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Alexander & Barbara Neureuter – Egypt - November 2005

Yes, we are back safe and sound - and with a lot of great memories! The 3-week trip was a perfect combination of all the ancient sites of Egyptian culture plus a lot of pure relaxation at the Red Sea.

The local Tour guide in Cairo, has done a great job and has perfectly taken care of us. We had some little challenges but those have not really diminished the overall quality of those 3 weeks.  All in all: An unforgettable trip. Thanks again for your coordination and continued support -

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Adrianne Gallarza & Mary Jo McGrath – Egypt - November 2005

I too want to thank you and your team for the outstanding vacation that you made possible for my daughter and me. Every person in your organization was truly excellent. Each step of the way we were guided and taken care of like queens. Your guide should receive an award for being the finest guide in Egypt. Thank you again and we will refer everyone we know to you.

Warm regards,
Mary Jo McGrath Hazen

From the bottom of my heart I could not have imagined a more perfect adventure. I want to thank you and AZ Travel for an amazing vacation. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Cairo we were taken care of as if we were royalty. Not once did I feel scared or uncertain. This I thank you for most, keeping us in the game when many a time we wanted to back out. Our guide was sincerely heaven sent. He took care of all our needs and whims and I would recommend him to anyone who is traveling to Egypt he is the best!
 
Thank you again and much regards,
Adrianne
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Audra & Jeff Mitchell – Egypt – November 2005

We made it home safe and sound.  We had a very nice trip.

I wanted to take the time to tell you what a wonderful host T was. He was so kind and accommodating.  He went above and beyond his job to make sure that the details of our trip were taken care of properly.  He couldn't have been more gracious and welcoming.  Even though he's still learning, it was very comforting to know that he had the impeccable service attitude of making sure the guest was well taken care of and let us know in advance of any itinerary changes and kept us very well informed.  He's a very hard worker. We made good friends with him and hope he gets the chance to visit America and be our guest.

We also found A to be delightful and very gracious.  She did a fine job getting us to the sites and giving us good background information.  She was very pleasant to deal with, and we will keep in touch with her, too.  The restaurants she took us to for lunch were fantastic. Our time in Cairo went very fast and we were well occupied.

Finally, when we got back to Cairo, we were delighted to find Tamer meet us at the airport, but we weren't expecting him because he said he was going out of town.  That was Thursday, a free day.  We told Tamer that we were going to take a taxi to the Pharonic Village, and he wouldn't hear of it.  He arranged for the car, driver and himself to take us there, which took up their entire afternoon.  We told him that was not necessary, but he insisted.  We were overwhelmed with his hospitality.  Please tell Khaled what a wonderful job he had done and how kind and comforting Tamer is.  He's a very hard worker.

Thanks for taking care of the details for us.  The hotels we stayed at were nice.  It was a bit noisy in the Delta Pyramids, but I can't complain because the view was great!  The Luxor hotel was in a great location as well.  I only wish we could have had more time in each day, even just to stop and observe everyday Egypt and take pictures of street scenes.  We really enjoyed our trip.

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Gary Ewell – Egypt – November 2005

The trip in general was great and most enjoyable.  Thanks for the work done in getting it just right.  I appreciate the patience you and Avril showed.

In general, the hotels and the food and the sights and the guides were excellent and helped make our tour most memorable!!
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Mr. & Mrs. Rodriguez – Egypt – November 2005

First, I’d like to say that we had a wonderful time.  Our trip was very interesting and exciting.  Thank you for all of your help.  Our correspondence with you, Avril and Khaled have been wonderful and very pleasant.  Thank you for the email and trying to get a hold of us at Concorde.  Overall, A-Z tours did a nice job.
 
Please know that over all, we were very satisfied with our vacation.  We received the package with the ferry, train and airplane tickets when we arrived and exchanged money.  H did a great job as our tour guide, and was very informative.  We had a great time with him.  The hotels we stayed in were very nice and provided us with excellent service and our cruise ship was very nice.  Thank you again for all the hard work and time that you put into this vacation for us.

