avis Jones-Porter & Fletcher Porter – Egypt – March 2009
We loved Egypt and enjoyed our trip very much. We agree with all the summation comments sent by Ken and Phyllis and want to emphasize how much we enjoyed Mohamed as our main tour guide. He was very knowledgeable about Egypt's history, answering all our questions. We enjoyed learning from him and appreciated his comments and suggestions, throughout our trip. I was also impressed by how well he spoke English and how timely and organized he was. He made our trip and I would heartily recommend him to others!
The hotel and cruise met our expectations for the "deluxe" category that we booked. We were so busy that we didn't seem to spend much time in the rooms, but appreciated especially the comfortable bed, fridge for keeping our water cold and hearty breakfast, that we had at the Sofitel Sphinx in Cairo. The hotel Isis Island in Aswan was very scenic and we did have a brief moment to enjoy the grounds and pool.
We also added to our trip the Nubian Village in Aswan. It was a fun afternoon and well suited for our small group. The Hot Air Balloon Ride was also an add on and one that I am glad that we did, even though we had to get up early in the morning for it, with a full day of sightseeing still ahead.
Overall there is not much I'd change about our trip.
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Corry and Kelly Lodders – Amsterdam - March 2009
Just wanted to say thank you to you for all your excellent help in regards to our trip to Amsterdam, to visit my ailing and very sick parents.
We are back and really are happy we went. It was very tough to say goodbye and to leave them behind. Mom is still with us but not for long any more. A few surgical procedures have prolonged her life with a few more weeks, which was very nice for us. We could visit and spend some valuable time with her.
The passports came on time and the flights were absolutely beautiful and so was the service.
Therefore thank you once again for all you did, because you made it easier to travel. Just to know that you were available!
Thanks again from the both of us and hopefully when we travel again we will approach you again.
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Evelyn Wakeforde – Previous Client – March 2009
I travelled very successfully with your company in Egypt in 2004 before returning to Australia. I was a single mum travelling in Egypt with my three children and your guides gave me the most wonderful support and journey when I was very nervous taking 3 children alone. I loved the whole process.
Our guides Hassam in Luxor and his scottish wife Lyn. He was so supportive and when my son Michael got sick his wife and he did everything to support us and he took us back to his families home where Lyn kept him safe while we continued our tour of Hatshepsut temple. He bent over backwards to make our journey special.
I also had the immense pleasure of meeting Hamdan who was our guide in Cairo. Again he was so perceptive in his understanding of my needs as a single parent and three young children. He went out of his way to support our trip in Egypt being just as knowledgeable and happy to support my 10 year old fascination of Egypt along with my 16 year old son who just wanted to check out the railway line...nothing was too much trouble and he assisted us, laughed with us, cried with us in a very personal and professional manner that made us befriend him as part of our family immediately.
I most fondly remember him being most concerned that my 10year old daughter Tamara who was riding solo on a camel in the desert in front of the pyramids....(the ultimate dream of mine! to ride in front of the camels on my 40th birthday). I thought he was going to run along beside the camel when she took off so excited behind the camel guide at a gallop. I was still plodding along at a snails pace watching my darling daughter disappearing over a sand hill with a huge smile on her face. It was Hamdan that took a beautiful photo of all four of us sitting astride the camels with the pyramids in the distance. One of my most precious memories with my children.
Please pass on these thanks and stories to Hamdan and Hassam as appropriate.
I have written this to you to thank you and of course thank those wonderful people including Mr Islam who supported our arrivals and departures in our tours from Hurgahda. I often thought how I was an Australian visiting England on a teaching exchange sending an email to Carol in Canada and paying money to meet with unknown people in Egypt to take us on a magical journey. Wow the world works in such mysterious ways. I was so blessed to trust and have such an incredible experience of a lifetime and dream with my children and your wonderful guides.
Again I want to thank your company for the integrity in which u supported me and my beautiful children to witness and experience such joy in Egypt. My children now 14,19 and 22 all still love Egypt and I think it has given them the gift of the travel bug!
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Jan Sumner – Egypt – March 2009
We had a wonderful time. I was afraid we would be joining a large tour group but was so pleasantly surprised when it was just us and our guide and wonderful drivers. Our usual driver in Cairo was the BEST driver. I was never nervous when he was at the wheel, an astonishing feat given the way the driving is in Cairo.
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Manny and Sonia Nijjar – Mexico – March 2009
Hope things are well, just wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed our stay at the Dreams resort in Cancun - it is a great family resort. Everything was great - beach, water, pools, friendly staff and the weather was just right.
Thanks for recommending it and look forward to chatting with you for our next vacation.
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Chantal & Maurice Aucoin – Egypt – March 2009
We had an absolutely wonderful experience during our Egypt trip. We were very well taken care of from the time we arrived until our departure. The guides were knowledgeable and interesting. Considering the jam packed itinerary that was planned for us, we were impressed that it went so well which speaks volumes of how organized A-Z Tours is in planning trips to Egypt. We are extremely pleased with what we saw and experienced in such a short time - we have already recommended the programme to many of our friends.
The staff onboard the Cruise was very friendly and the food was great. When our guide couldn't get a cabin onboard she made arrangements for us to be met by local guides at the ports and this always happened without a hitch. A-Z Tours was prepared for all eventualities and that was very appreciated.
All in all, we were very happy with the programme and we will cherish the memories of our trip. An incredible experience!!!!!
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Phyllis Newkirk – Egypt – March 2009
The trip was wonderful. Our time in Egypt was very busy and full of interesting activities and sights. I will give you some thoughts about our itinerary below. We also returned safely and with no trouble.
The itinerary was almost perfect. We enjoyed almost everything and wished for more time at many sites. There were a few items you might want to consider: The Pharonic Village was not very useful. The place is almost like an amusement park, and we went after we had seen most of the real sites. The one part of the village visit that was somewhat interesting was the Nasser museum.
If we had fully comprehended the length of the drive to St. Catherine’s and Mount Sinai, we may have decided to forego that excursion. The climb and camel ride was fun, the monestary very interesting.
The trip to the Suez Canal two days later was a duplication of much of the trip we had just made, so we toured Islamic Cairo instead and had a wonderful day. The only other “complaint” was the short time allowed us in Abu Simbul, especially after the early and long drive to get there. It was not enough time for us to see everything. If we were to go again, we would ask to spend the night in Abu Simbul and have more time viewing the temples. Everything else was terrific. We added the Red Pyramid on our first day after arriving, and enjoyed that very much. We believe it was worth doing and were glad we had the opportunity to visit that area.
Our main guide was wonderful. Mohamed was very knowledgeable, very organized and interesting. We were fortunate enough to spend 16 or our days with Mohamed. We could not have asked for a better guide. Mona went to the Red Pyramid with us, and again to the Pharonic Village and Cairo Tower on a day when Mohamed second son was born. She did a nice job and we enjoyed her perspective and information. We also had a guide by the name of Sharif who accompanied us to St. Catherine. He was friendly, he was adequate and got the job done, but was not the same quality as Mona and Mohamed. He was just young and a bit unfocused.
We had several drivers, but the most frequent driver was a young man named Ashrof. He did an excellent job and assisted us when appropriate. All drivers were professional and pleasant, but Ashrof was our favorite.
The hotels were all good. St. Catherine’s hotel was the least plush, but was clean the people friendly. The Isis Island in Luxor had free internet in the lobby which was a delight to my husband. Internet connection in the other locations was very expensive so we did not use it. The hotel we spent the most time in was the Sofitel Sphinx in Cairo, and it was very acceptable. They had the best breakfast of all we stayed in, and once we found the quiet side of the hotel was very comfortable.
