Comments From Clients

March 2010

Hello Cecelia 

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you so much for helping with our journey to Egypt. It was truly one of the most transformative, amazing experiences I’ve ever had. I wanted to thank you too for the WONDERFUL gift you gave us from your photographer friend. The pictures were so BEAUTIFUL and truly captured the essence of FRIENDSHIP, SISTERHOOD, and LOVE that we all shared in our journey together.

I hope to one day meet you too – maybe when I come to SA while I’m visiting with Monica.

Take care and many blessings to you!!

Lisa Shields

February 2010

Dear Cecelia

Thank you so much for the wonderful Egypt experience! Thank you too for making special arrangements for Fiona and I to spend the extra day in Cairo - it was greatly appreciated.

I found the trip and the itinerary to be very well planned and organized and in a very professional manner. Fiona is a marvellous tour leader and everything ran like clockwork. It is a real treat to be looked after so diligently and nothing was too much trouble for Fiona. The tour guides, representatives and drivers that you use are of a high calibre and very knowledgeable. I think you have a winning recipe for success in the people you use.

There were so many highlights that it would be difficult to select just one but as I look back on our whirlwind ten days I think for me that Abu Simbel was really special.

I wish you well for the future and hope that you are able to give many more people such a memorable trip to Egypt.

Kind regards 
Carolyn

Carolyn Spence-Ross Executive Assistant to the Managing Director Stryker South Africa (Pty) Ltd Add: 3 Susan Street, Strijdom Park 2194 Postal: Private Bag X4019, Ferndale, 2160 Tel: +27 11 801 2801 Mobile: +27 82 855 0156 Fax : +27 11 792 8849 Email carolyn.spence-ross@stryker.com Website: www.stryker.com

August 2009

Morning Cecelia,

Well, we are back from Egypt and I must say we had a fantastic time! Egypt was quite an experience!! The driving in Cairo especially!

American Express was absolutely fantastic! We were treated like royalty! Amid in particular needs special mention as he was very service orientated. The cruise was stunning. 5 Star all the way. The tour guides in Aswan and Luxor were also fantastic and very knowledgeable. It was quite hot but we survived. The Temples and Pyramids were mind blowing. The only thing that I feel I need to make special mention to my clients is the tipping issue. We found that we had to tip almost everywhere and everyone. Costing us close to R1200.00 each! (This included tipping each guide each day and each driver each day and each porter for both hotels and the cruise, the cruise, paying for the carriage ride, boat ride to Philae Temple, Felluca ride…..) We did not quite expect to tip so much. It was small amounts each time except for the guides and cruise but it all adds up. It would have been okay if we knew what we had to pay upfront but I suppose it was all part of the experience so now at least I know what to advise my clients. I would recommend 2 days in Luxor if my client has time.

A very big thank you to you and American Express for arranging our tour! I will highly recommend the cruise, yourself and American Express to anyone wanting to visit Egypt.

Kind regards,

Suzette Du Bois
Corporate Travel - Consultant
for Wings Corporate Travel (Pty) Ltd

The testimonials below are from travel agents who attended an educational tour to Egypt, from the 11th to the 14th June 2008:

Dear Obeidah and Cecelia, 

Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to visit Egypt. I had a fantastic time. As requested, please find my feedback below. Please take anything harshly said as positive criticism!

FLIGHT: I was impressed with EgyptAir - and no, it was not because I was hit on by one of the stewards - it was generally a nice airline. The hostesses and stewards were very helpful and assisted you where possible.

I do have a complaint about the bathrooms. I used the bathroom in the early hours of the morning and it was a mess. Toilet paper everywhere and it was finished; I would have thought it would be cleaned at least once whilst on board.

Keeping with technology, I think EgyptAir should look at purchasing new aircraft or upgrading their current ones, as it is just an enjoyable thing to have your own TV.

HOTEL: We stayed at the Conrad Cairo. It is a beautiful 5-star hotel. It is well looked after and you do not notice the staff unless you require something. We had a hotel inspection and were showed all the room types, etc., and it is a fantastic hotel for both the business and leisure traveler. If guests are going to use the swimming pool - please advise them that they must have a costume. Men cannot swim in their shorts.

The only complaint was on our first day, someone walked into our room twice without even knocking. It was house keeping, but they should have been told the rooms were occupied.

TRANSFERS: We were escorted around in a luxury air-conditioned bus. The driver was excellent. He knew exactly were everything was and how to get there using the shortest route to bypass the traffic.

The bus also has a toilet as well as two fridges for water - hope all transfers for our general clients will be similar - please advise.

GUIDES: All four guides were very passionate about their country. They knew the answers to all our questions and advised more information so our brains were jam-packed. It was great having them around to show us all the sites and to assist when we needed it - like in the markets.

I hope all the guides Egypt & Beyond use are as informative and helpful. A little advice perhaps - I think it is better if the guides first tell the story of the area whilst in the bus, and then let you wonder around for a while. The reason is being that it is so hot in the sun you are just looking around for shade so you are not really interested in what the guide is saying.

We also spent a lot of time at the papyrus and carpet shops, as well as the market. I thought this was unnecessary as we went to see the tourist attractions to sell to the clients, not to go shopping. It was as if the guides get a percentage of the sales or something so want us to spend more time there - which is great for them, but from an educational point of view, a waste of time which could have been spent perhaps visiting more sites or hotels.

