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Private Day Tour to El Fayoum & Valley of the Whales from Cairo
4.8
13 Ratings
Cairo
El Fayoum Day Trips and sightseeing from Cairo with Private Guided tours to enjoy a unique visit to El Fayoum major sights, Your gate to the country of mysterious, Egypt .
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Deluxe Tours Egypt - A representative from Deluxe Tours Egypt will pick you up from your Cairo hotel to explore the renowned sites of El Fayoum. The distance from Cairo to Fayoum is approximately 95 km.
- Wadi El-Rayan - The journey from Cairo to Fayoum is around 95 km. Today’s itinerary includes visits to Wadi El Rayan, a Protected Area since 1989. The tour begins at Wadi Hitan Protected Area (Valley of the Whales), located about 90 km from Fayoum. Wadi Rayan features two lakes connected by Egypt’s only waterfalls, created in 1970 by overflow drainage water from Fayoum’s farmlands.
- Valley of the Whales (Wadi Al-Hitan) - Situated within the Protected Area of Wadi El Rayan, Wadi Hitan, or Valley of the Whales, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the discovery of 40 million-year-old whale skeletons. En route to the Wadi El Rayan Waterfalls, you will visit Mudawara Mountain, followed by the Wadi El Rayan Waterfalls. Wadi El Rayan is a natural depression in the western desert.
- Deluxe Tours Egypt - After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Cairo or Giza.
![](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/attractions-splice-spp-720x480/06/6e/dc/6d.jpg)
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Private tour
- Bottled water
- All taxes, fees and handling charges included
- Round-trip private transfer
- Snacks provided
- Lunch included
- All local taxes covered
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Expert Egyptologist guide
- 4X4 Car adventure from El Fayoum to Wadi El Hetan
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Additional Information
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Location
Deluxe Tours Egypt
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(13 Ratings)
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Jpbr
Oct 19, 2023
Wonderful Day in the Desert - For our trip to Fayoum / Wadi al Hitan, my wife and I had the good fortune of working with Aly Elsheemy and his two drivers. Both drivers were excellent: reliable, considerate, and attentive. Mohammed Peugeot transported us at the beginning and ending of our day. We never doubted we were in good hands. Our driver in Fayoum and the desert, Nader, took the 4x4 over dunes and sand drifts, amping up the excitement with music and faster pace when it was obvious we were enjoying ourselves.
Last but not least was Aly himself. It was obvious to us that he took great care to gauge our desires, check in with our comfort level, and make adjustments if necessary. We learned, laughed, and went away with a richer understanding of Egyptian people and history. He did all of this with ample jokes and informative asides. Thank you, Aly. What a wonderful day! We will recommend your services to other Americans hesitant to travel to this part of the world at this time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christinedv4111us
Apr 11, 2023
Fun trip to see whale bones! - Our trip to the Valley of Whales was amazing! Our experienced tour guide, Aly Elsheemy, is an excellent guide. He gave us insights to Egyptian history by making it more understandable. It stood out from other guides. He accommodated our style and is flexible. The trip is long so we thoroughly enjoyed the funny and upbeat conversation we had with Aly and our driver. The Valley of the Whales is a must see location. we had ample time to tour the indoor museum and walk around the open air museum without being rushed. The indoor museum has a short film and many nice exhibits in Arabic and English. On the ride back we had quite an adventure through the desert along with a short stop to see the waterfall. Aly, made sure we were well taken care, checking in with us and finding a rest stop (it is a long ride!). I highly recommend this trip with Aly and our drive, Hang.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pauldp2017
Jan 15, 2023
A perfect day with a perfect guide - This was our first time in Egypt and spending the day with George in the Sahara has officially made us want to plan our next trip back. The desert is incredible and his way of guiding us through the area providing informative explanations while also giving us space to take it all in for ourselves made for the perfect experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yd0325
Dec 6, 2022
had a great day - we had a great day in wadi al hitan and wadi el rayan today.
the guide Aly is very patient and considerate. he satisfied all our needs. in the valley of whales, we spent 1h in the informative museum and 1h outdoor and have seen everything we want. Ali also took care and got rid of the harass from police on the rood.
the drivers were great too. the desert jeep guy was very experienced with driving and knew where to stop for photos. he also played fun arabic music on the way. the magic lake view was fantastic. the other driver for city road part was super nice, considerate and reliable.
all in all, we had a great day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Beccaandjhonny
Sep 17, 2022
Fascinating Fossils - Tour operator was great with communication from time of booking. Our driver / guide Atef was friendly and full of local knowledge on the lengthy drive out to the site.