We got a bit tired of the lunch/dinner buffets. They all tended to be the same fare, whether on the boat or on land. Mixing a few meals in restaurants offering ordered meals was a relief from the routine. On our day in Islamic Cairo we ate lunch at the Koshary Abou Tarek restaurant and found it delightful. Mohamed was careful to take us to restaurants with approval from the Minister of Tourism, but looked for a bit of variety at our request. The only other comment about meals would be about the Nile cruise in Cairo. We enjoyed the cruise, but happened to be one of only a handful of small groups there not affiliated with a huge group of Chinese and Japanese tourists. When the food was served they swarmed the buffet like starvation was just minutes away. We and several other small groups from Europe waited until they had finished seeking our dinner! That is not critical of A-Z, or the cruise ship, just our luck. It does illustrate one of the problems with large groups and trying to feed them in a timely manner.
I am pointing out our few problems, but do not wish to give you the impression we were unhappy with our trip. We truly enjoyed it very much, found everything very well organized, and appreciate your efforts to put together a trip to meet our requests. Thank you. Having the luxury of a very small group of only the four of us was also a bonus. We enjoyed the couple who joined us for two days in Cairo, and they were from our state so we felt like friends. It was a very good trip.
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Toni Visconti – Egypt – February 2009
I just got back today and wanted to give you feedback on our trip. It was terrific. The itinerary was perfect; every guide was a pleasure to have with us. They made changes in schedules for us in Cairo with no problems and no one was late or left us unattended at any time. It would not have been the trip it was without your help.
I would recommend using your company to anyone!!!
The cruise was great as well.
We had the pleasure of going to a free performance of musicians and whirling dervish entertainers in Cairo that was in our guide book, it is put on by the Egyptian Tourism Council, and it was wonderful.
One of the tour guides we had in Luxor was able to get us on a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings for a very inexpensive price; we had an amazing sunrise trip on our last morning.
I can’t rave enough about the guides and drivers you hired for us. They were just wonderful.
Thanks so much again for making our trip a very memorable one.
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Susan Stevenson – Egypt – February 2009
The trip was absolutely fabulous and everything worked so well.
We were particularly impressed with the guides and the drivers. The guide in Cairo [I believe his name is Mohammed] was wonderful, very knowledgeable and helpful. The Cairo driver was just the best. Marwa was wonderful in Luxor and Aswan and the kids just adored her. Everybody was on time and where they were supposed to be for which we were grateful.
The cruise was lovely - my only suggestion would be that they serve Egyptian food rather than more 'English' type food. A minor thing at best.
We had a camera disaster and lost our pictures from Giza so we asked Marwa is there was some place in Aswan that we could ride camels. She arranged for us to visit a Nubian village for the after noon and we had just a marvellous time - what a fun and unexpected adventure.
Thank you so much for your help in arranging this - we all had a wonderful time.
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Rupali & Rohit Vidwans – Egypt – February 2009
The trip went very well, enjoyed every minute of it. The guides were very good. Especially we liked Mona who showed us the Cairo museum. Thanks for making the arrangements for us.
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Robert Goldstone – Egypt – February 2009
When time permits I will offer you a fuller "debriefing", but it was, overall, very good, and essentially as promised by A-Z.
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Richard Stevens – Egypt – February 2009
The trip was fine overall. I have some feedback to pass on to you - mostly positive. I'll try and send it out in the next few days.
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Michelle Tsui – Egypt – February 2009
We did enjoy the trip & we would like to thank for Mr Ahmed's care & follow up every time we arrived at a new city, his call would arrive few minutes right after we met the guide, we appreciate a lot & please send our best regards to him. He assured us we were 100% take cared & we had to behave ourselves as we were under his supervision... (just kidding)
Overall the trip is great except some of the guides we had difficulty to understand the English they spoke. You know people travel to Egypt is to know more about the history of the country it's very important the tourists fully understand the language the guides speak.
We would also like to say thanks to the guide went to Abu Simbul & Luxor with us, she is great & her elaboration is super details & her presentation is very interesting which greatly enhances our curiosity,
Thanks again for the whole crew take caring us when we were in Egypt without which our trip wouldn't be that memorable.
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Maureen Orr & Bob Linden – Egypt - February 2009
Why does the anticipation of the journey always seem so much longer than the actual event? Anyway, we had a wonderful time. All the arrangements were great with pick-ups, deliveries, guided tours, meals, etc. Chrissy and Marlin also enjoyed themselves.
We especially enjoyed Luxor for its history and the temples. The Giza pyramid sound and light show was awesome. Definitely recommend the Dinner Nile Cruise if just to see the "twirling dervish". Just so much of the week had us smiling and listening to the fascinating history of Egypt. Definitely would consider a trip back to the country.
Just a couple comments:
Aswan was just okay but then we get to see huge dams in our country - wonder if Alexandria would have been more interesting?
We especially enjoyed the hotel in Luxor - beautiful setting on the Nile and very nice rooms and restaurants.
Seemed like we weren't quite sure how much to tip and when to tip. We had so many different drivers, guides, managers to get us around and couldn't remember who we actually gave a tip to and who we didn't - I'm sure we got everyone but maybe twice.
Thanks again for arranging everything. It was just what we needed for our work break and an opportunity to meet some of our kids in an interesting part of the world.
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Christina Cyr & Alan Page – Egypt – February 2009
We are back (although a bit tired), and we had a wonderful time. Thanks for taking care of everything and arranging such a great trip for us.
Thank you for being such an excellent guide for our tour through Egypt. We thoroughly enjoyed learning all the information and especially you giving us a "test" at the end!
Attached is a photo of a hieroglyph of a woman nursing a baby, which I was excited to share with my breastfeeding education group.
It was so exciting for us to learn about ancient Egypt and we can't wait to return!
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Bob Goldstone – Egypt – January 2009
Trip was great. We are not "home" as we are now in the south of Spain untill the weekend. Will send you a more detailed debriefing when time permits.
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Dave Cates – Egypt – January 2009
We had a great time in Egypt and were very well taken care of. We particularly enjoyed the upper Egypt portion of the trip.
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Anne Schaefer – Vergilian Group Egypt – January 2009
The trip was quite an experience, an adventure. I enjoyed it very much and we had a most congenial group of people. Our guide was pure gold. He seemed to know absolutely EVERYTHING about Egypt past and present and was of immeasurable help in navigating the in's and out's of everyday life. All the sightseeing and traveling went off without a hitch.
Thank you so very much for all your hard work in putting it all together. I know that I am greatly appreciative and I'm sure all the other tour participants feel the same way. A-Z Tours did an excellent job.
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James Lawrence – Vergilian Group - Egypt – January 2009
I want to congratulate the fine program you presented to your participants. EVERYTHING we did, visited, saw, or ate was exemplary.
Mohamed was a superb guide and knowledgeable Egyptologist. You would do well to keep him in your employ. Khalid and Avril were charming hosts and made us feel very welcome in Egypt. The itinerary we took was in every way edifying. How else can I compliment the wonderful program! Good luck in the future and keep me informed of other Egypt trips that I would enjoy.
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Ron Ross - Tanzanian Safari – January 2009
I haven't been in touch since our return from Africa, but wanted to thank you and your agency for setting up such a wonderful trip.
The Safari staff, especially our guide and friend, Enock, were outstanding! Please pass on to the Simba management how nice a job he does. His love of, and his knowledge of, the amazing wildlife shows through in all he does. He was courteous, friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to do anything to make our trip one of the most memorable we have ever taken.
He is a real asset to the company. If (when) we plan a return trip, we will request him again. I certainly hope they appreciate what a great employee they have.
