Guest Book

"My wife, grown daughter, and I came to Egypt on Mara’s 9 day tour. As you know, the sights and food in Egypt are wonderful; this review will focus on post-Covid concerns you might have. We decided to come despite Covid because we are all vaccinated and Egypt has a low covid prevalence."

We almost missed our flight out of the US because they said our Covid test done on Saturday was too old for our flight on Monday. We had a rapid re-test on Monday am. I would suggest getting tests two days before your flight and then the day before your flight. Get the tests late in the day; for example if your flight leaves at 4pm, get swabbed at 4:30 pm. You want your tests to be as “fresh” as possible.

Mara made sure the Egyptian logistics were all very smooth. The guides (Mohammed Hedar and Mohammed Ahmed) were both very friendly, knowledgeable, and vaccinated. Most of the drivers were also vaccinated. I encouraged the hotel staff to get vaccinated also. We were touring from 9am to 3-5pm every day, after which we were tired and happy.

The Steigenberger hotel in Tahrir Square was modern and clean. It was near great restaurants including Felfala, Abou Tarek (khosary), and El Abd Pastry. The Old Cairo Museum was directly across the street. We walked 20 minutes to the Cairo tower.

We were the first group at Mara House since the pandemic began. As others have noted, the House is not in a scenic or walk-friendly area, but the rooms are huge, comfortable and cool. The chef, Amr, prepares very nice meals. On our free evening Amr arranged a car to take us to the Luxor museum and to watch the sunset from the waterfront.

The Nile cruise was on the Steigenberger Royale ship. It appeared to be the cleanest and newest boat in operation. It was limited to 50% occupancy. The staff did temperature checks, wore masks, etc. I don’t know whether they were vaccinated.

Our family was required to have a new Covid pcr test prior to departure due to regulations in Jordan, our next destination. The guide was very helpful in organizing this. It was pretty expensive but the nice printed documents were helpful in getting through the international flights.

Overall it was a great trip. We had Egypt basically to ourselves! What a great opportunity. I encourage you to email Mara and set up a trip soon before the crowds return.

Travelled as Family. Reviewed on TripAdvisor May 2021 – booked Egypt 9 Nighta Package