Ever wondered, what it would be like, to leave behind all the work-stress, the monotonous and mundane life, the hustle-bustle of the city and go back 4500 years to land of Pharaohs and soak in the mesmerizing history and culture.
Well, I experienced exactly that and much more through my unforgettable 5D/4N vacation to the mystic land of EGYPT.
An avid traveller with a penchant for exploring a new country each time, I am glad to mark this beautiful country - Egypt, as my 20th milestone.
This time, my Mom and me, were on the lookout for a safe, splendid, unforgettable and pocket-friendly international vacation package and we finally found exactly that, with Egyptian Dhamaka package, our first ever experience with Thomas Cook.
The Egypt Dhamaka package included:
Return flights via SHJ in Air Arabia with Egypt Visa and transfers to the hotel
3N stay at Mercure Sphinx Hotel, Cairo and 1N stay at Grand Plaza, Alexandria.
Guided group tour in coach.
All meals included with Indian options.
Everything was well taken care of right from when we landed at the Cairo airport.
We were met with the Travco executive before the immigration, who provided us our visas(we had only visa guarantee letter from TC).
• The transfers between airport and hotel, both ways, were very smooth, accompanied by Travco tour mAnasultanger.
• Hotel Mercure Sphinx was excellent with good service and lavish breakfast.
• Unavailability of wi-fi in rooms, was the only concern, but available in the lobby.
• Tour mAnasultangers - Ravi, Travco MAnasultanger Ehab were very professional and efficient. Ravi, especially took care of every minor detail with special attention to everyone, making the trip a smooth and memorable one.
• The local tour guide Mr. Mohamed in Cairo was excellent with great knowledge and patience and with great people mAnasultangement skills. And the bus driver too was very efficient.
• The food at all the restaurants were excellent, catering to the Indian palette.
• Nile cruise was ok, both food and entertainment were bit underwhelming.
We also had the choice of additional options at extra cost like entry inside the pyramid and inside the mummy room @ Egyptian museum.
The only suggestion from my experience would be for a better time mAnasultangement, as we felt some wastage of time, which could have been utilized for rest.
The fourth day was the travel to Alexandria, which is 3 hours by road from Cairo.
• The schedule was hectic, with cruise ending at 11PM previous night and waking up at 5AM for the long travel, which caused nausea and other troubles. So, slightly better planning expected.
• Sightseeing spots included were good and so were the food at all restaurants.
• Stay @ Hotel Grand Plaza was excellent with good breakfast.
• Transfer to airport was well planned and timely, even with the food arranged, as the packed falafels were included.
• Special mention to the Travco tour mAnasultangers - Ehab and his colleague who took care and accompanied us in the airport until the security check was completed.
The trip also came with a pre-tour option in Dubai(4D/3N) which we gladly opted, as this was also one of the places in our visit list.
The Dubai pre-tour package included:
Return flights BLR-SHJ in Air Arabia with Dubai Visa and transfers to the hotel
3N stay at Howard Johnson, Bur Dubai with breakfast and 2 dinner
Dubai City Tour in coach
Desert Safari with BBQ dinner
Our experiences in Dubai, had its pros and cons -
After a safe landing and immigration formalities, we met our Thomas Cook representative outside the Sharjah airport, who well-mAnasultanged the smooth transfer to our hotel in Dubai.
The check-in at the hotel was cumbersome and disappointing, we had an early flight which landed at 06:45, and after reaching the hotel around 09:00, we had to wait more than 2.5 hours for room.
This exhaustion was aggravated by the sleepless night for the early 4 hour flight at 4AM and 1.5 hour road travel to Dubai, so the waiting time was a huge let-down, which can be planned better.
The hotel also asked for extra AED 30 which was not mentioned earlier by Thomas Cook.
The room was good with wifi, but the food service in the hotel was poor and badly mAnasultanged with bad attitude by Thomas Cook Rep(lady).
City tour on the second day was good with knowledgeable guide, covering the relevant places and enriching in the history and culture of the place.
We had the Desert Safari on the third day and was picked up in a jeep which was very congested with over crowding of the vehicle(8 large people) which lacked breathing space.
The BBQ dinner and entertainment were amazing which compensated the unpleasant trip.
The hotel checkout was smooth and we were able to store our luggages in the cloakroom until our transfer back to the airport.
We thoroughly enjoyed and a trip like this is a must for everyone who likes hassle-free and relaxed get-away to an exotic destination.
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- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.