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Melissa Annan – Morocco -  November 2005

The trip was great, well exceeded our expectations. Thanks for all your help.

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Heidi Hudson – Europe, Ultimate River Cruise - November 2005

Wow I can't believe I did it and all alone. This felt very safe and secure a way to travel alone. I met some really nice and generous travelers who happily shared time and tables and bus seats with me all along the way. This river cruise is a very civilized way to travel and see some of the beautiful parts of Europe without the packing and unpacking hassles of coach tours. The food was magnificent and the service A+. A mostly  Romanian and very young staff, but charming.

It is not your typical cruise with a million planned activities so if that is what one is expecting they will be disappointed but if you want a sensible relaxing and informative tour with the ability to sit back with tea or a cocktail and watch beautiful scenery go by with live piano music in the background with daily walking tours, this is for you.  Thanks for asking about my trip.

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Dana & Daniel Kaplan – Egypt – November 2005

Daniel and I had a wonderful trip to Egypt.  Thank you so much for all of your help in preparing this trip we will not forget. Everything went off without a hitch and all personnel were very helpful and informative. Thanks again,

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Sarah Ann Kraft – Egypt – October 2005

I just thought that I should write and thank you for the wonderful trip. I loved traveling Egypt it was truly amazing. I wish to shower you in praise for the excellent adventure. Thank you for everything.         

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Larry Cohen – Egypt – October 2005

I had a wonderful time on my trip. It was a very exciting adventure for me. I thought it was very well organized for the most part. I did run into a few organizational problems. Although I was happy with my guides generally,

Nothing takes away from the fact that I had a wonderful trip to Egypt. My dealings with A-Z in Canada (you and Avril) have been excellent. Thank you, Avril. I appreciate your responses. Again, it really was a trip of a lifetime for me, despite the little problems. Thank you.

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Vibeke Hintze – Egypt – October 2005

Thanks for the welcome greeting. Generally we've enjoyed the trip very much and we have learned a lot about both ancient and modern Egypt. 2 of the 3 guides we had were very skilled and were able to answer all our questions!!

The Nile cruise ship was perfect and the food was excellent! The tipping system is – as you yourself have pointed out – totally annoying!  The overall overview down there was OK, picking up and dropping at the hotels etc., the guides were nice and skilled and spoke fairly decent English.

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Theresa & Joe – Italy -  October 2005

Everything was wonderful, trip was unbelievably delightful and the tour guide Morris and bus driver was the best. Thank you for all your help in planning our trip.

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Ryan Fobel – Egypt/Greece/Europe - September 2005

What a long and splendid vacation!  It really was perfect.  Egypt was spectacular, and the two Cosmos trips were amazing.  I would have enough to say to fill several pages so I won't do that.  But just wanted to say thanks for putting  together a fantastic itinerary.  I am very satisfied and will definitely recommend your company to everyone I know who plan to go to Egypt. 
 
It truly was wonderful and the trip of a lifetime.  Greece and the cruise were spectacular and Central Europe was really good.  Blessings,

We had a marvelous time in Egypt! It ended up being a rest for us; we were so well taken care of. We weren't expecting our personal van and guides, but they were wonderful. I did leave comments with them, but will give you feedback as well for future customers. The Siag hotel, although well-situated and definitely with a lovely big pool that we used a lot, was sinking into disrepair.

I loved the Fayyoum Oasis. The Sound and Light Show (which I feared might be tacky) was majestic, informative and awe-inspiring. Our guides were excellent. The boys loved them, and were quite energetic around them – the guides had to put up with a lot! Our driver made me feel safe in Cairo, which says a lot. On the whole, it was a great vacation! Many thanks!

