I left for Egypt in March 2015, joining the Terra-Trips team for my trip Egypt with French-speaking guide. I arrived at Cairo airport where I was able to buy my Visa and change my currency to Egyptian Pound.
Then, as the men in yellow at the airport saw me alone. They helped me reach the guide (Walid) who was waiting for me outside (because of the crowd. He had not been able to go inside. The man in yellow called him directly on his cell phone then, led me physically to him.
So I met the guide and the one who would be my driver for the week.
They then told mestayed at my hotel (which I had chosen myself). The guide was very reassuring, the driver smiling.
I didn't encounter any difficulties except perhaps a little at the hotel. For my room, but the guide helped me by speaking himself with the hotel receptionist (hotel that I chose myself. I should have asked Amro, manager of Terra-Trips, for advice…!) . In short, everyone was nice to me.
I didn't feel any animosity towards the fact that I was European. (I had also chosen to dress in tunics that hide my buttocks. And therefore to pass more “easily” around the locals).
So I visited Cairo, Alexandria, El-Fayoum, Meidoum, Giza, Sakkara, … I didn't get sick because I only drank bottled water and the food was good and the weather was nice .
I was also able to walk around my hotel area alone and had no problems.
So it was with Amro that I had contact by e-mail I believe from January (two months before the trip) and it was the fact that it was a small local agency that reassured me.
I found the site well done, the choice of circuits interesting and the comments from travelers satisfactory. I especially didn't want to travel with a large organization where the stay is necessarily less flexible than in very small groups.
As soon as the visit to a site was finished, the guide (Walid) called the driver who was coming to meet us. This would not have been possible with a bus. Furthermore, regarding attacks targeting tourists, I was much safer alone with Walid than in a group: I was in Egypt during the attack on the museum in Tunis; I didn't feel any fear since I wasn't connected to the news anyway.
The only ones who scared me were my colleagues. That's all ; The next time I go to a so-called “sensitive” country, I won’t tell them anything.
I therefore paid a deposit of 20% one month before departure by bank transfer plus transfer fees. I was not afraid of any embezzlement due to the fact that very recent comments had been posted by satisfied people.
I paid the rest in cash four days after my arrival. Also, I would have liked to only do the “big sites” but, as Amro told me, I only had 8 days.
If I had the choice to do the trip again then I would do more of the natural sites like the White Desert (I really liked the photos of the landscapes on the site) because the city of Cairo is very crowded and I find that anyway the landscapes more beautiful to see than the concentrations of inhabitants). I will also leave it to Amro to recommend a hotel to me instead of choosing it myself.
So for all these reasons, I advise everyone to travel with Terra-Trips and not to listen to those who have not been there (only if their comments are negative!);
Walid and Amro speak French very well, and financially it is fair.
