What You Don’t See Can Hurt You – Analyse Egypt Tour Websites
Unless you live or work in Egyptian tourism, there’s no way you’d know what to look out for. That’s the truth.
Even smart, seasoned travellers get caught. Some never even realise it — those are the lucky ones. They leave Egypt thinking, “That was lovely,” unaware they were short-changed.
Wouldn’t you rather know before you book?
Today, I compared a handful of Egypt’s top-ranking tour websites — the big, polished names you’ll find at the top of Google. They’re not scams, but the real trick lies in the language: clever wording, soft omissions, and vague descriptions that make it easy to miss what’s really going on.
It hit me just how hard it is to spot the differences — even with a pen and paper. Every site looks similar. I nearly gave up until I turned it all into a spreadsheet… and suddenly, it was crystal clear.
Let me walk you through some of the hidden traps and wordplay I uncovered — and why they matter.
How Many Pages are Needed to Describe One Tour?
Most sites split their info across several sections. Each sounds useful, but this is how the exact details get clouded and buried:
-
Tour Overview / Highlights – sounds like just the top attractions, but may be the full list.
-
Itinerary – full of rich descriptions, but no word to guarantee you’re actually going there, or that everything there, such as entry tickets are included.
-
Full Itinerary – still may skip critical info or hide exclusions. May included references to the guide helping with your free time (selling tours to sites you had thought were included at time of booking. The guide will be able to show you where this was mentioned – but it will be on an obscure page)
-
Inclusions/Exclusions – not as clear-cut as it should be.
-
Essential Info / Before You Go – where key caveats are buried (e.g. “some entry tickets not included”).
To get the full picture, you need to go through every page, in order, and read between the lines.
Language Tricks: What Sounds Great Might Not Be Real
Web content is designed to sell. Descriptive language like:
-
“Explore the area around…”
-
“Enjoy views of…”
-
“You’ll have free time to…”
- “You can chat with your guide on site at the time, how to see…..”
…doesn’t guarantee you’ll enter, explore, or experience the site itself, or maybe it’s an optional extra. You need to look for exact phrases like:
“You will go inside…”
“Includes entry to…”
“Guided visit of…”
If it doesn’t say that, don’t assume it’s included.
⚠️ Words to Watch (And What They Actually Mean)
-
“Almost”, “Depending on conditions”, “If possible” – Means: might not happen
-
“Free day” – Often means: day reserved for selling you optional extras
-
“Free time in the temple” – Translation: you’re on your own
-
“Private Tour” – Can mean: private bus, shared experience
-
“VIP Ticket” – May mean: what should already be standard
🚩 7 Hidden Red Flags in Egypt Tour Packages
1. The Tipping Kitty
Handing over tips in bulk at the start? That’s not normal in Egypt. Tipping is personal and happens after service — not before. When a company handles tips “for your convenience,” it can lead to poor service not just to you at the time but to those ongoing guests following your footsteps with the same company or underpaid workers. Even worse – you can be left wondering why nobody is smiling at you and leave with the wrong impression of Egypt.
2. “All-Inclusive” — But Not Really
“All-inclusive” usually means whatever’s listed under “Included.” But many key experiences — like entering the Great Pyramid or the Valley of the Kings tombs — are suddenly optional or extra, even when listed in the itinerary.
Why? Because not including them makes the base price look cheaper. But by the time you’ve added up the “extras,” it’s no longer a good deal.
3. What Does “Private Tour” Actually Mean?
On many sites, “private tour” doesn’t mean it’s just you and your people. It often means:
-
Shared private bus with strangers
-
Shared guide
-
sites actually clarify when there is a fee for “real” private experience, but this clarification is not in the section it should be.
Look for the fine print on a linked page: “To upgrade to a fully private experience, an extra fee applies.”
4. The VIP Illusion
There’s no official “VIP Ticket” category at most Egyptian sites. Often, a “VIP” label just includes the basics you should get on any tour:
-
Proper tourist class vehicle & driver
-
Egyptologist guide
-
Entry tickets
-
Required permits
Be wary of paying more for what should already be included.
At the moment the most obvious VIP ticket sale is to the GEM and this is done by listing some artifacts that this ticket will get you entry to – how are you to know these artifacts are on view for everyone? Unless it’s a private event or something out of the ordinary I don’t know of anything for VIP ticket at GEM.
If you are going someplace that others are going, it’s not VIP. You should not need a VIP ticket that gets you a specialist guide inside the GEM – any guide that is any good will be interested enough to know all the information himself. Otherwise why is he with you? Have you been given what we call a “transfer” guide as opposed to an egyptologist guide? A transfer guide accompanies tourists from site to site and is not licensed to give information – not likely he knows much anyway.
5. Shopping & Cultural “Experiences”
Phrases like:
-
“Dinner with a local family”
-
“Visit a spice market”
-
“Support a local project”
…often involve commission-based shops or forced tipping. They cut into your real sightseeing time, and can leave you feeling pressured to buy or donate. Remember these are not costing the tour company anything and slotted in to cut back on the expense of taking you to the real sites – as the cost of tours to the real sites keep increasing, I see more and more of these type of visits being slotted in under the guide of cultural experiences, getting to know the locals or sustainable tourism. All fine if that is what you are coming to Egypt for. But it’s not ok if you are coming for a real experience of ancient Egypt.
6. Overstuffed Itineraries
If a single day includes five major sites (e.g., Giza Pyramids, GEM, CIitadel, Old Cairo, Khan el-Khalili), know this: it’s impossible. You’ll either be rushed, exhausted, or skipping things altogether. Be suspicious of anything that looks too packed. Maximum number of sites that can be properly seen in one day is usually 2 – 4 depending on how much there is to see there.
