The most interesting excursion is to Luxor!
In April 2012, I was vacationing at the Tree Corners Palmyra Resort in Sharm El Sheikh. I was assisted in organizing excursions by the local Egyptian company "Sinai Voyage", an office on the same street as my hotel, which I am very happy about. the hotel guide has not been to the hotel even once in 2 weeks. The level of service, organization and knowledge of the Russian language in "Sinai Voyage" is very high. For many tourists from Russia they are well known as "Gena and Cheburashka".
It is difficult to surprise me with new impressions, but they succeeded. They offered me a plane trip to Luxor for 1 day. It was a chance to see Karnak Temple as bus travel to Luxor is available only from Hurghada, and I like to relax in Sharm El Sheikh. At 5:00 I was picked up by a minibus from the hotel, in which 2 Russians and the British were already sitting. On the plane, all the other tourists were from other countries. Therefore, we got an almost individual tour to Luxor, only for three Russians, there was also a married couple from the Melia Sharm hotel with me.
A new minibus "Toiyta" with a very polite and cultured driver was waiting for us at Luxor airport. Guide - Mustafa spoke excellent Russian, showed a lot of interesting things and talked about Luxor, ancient Egypt and the current situation. While moving from Karnak Temple to the Valley of the Kings, a peaceful demonstration blocked our way. Local residents, including women, protested against interruptions in the supply of gas and gasoline. They said that they would not let anyone through until they were given gas and gasoline. But 10 minutes later, after a conversation between our guide and a policeman, they let us through, because. none of the locals wants to hinder the development of tourism in Egypt.
After visiting all the historical monuments, according to the program, we were offered a trip to the banana island along the Nile River. We agreed and have no regrets. For the first time I saw how the Egyptians grow fruits: mangoes, guava, figs, tangerines, oranges, grapes, dates and tried bananas freshly plucked from a tree. The water in the Nile River, near Luxor, is blue and very clear, one could swim, but this is not accepted for tourists. From this place to Cairo, it takes 21 days to sail along the river, the Egyptians prefer to travel to the capital of Egypt by plane or train.
In general, a flight on a small Egyptian plane from Sharm El Sheikh to Luxor takes 40 minutes one way. The crew was Egyptian and it was interesting for us to compare with ours. The Egyptians turned out to be great, we took off and landed almost silently, only the sound of the engine said that we were flying. Seats are distributed freely, as in a minibus, i. e. you can sit where you like. This was explained to us by the Chinese (in English), who joyfully sat down with the whole family in our seats, but we were not offended by them and sat near the windows. We were given juice and biscuits during the flight.
When visiting temples and tombs, we were surprisingly lucky everywhere, there were few people and the Egyptian workers managed to tell us something interesting, special, as if something that the guides do not know about. A small tip, of course, was relied on and given to them.
Lunch at the restaurant was also for the three of us, eat as much as you like and it's very tasty. Drinks for a fee - $ 3 - juice or $ 2 - tea or coffee. We flew back on the same plane and at 19:00 were in Sharm El Sheikh.
In terms of the number of impressions, their beauty and unusualness, this was the most amazing trip to Egypt! I recommend everyone to buy such a tour and of course I advise you to do it in the travel agency "Sinai Voyage". There are two of their sites on the Internet, in the "ru" zone and in the "com" zone. I wish you all pleasant travels!