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Deborah & George Olsen – Vergilian Group - Egypt – January 2009
Overall, we had a great time. We were impressed with the organization and efficiency of A-Z Travel and would recommend the agency to others. Mohamed was an absolutely WONDERFUL guide (superb English and extensive knowledge of every site), and Mona (who guided us through Islamic and Coptic Cairo) was very good. Our guide to St. Catherine was friendly and kind, but his English and general knowledge was not at all at the level as our other guides. All our drivers and guards were very good, and we felt very safe.
I know we were trying to cover a lot of territory in a short amount of time (and there was the unfortunate cancellation of the train to Aswan), but in future, we would not want to begin a trip with two consecutive VERY early mornings (one to catch the plane to Aswan, the other to catch the bus to Abu Simbel). We would also prefer to stay in somewhat more commodious places, though I understand that the budget price of the Vergilian tour made choices limited. The Victoria was fine. We enjoyed our accommodations at St. Catherine Village and were very pleased to be able to visit the monastery (unfortunately it was only open one hour on our second day)
We were impressed with all the staff from A-Z who met us punctually and were always friendly and well organized.
As we anticipated, Beverly Berg’s lectures were excellent, and her advice and guidance always superb. She and Mohamed worked very nicely together.
Thank you for all your assistance with our trip!
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Billy Gwin – Dominican Republic - January 2009
The ground package went very well. I enjoyed myself and the great weather. The property was great. I would definately recommend the property and the GoGo/Prieto staff.
The return trip was terrible - stranded on the ground due to a twin prop plane stuck in the middle of the single runway at POP which delayed me getting into EWR. Coupled with losing my First Class seat from EWR to SEA there was also an overnight stay in freezing weather which I was not prepared for. I know you have nothing to do with the air portion, but thought you should know anyway.
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Valerie Schaire – Egypt – January 2009
The trip was for most part very, very enjoyable. Today and probably most of the week I'll be very busy but by next week I'll send you my detailed comments.
Thanks a lot for these beautiful memories.
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Beverly Berg – Vergilian Group Leader - Egypt – January 2009
The Egypt program went fine. There were no real hitches. It was too bad the sleeper train was cancelled Cairo/Aswan but good that Khaled found flights for us. The participants had a great time, although there was some tourista and a few colds (I remained healthy). Everyone loved the guide, Mohammad. I would definitely recommend doing Egypt through A-Z to others, and would opt to use it again for another Vergilian Program. People liked the accommodations except for the Kaoud hotel in Giza, but I hope that soon your Canada House will be a good alternative in the area. Thanks for all your work making the program happen.
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Delia Kang – Jordan – January 2009
Thank you for recommending us a reliable agency. They provided us with 2 excellent people. Jordan is a tip happy country and we did our best to oblige. (over 150US$ in tips in 3 days)
The food was excellent and in no way did we feel unsafe at any point of the tour. Our guide was an ex-military colonel.
My only gripe is that the (restaurants) do make you order a set meal where ever you go and with the dinar the same as the one euro, you are eating a parisian meal every time.
My only regret was not bringing a solid winter coat thinking desert equalled heat - it was freezing! The night in the desert in Wadi Rum temperatures were near zero. And no hot water at the camp.
But Daniel and I had a great time in this whirlwind trip before whizzing off to Egypt.
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Allison & William Blines – Egypt – January 2009
We had a great trip and returned to Australia just in time for Christmas. Egypt was a highlight as you probably anticipated. We had a great time on the tour. Ashraf was a fantastic guide and was so patient and thoughtful with the children. Ahmed was also great and really looked after us. Nice driver too. The tour was perfect for us and exactly what we had been looking for.
I have a colleague planning a similar trip at about the same time this year, also with 3 children and have recommended the tour and your agency very highly.
The tour was top stuff and we had an amazing time.
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Kathleen Hoenig – Egypt – January 2009
All went well on the trip.
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Stephanie Cini – Egypt - December 2008
It’s been quite some time now that I wanted to send you how our trip to Egypt was.
Well I would like to tell you thanks as you made our dream come true. We had always wanted to go to Egypt and everything so organised so perfect. All the Guides were great and all places we visited were great too.
Thanks a lot for all the help.
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Dilip Rajagopalan – Egypt – January 2009
We had a lovely time in Egypt. Everything went very well - all the arrangements were great. We were very impressed by how A-Z seemed so well organized, and things went so smoothly.
We would be happy to recommend A-Z to other folks interested in traveling to Egypt.
Thanks for all your help.
Just a short note to let you know again that our two tour guides on our trip to Egypt were what made the trip so special. Both guides did a fantastic job of explaining not only the sites, history, and culture of the ancient Egyptians, but also the Egyptian culture, religion, and day to day life of the present. Mark and I came to understand the beauty of the Egyptian culture as it is today, and to appreciate its differences with our culture. It was like being in school again and learning things from the beginning. And even threatened to give us test for graduation.
Just wanted you to know they are both special and to highly recommend both of them for future use with your company. Thanks Again. John Cowley
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Kathy Jacob – China - June 2009
A thousand THANKS to you and to Myra!!!
What a fantastic trip we had! Every single participant is calling it THE trip of their life!!! - and we know these folks have gone lots of places...
Forget complaints of hotel rooms too this or meals and buses too that or even not enough shopping/free time. The typical remarks go something like this: ''Yeah the hotel in Beijing was not up to par but I don't care, it was a great trip'' or ''I really don't want to have Chinese food for the next 6 months but I wanna go back to China'' or ''I wish I could have had more time to just hang out but when I go back I want to have Rocky again as my guide''.
At the end of the day, everyone agrees this was a wonderful journey into a different world. They all want to go back and they are all telling their friends. And we now have all sorts of people asking me to put together another trip to China!
Congratulations on the selection of M Shi Jun Yan - aka Rocky Stone - as our guide. He was the perfect host and ensured we had a grand time throughout. He shares his knowledge in the most relaxed fashion and his sense of humour is delightful. Attentive in subtle ways, patient and most certainly a gentleman, he is happy to share his culture with ''foreigners''. Everyone want Rocky again!
By the way, even those who had to be dragged on this trip - a few husbands - have come back enchanted and are calling it their best trip... Aïsha had a fabulous time. As for me, it is a dream come true. I just have to go back and see the rest of the country now ;o)
The clients were overall EXTREMELY pleased with this trip!!! I have added some of their comments below.
1) The group decide to check into the hotel upon arrival in the early morning though Rocky had warned us that if we chose to do so the best rooms might not yet be available, therefore the few who ended up in a room not to their liking -bedding obviously not changed, carpet seriously stained, etc- did not complain about it but instead, asked for the situation to be corrected when possible, mentioned to me how it was for them and hoped for better luck at the next hotel. Anyway, we spent so little time in our rooms...
My room and the other family rooms were absolutely great! All appreciated the non-smoking rooms and even those which did not specify non-smoking had no smoke aroma left behind.
2) Personally, I feel that when in China...you must eat Chinese food!
The meals were the ones to obtain the lowest review by all, but no one rated them below satisfactory. Perhaps simply offer a couple Western choices when possible and some child friendly options - though disconcerting, the fries in Shanghai were a huge hit with the kids. Some with more adventurous palates wished they could have tried more "far-out" food - scorpions etc- but all enjoyed the specialty meals - Peking duck, noodles, dumplings, farmer's lunch, etc. Further, Rocky never had a chance to sit or relax as he spent our mealtimes explaining the dishes to us, which we greatly appreciated. I think this culinary exploration should be part of the deal!!! It means a little foray into local culture and an unusual chance to develop our taste buds.
3) The drivers were very skillful and the buses were just fine. No one, not even one passenger, complained about the buses. Which is a first for me! And we have gone to many many countries in Europe and elsewhere. In my previous email, when I wrote "buses being too that" I was referring to the usual complaints and CERTAINLY NOT ON THIS TRIP. Yes, our groups have experienced the best, but being military and having gone on certain missions they also experienced the worst, which is why I like to deliver a comfortable vacation for them. As far as China is concerned, they have said only good things about these buses and their drivers.
