Egypt Promotion Travel

We had the most amazing time in Egypt. Ibrahim was able to build a package to suit our itinerary perfectly. We were taken care of by a company called Egypt Promotions. Our guides throughout were fabulous, especially Mohamed for our last two days in Cairo. The drivers and attendants were also faultless. The 4 day boat trip on the Nile was spectacular with all the staff making it so good. We have learned so much in our week and plan to read up some more to better our comprehension of the history of the ancient kings and gods of Egypt.
The only negative comment would be the hotel we stayed in Cairo - Helnan Dreamland - not the accommodation but the staff, especially at the restaurant, who were less than attentive making us get up ourselves to request service and at one time we waited 40 minutes for a bottle of wine because there was no corkscrew to be found. Twice we had restaurant staff knocking at our door at night because they had made mistakes on the bill. We then made a deliberate effort to finalize the account the night before checkout (as we had an early morning pick up) only to be confronted with extra charges, but as we tried to explain we were simply told we could not check out until it was settled and they brought in the heavy weight to make sure we understood!!! I would never recommend this hotel to anyone.

Our tour was the perfect itinerary and number of days for what we were wanting out of our trip to Egypt. We appreciated the help from the Egypt Promotion representative who helped us navigate the Cairo airport quickly. Samara was good about checking in with us through WhatsApp throughout our trip. Our drivers were good in all locations, which was very appreciated in the crazy traffic.

Mohammed was our guide in Cairo and Alexandria and was extremely knowledgeable in the sites we visited, and everything in between, and we learned a lot from him.

Ahmed was our guide during the Nile Cruise and tour stops, and we cannot say enough good things about him! Not only was he extremely knowledgeable, but he was so much fun to tour with, and he made sure our schedule was set up to beat the crowds. He made sure we stayed engaged with everything we learned from temple to temple and offered a lot of fun photo ops to capture our experience. We'd highly recommend him to anyone doing an Egypt tour!

Regarding Egypt Promotion as a tour company, overall our experience was very positive and things were very organized. However, it seemed like many different people were involved at various phases of the tour which didn't really always seem necessary (three different reps from the company who served in a supervisory role as we transitioned to different segments of the tour, separate bag carriers, separate airport helper, separate drivers, etc.) and it just gave us a feeling that we were tipping way more than we expected due to more people being involved. Our preference would be to work with one driver, one tour guide, and one company representative for the duration of the tour.

My extraordinary, solo, three-week trip to Egypt and Petra fulfilled a life-long dream. KimKim’s agents helped make this a fabulous, stress-free adventure every step of the way. My guides, including Mahmoud Gawish, Mohamed Kamal, “Jimmy” and others were all knowledgeable, thoughtful gentlemen. The drivers, including Said in Cairo, “Mr. Ferrari” and Shadi in Jordan, and private car were all top-notch. Multiple airport transfers were incredibly smooth. I may have forgotten some of the others who helped make me feel so welcome, cared-for and well informed. The Egypt agent, Lareine, was always responsive, helping me tailor the trip, choose congenial accommodations, answering questions and helping with itinerary tweaks during my trip. I am so glad I saw some places that others sometimes miss, such as the tomb of Seti I and the stunning temples of Abydos and Dendera. It was all magnificent. Thanks so much to all.

Our trip to Egypt was amazing. Our guides, Omar and Ahmed, were knowledgeable and friendly. They catered to our needs, making sure we comfortable and seeing the sights we wanted to see. Beth and I truly enjoyed our time with them. Mr. Sabry and Mr. Said were a huge help organizing local trips and upgrading our accommodations.
The food and accommodations were first class. The Nile River trip was relaxing and the ship's crew took good care of us.
One of our favorite restaurants was the Valley of the Kings. We went twice.
The Pyramids and the museums were amazing but the Temple at Abu Simbel and the balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and Queens should not be missed.
I might add that we felt very safe in Egypt. I would gladly go back.

Activity Reviews

Explore lost city of Petra and overnight in Wadi Rum

Egypt

If you ever need to feel like Indiana Jones, this is the place. It was one of the surprises of the trip, as it exceeded our expectations. Petra is a place you need to see. The H Luxury hotel is a great place to stay.

Quality of Experience

Food

H Luxury hotel's food was first class. The wait staff was very attentive.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rasheed was our driver. He made sure we got to places on time. He also made sure we were comfortable.