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Geoff & Solange Dobb - Australia to Egypt - May 2005 

Our time in Egypt was really interesting with good memories of the scenic highlights and the well informed tour guides-- especially in Cairo.  The only criticism was the Pyramids Hotel in Cairo which was noisy.  Thanks for a good holiday.. Regards

The trip was fantastic.You’re guide, went out of her way to ensure we had a great time. We feel like we made a great friend in Egypt. In addition, the driver should be sainted.  My father was injured while in Egypt and the driver not only drove us to the hopsital, but he waited for hours for us to finish.  In addition, he drove us to the airport upon departure and made sure we were able to find a wheelchair for my dad once arriving at the airport.  I've traveled around the world, and I've found the people in Egypt to be the nicest I've ever met.  Without A-Z Tours, our trip would certainly have been difficult.  If you ever need a referral, just let me know.

We had a wonderful holiday.  Your company is excellent.  Everything went to plan.  Our main tour guide was excellent at his job.  He was efficient, punctual, pleasant and had extensive knowledge of his subject.  It was a pleasure traveling with him. I hope I get an opportunity to travel with you again and will not hesitate to recommend you to others. Thanking you again for all your help.

Hi Avril - all was great with one exception in Aswan (not sure what happened there but it was only one night so not too bad...) I plan to send you a long email as soon as I get settled back in here at work. I can't say enough great things about guides, and your agent in Luxor . I loved the drivers, and one guide I think is newer so she is still learning and we  didn't connect as well with one guide - not sure why as he was very nice. Outstanding trip. More later. Sue

Follow up:
Avril - feel free to use any or all of this on your website if you wish to. Thank you both so much for all your help in arranging our trip to Egypt. We had a fabulous time. It was for our 20th anniversary and was just as special as we'd hoped it would be. From the door to door service to the guides that made each site more interesting than the last we loved every minute of our two weeks. Special mention to your excellent guides. They also shared personal stories that helped us gain insight into modern day Egyptian culture as well as all their historical knowledge. I don't know how they can keep all those facts straight! I'm afraid we were only so, so students - but they were very patient with us. They even arranged on the boat for a special celebration of our anniversary during dinner. It was certainly above and beyond and made for a very special night.

Loved the Sofitel in Giza. The boat the Nile Story was also outstanding. Great service, new boat and wonderful people. The Sonesta St. George in Luxor was our favorite. Great hotel. Finally the location of the Nile Hilton can't be beat. We spent a lot of time on their roof watching the Nile and the city below. The agent  in Luxor was also great. He managed to get our flight back to Cairo changed to earlier in the day so we didn't have to get into Cairo at 11:30pm... He also made us a CD of Egyptian music that we loved.

Our driver in Luxor and in Cairo were also great. I don't know how they drive in the crazy traffic but it was smooth as could be! Food was great throughout the trip. The guide often brought us juice boxes or other treats as well as we went along. One guide recommended an optional sight that ended up being one of our favorite spots - Medina Habu - the funeral temple of Rameses the III. They were also very flexible and they rearranged things so we could have a day by the pool in Luxor. So many good memories. Thank you again for arranging this wonderful trip for us. You have a great staff of people.

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Debbie Wilmot – Jamaica to Egypt - March 2005

Jackie, my mom and I are safely home after a wonderful time in Egypt. Thanks to you and your team for planning our itinerary and for making our visit a smooth, hassle free, exciting and enjoyable one. 

Thank you for the quick set up of our tour - I know it was last minute - The tour was wonderful and everyone was very helpful - the tour guides excellent pickup meets and drivers as well.  This was a trip of a lifetime for us and you made it all we could ask for.  All accommodations were great and we enjoyed them all as well as our fellow travelers.  We arrived home well and in one piece and look forward to using your servive again in the future.  We will recommend your service to anyone.

I would especially like to mention the guides and agents, with whom we spent the most time.  They could not have been better suited to us.  The guide was professional, always on time, friendly, courteous, helpful to my wife when she was tired.  He told us he had always wantged to be a guide, and it showed in the enthusiasm he had to show us his Cairo and his Egypt.  He listened to our desires to mix with the people of Egypt and took us walking through Isamic Cairo, stopping at a street stand for some fresh sugar cane juice and helped us talk with local Egyptians at a hot sping in Sinai.  He filled our heads with as much as we could hold about Islam toda and yesterday.  Although a practicing Muslim, he knew plenty about Christianity and guided us competently though Coptic Cairo and allowed us time to converse with a Greek Orthodox Priest in Cairo and a Coptic Monk at St Bishoi. He shared his life and family with us over lunch and in the van.

