Osiris ToursReviews of osiristours.com

Osiris Tours exceeded our expectations on all accounts! From initial planning with Mahmoud to the moment we arrived in Cairo, our every need was tended to. Mahmoud (owner of Osiris Tours) promptly answered all our questions creating a custom itinerary to meet our desires. When we wanted to make adjustments before our departure, he quickly accommodated us and offered options for our consideration. When the Israel-Hamas war started, Mahmoud eased our concerns sending us videos of other Osiris travelers currently traveling in Egypt giving us reassurance of conditions in Egypt. Once we arrived in Cairo, the Osiris team met us before immigrations expediting us though the airport process with out a worry for us. Our Cairo tour lead Mina delivered us to our fantastic hotel accommodations getting us checked-in and getting us ready for our first day’s tour in Giza. Our Egyptologist guide, Marwa, was knowledgeable and attentive. She taught us so much about early Egypt during our amazing tours of the Egyptian Museum and the pyramids. She introduced us to Egyptian culture visiting artisans and enjoying the most delicious local food. Marwa is also an artist herself who helped us to take amazing pictures along the way. Next we departed Cairo for the journey south to Abu Simbel. Again, the Osiris airport team moved us easily through the airport for our arrival to Aswan where met Sam our Egyptologist guide and began the the drive to Abu Simbel (the light show at Abu Simbel is a must). We absolutely love Sam who guided us through Abu Simbel, Aswan, Luxor and Dendera! Luxor Temple at night is a must, Nefertari’s tomb is must, Seti I tomb is a must, Dendera Temple is a must (catacombs, crawling into secret chamber, panorama view from up top)… we can go on and on. Sam was incredibly enthusiastic, knowledge, funny, kind and caring, and made us feel completely at ease. Sam made sure we had extra time at any site we desired, and was able to get us special access to certain tombs/temples. We can’t wait to see Sam again on a dig in his village, fingers crossed Sam gets the digging permit!! We can’t say enough positive things about Sam, we consider him part of our family now. Along with Sam, our drivers Ayman (Aswan) and Ahmed (Luxor) were fantastic, expertly navigating busy streets, and always making sure we were comfortable, and had plenty of drinks and snacks. All too soon, it was time to return to Cairo for our last days in Egypt (at least for this visit). Again Osiris made all the arrangements go smoothly. Back in Cairo, Mina worked magic for us getting us the Presidential Suite in the Triumph Luxury Hotel in Cairo! We enjoyed our last day touring in Cairo meeting back up with Marwa and visiting a beautiful palace and grounds and the modern National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. When it was time to depart late that evening the most fantastic airport expeditor moved us quickly through the exit process and got us on our way. All throughout our trip, the Osiris team arranged awesome plush accommodations (The Old Cataract Hotel is Aswan is the best ever and a must stay), expert drivers driving us to all sites, and Egyptologists provided detailed history with exciting ancient stories to keep us enthused and engaged. We felt completely safe throughout our entire journey to Giza, Abu Simbel, Aswan, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Luxor, Dendera and Cairo. The Egyptian people are courteous, kind and welcoming to tourists. Young children especially like speaking with tourists and taking pictures, they are so very sweet. We absolutely love everything Egypt has to offer and are incredibly grateful for such an amazing experience thanks to the expertise and professionalism of Osiris Tours. We look forward to future adventures with Osiris, they are the best!

My husband and I returned from an Osiris tour to Egypt and Jordan in early November. It was a trip of a lifetime and a wonderful experience. We felt very safe in both countries, despite hostilities in the region. In our view, a tour with private guides and drivers is the best way to explore the antiquities while learning about the culture of the countries, and the cost is not much more than small group tour. It also provides a lot of flexibility. Mahmoud Gerbril, founder and President of Osiris personally helped us plan our trip, guiding us through options to assure that we would realize our goals. When we needed to change our itinerary because of a cancelled pre-tour in Israel, he quickly modified our schedule, changing hotel reservations and offering options. The guides Osiris provided in Egypt and Jordan were excellent and we had no trouble understanding them. Sayed Bazuka was our guide throughout Egypt, and he was outstanding! The airport representatives were invaluable, getting us Visas, guiding us through customs and taking care of issues that arose, and we appreciated the helpfulness and safety focus of our drivers. Overall, we had a fabulous experience. We purchased extra tickets that allowed us to climb up inside the Great Pyramid in Giza and to enter some of the more spectacular tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Luxor and it was well worth it!!