The Valley of the Whales site itself is awesome - super cool to see fossils where they lay in the amazing desert landscape. Atef allowed us to explore the site at our own pace so we didn’t feel rushed at all.
(NB: The site is quite spread out so bring water & hat/sunscreen)
We mentioned we enjoyed hiking so Atef also took us up the nearby Mudawara Mountain - the view from the top was spectacular.
Overall a super interesting day - a world away from bustling Cairo, highly recommend this trip & this company :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Luis
May 15, 2022
Private Tour on Whales Valley - I arranged with Guide George and everything went according to plan…. including a great dinner near my hotel that was not foreseen in the initial plan.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marioandreano
Mar 13, 2021
Prehistoric Adventure Beyond Our Expectation - The waterfalls and the artificial lake in El Fayoum are nice but the Valley of the Whales is spectacular.
As always Nevin and the driver were Top tour guides and we specifically asked to take this tour with them because they're as good as it gets. Here's a brief summary:
- From Cairo you'll go by a nice highway till the lake and then by 4x4 car to the Oasis where there are the artificial waterfalls and the artificial lake made thousands of years ago.
- Then the real adventure begins when you'll be taken through the desert in order to get to the Valley of the Wales, and this site exceeded our expectations.
If you love deserts, you'll love the panorama, especially since you can walk in the valley moving from one fossil to another. This area used to be deep under water a very long time ago, hence why whale bones have been found (Basilosaurus and many other). The museum here is also very well organized and the 2 Basilosaurus in the middle are outstanding. I recommend spending as much time as you can here because this site is unique.
- afterwards you'll be taken back and on the road there will be PLENTY of places from where you can admire the view and take pictures.
- if you are into Dune Bashing you can do that
- if you are into Sand Boarding you'll get a chance to do that as well
- on the way back you can have a good lunch at a traditional Egyptian restaurant
The Valley of the Whales alone makes the experience worth it, especially if you like deserts and prehistoric creatures.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mjkumar11
Feb 26, 2021
2 - Fayoum is a very nice place to visit, it has more than a lake and you will get Westwood vibes of its desert, the valley of whales is the largest graveyard for whales in the world , if gou are looking for relaxation, adventure Fayoum is the best option you will never regret
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Perrysn033
Feb 25, 2021
Amazing experience - My friend and I had one of the best times on this tour, the tour guide Nevin was amazing and the drivers of the 4x4 were so skilled. Nevin showed us a delicious street food breakfast for the ride there and chatted with us about Egypt during the ride, she’s very knowledgeable. the desert is breathtaking and seeing this bright lake in the middle of a white desert is mind blowing. The waterfall was very pretty and we bought some pottery for a great price at the small market on the outside. The driver took us over rocks and sand dunes and we had so much fun four wheeling and off roading. The valley of the whales was amazing, we did the museum and hiked for about 4 miles seeing all the fossils in the desert. Through the desert they had paths with animal fossils and areas with fossilized mangroves. There was good information in the museum and we had the perfect combination of learning archeology and enjoying nature. On the way back we did a quick sand board detour and the guides helped cater to our interests. They looked at what we liked and tried to focus on that. I can’t wait to come back and do a camping trip out there. I highly recommend this tour to everybody to see a unique spot more popular with locals and a different aspect of Egypt and it’s natural beauty
Review provided by Tripadvisor
111jvp
Nov 22, 2020
Fantastic trip to the desert with overnight stay in a Bedouin camp - I booked an extended tour with overnight stay in a beduin camp and it was fantastic!
On the first day, we visited many different sites, including the valley of whales, watermelon desert, a beautiful cave and an oasis. Since, we needed a 4x4 jeep another guide joined who didn't speak English. Luckily, he could translate everything into English which other tours which we meet on the trip didn't have. Consequently, the other tours missed on all the interesting and knowledgeable information.
During the drive in the desert, we were cruising, power sliding and speeding over the dunes which was sooo much fun!
Overnight, we stayed at a Bedouin camp which was so beautiful and powerful.
He even went the extra mile to get me a Shemagh scarf from a village he first had to find. I saw a Bedouin wearing this scarf and absolutely wanted it! He spared no effort in identifying the village and finding the vendor.
We then visited the magnificent village of Fayoum.
In sum, I can highly recommend the tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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