Overall, Egypt was a wonderful country to visit. Everyone we spoke to (that wasn't out to get money from us) was very friendly, helpful, and pleasant. The sites were magnificent! Now to the not so good part...
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about Egypt, but he needs to have a better attitude and customer service. His interactions with other members of our group were extremely aggressive and abrasive, which felt very awkward and embarrassing.
There were times when I felt I was being swindled out of more money than originally expected. For example, our tour guide offered a camel riding at Giza excursion for a specific price, but when we arrived to the location the next day, he asked for more money than mentioned the night before. Further, for several lunches, the tour guide told us the price per person and he would pool our money for the restaurant. While I can see how this would help expedite the payment process, our drinks were not included - so we had to individually pay for those anyway. Pooling our money to speed up the bill process was moot. We never saw a menu and didn't know how much the food cost, which leads to doubt and uncertainty about whether we're paying a fair price for our meals or if the guide is pocketing any extra.
Moreover, when we went to the tour-sponsored papyrus store, I asked the tour guide if we were allowed to haggle. He said there is no haggling allowed, as the prices are set by the government. I ended up paying a very high price, trusting my tour guide, only to later find out through Google reviews of the store that haggling was a MUST and expected by the store. While the tour guide told us he doesn't accept a commission from the store, as he supposedly asks them to pass it on to the customer as a discount, I'm fairly certain a commission was still earned from the high price I paid. It is a shame when you can't trust the only connection you have to the locals.
On another note, many tour members were frustrated that the tour guide would wait until we arrived at the site to start giving history lessons, in the 45 degree Celsius heat. These history lessons would be better delivered on the air conditioned bus/van enroute to the site than at the site itself. If something must be said at the site, keep it very specific and brief. Many people wanted to spend their time admiring the site and exploring, rather than spending a majority of their time listening to the tour guide's history lesson in the heat.
My family tried our best to enjoy our time in Egypt, even though we were very disappointed with the tour guide.
All of our drivers were excellent. The ship staff on M/S Mariam for the Nile cruise were top notch. ”