Comments from group:
"Thanks for everything Kathy. The Trip was fantastic!!!"
"The China Trip was an incredible experience that we will never forget. Our teenager thought this was far most the best trip ever and to be able to meet interesting people felt as a privilege."
"Thanks Kathy for providing us a trip way beyond my expectations. It is something I will remember for years to come. Like you, I now want to go back and explore a whole lot more. Lets hope we will get the opportunity."
"It was a good trip and I told others here it was well worth it. It was a well coordinated trip and Rocky did a fantastic job. We were keep busy every day and could have possibly used the odd night off to relax and/or shop. Overall a very good trip and I wish my son would have come. He would have really enjoyed it. Thanks."
"The best trip I ever had. Loved it and I would love to go back to China. Maybe Hong Kong or Tibet. It was worth the long time travel. Hopefully with the same guide Rocky."
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Dawn Fadely – Egypt – June 2009
My trip was great! Amany in Cairo is an excellent tour guide! She was so much fun and she knows SOOO much about the Egyptian history and Islamic religion. We had a blast. I really like my driver, for Cairo. He was funny. My tour guide for Luxor, Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu, was fun too but there was a little bit of a communication barrier some times. Muhammad out in Hurghada was excellent and very helpful.
I really appreciate the tour company accommodating me of some issues that I had on the tour. It really made up for a couple of inconveniences.
The hotels on the trip were great. The Nile Cruise was awesome. I was on La Terasse and I would definitely recommend that cruise to other tourists in the future.
Thanks to you, Khaled, the tour guides, drivers, and A-Z for giving me a memorable trip to Egypt! I really enjoyed it
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Archana Aliyar – May 2009
Thanks-everything went very well-we enjoyed the trip and all went smoothly!
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Dave and Wendy Beenie – Egypt – May 2009
Our Egypt trip was a great success with many highlights, the mix of history, snorkelling and desert was the perfect mix. Everything ran smoothly and our fluent English speaking guides, Asmal and Mohammad were wonderful. A few minor hiccups are not even worth mentioning. However we have a few suggestions, no complaints!
- The Hotel upgrades to Pyramid/Nile views were well worth the extra. We suggest all clients be aware that they can upgrade. This absolutely made our holiday!
- Camping in the desert was a wonderful experience and we appreciate Mohammad making this available. Clients should be aware that the 4 wheel drive vehicles are unroadworthy by Western standards, may not have seat belts and the AC is winding the window down.
- The Hot Spring Hotel is ok for a stop over but when included in 4/5* trip the client should be aware that the rating does not apply here and there is no AC.
- It was unfortunate the sand storm prevented our day trip to Abu Simbel. We were well entertained on the day with alternative visits.
Thanks for organising the trip. All the best.
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Bodil and Erik Eriksen – San Diego & Golden West Adventure Tour – May 2009
Thanks to you we had a wonderful tour in California. It was a rather strenuous experience, but it was worth all our efforts. The guide was very good, he knew all about the route, and also the driver showed great skill.
The California-tour was fine in all respects, and also when it comes to the San Diego trip, we were very satisfied. However, we must say that our stay on Doubletree Club Hotel, 1515 Hotel Circle South, San Diego was not very smart. The hotel was fine, but its position to Downtown, was most inconvenient, when you don't have your own car. Too troublesome to get to town!
We take liberty in recommending you to choose another and more suitable hotel for your other carless-clients in future. But San Diego is a wonderful place. We are happy that we took that extra trip.
Once again we thank you so much for the way you arranged the tour. You were most helpful.
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Michel Jacques – Egypt & Jordan – May 2009
First, let me say we had a great trip.There is not much we would change and the only surprises we had were good ones.The weather was fine, not too hot, but a sandstorm led to the cancellation of a few excursions. Other than that and a little change we made for the visit to Ste-Catherine, everything went according to plan: hotel reservations were respected, guides, planes and cars were on time and food was appropriate (although one does not go to Egypt to enjoy gastronomy – the desserts in Jordan are quite nice though). Egypt is all and more than one could imagine. Generally speaking one of the discoveries was that Jordan is a `more comfortable country` to visit than Egypt. It is cleaner, with little dust, more green with grass and some trees, the infrastructure is in better shape, drivers are not as crazy, hotels and the food were better. We did not care much for the visits to the carpet, perfume and alabaster factories included in our program but the people were nice and not too pushy - we told our guide outright that we did not want to spend much time `souvenir hunting`.
Here are some more detailed comments, which I wrote to help you and fellow travelers:
-Cairo portion: the Mena House is a fine hotel (our rating 5*) but we could have stayed only 2 days rather than 4 and still have a satisfactory palace experience at a lower cost. We did get a pyramid view and the room was modern and very chic. The Movenpick Pyramid hotel (our rating 4*) is very good and our room was OK. Although we would recommend to combine the visit to the Gizeh pyramids with the ones in Sakkara in a single day. We visited the Citadel, the Coptic area, the Egyptian museum and the Khan al Kalilli all in one single day: that is too much and we would have like to spend more time in the museum and in the Coptic area.
It would have been nice to see modern Cairo or Heliopolis, which we only glimpsed at as we drove to the airport on the last day. We enjoyed the dinner cruise on the Nile not for the food or scenery but for the Dervish and belly dancers. The light and sound show at Gizeh was a good experience but we should have brought warmer clothing.
-Oases and the White desert: the White Desert was a highlight of our trip. Had we known we would have planned to stay overnight in the desert and witness the sunset and sunrise…. Must be absolutely fantastic! The Hot Spring hotel (our rating 3*) in Bawiti is OK, not fancy but clean. The visits of the Golden mummies museum or the tombs in Bawiti are of little interest and deserve just a few minutes, which we gave them.
-The cruise on the Nile: Our ship La Traviata was very good (our rating 3*+) and probably from what we could see walking through others, one of the best in its class. Our cabin was small but clean and well located. The ship is getting old however. Food was good but a little repetitive after a few days. The 4 days from Aswan to Luxor is the right length of time for such a cruise.
-The Aswan portion: We did not particularly care for the visit to the High Dam but the visit to the Philae temple was great – the approach by boat, the land visit and the surroundings.The visit to the Botanical Garden was disappointing but the ride on the Nile to Kitchener island was very enjoyable, as was the minutes spent in the souk in Aswan on the way back. We could not make the felucca ride because of strong winds. We could not go to Abu Simbel as the roads and airports were closed because of weather conditions. We used the available time to see the Nubian village (worth a quick look) and climb a giant sand dune along the Nile (not as easy as it looks).
-On the Nile: the stop at Om Kombo was interesting but the real treat was the visit to the Edfu temple. That day cruising was very pleasant and a nice way to relax and recharge. We were glad to overnight on a larger vessel and not on a felucca (I guess we are of that age now)..
-The Luxor portion: We visited the Luxor museum on our own and can recommend to include it in the standard itinerary. The light show at the Karnak temple was very different from the one at Gizeh and well worth it. We enjoyed the visit of 3 tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and enjoyed just as much if not more the visit of 2 tombs in the Valley of the Nobles (not initially in our program but added as we missed Abu Simbel). The visit of the Karnak temple was a true discovery – this one is huge! The Steinberger hotel (our rating 5*) in Luxor is excellent, well located and first class service and accommodations.
