guest blog post by Susan Kaye
Why I choose Real Egypt and Dahabiya Nile Sailing for tours in Egypt
colour and movement in a folk performance in Cairo
As an Australian, perched on the bottom of the globe and surrounded by oceans, traveling to experience more of the world was a dream for me from childhood. I wanted to see and learn more about the places and cultures that I read about or saw on TV and in films, but which seemed so far away and often so different from my own culture.
Over 20 years I travelled solo and on backpacker budgets, before I started looking at small group tours and private tours (just the guide and me) about 8 years ago. I started booking tours mostly to reach places I could not reach on my own due to lack of public transport and because I want to make best use of the time in each place.
When I was a solo traveller I thought that group tours or having my own tour guide were extravagant, but since starting to use some small group tours and private (one-to-one) guides I found that the cost is invariably worthwhile. There is ease of travel, not worrying about the logistics or getting lost, especially in countries where you don’t speak the language.
some highlights from my Dahabiya Nile Sailing tour between Luxor and Aswan https://www.tiktok.com/@mindseyephotographyegypt/video/7459685361615342855
What also quickly became important to me was the knowledge of the guides, who are often passionate about their country or city and not on auto-pilot (a flaw I’ve often observed with guides from international companies leading large tour groups).
I always look beyond the bigger international tour companies. First I choose the country / cities I want to visit, then I look for smaller local, well reviewed companies that specialize in that place. I check reviews on websites and apps such as TripAdvisor and Google Maps, but I also look for reviews of companies in travel groups on social media.
By finding local companies with a record of reliability, high quality service and interesting itineraries, I’ve done excellent, affordable small group and private guided tours in Egypt, Italy, Azores, Lisbon, and Turkey. Some of my “small group tours” ended up being just the guide, one or two other visitors, and me, becoming almost a personal tour. A local tour company may also have more interesting itinerary and accommodation suggestions, simply because this is their home and they know it best.
Even if you think small group tours are your travel style, I found it is worth looking at private, personalized guided tours because often to have a one-to-one guide is not much difference in price, and all my guides have been willing to adjust the tour slightly – even sometimes during the tour, when it was possible – to fit my specific interests.
visiting Kom Ombo temple, photo thanks to our tour guide
A bonus with a small group tour or private guide is that they are often happy to take photos of you. I’m not big on selfies, but I was happy to have my guide take some photos of me when we were in the most memorable places that I wanted to share with family and friends. Services like that are priceless.
Another plus is being able to add extra places to the tour, for example on my Dahabiya Nile Sailing tour, through sister company Real Egypt I added extra days in Aswan to visit more archaeological sites and to learn about Nubian culture, and to visit the temples at Abu Simbel.
Abu Simbel and Aswan
I am concerned about making my travel as ethical as possible. By choosing a local company you know the money you pay is staying in that country and benefiting local communities, as well as employing local guides instead of foreigners who – no matter how long they may have lived there or how many times they have visited – will not have the same deep cultural knowledge that a local can share.
Local companies sometimes have better environmental and ethical policies, because after all it is their country and they want it to be maintained for the future of their people as well as for future tourism. This is something big international companies don’t always care about.
These are some of the reasons I choose Real Egypt and Dahabiya Nile Sailing https://realegypt.com/ , https://dahabiyanilesailing.com/ for travel throughout Egypt, and continue to recommend them to anyone considering a visit to Egypt.