Transport

Grand Egyptian Museum tour to the grand hall & commercial area

Cairo

The Grand Museum will be a must see once it fully opens. It is an architectural marvel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day tour to visit Pyramids and Sphinx & Camel Ride

Cairo

Can't go to Egypt without seeing the pyramids. Definitely worth it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day tour to visit Old Egyptian Museum, Citadel of Salah El-Din & Old Cairo

Cairo

Another great day. The museum has more items than can be seen in one day. King Tut exhibition lived up to its reputation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cruise disembarkation- Visit Abu Simbel temple & overnight at the hotel

Egypt

Our one-night stay at Seti Abu Simbel Lake Resort was pleasant. The hotel was lovely, and the highlight was visiting the Abu Simbel temple. We enjoyed the light show in the evening, which was a memorable experience.

Quality of Experience

The light show

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day tour at the West bank (Kings, Queens, Hatshepsut, Memnon, Ramsseum & Habu) - Nile Cruise

Luxor

Our Nile River cruise experience was wonderful. The boat may have been a bit older, but the crew was fantastic, and the food was excellent. We have been upgraded on a suite. We felt incredibly safe and well taken care of during our time on the cruise.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Arrival Luxor- East Bank tour

Luxor

The Sofitel Winter Palace in Luxor was a beautiful hotel with a lot of history. The accommodations were comfortable, and the service was top-notch. Our visit to Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple was a highlight of our stay.

Wadi Rum desert tour - Overnight at the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

Our stay at Kempinski Ishtar Dead Sea Resort was incredible. The resort was beautiful, and the location by the Dead Sea was stunning. We had a relaxing time and wished we could have stayed longer to enjoy the spa and the surroundings.

Quality of Experience

When you initiate a travel plan with Kimkim, the company will assign you to a local agency who makes all the travel arrangements for you. The price was steep and was a black box, there was no breakdown when I asked for it. I should have stopped by this hint.

The agency works with certain hotels that give them an agency rate that’s lower than the consumer rate. They put me in fairmont, an Arab owned establishment. The problem was that they have a party every other night hosted by the Arabian Club/ casino (yes hotel has a casino) until 3 am. The noise could be heard from the highest floor of hotel(20th). For the Cairo Representative he was very nice but didn’t speak much English. I was a little devastated by the difficulties of communication as I just arrived in a foreign country. The tour guides, their English are mostly heavily accented. At the end or middle of the tour days, they take you to commissioned shops for overpriced and roughly made souvenirs (not included in the itinerary, you are on your own to defend from the hard sell ). The extra events are also marked up with a lot of room for the guide/company. For example the hot air balloon at Luxor is marked up very steep, for 140USD per person, if you book through the hot air balloon business directly, you can easily get a quote at 30 USD/person. It is a very dark industry with people who are careless about your wellbeing.

The flight returning home was a breaking point for me. You pay everything with a fat margin but you don’t get the best in line, or not even a professional service. The Egypt agency(Egypt Promotions) was careless as to mistaking the flight times to return home. After the first negotiation, they refused to book the flight for me. They think it is my fought for not checking the travel plan they made. Told me that I should buy another ticket out of my own pocket(3000usd). After desperate attempts to battle with the agency. they were finally able to change the flight for me when they discovered that the airline can put me on the same flight for only 300 usd, a discounted price. (I bought business) Perhaps also fearing that kimkim will no longer send them quality clients. egypt has its enchantment but the business is rotten. During the entire event kimkim did not care to reach me via phone or to apologize.

A dark price breakdown:
I paid kimkim 5000usd for 7days in Egypt, not including flights.
fairmont hotel was 200usd/night on Expedia agency should have better price.
200*4nights=800usd
Tour guide + driver: 64 usd/day*5days=320usd
Movenpick cruise: 400usd/day *3= 1200usd

Total paid: 5000
Total cost from agency: 800+320+1200= 2320
They earned about $2700 from me on this trip.

If I booked on my own I could have stayed at four seasons or at St Regis (best line of hotel in Cairo with much better service and no noise from casino/club) and an upper deck suite at movenpick. And I will still have surplus.

And it is a shame that I had to flight for my ticket back home. I was on the edge of experiencing a full mental breakdown at the airport.
If you decide to travel to Egypt, it’s best to book the hotel by yourself, tours with a local company separately.