-The Sharm el Sheik portion: One should not expect much ‘Egypt’ in Sharm – this is a new, bland tourist zone with little if any Egyptian content. We could have been in any large, very large resort town. The Crowne Plaza (our rating 5*) is a great hotel and benefits from direct access to one of the best snorkelling areas on the Red Sea. We arranged an optional snorkelling excursion thru AZ Tour – and had a great day at sea. However it must be said again that we did our best snorkelling right in front of the Crowne Plaza. Food and taxi prices in Sharm are on a different level,at least twice the levels of elsewhere in Egypt.
-The excursion to Mount Sinai and Ste-Catherine: The climb to the Mount Sinai (Moses’ mountain) was another highlight. What a sight as the sun slowly burns its way in the sky. We were happy we had decided at the last minute not to stay in Ste-Catherine but to keep our room in Sharm and leave directly from Sharm in the evening to begin our climb. We had breakfast at the Catherine Plaza upon our descent. This was also a much better use of the time since there is little to see in Ste-Catherine other than the monastery, which we visited in one hour.
-The Amman portion: Jordan is very different from Egypt and surprisingly to us, appears to be much more modern and developed. Amman is a new city and there is not much to see other than the Citadel and the roman theatre, but the small archaeology museum at the Citadel contains fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls and some very old sculptures – worth a stop. On the same day we visited the old roman city of Jerash, which is most impressive and again a nice discovery, and the castle at Ajlun, some old ruins from the middle ages. The Royal Amman hotel is the best we have seen during this trip ( a true 5 *+) and we had one of our best meals at the Kan Zaman restaurant just outside Amman.
-Dead Sea, Petra and the Wadi Rum: We spent two days criss-crossing Jordan. The visits of the old Christian church and its mosaic at Madeba, the castle of Karak and the stop at Mount Nebo were interesting but our dip into the Dead Sea and the mud bath were another highlight of our voyage. It was well worth the few hours we spent there. Now Petra! We enjoyed Petra more than anything else in Jordan – what a site! We have fond memories of the Petra by Night excursion and can recommend it. There is much to see in Petra but one day was fine for us. Luckily we were well rested and in good form because we walked here more than anywhere else during this trip. The views from the Monastery and the surrounding hills is a fair compensation for the arduous climb. The Movenpick hotel is first-class (5*), with the best location just 100 meters from the entrance to the Siq. The excursion in the Wadi Rum was probably too short to do it justice but it was somewhat ‘ordinary’ after seeing the White Desert in Egypt. This is a place to experience more than to visit quickly and our opinion would surely change if we explored it more thoroughly and slowly.
A few additional remarks in closing. We had 3 guides over our stay. They were all very helpful, punctual and well organized. We now appreciate better how important the guide is to the travelling experience. Mohammed, who accompanied us for our Egyptian travels except the Sharm portion, is most knowledgeable and has a great personality, which we tested thoroughly. He made a huge difference! Ahmed (not sure of the spelling), who climbed with us the Mount Sinai (a Bedouin guide is mandatory so tour guides generally do not make the climb) was alert to all our needs and truly wanted everything to be perfect. Lastly Rami, our guide in Jordan, was very professional, well organized but we spent less time with him. We also had very good drivers… and that is most important in those two countries. The driver Ahmed for our jeep excursion in the White Desert and Afram Michael, our driver in Jordan, in particular were top class, made us feel safe and kept us on schedule.
I also want to mention that the Australian couple who joined us to the Nile cruise and the Sharm portion were most pleasant and we got along very well. I hope they agree! They added to the enjoyment of our trip.
This trip in Egypt and Jordan is and will remain I am sure one of the best. We discovered and learned a lot, had the right mix of comfort and adventure and met with the unexpected but in a managed way.
We want to thank you for your help.
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Maria Perez Lee – Egypt – May 2009
Yes, Wing and I arrived safe and sound yes. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and found the accommodations and the food of the highest standards. We also enjoyed the company of Hepa, the tour guide who was like our `governess' during stay at Luxor and for the duration of the cruise. She proved herself to be an exceptionally caring and attentive individual and we felt safe the whole time we were with her. NO problems with any of the pick-ups or drop-offs with any of the guides/drivers too. We trusted A-Z so much that we actually booked another city tour with your company which was handled expertly by another guide by the name of Mona.
Rest assured that you will be hearing from us in the future for any special travel needs! Thanks again for a truly memorable trip!
You and Avril can rest assured that A-Z Travel will be highly recommended to family and friends should the opportunity arise. And I do intent to contact you in the future for my other travel needs. Thanks again for your part in making my 'first' trip to Egypt so memorable and I hope A-Z continues to prosper despite the state of the world's economy right now. Now I have to start accumulating vacation days again :-).
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Victor Feder – Nova Scotia – Vacation Planning – May 2009
The itinerary was great with good balanced use of our times. The reservations worked well and we were pleased with the accommodations. We really enjoyed the trip and your service was very good. I wish I'll have similar services when I travel to other places.
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Dr.Ann Langlois - Palm Beach Atlantic University Group – April 2009
Thank you for a wonderful visit in Egypt. The students and faculty continue to talk about the Egypt Business and Cultural trip as amazing and outstanding. Your efforts in ensuring that the trip ran smoothly and the experience the students gained will be life long memories.
We enjoyed learning first hand experiencing Egyptian business, culture and political environment. Thank you for sharing information on your business and the challenges in doing business in this dynamic and developing country.
On April 28, the students and faculty will host a Global Forum on Egypt. We will share with the university our experiences, the business visits, and warm memories.
I hope to contact you in the summer since Kim and I am interested in writing a case on “Doing Business in Egypt.” We would mirror the case on your professional experience as we discussed during our visit.
Thank you for making this business trips a success. We will be in contact soon.
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Eldon Sheirer – Egypt – April 2009
Had a great time—we are all “templed” and “tombed” out—The trip home was a bit daunting, but it was what it was—Had a great time with our Daughter in Dubai and then Egypt was an experience not to be forgotten—now to get over the jet lag
Thanks to you and your team in Canada and Egypt—they treated us great!
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Donna Preece – Egypt – April 2009
I had a wonderful time. The climb up Mt. Sinai left me with very sore legs but I made it. I just opted out of the tour activities on the following day which was my last in Egypt. I stayed at the hotel and had a massage and sauna and early dinner so I'd be ready for my 5 a,m. pick up the following day. I enjoyed everything.
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Sharon and Margaret Schooley (mother) – Egypt – April 2009
I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip, and appreciated your help, advice, and scheduling. Our accommodations were top quality, and the sightseeing was amazing. The trip exceeded all of our expectations. We especially liked our guide in Cairo, Mona, and our guide in Luxor, Mahmood. Mona was charming, intelligent, and informative, and Mahmood made everything fascinating, and had a lovely personality. All of our guides and drivers were punctual and helpful. The included sightseeing was outstanding. Thank you so much for all your assistance with making our trip such a wonderful experience.
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Manuela Torrijos – Egypt, Syria & Jordan – April 2009
First of all, I would like to thank you for all our effort. We very much enjoyed our trip to Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
I would like to spend some time giving some feedback that I hope it is useful to A-Z Tours.
Syria
We loved the city and the Sheraton hotel was excellent. Our tour guide and the driver were very friendly and made us feel very welcome.
We both felt we should have spent a bit more of time in Damascus. One day didn’t feel enough to get a flavour of this remarkable piece of history. Definitely we will go back!
Jordan
We loved the Jordan leg of the trip and it was all thanks to our driver (Mahmoud) and our guide (Ali), who made our stay very memorable. The country is very beautiful and very welcoming to tourists.
The tour was very well planned and we felt we saw loads of interesting and varied monuments and sites. .
We felt the Movenpicks hotels were a real treat, especially the one in the Dead Sea. Beautiful location, outstanding service and remarkable decoration and architecture.
Egypt
Based on fantastic experience with the guide in Jordan we thought we would have plenty of time to stroll around by ourselves and being able to take it all in. This was not the case in the pyramids.