The other guide was equally professional, friendly and courteous.  When we wanted to rearrange the order of seeing things to avoid a free morning in Luxor, he readily responded.  Despite the day lost due to the train accident, he was stll able to get us to all of the sites we were supposed to see.  He told us of his desire to be a professor of Egyptology and we could see his interest in the subject by the way he presented the sites to us.  I hope that some day he will be able to fufill his dream.  He also listened to Linda's desire to see the people and allowed us time to stroll through old Gourna and talk to the people there.  He detected Linda's desire for authentic Egyptian contact and arranged for us to go to the Suhel Island to visit the Nubian Village there instead of the usual tourist stop and we shared tea in the house of one of the boatmen, meeting his wife and children.  He was willing to share at length his Islamic faith with us and we had many interesting discussions so that by the end we felt the truth of his initial statement that he wanted to treat us as family.

The personal interactions with these fine ment were as important to us as the sights in our itinerary.  The driver was a superbly professional driver.  Though quiet, he navigated the Cairo traffic skillfully, never driving aggressively, yielding to others.  He always helped my wife in and out of the van and kept his van spotless.  We always felt safe, even when we knew he must be tired on some of his all day drives.  He was so respectful that he always found ways to leave us with the guide at meals but finally towards the end we felt we were able to convince him that we really wanted to know him too.  We were touched on the last day when he responded to Linda's request to see pictures of his family by bringing his own studio wedding and children's portraits from home and giving them to us.

The other driver was a lot of fun.  He introduced us to Egyptian music by playing CDs on his player.  He als was helpful to Linda in getting in and out of the van.  We really go to know him better during the drive to Hurghada, when he was not overshadowed by the guide being in the van too.  He was so proud to invite us to his flat and show us around.

We didn't spend much time with one of the guides, and there wasn't a lot for him to teach us, since we were going to Bahariya Oasis and the desert, but he also was very friendly and attentive to Linda's desires.  After she mentioned the disappointing trip to the Bedouin tourist village in Hurghada, he arranged for us to go into town one night to hear a Bedouin musician and observe how the locals spent their evenings.  The next evening he took us for a walk through town and invited us for tea and sheesha at a local meeting place.  Incidentally, we had a wonderful time at the oasis and in the desert with our driver.

We had no idea that such natural beauty existed in Egypt and felt fortunate that our schedule was able to be rearranged to permit this  It was our guide who suggested this when he took us to Sakkara.  We also appreciated his willingness to take us to a local market in Fayyoum and stroll with us through it so that we could see how local people shop.  The guide did the same in Luxor, takin g us not to the tourist market but the market the locals go to, and allowing us to walk through rather than taking a carriage as most tourists do.

As you can see, I have talked not so much about the sights in the itinerary as about the experiences we had, and itwas the flexibilty and the perceptiveness of the guides you gave us that allowed this to happen and contributed so much to our enjoyement of Egypt.  Bottom line: we had a great time, as you predicted, and this will be reflected in the evaluation we gave when we left.

As you know we are veryvdetail orineted and thank you and Khaled for bearing with us both before and during our trip.  We really enjoyed our trip, there were some minor issues but these were nothing when compared with the overall experience. We will include A-Z in our consideration for future trips.

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Ron Chaney - Egypt - February 2005

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Sidney Hill – Egypt - January 2005

The trip went fine.  You have an excellent representative in Hurghada. I had a couple of problems which he handled in first-rate fashion.

FYI - Things at the Jasmine Village were perfectly okay, although I would consider it more a 3- than a 4-star place.  That's not intended as any sort of complaint.  You didn't sell it, it's where I wanted to be for my own personal reasons.  It's an old facility and somewhat worn.  That said, they seem to do a good job of keeping it clean and the staff/management are generally very accommodating.

We went with a to z, am back it was great.