Arindam G.
A differentiated experience
We just concluded a 2-week private trip to Egypt with Travelous and cannot say enough about the extraordinary experience. We worked with Chris Bazos to plan our trip and right from the beginning his professionalism, patience and eagerness to help, impressed us. Through numerous emails and phone calls, he guided us (tempering our enthusiasm where necessary) to craft an itinerary that let us cover a great number of sites comfortably. His expertise was particularly handy given family members flew in and out of Egypt at different times and dates! The flexibility with payments, COVID related guarantees and finally the detailed organization of the trip through the Travel app is the best we have seen so far. Finally, the hour long pre-trip conference call, answering all our last minute questions and providing us with vital tips, put us completely at ease. The Travelous team on the ground was fantastic. (We have traveled quite a bit around the world - so we know quality when we see it). From the moment we landed in Cairo till we boarded our flights back home, the team was on top of every move. They proactively managed every aspect of the trip - hotel pick ups, ordering packed lunches for day trips, ensuring timely check-ins for domestic flights and so much more. Hesham, our primary contact in Cairo kept checking with us constantly till we landed back in the US. All of the ground representatives and drivers (Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada) provided excellent service. When it came to the guides, we could not have been happier. Eman (Cairo and Alexandria) and Tarik (Luxor to Aswan) were fabulous. Their knowledge and eagerness to educate us as they walked us through the sites revealed an Egypt that enthralled us. Tarik went out of the way to make last minute changes to the itinerary to make it easier for us to cover Luxor before boarding the cruise. He helped us cover the Aswan High Dam that was not on our itinerary. Similarly, in Cairo, Eman took it upon herself to to show us both Coptic and Islamic Cairo when only Islamic Cairo was in our itinerary. In Alexandria, the guards at the last site - Catacombs - did not believe we covered so many sites in one day - they asked Eman to show the tickets! They never shied away from entertaining any request from us - however much it may have inconvenienced them. For the cruise, we are glad we listened to Chris and stuck to Farah Nile Cruise. It was a terrific experience. The boat, service, hospitality and food were all beyond our expectations. In the end, the professionalism, courtesy and above all the humanity extended to us by all we encountered during this trip has left us deeply grateful. We wish Travelous the very best and will certainly use them again.