We have to say, however, that Mona as a guide was very knowledgeable and very passionate about Egyptian History and Culture.
Our guide in Luxor – Answan, Mauwa, was lovely and very knowledgeable. She really made us feel very welcome and helped us a lot understand the history, the culture and modern Egyptian life. We really enjoyed her company and her stories.
The cruise, Sherry Boat, was excellent. The cabins were very clean and were serviced regularly. The boat staff was very professional, very welcoming and the food was outstanding.
We visited the Botanical garden on a felucca, which was really absolutely fantastic, visited the dam and eat in a Nubian restaurant. It was all fantastic, very well planned and organised.
We paid extra for the Abu Simbel trip and I thought it was worth the money although it is a very tiring trip for a mere 1 hour visit. We understand that it is due to local regulations as the convoy has to arrive and leave at certain times. .
On our last day in Aswan we had some spare time so we suggested Mauwa whether we could visit the unfinished obelisk. .
We arrived back to Cairo at 6am and were delighted to see that we were not driven straight to the airport but to a hotel to freshen up. .
In sum, our trip was truly amazing and we are now back to London with a lot of great memories that we will treasure forever.
Big thanks to you for organising everything and to A-Z Tours for making it possible.
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Lourdes Ruiz – Egypt – April 2009
I had a splendid time during the trip. I would really like to thank you for all of your assistance.
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Jroish Kanippilly – Egypt – April 2009
Our trip to Egypt was fabulous. We didn't have any problems anywhere. It was a well organised tour, thanks to you and your team. The weather was also favourable so didn't get tired at all. Our tour guide, Mona, was also good. She was like a teacher to us, explaining everything in detail.
The guide Mohamed was also good. Egypt is such a beautiful place and it’s sad that we couldn't cover the entire Egypt. We had an entirely different picture of Egypt before the visit. The restaurants where we were taken for lunch were all good and we enjoyed the Nile cruise too. All in all it was a memorable trip. Thank you once again for everything you did for us.
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Margaret & Richard Shurack – Egypt – April 2009
Thanks for planning a wonderful trip for us. We enjoyed every minute
Everything went as planned but a few things we might suggest when planning future trips are:
1. At first we were disappointed when we found our trip was not starting in Cairo as originally planned. But after experiencing it, we are so so happy that we did not start in Cairo. After experiencing all the sights we were able to comprehend and appreciate the Cairo museum to the fullest. There is so much "knowledge" that you acquire on tour that it made the museum a complete experience. If we had gone there first we would not have been able to comprehend all it offers.
2. A suggestion: I would recommend staying at a hotel at the airport for the one night if catching an early morning flight. As you know traffic is horrendous in Cairo.
3. When going to the Karnak Temple Sound & Light a flashlight is a must. The walking is difficult in the dark.
We enjoyed all of our guides and drivers. Azizza was inspirational and had a wealth of knowledge on all Egyptian subjects. We were very disappointed that we were only able to have her as a guide for two days .
Thank you again for an exceptional tour. We look forward to booking with you in the future.
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Kathy Jacob – Egypt – March 2009
So I am sending just a quick THANK YOU for now. You have worked very hard and been very patient and I truly appreciate it!!!
The group was and still is very happy about this experience. Hopefully I can write more soon.
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Avis Jones-Porter & Fletcher Porter – Egypt – March 2009
We loved Egypt and enjoyed our trip very much. We agree with all the summation comments sent by Ken and Phyllis and want to emphasize how much we enjoyed Mohamed as our main tour guide. He was very knowledgeable about Egypt's history, answering all our questions. We enjoyed learning from him and appreciated his comments and suggestions, throughout our trip. I was also impressed by how well he spoke English and how timely and organized he was. He made our trip and I would heartily recommend him to others!
The hotel and cruise met our expectations for the "deluxe" category that we booked. We were so busy that we didn't seem to spend much time in the rooms, but appreciated especially the comfortable bed, fridge for keeping our water cold and hearty breakfast, that we had at the Sofitel Sphinx in Cairo. The hotel Isis Island in Aswan was very scenic and we did have a brief moment to enjoy the grounds and pool.
We also added to our trip the Nubian Village in Aswan. It was a fun afternoon and well suited for our small group. The Hot Air Balloon Ride was also an add on and one that I am glad that we did, even though we had to get up early in the morning for it, with a full day of sightseeing still ahead.
Overall there is not much I'd change about our trip.
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Corry and Kelly Lodders – Amsterdam - March 2009
Just wanted to say thank you to you for all your excellent help in regards to our trip to Amsterdam, to visit my ailing and very sick parents.
We are back and really are happy we went. It was very tough to say goodbye and to leave them behind. Mom is still with us but not for long any more. A few surgical procedures have prolonged her life with a few more weeks, which was very nice for us. We could visit and spend some valuable time with her.
The passports came on time and the flights were absolutely beautiful and so was the service.
Therefore thank you once again for all you did, because you made it easier to travel. Just to know that you were available!
Thanks again from the both of us and hopefully when we travel again we will approach you again.
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Evelyn Wakeforde – Previous Client – March 2009
I travelled very successfully with your company in Egypt in 2004 before returning to Australia. I was a single mum travelling in Egypt with my three children and your guides gave me the most wonderful support and journey when I was very nervous taking 3 children alone. I loved the whole process.
Our guides Hassam in Luxor and his scottish wife Lyn. He was so supportive and when my son Michael got sick his wife and he did everything to support us and he took us back to his families home where Lyn kept him safe while we continued our tour of Hatshepsut temple. He bent over backwards to make our journey special.
I also had the immense pleasure of meeting Hamdan who was our guide in Cairo. Again he was so perceptive in his understanding of my needs as a single parent and three young children. He went out of his way to support our trip in Egypt being just as knowledgeable and happy to support my 10 year old fascination of Egypt along with my 16 year old son who just wanted to check out the railway line...nothing was too much trouble and he assisted us, laughed with us, cried with us in a very personal and professional manner that made us befriend him as part of our family immediately.
I most fondly remember him being most concerned that my 10year old daughter Tamara who was riding solo on a camel in the desert in front of the pyramids....(the ultimate dream of mine! to ride in front of the camels on my 40th birthday). I thought he was going to run along beside the camel when she took off so excited behind the camel guide at a gallop. I was still plodding along at a snails pace watching my darling daughter disappearing over a sand hill with a huge smile on her face. It was Hamdan that took a beautiful photo of all four of us sitting astride the camels with the pyramids in the distance. One of my most precious memories with my children.
Please pass on these thanks and stories to Hamdan and Hassam as appropriate.
I have written this to you to thank you and of course thank those wonderful people including Mr Islam who supported our arrivals and departures in our tours from Hurgahda. I often thought how I was an Australian visiting England on a teaching exchange sending an email to Carol in Canada and paying money to meet with unknown people in Egypt to take us on a magical journey. Wow the world works in such mysterious ways. I was so blessed to trust and have such an incredible experience of a lifetime and dream with my children and your wonderful guides.
Again I want to thank your company for the integrity in which u supported me and my beautiful children to witness and experience such joy in Egypt. My children now 14,19 and 22 all still love Egypt and I think it has given them the gift of the travel bug!
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Jan Sumner – Egypt – March 2009
We had a wonderful time. I was afraid we would be joining a large tour group but was so pleasantly surprised when it was just us and our guide and wonderful drivers. Our usual driver in Cairo was the BEST driver. I was never nervous when he was at the wheel, an astonishing feat given the way the driving is in Cairo.
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Manny and Sonia Nijjar – Mexico – March 2009
Hope things are well, just wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed our stay at the Dreams resort in Cancun - it is a great family resort. Everything was great - beach, water, pools, friendly staff and the weather was just right.
