A day trip to Cairo - Great day out. Long and tiring starting at 3am but so worth it! Fantastic guide around the museum and pyramids and sphinx. Lunch was OK. Managed to fit in a boat trip on the Nile, a visit to a papyrus museum and a perfume shop too.

Dangerous driving but excellent trip once you’re there! - The trip itself, once we were in Cairo, was great & exactly as expected. Went to the pyramids of Giza & sphinx and saw them from 3 different vantage points. Our guide, Adam, was knowledgeable, interested and answered all of our questions. The lunch was a set menu and traditional Egyptian and really good. Be aware - Cairo is pyramids of Giza and sphinx & museum trip. There are other pyramids and sites around Egypt (Luxor is pyramids and valley of the kings etc) so be sure to research and know what you want to see - some people around us seemed disappointed but clearly hasn’t checked properly!!) The communications prior to the trip were a little confusing - 2 people from same company asking for passport copies (don’t worry - they need them for a permit so you have to send) and checking pick up location. I sent clear instructions and WhatsApp location but the driver wasn’t given full info so was at wrong place. Took us almost 50 minutes (at 3am!) to find him when none of the trip phone numbers or contacts were responded too and he obviously didn’t have our contact details to get in contact with us! Once we’d found him we set off. The driving in Egypt is NOT like the UK - our driver drove at 130kmph on all motorways, swerved, was aggressive and often felt quite unsafe. This is fairly common in Egypt but this particular driver was worse than many others we had during our stay. Even on crowded city streets, he tended to drive way too fast, close to other vehicles and swerved a lot. Be prepared for the trip - it’s 5hours + each way so take enough drink and snacks. We took pillows too to sleep on the way. The car stays with you all day so you can leave it in the car during trip. Other than food at lunch, nothing is provided. You can buy water etc at all stops of course. The driver picks you up alone and our had very limited English. The guide joined us once we got to Cairo and stayed with us throughout the day only leaving once we were finished and the drive home started. There are a lot of vendors who will approach to try and sell you souvenirs etc - they’re not too pushy but say a clear ‘no thank you’ and ignore. DO NOT accept gifts or take anything they hand you; you’ve pretty much agreed to a sale and will be tricky to then walk away! The guide is helpful and will check if you want to buy then help with the refusal as needed! This trip does not include entrance into the pyramid - if you want to do that, you would need to tell your guide and be prepared to buy additional ‘add-on’ tickets to do that. Aside from the chambers, there are no hieroglyphics or anything else on walls etc to see inside. After the pyramids, if you’re told the restaurant doesn’t open until midday and you’ve got time to go and look at something else (papyrus factore, silver makers etc), this is just a shop and they are trying to get you to buy something, if you are interested in that, go along and have a look - it’s not pushy and was fine. However, if this is not of interest, be clear and say no and don’t be persuaded by guide etc - just say you’re happy to sit in car (in AC!) and wait…. One guest is a wheelchair user and although this is as wheel chair accessible as Egypt can manage, there were still some steps, inaccessible ramps and very uneven ground. However, the guide, driver and various people at both sites were always quick to help, lift, carry and support as needed. In all, if you’re ready for the mega drive - and Egyptian driving, this is a great trip and really good way to see some utterly awe-inspiring sites and learn a lot from an extremely knowledgeable guide.