We have taken many private tours over the years, and this tour of Egypt and Jordan arranged by Osiris Tours was definitely one of the absolute best! First, on arrival we immediately felt absolutely safe with our private drivers and private guides. They were very thoughtful and protective of us and made sure that we always felt comfortable. Also, every hotel that we stayed in had excellent security and that made us feel even more relaxed during our trip. We never felt insecure or unsafe at all. I would definitely recommend the private tour arrangements if you are at all hesitant about traveling to this region. It is worth it because you will be completely safe and protected throughout your entire journey. When I contacted Mahmoud with an interest in a trip to Egypt and Jordan he was immediately responsive and designed the perfect itinerary for us based on our preferences and what we wanted to see on our 11 day journey. He was very thoughtful in getting everything perfect for us, and was very patient when we had questions or wanted to make changes. Immediately when we arrived we could see the level of organization. Our Osiris representative met us at the airport and whisked us through immigration and got us directly to our driver. Every transfer went like clockwork. They even made sure that we were checked in properly for our transfer flights, and never left us until we were ready to go through security. Our drivers and private guides were all excellent. They were very professional and thoughtful, as well as knowledgable. The guides all had degrees in Egyptology or Egyptian history, or both. They were interactive and highly informative. We learned SO much! Also, they arranged our schedule to fit the times that we wanted to see or do things and made sure to get us to the busier tourist sites before (or after) the often stifling crowds of tourists arrived, making our experience at each place even more memorable and fantastic. Our hotels were all really great and several of the 5 star hotels were absolutely amazing. Again, every hotel had excellent security so we always felt perfectly safe and comfortable. We also appreciated the private portions of our tour, like the private access to King Tut's tomb, the private Nile River felucca boat ride (romantic and stunningly beautiful), and the private desert safari in Wadi Rum. I can't say enough about how appreciative we are to Osiris Tours for this amazing and once in a lifetime experience. We would most definitely schedule a trip through Osiris Tours again, and we will recommend it to our friends!!

Osiris Tours gave us the most special and memorable experience of Egypt. From the initial contact, to the planning, during the trip and afterwards. Everything was meticulously planned. I can't speak highly enough of Mahmoud and his team. Read all the other reviews on TripAdvisor, Google etc (I've posted longer ones elsewhere because Mahmoud and his team deserve the recognition!) to see how much everyone absolutely loved their experience with Osiris Tours.

If I could rate a trip more than a 5, I would. We had a wonderful trip to Egypt and Jordan planned by Osiris. From the moment we got off the plane and were greeted to the exceptional guides, hotels and experiences, everything was perfect. Particularly given the extensive media coverage about the war, it was wonderful to feel safe and supported as we traveled around. The people we met and the things we did here were truly amazing. We are so very glad we came!

