Guest Book

I’ve wanted to visit Egypt since before I can remember, but everyone I’ve known who’s been there has told me that due to the hassle from the touts and the difficulties of getting around Cairo and the country, you really need to take a guided tour. I’ve always traveled on my own, and I’d never been part of a tour group for longer than a day trip, so that worried me. But last year I got serious about going, and while researching, stumbled across Mara House, which turned out to have the best itinerary of any tour I’d found. And after contacting Mara, I was amazed to find out it also had the best price, and her blog had answers to every question I had about traveling in Egypt, and many I didn’t know I had.

So this month I took the 9-night Egypt tour package, and also did the optional tours of Coptic Cairo, the day trip to Alexandria, and Abu Simbel. And the whole experience was even better than I’d dreamed, seeing everything I ever wanted to see with guides whose stories and explanations made everything more memorable. My thanks to Ayman who smoothed my arrival in Cairo; Suzy who took us to Coptic Cairo, Giza, and the Egyptian Museum; Mohammed who took us to Alexandria; and Mohammed who guided us around Luxor, on the cruise, and to Abu Simbel. Mara House in Luxor is beautiful—I especially enjoyed the rooftop terrace--and Amr was not only an excellent host who answered every request but was also responsible for the incredible meals.

Special thanks to Ahmed, who not only guided the Medieval Cairo tour, but checked in with us every day in Cairo by phone or in person to make sure everything was going well. Then on my final day, I got to be a test subject as Ahmed did a trial run of the new Royal Cairo tour, which I can heartily recommend. We began at Manial Palace on the island of Roda for a history of the Egyptian royal family. Next we went to the City of the Dead to see two astonishing tombs; one neglected, full of graves, and haunting; the other still beautifully maintained thanks to continual upkeep paid for by a royal abroad who intends to be buried there. We ended up with more royal tombs in the mosques of Sultan Hassan and al-Rifai, which are worth seeing on their own, and since they’re right across from Saladin’s Citadel, Ahmed offered to take me there as well, where I got a last view over Cairo to the pyramids.

I also want to mention the wonderful staff and service at the Steinberger El Tahrir, and aboard the MS Concerto, as well as the friendly drivers. I can’t thank Mara and her colleagues enough, and will be recommending Mara House tours to everyone who wants to explore Egypt.

Traveled solo. Reviewed on TripAdvisor 29 Feb 2020 - Egypt Holidays Package - 9 nights