If you want to see how long a tour should take to see a site properly – check where that site is on my full itinerary page for my own 14 night tour and what it is combined with. My tours are full days so if there are only two sites on one day – such as Giza and GEM – then believe me, that is the time you need there.
7. Details Buried in the Fine Print
Want to know what’s really included? I emphasise again that you’ll have to dig through all the pages on a website:
- Tour Details
- Highlights
- Itinerary
- Full Itinerary
-
Essential Info or things to know or how to prepare.
- Before You Go
-
Terms & Conditions
That’s where you’ll find:
-
Entry fees not covered
-
Optional tours inserted mid-itinerary – the ones you thought were included. Or going to the area is included but not entry to the building etc there
-
Transport or hotel downgrades
-
Notes about “flexible schedules” (aka surprises)
Final Advice: Read Between the Lines
Most of the tricks aren’t outright lies — they’re clever omissions. As a native English speaker, even I still missed them when scanning as opposed to focusing on the words in the text. For travellers reading in a second language — or relying on automatic translation — they must be even harder to catch.
If you’re planning a tour of Egypt, take a step back. Read slowly. Question vague phrases. Send an email with your questions to the company or use the chat bot to question deeper as your read – have a pen and paper at hand. And remember: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
If you’re serious about seeing Egypt properly, start with this:
👉 See my side-by-side tour comparison table here
You Might Be Wondering…
If you’ve been reading carefully — or you’ve seen something elsewhere on my site — you might be asking yourself:
“Wait… does she do any of the things she’s warning about?”
It’s a fair question. And instead of making you dig through every page for the answers, here they are — honest, quick, and straight from me:
Do you collect a tipping kitty at the start of the tour?
No. Tipping should happen after a service is completed and should be person to person as is expected by everyone in Egypt. Read here to know everything I have to say about Tipping in Egypt.
Do you include optional extras that turn out to be essential?
No. If a site is listed on the itinerary, the entry fee is included — unless I’ve clearly stated otherwise and explained why, such as the West Bank tour where the government offer 3 extra visits for an increased cost. I leave it to the guest to decided whether or not to avail of the offer and usually they buy the extra tickets with their bank card at the ticket office, with the guide’s assistance. And I always tell them about the option at time of booking and it is clear on my website.
Do you take guests shopping?
Only if they ask or have mentioned to one of us that they want to be sure of having the chance to buy something particular. We never cut a tour short to go shopping. My guides prefer not to do shopping. If someone wants something specific, we’ll help — but it’s always guest-led.
Do you pack too much into a day?
No. I’ve lived in Egypt for over 20 years — I know what’s possible and what leaves people footsore and miserable. My itineraries are realistic and humane. However, I did attempt on my Nov 2024 group trip to make the tour better than 2020 for my guests by including more tours. I never intentionally push too many tours into a section of the day or a full day in order to make room for something non-essential such as shopping.
Do you hide details in fine print or buried pages?
No. I tell you upfront what’s included, what’s not, and how the tour runs. If anything, I over explain. If there’s anything with conditions or special rules, I explain it clearly in my terms and conditions — no buried disclaimers. Plus I continually remind guests in our exchange of emails to please feel free to continue asking any questions that might pop up.
Do you offer real private tours — or just small group tours labelled “private”?
I don’t advertise private tours as standard. Mara House Luxor is a small, personally run hotel with limited accommodation, and most of my guests book their tours directly with me. If others staying at Mara House want to do the same tour on the same day, we simply go together. The atmosphere here is warm and family-like, and guests enjoy sharing the experience. This is also environmentally friendly, energy saving and it keeps the cost down when it comes to Private Visits to sites (which is prohibitively expensive for most tourists) Check here to be sure you spot the difference between Private Visits and Private Tours. offered in Egypt?
Many of my visitors are returning guests or have come through word-of-mouth, so the shared dynamic is rarely an issue. That said, if someone specifically requests a private tour — or it’s a family with children who would be more comfortable going alone — I make those arrangements.
In high season, or if I need to bring in a guide from outside my usual team to provide a private tour, there may be an extra cost, and that will always be made clear up front. A private tour truly means just you and your travel companions — no one else joining in.
Any group tours which I also lead myself are clearly labelled and always capped at 15 people. The number of people from Mara House going on the same tour on any given day is usually 4 – 6 people.
Do you advertise “VIP tours” that offer nothing extra?
No. I don’t use “VIP” as a label to inflate prices. All my offers are VIP offers – all my guests are important and deserve to experience the best at all times. I offer unique experiences — like private visits inside monuments — and I explain exactly what makes them special, what they include, and what they cost.
Do you name the hotels and cruise boats upfront?
Not on the website but in personal emails, when working out the details of a booking, I do. When booking hotels or boats for guests or groups I provide the names and passport copies of the guests to the hotel or boat so the booking is locked in and would only be changed later if something went wrong.
Do you ever use overnight trains instead of flights?
No. Nor do I recommend them to my guests because I don’t think the possible savings are worth the exhaustion. My tours are designed for comfort, not cutting corners.
Do you inflate the quality of meals or activities like “lunch with a local family”?
No. I don’t pad the itinerary with fillers. If something is in the itinerary, it’s because it adds genuine value — not because it sounds good in a brochure but costs little or nothing.
Do you recommend local charities to guests or arrange introductions?
Never. The negative possibilities, for the guests, of doing so are too great.
Do your tours always stick to the schedule?
Yes — but this is Egypt, and we are always ready to adapt to circumstances outside our control. When plans need to change, we adapt in real time, and always make sure guests get the full value of what they booked.