Israel & Egypt tour time

[debiintahoe]

We are considering taking the Pacific Princess Holy land cruise in October. I would be traveling with my hubby & 16 year old son. Our main 'goal' is to see Israel & Egypt. My concern is the amount of time it takes to get to each city. Do you feel rushed or is it a proper amount of time. We are considering hiring a guide vs. going with the cruise excurions. Also, is there a going rate for hiring a private guide? Thanks!

[msk1]

We are considering taking the Pacific Princess Holy land cruise in October. I would be traveling with my hubby & 16 year old son. Our main 'goal' is to see Israel & Egypt. My concern is the amount of time it takes to get to each city. Do you feel rushed or is it a proper amount of time. We are considering hiring a guide vs. going with the cruise excurions. Also, is there a going rate for hiring a private guide? Thanks!

 

Hi Debi,

We did this trip last summer. We used Guided Tours Israel with Jerry as our guide. He is an ex-pat from Boston and was very knowledgable. In Egypt we used Ramses Tours, again a terrific experience. Mr. George runs a great operation. We went in July (teachers-limited time) and of course it was H-O-T. You will be sailing in October so it should be beautiful. We never felt rushed--they know the time constraints and really use the time wisely. Enjoy!

 

msk1

[caribill]

Have been to Egypt with Princess, but not Israel.

 

Yes, Cairo and the pyramids is a three hour drive each way from the port.

 

Most people took a two day tour, so they spent only three hours on the road each day.

 

Some people took a one day tour which meant six hours on the road in a single day. Not a worthwhile experience in my view.

 

For a description of the two day tour we took in Egypt, see starting at post #101 at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=29467199

[cdngrl]

hi debintahoe. welcome to cruise critic. :)

 

i cruised to egypt a few octobers ago. the weather was perfect. i felt there was enough time in most ports. getting to the pyramids was the toughest day. its about a 3 and a half hour bus ride each way. a lot (most i think) of the roll call got together and went on an overnight to cairo and the pyramids with nile blue tours. egypt likes its tourists, so there are probably a few good guide choices. what an education for your son!

 

make sure if you do book it, that you join your roll call, you can share private excursions and get to know others on your sailing.

[Pam in CA]

Not sure if this has changed but I've been to Egypt, and Cairo, three times and every time, ALL of the passengers going to Cairo go in a convoy, whether through a ship's tour or independently. So, you don't gain any time by going independently. Many passengers have booked independent tours through Nile Blue Tours and the reviews have been excellent.

 

Whether you have enough time to do everything you'd like to do depends on your interests. I could spend a week in just the Cairo Museum whereas others might prefer to run up, see the Tutankhamen exhibit. Seeing the pyramids is an incredible experience but unless you plan to walk into the pyramid, you might not want to spend hours there. The Sphinx is marvelous and even better if you can walk inside and up close. Not all tours give you enough time to do that. Taking a river cruise on the Nile is interesting but you're really just seeing the modern hotels. It'll still be very hot in Cairo in October. I was last there in mid-October three years ago and it was over 100 degrees. The Cairo Museum is not air conditioned other than in the King Tut exhibit, and you are not allowed to linger there.

 

When you go to Israel, it doesn't take that long to get to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. They're much closer than I'd expected, and Bethlehem is only seven miles away and very visible when you are in Jerusalem.

[AndyTheK]

Living in Israel, I can say that October will have wonderful weather. The summer heat is gone, and the rain doesn't come until mid-to-late November or even later.

 

Israel is a small county - just about about the size and shape of New Jersey. As Pam mentioned, Jerusalem/Bethlehem is about an hour from Ashdod, and the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is just about an hour from Haifa port, but you will probably stop in Nazareth along the way to visit the Church of the Annunciation.

 

I don't specifically know any tour guides (the oards have several recommendations) but in general, Israeli tour guides are very knowledgeable and very personable.

 

One thing to know is that it is impossible to see everything there is to see in two days! I've lived here twenty years and there are places I haven't yet been to!!!

 

Shalom from Tel Aviv. Andy.

[debiintahoe]

Thank you everyone. I should have signed up for cruise critic 10 cruises ago!! I feel much better knowing that we will be able to enjoy our time. I realize that each destination is just a peak of the land & culture.

[havcamwiltravel]

Thank you everyone. I should have signed up for cruise critic 10 cruises ago!! I feel much better knowing that we will be able to enjoy our time. I realize that each destination is just a peak of the land & culture.

My experience is limited to an overland tour, arriving in Cairo by plane, but we had originally booked an overnight excursion from Alexandria until the port visit was cancelled in February. It was to have been with Ramses Tours, who I chose because of all the positive reviews on this site. They provided excellent communications while I was planning with them.

 

On an overnight ship excursion, Ramses said to us that they could cover the Pyramids at Giza, the necropolis at Saqqara, the Museum and the Citadel. They also said that we could cover both the Pyramids at Dahshur and a visit to Memphis instead of the Citadel, if we preferred.

 

We ended up, though, booking our overland tour with Memphis Tours, a company that has been doing tours and ship excursions since 1955. They were terrific. We didn't have a three hour drive to interfere with our itinerary, but in two full days in Cairo, we got to see a great deal and practically everything on our personal wish list. I highly recommend them.

 

Hope this helps. Bon voyage.