Our trip to Morocco was canceled due to the devastating earthquake, but we had babysitters lined up and wanted to travel. I set my sights on Egypt, but time was short to plan — two weeks to be exact. After 12 hours of researching and calls to other travel companies telling me we were too late, Osiris Tours’ owner, Mahmoud, actually picked up the phone when I called. It was Friday evening, his time. He had me submit a request with budget, interests, length, etc and when I woke up Saturday morning, there was an itinerary in my inbox! We exchanged a few more emails over the weekend to select some additional excursions, etc. and by Monday morning, I had a custom, private 12 day tour to Egypt booked! I was so excited he was able to work this magic for us. Then, the time to travel began. Once you step off the plane in Egypt, literally everything is handled for you. Our plane was late and we arrived at 3:00 am in Cairo, but all of the people assisting us had smiles on their faces. In all of the airports, we had someone to walk us through every single step of the way. There is no stress about where you are supposed to go or do. We felt incredibly safe and taken care of. We had an amazing in-country coordinator who met us at the airport to explain how everything was going to work. He then met us a few hours later to introduce us to our private guide (do these people ever sleep?!) to start our trip. He gave us advice on tips (it is a tipping country) and advised us how much Egyptian money to pull out of the ATM. Super helpful… All of our tours included private drivers in spacious vans just for us who were waiting for us with the AC cranked and cold bottled waters. We had two guides — one in Cairo and one who traveled in Upper Egypt with us the entire way (Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbal). Their wealth of knowledge was incredible! I’m an Egyptology nerd, and I can’t believe how much new information I learned. Our guide in the South was like a mini celebrity with everyone saying hi to her and another guide whispered in our ear that we were lucky to have “the best.” We could tell. She knew these places inside and out. She also knew when the cruise ship groups would be arriving so coordinated all of our tours to beat the crowds (and heat as much as possible), which gave us beautiful pictures and short lines, if any. In Cairo, we had the same guide and driver for all of our time, and they were so amazing. Driving in Cairo is a bit of an adventure, but we quickly learned to trust our driver and could relax amongst all the honking. When we returned to Cairo at the end of our trip for our final days, it was like coming home seeing familiar faces. They felt like friends at the end. Besides the people, the accommodations were great, the tours Mahmoud recommended were spot on, and the food they provided was amazing. Even the order of the tours was perfectly orchestrated. If we would have done our itinerary in reverse, I feel like some could have felt like a let down because it just kept getting better and better. (Tip: Nefertari’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens is spectacular and it’s hard to compete after seeing that. Definitely buy all the extra tombs that are recommended and feel free to skip the free ones in the Valley of the Kings if it’s hot and you are tired.) If you are debating between a land only package or cruise, I highly recommend skipping the cruise. We watched the tour groups from the boats and couldn’t imagine moving in large groups at some of these places. So much wasted time waiting and we saw probably 2-3 times more than cruise itineraries would allow. It was a lot of time in the car, but they were so comfortable that we just rested and edited pictures along the way. The resorts we stayed in were fantastic, and we enjoyed massages at the hotel spa one afternoon after touring and ended most our days with a drink in the pool overlooking the Nile. We didn’t miss anything by skipping the cruise, except wasted time. If you are considering booking with Osiris, just do it! You won’t regret it. You will feel like a VIP the entire time. Thank you Mahmoud and team for an absolute trip of a lifetime!

Visiting Egypt has been a dream for a very long time, and this trip was perfect. Mahmoud worked with us, responding to our many questions and ideas, to create our own ideal custom trip. He was very receptive to including those items that were important to us, and removing items that we did not want. Our local guide in Cairo, Sayad, our local guide in Luxor, Sam (Essam), and our Cairo representative Ahmed, were skilled, knowledgable, and made history come alive. Our Cairo driver, Ahmed, was skilled and made us feel safe in what felt to us to be a crazy traffic experience. The vans were clean, roomy, new and the driver always had the perfect AC temperature and cold bottles of water ready. The transitions from airport to hotel to historic sites were seamless. We would recommend Osiris, and all of our guides in Egypt, to anyone that hopes to have a once in a lifetime experience.

Planning for this trip started in Nov/Dec 2019 – well before Covid. Mahmoud Gebril spent about 45 mins on the phone with me understanding our interests, preferred way to travel and physical readiness for the trip and then reverted with an itinerary which was tailor made for us. We placed our deposit in February 2020 for the trip to occur in October 2020. Then, COVID. The trip was rescheduled to April 2021 but we were not yet comfortable traveling that far with COVID lurking so I asked to postpone. Mahmoud was a gentleman and a miracle worker – carrying our deposit forward to September 2023. We can’t thank him enough. As for the trip itself: it was perfection. We travel frequently and have worked with many agents/companies. This trip stands out. Mahmoud Gebril listened carefully to our interests and the trip was planned perfectly to accommodate us. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Cairo, we were in expert hands. Every person we interacted with was a consummate professional – courteous, on time and informative. Egypt is an extremely confusing place and the Osiris team made it easy. They helped us with our entry visas, in the airports, at the hotels and as we made our way around the country. Our guides in Cairo and Upper Egypt were amazingly knowledgeable (Marwa in Cairo and Sam in Upper Egypt). Our drivers were on time and professional. Special shout out to Mina in Cairo, our trip coordinator, for the best surprise of the trip which we will treasure. And to guide extraordinaire, Sam – we will never look at the Horus sculpture we returned home with without thinking of his kindness, sense of fun and knowledge. If you plan to go to Egypt, there is no better choice than Osiris Tours.