There is something I find sad about Egypt. You can spend a fortune here, have one of the world’s most famous travel names organise everything down to the last detail, be treated like a VIP from the moment you land – and still go home without ever knowing that the most extraordinary experiences in this country were sitting right beside you the whole time. Not because they were impossible to arrange. But rather because nobody thought to ask you if you wanted them, and you didn’t know to ask for them. In Egypt, much like anywhere else in the world, if you don’t ask, nobody thinks to tell you.
I do. I think to tell you, because I am forever asking for the closed doors myself. I’ve spent my life here asking the questions most visitors never think to ask. What’s behind that locked door? How can I get in there? Why isn’t anyone telling people this exists?
Private Tour. Private Time. Private Visit. Opening Closed Doors. These are NOT the same thing.
- A private tour means your own car and guide instead of a group.
- Private time means a little longer somewhere, or a guardian persuaded to clear a space for a few minutes.
- A private visit is something else entirely – a place normally closed to the public, opened for you alone. There are 4 private visits that are routinely sold as “private visits.” and they are considered trip highlights. Don’t get me wrong here – they are the highlights and well worth the visits. I sell them all the time.
- Opening Closed Doors properly is to create A PRIVATE VISIT BEYOND COMPARE TO THE SITES NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT as well as to the top 4 known sites – a personal experience that is far beyond the reach of most people.
Purpose of This Page: Private Visits to Sites Nobody Even Hears About
Please don’t write and ask me for a list of things you can do. That list, if one were to count it, must run past the thousand mark. I can’t give you THE LIST of things that are possible, because one size does not fit all, and the list of possibilities for you in Egypt goes way beyond the normal must-see sights on everyone’s list. I laugh when people tell me “I’ve done Egypt” not possible, they didn’t even skim the surface. The other remarks that make me actually squirm are “Two days will cover Cairo for you” and ” Skip Cairo, there’s nothing there beyond the pyramids”. OMG!
The Private Visit Is Only Half the Experience
A private visit can, but should not be, just a “wow” add-on to a standard itinerary.
A private visit can, but should not be, the highlight of your time in Egypt.
The other half is what you bring into that private visit with you – built before you ever land in Egypt, and added to at every stage of the journey once you’re here. Someone who walks into Sekhmet’s chapel cold sees a statue in a dark room. Someone who’s already heard her story doesn’t discover her. They recognise her – the way you’d recognise someone you’d been told about your whole life, the instant you finally meet them. And that recognition is where the feeling actually lives. It’s the difference between seeing something and something happening to or for you.
How I Build the Journey Around the Private Visit
When I build your itinerary around one or more private visits, everything else you see along the way is doing its own quiet work. The other sites, the details your guide points out, the stories you hear as you go – none of it is filler. It’s preparation. Whether the private visit falls at the start, the middle, or the end of your trip, by the time you reach it you’re not walking in cold. You’re walking in ready – to feel it, to explore it, to relax into it, to actually be there, instead of standing in a space while someone tries to talk an idea into your head.
That’s what I mean by opening a door properly. Now tell me which doors call to you. if you want to work with me on a really spectacular trip to Egypt.
It’s a lot of questions, I know – but if I’m going to build something worth the name “extraordinary,” I need to actually know what that means to you.