Thanks for recommending it and look forward to chatting with you for our next vacation.
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Chantal & Maurice Aucoin – Egypt – March 2009
We had an absolutely wonderful experience during our Egypt trip. We were very well taken care of from the time we arrived until our departure. The guides were knowledgeable and interesting. Considering the jam packed itinerary that was planned for us, we were impressed that it went so well which speaks volumes of how organized A-Z Tours is in planning trips to Egypt. We are extremely pleased with what we saw and experienced in such a short time - we have already recommended the programme to many of our friends.
The staff onboard the Cruise was very friendly and the food was great. When our guide couldn't get a cabin onboard she made arrangements for us to be met by local guides at the ports and this always happened without a hitch. A-Z Tours was prepared for all eventualities and that was very appreciated.
All in all, we were very happy with the programme and we will cherish the memories of our trip. An incredible experience!!!!!
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Phyllis Newkirk – Egypt – March 2009
The trip was wonderful. Our time in Egypt was very busy and full of interesting activities and sights. I will give you some thoughts about our itinerary below. We also returned safely and with no trouble.
The itinerary was almost perfect. We enjoyed almost everything and wished for more time at many sites. There were a few items you might want to consider: The Pharonic Village was not very useful. The place is almost like an amusement park, and we went after we had seen most of the real sites. The one part of the village visit that was somewhat interesting was the Nasser museum.
If we had fully comprehended the length of the drive to St. Catherine’s and Mount Sinai, we may have decided to forego that excursion. The climb and camel ride was fun, the monestary very interesting.
The trip to the Suez Canal two days later was a duplication of much of the trip we had just made, so we toured Islamic Cairo instead and had a wonderful day. The only other “complaint” was the short time allowed us in Abu Simbul, especially after the early and long drive to get there. It was not enough time for us to see everything. If we were to go again, we would ask to spend the night in Abu Simbul and have more time viewing the temples. Everything else was terrific. We added the Red Pyramid on our first day after arriving, and enjoyed that very much. We believe it was worth doing and were glad we had the opportunity to visit that area.
Our main guide was wonderful. Mohamed was very knowledgeable, very organized and interesting. We were fortunate enough to spend 16 or our days with Mohamed. We could not have asked for a better guide. Mona went to the Red Pyramid with us, and again to the Pharonic Village and Cairo Tower on a day when Mohamed second son was born. She did a nice job and we enjoyed her perspective and information. We also had a guide by the name of Sharif who accompanied us to St. Catherine. He was friendly, he was adequate and got the job done, but was not the same quality as Mona and Mohamed. He was just young and a bit unfocused.
We had several drivers, but the most frequent driver was a young man named Ashrof. He did an excellent job and assisted us when appropriate. All drivers were professional and pleasant, but Ashrof was our favorite.
The hotels were all good. St. Catherine’s hotel was the least plush, but was clean the people friendly. The Isis Island in Luxor had free internet in the lobby which was a delight to my husband. Internet connection in the other locations was very expensive so we did not use it. The hotel we spent the most time in was the Sofitel Sphinx in Cairo, and it was very acceptable. They had the best breakfast of all we stayed in, and once we found the quiet side of the hotel was very comfortable.
We got a bit tired of the lunch/dinner buffets. They all tended to be the same fare, whether on the boat or on land. Mixing a few meals in restaurants offering ordered meals was a relief from the routine. On our day in Islamic Cairo we ate lunch at the Koshary Abou Tarek restaurant and found it delightful. Mohamed was careful to take us to restaurants with approval from the Minister of Tourism, but looked for a bit of variety at our request. The only other comment about meals would be about the Nile cruise in Cairo. We enjoyed the cruise, but happened to be one of only a handful of small groups there not affiliated with a huge group of Chinese and Japanese tourists. When the food was served they swarmed the buffet like starvation was just minutes away. We and several other small groups from Europe waited until they had finished seeking our dinner! That is not critical of A-Z, or the cruise ship, just our luck. It does illustrate one of the problems with large groups and trying to feed them in a timely manner.
I am pointing out our few problems, but do not wish to give you the impression we were unhappy with our trip. We truly enjoyed it very much, found everything very well organized, and appreciate your efforts to put together a trip to meet our requests. Thank you. Having the luxury of a very small group of only the four of us was also a bonus. We enjoyed the couple who joined us for two days in Cairo, and they were from our state so we felt like friends. It was a very good trip.
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Toni Visconti – Egypt – February 2009
I just got back today and wanted to give you feedback on our trip. It was terrific. The itinerary was perfect; every guide was a pleasure to have with us. They made changes in schedules for us in Cairo with no problems and no one was late or left us unattended at any time. It would not have been the trip it was without your help.
I would recommend using your company to anyone!!!
The cruise was great as well.
We had the pleasure of going to a free performance of musicians and whirling dervish entertainers in Cairo that was in our guide book, it is put on by the Egyptian Tourism Council, and it was wonderful.
One of the tour guides we had in Luxor was able to get us on a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings for a very inexpensive price; we had an amazing sunrise trip on our last morning.
I can’t rave enough about the guides and drivers you hired for us. They were just wonderful.
Thanks so much again for making our trip a very memorable one.
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Susan Stevenson – Egypt – February 2009
The trip was absolutely fabulous and everything worked so well.
We were particularly impressed with the guides and the drivers. The guide in Cairo [I believe his name is Mohammed] was wonderful, very knowledgeable and helpful. The Cairo driver was just the best. Marwa was wonderful in Luxor and Aswan and the kids just adored her. Everybody was on time and where they were supposed to be for which we were grateful.
The cruise was lovely - my only suggestion would be that they serve Egyptian food rather than more 'English' type food. A minor thing at best.
We had a camera disaster and lost our pictures from Giza so we asked Marwa is there was some place in Aswan that we could ride camels. She arranged for us to visit a Nubian village for the after noon and we had just a marvellous time - what a fun and unexpected adventure.
Thank you so much for your help in arranging this - we all had a wonderful time.
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Rupali & Rohit Vidwans – Egypt – February 2009
The trip went very well, enjoyed every minute of it. The guides were very good. Especially we liked Mona who showed us the Cairo museum. Thanks for making the arrangements for us.
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Robert Goldstone – Egypt – February 2009
When time permits I will offer you a fuller "debriefing", but it was, overall, very good, and essentially as promised by A-Z.
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Richard Stevens – Egypt – February 2009
The trip was fine overall. I have some feedback to pass on to you - mostly positive. I'll try and send it out in the next few days.
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Michelle Tsui – Egypt – February 2009
We did enjoy the trip & we would like to thank for Mr Ahmed's care & follow up every time we arrived at a new city, his call would arrive few minutes right after we met the guide, we appreciate a lot & please send our best regards to him. He assured us we were 100% take cared & we had to behave ourselves as we were under his supervision... (just kidding)
Overall the trip is great except some of the guides we had difficulty to understand the English they spoke. You know people travel to Egypt is to know more about the history of the country it's very important the tourists fully understand the language the guides speak.
We would also like to say thanks to the guide went to Abu Simbul & Luxor with us, she is great & her elaboration is super details & her presentation is very interesting which greatly enhances our curiosity,
Thanks again for the whole crew take caring us when we were in Egypt without which our trip wouldn't be that memorable.
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Maureen Orr & Bob Linden – Egypt - February 2009
Why does the anticipation of the journey always seem so much longer than the actual event? Anyway, we had a wonderful time. All the arrangements were great with pick-ups, deliveries, guided tours, meals, etc. Chrissy and Marlin also enjoyed themselves.
