Essential Egypt

Ancient history, endless golden sands and crowded souqs – Egypt is the ultimate destination for any adventurous traveller. This nine-day trip is the perfect mix of blockbuster wonders and intimate moments, with loads of planned activities and plenty of time to wander at your own pace. Your local leader will take you to bucket list icons like the Pyramids of Giza (one of the Seven Wonders of the World) in Cairo and the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, then guide you off the beaten path to eat koshari in a local downtown joint, or into a bazaar to meet a perfume merchant. Kayak along the Nile, spend a night on a traditional felucca under starry skies and drink your body weight in mint tea. The best part? You’ll do it all with like-minded travellers your own age.

• The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation.
• Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available.
• OCCASIONAL ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION
• The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline. On rare occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our usual accommodation. A similar standard of accommodation will be used in these instances.
• ACCOMMODATION STYLE
• Some of the accommodation along the way is basic or simple, three and four-star accommodation in the Middle East (with the exception of Israel)  is often not equal to same-star facilities in some western destinations. Rooms are clean and comfortable, however, you may note some small maintenance issues that have been overlooked, please assist us by bringing these to the attention of your group leader or local representative so that we can follow up with our hosts. Many restaurants and hotels do not serve alcohol for religious reasons or due to local laws. Breakfast is included in 95% or our hotels, pleaser refer to our daily itinerary for meal inclusions.
• TWIN SHARE / MULTI SHARE BASIS
• Accommodation on this trip is on a twin/multi-share basis.
• CHECK-IN TIME
• Throughout the trip, we request that our hotels prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination.  Standard check-in time is 1400 hours.
• PRE/POST TRIP ACCOMMODATION
• If you've purchased pre-trip or post-trip accommodation (subject to availability), you may be required to change rooms from your trip accommodation for these extra nights.
• SHOWERS
• Showers at some hotels only have hot water at peak times (usually morning and evening). Outside of these times, you may need to speak to reception to obtain hot water.
• HEATING AND AIR-CONDITIONING
• As a desert region, this part of the world has extremes of weather. Winter months (approx December to March) can be very cold. All of our hotel accommodation contains suitable bedding, and simple light bedding is provided during camping activities such as an overnight felucca, desert camps or at the Red Sea Beach camp stay. Most of our travellers find the bedding provided here adequate, but for your own comfort and if you are particularly sensitive to the cold, consider bringing your own sleeping bag, thermals, scarf, gloves and a warm jacket. Some of our guesthouses/hotels don't supply heating. In many cases, this would be a major financial and environmental strain on our hotels and the local towns. Summer (approx June to August) can be very hot everywhere we travel, which means that it can be quite uncomfortable for those not used to the heat. Not all our hotels have air-conditioning, and in those that do, it's not always functioning.
• ROOM ISSUES
• If you have any issues with your room, please speak to the hotel and your group leader or local representative right away so that the problem can be addressed without delay.