Carlos_I, Aug. 2023
The boat was great, food was also pretty good and the temples and places we went as well.
Beware of extra costs, the guide was overall good but like any other i felt he was good with us only because he wanted out money.
As you may know 99% of people in egypt are always trying to scam you and take the most money they can out of tourists, and he was no different.
Talat (the guide) charged us for everything himself: tips for staff and driver ($21), entrance fees ($84) which was convenient. My problem was with the extra activities, which he charged about double of what they normaly cost.
Aswan village to swim in nile river 9/10 $30 usd (original price ??)
Sound and light show 4/10 $35 usd (original price is $20)
Hot air ballon got cancelled, he charged 90usd (not to us because we showed him clearly our booking included it) and the refund was $25 usd (suspicious, probably he gets it at that price, ive heard of people get this at $40 euro). Also, the hot air balloon i was the most excited about, i was really sad when it got cancelled “because of wind” and then got really mad when 1 hour later plenty of balloons did take off.
Overall it was a good trip, he was good with us just felt he was very money driven also by taking us to specific stores and restaurants (tourist traps) to buy some tea, perfumes or stones at expensive prices for him to get a comission in exchange (no proof but no doubts about it).
Still, im pretty sure every guide does the same as him, so this review probably applies to any other boat you go for. My tips would be to make sure whichever booking you make sure it includes hot air balloon (and if it does not to book it by yourself), and to avoid the sound and light show in luxor or do it separately. The river one was fine. Also make sure to leave your honest review at the end, he will try to charm you to leave a 5 star review at the middle of the trip.
He still had a good attitude most times but his english could use some improvements to understand better the explanations.
Extra tips for egypt:
- Dont give money to egyptians on the streets (specially kids), there is no hunger in egypt, you can look it up, government gives them food. If you give money, give to someone who is actually working.
- Always have your guard up of scams. Know 99% of them are money driven.
- You can always negotiate the price of sellers to about 30% of the original price. (Best negotiating tactic is walking away)
- If they tell you “one dollar”, its never one dollar, its just to grab your attention.
Hope this helps you have a better experience in this beautiful country. Special thanks to Alichino, our guide in Cairo who was the only genuine honest man we met, he told us most of this information im sharing with you first and took us to the best places in Cairo.