We especially enjoyed Luxor for its history and the temples. The Giza pyramid sound and light show was awesome. Definitely recommend the Dinner Nile Cruise if just to see the "twirling dervish". Just so much of the week had us smiling and listening to the fascinating history of Egypt. Definitely would consider a trip back to the country.
Just a couple comments:
Aswan was just okay but then we get to see huge dams in our country - wonder if Alexandria would have been more interesting?
We especially enjoyed the hotel in Luxor - beautiful setting on the Nile and very nice rooms and restaurants.
Seemed like we weren't quite sure how much to tip and when to tip. We had so many different drivers, guides, managers to get us around and couldn't remember who we actually gave a tip to and who we didn't - I'm sure we got everyone but maybe twice.
Thanks again for arranging everything. It was just what we needed for our work break and an opportunity to meet some of our kids in an interesting part of the world.
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Christina Cyr & Alan Page – Egypt – February 2009
We are back (although a bit tired), and we had a wonderful time. Thanks for taking care of everything and arranging such a great trip for us.
Thank you for being such an excellent guide for our tour through Egypt. We thoroughly enjoyed learning all the information and especially you giving us a "test" at the end!
Attached is a photo of a hieroglyph of a woman nursing a baby, which I was excited to share with my breastfeeding education group.
It was so exciting for us to learn about ancient Egypt and we can't wait to return!
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Bob Goldstone – Egypt – January 2009
Trip was great. We are not "home" as we are now in the south of Spain untill the weekend. Will send you a more detailed debriefing when time permits.
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Dave Cates – Egypt – January 2009
We had a great time in Egypt and were very well taken care of. We particularly enjoyed the upper Egypt portion of the trip.
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Anne Schaefer – Vergilian Group Egypt – January 2009
The trip was quite an experience, an adventure. I enjoyed it very much and we had a most congenial group of people. Our guide was pure gold. He seemed to know absolutely EVERYTHING about Egypt past and present and was of immeasurable help in navigating the in's and out's of everyday life. All the sightseeing and traveling went off without a hitch.
Thank you so very much for all your hard work in putting it all together. I know that I am greatly appreciative and I'm sure all the other tour participants feel the same way. A-Z Tours did an excellent job.
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James Lawrence – Vergilian Group - Egypt – January 2009
I want to congratulate the fine program you presented to your participants. EVERYTHING we did, visited, saw, or ate was exemplary.
Mohamed was a superb guide and knowledgeable Egyptologist. You would do well to keep him in your employ. Khalid and Avril were charming hosts and made us feel very welcome in Egypt. The itinerary we took was in every way edifying. How else can I compliment the wonderful program! Good luck in the future and keep me informed of other Egypt trips that I would enjoy.
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Ron Ross - Tanzanian Safari – January 2009
I haven't been in touch since our return from Africa, but wanted to thank you and your agency for setting up such a wonderful trip.
The Safari staff, especially our guide and friend, Enock, were outstanding! Please pass on to the Simba management how nice a job he does. His love of, and his knowledge of, the amazing wildlife shows through in all he does. He was courteous, friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to do anything to make our trip one of the most memorable we have ever taken.
He is a real asset to the company. If (when) we plan a return trip, we will request him again. I certainly hope they appreciate what a great employee they have.
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Deborah & George Olsen – Vergilian Group - Egypt – January 2009
Overall, we had a great time. We were impressed with the organization and efficiency of A-Z Travel and would recommend the agency to others. Mohamed was an absolutely WONDERFUL guide (superb English and extensive knowledge of every site), and Mona (who guided us through Islamic and Coptic Cairo) was very good. Our guide to St. Catherine was friendly and kind, but his English and general knowledge was not at all at the level as our other guides. All our drivers and guards were very good, and we felt very safe.
I know we were trying to cover a lot of territory in a short amount of time (and there was the unfortunate cancellation of the train to Aswan), but in future, we would not want to begin a trip with two consecutive VERY early mornings (one to catch the plane to Aswan, the other to catch the bus to Abu Simbel). We would also prefer to stay in somewhat more commodious places, though I understand that the budget price of the Vergilian tour made choices limited. The Victoria was fine. We enjoyed our accommodations at St. Catherine Village and were very pleased to be able to visit the monastery (unfortunately it was only open one hour on our second day)
We were impressed with all the staff from A-Z who met us punctually and were always friendly and well organized.
As we anticipated, Beverly Berg’s lectures were excellent, and her advice and guidance always superb. She and Mohamed worked very nicely together.
Thank you for all your assistance with our trip!
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Billy Gwin – Dominican Republic - January 2009
The ground package went very well. I enjoyed myself and the great weather. The property was great. I would definately recommend the property and the GoGo/Prieto staff.
The return trip was terrible - stranded on the ground due to a twin prop plane stuck in the middle of the single runway at POP which delayed me getting into EWR. Coupled with losing my First Class seat from EWR to SEA there was also an overnight stay in freezing weather which I was not prepared for. I know you have nothing to do with the air portion, but thought you should know anyway.
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Valerie Schaire – Egypt – January 2009
The trip was for most part very, very enjoyable. Today and probably most of the week I'll be very busy but by next week I'll send you my detailed comments.
Thanks a lot for these beautiful memories.
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Beverly Berg – Vergilian Group Leader - Egypt – January 2009
The Egypt program went fine. There were no real hitches. It was too bad the sleeper train was cancelled Cairo/Aswan but good that Khaled found flights for us. The participants had a great time, although there was some tourista and a few colds (I remained healthy). Everyone loved the guide, Mohammad. I would definitely recommend doing Egypt through A-Z to others, and would opt to use it again for another Vergilian Program. People liked the accommodations except for the Kaoud hotel in Giza, but I hope that soon your Canada House will be a good alternative in the area. Thanks for all your work making the program happen.
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Delia Kang – Jordan – January 2009
Thank you for recommending us a reliable agency. They provided us with 2 excellent people. Jordan is a tip happy country and we did our best to oblige. (over 150US$ in tips in 3 days)
The food was excellent and in no way did we feel unsafe at any point of the tour. Our guide was an ex-military colonel.
My only gripe is that the (restaurants) do make you order a set meal where ever you go and with the dinar the same as the one euro, you are eating a parisian meal every time.
My only regret was not bringing a solid winter coat thinking desert equalled heat - it was freezing! The night in the desert in Wadi Rum temperatures were near zero. And no hot water at the camp.
But Daniel and I had a great time in this whirlwind trip before whizzing off to Egypt.
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Allison & William Blines – Egypt – January 2009
We had a great trip and returned to Australia just in time for Christmas. Egypt was a highlight as you probably anticipated. We had a great time on the tour. Ashraf was a fantastic guide and was so patient and thoughtful with the children. Ahmed was also great and really looked after us. Nice driver too. The tour was perfect for us and exactly what we had been looking for.
I have a colleague planning a similar trip at about the same time this year, also with 3 children and have recommended the tour and your agency very highly.
The tour was top stuff and we had an amazing time.
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Kathleen Hoenig – Egypt – January 2009
All went well on the trip.
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Stephanie Cini – Egypt - December 2008
It’s been quite some time now that I wanted to send you how our trip to Egypt was.
Well I would like to tell you thanks as you made our dream come true. We had always wanted to go to Egypt and everything so organised so perfect. All the Guides were great and all places we visited were great too.
Thanks a lot for all the help.
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Dilip Rajagopalan – Egypt – January 2009
We had a lovely time in Egypt. Everything went very well - all the arrangements were great. We were very impressed by how A-Z seemed so well organized, and things went so smoothly.
We would be happy to recommend A-Z to other folks interested in traveling to Egypt.
Thanks for all your help.
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A-Z Tours International - Company Profile
Phone: 1-888-682-6449/1-303-670-5640
Fax: (425) 984-7676
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