TOURS: WOW WOW WOW! There are no words. The history and culture was amazing. For the Egyptian museum, you must have a guide. We only did the story of Tutankhamun, but the museum is so big, you would need a full day or two there to go through all of the history and still not know it all.

The Sound & Light show was outstanding. It gave you an idea of the story and made the pyramids look beautiful. It showed them off for the truly remarkable wonders they are.

For the pyramids, I am very glad I went so I can tell all my clients. It is nice to know you can see them, but have to pay extra to go inside. A big disappointment was the graffiti on the bricks – but we can’t help that.

EGYPT: I was a little shocked. It is very dirty, and poor - but when we went to the shopping mall, everyone was shopping up a storm and the shops were more expensive than home. When you get past all of that, the people are very, sometimes overly, friendly. They are very hospitable and proud of the country they live in and their religion.

I cant say I will ever go back, unless it is to do a Nile cruise and travel to Sharm or further south. I hope my feedback is ok. Thank you so very much once again. 

Kind travel regards,
MARGO

This was an exceptional Educational and for anyone thinking about going to Egypt, I would highly recommend it, as this is the City of Magic. EgyptAir was very good and although I did not sleep much (due to four guys having overindulged) this Flight was good and the food enjoyable. The attendants were exceptionally friendly and they seemed very much in control.

The aircraft were a little older but were still good. We were met (and assisted) at Cairo Airport by Ashraf from Tour Coordinator Group and Mahmoud, from the Tourist Authority in Egypt. I needed to obtain my visa on arrival, as I had a British passport, and this was done with the minimum of fuss and within five minutes, I had my visa (cost US$20). We were then transferred to the Conrad Cairo Hotel which is lovely and the beds were so comfortable. Also, they have food on hand 24 hours a day. This is centrally situated and overlooks the Nile. Very friendly, comfortable hotel.

We then met our Tour Guide Safaa Abu Shady, who was wonderful and so full of knowledge, she is so enthusiastic about Egypt. We went to the Egyptian Museum where we learned so much, although as much as this was enjoyable, I personally felt that there was so much to take in that I am sure I missed so much. The history is vast and so interesting to listen to.

We visited the following: Khan E-Kalili Bazaar, Islamic Citadel, Memphis and Sakkara Nile cruise and show. A must do - Pyramids and Sphinx; a must see and do - Light and Sound show (which is brilliant); a must see - City Stars Shopping Centre. There is so much history in and around Cairo. I felt very strongly that as this was such a short visit, there was too much emphasis put on shopping. Whilst we all like to shop, my last day and evening was spent in shopping centers, which is a bit much when there is so much to see and do. I would have liked to have seen more of the city, but, unfortunately... this was my last memory. This is a difficult one, I know, as you have to keep everyone happy. On a personal note, I found Cairo to be quite a dirty city. The people are so friendly though, that this pales into significance. It is such a busy city and one that does not sleep. It must be terrifying driving there.!!

All in all, Egypt was lovely and I would highly recommend that you have to visit it at least once in your lifetime, as when you see those pyramids, it is a humbling experience to see and when you think of how they were built, it makes you wonder. It is truly one of the Wonders of the Wonders.

Thank you for allowing me the chance to visit Egypt. I will highly recommend it.

Regards,
Cathryn

I would like to thank you for the chance to share in this educational. It was a wonderful group of people and we all got on very well. Much laughter took place and I believe because of this, it was a successful tour. I loved the tour and it was very well presented and put together. Everything worked like clock work and we were well provided for and looked after. The highlights, of course, had to be the ancient monuments and for me it was seeing the papers from Homers Iliad and of course the face of Tutankhamun in his golden glory.

With kind regards,
D'Leane Richter

A BIG thank you to you for putting together a fantastic educational. I must say it was a whirlwind tour as we tried to do as much as possible in the three days that we were there, which was fantastic.

EgyptAir flight was enjoyable - didn't get much sleep but managed to survive the flight. On arrival in Egypt, we were met by Ashraf from the Tour Coordinator Group and Mahmoud from the Tourist Authority in Egypt.

They assisted us with all the customs and visa formalities. On departure from the Cairo International Airport, we were transferred to the Conrad Cairo Hotel. The Conrad Hotel was absolutely stunning, the staff were very friendly and even assisted us with an early check-in as well as a late check-out on Saturday.

We all met in the hotel lobby where we were introduced to our Tour Coordinator, Safaa Abu Shady. First stop, the Egyptian Museum. Safaa talked about the history of the museum, world's greatest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts, King Tutankhamun, etc.

I must say, Safaa is extremely knowledgable and after doing this for 33 years, she's still as passionate about her job as ever.

We got to see the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar, Islamic Cairo to visit the Citadel Memphis, and Sakkkara Pyramids and Sphinx, including the Sound and Light show, Nile dinner cruise, City Stars Shopping Centre. 

I would definitely recommend Egypt to anyone who has never been. It's definitely one of those destinations you have to visit.

Will definitely go back again. 

Thank you and kind regards,
Fransline Obermeyer

Well, it was unforgettable. My first trip to Egypt (Misr). I cannot begin to explain the feelings I had when I first saw the Nile not even to mention the Pyramids of Giza.

Everything was well planned and the guides were very informative and they made us feel welcome from the word go. Thank you for a wonderful trip!!

Jaco Steyn

For further information about Egypt and available tours, please contact Cecelia or Lindy at the Egypt & Beyond office on tel : 011 678 6165 or 011 678 4777. Fax: 0866 920 305/6. Email : Cecelia@egyptandbeyond.co.za

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