Hi John,

The 4.45am start is well worth it, the balloon trip is probably the best thing I have ever done & our pilot (Bob) was great. And despite them telling you to wrap up it isn't cold up there at all, even less so if you are in a compartment next to the pilot! You get a nice cup of tea or coffee and a bit of cake as you cross over the nile and you get a big Breakfast box from the MS Tulip with far too much in it to be honest LOL. Anyway John go up in the Balloon and have a great holiday!! Just don't expect good food on the MS Tulip as I am afraid you wont get it! it was passable but only just,except when they did Egyptian food on the Galabaiya night which was delicious.

Enjoy

PS we are not that far from each other I am in Shrewsbury!

Bye for now

Hello John, the balloon trip is a Hot Air Balloon flight over Luxor. If booked, you will have an early morning transfer from your hotel across the Nile to the Westbank to take a 40 minute balloon flight.The price is detailed below in 3 different currencys.

Price: US$195/E£1060/£126 per person

Kind regardsJames, your editor

I am travelling to Egypt on the Nile cruise in April. i have seen a number of posts mentioning a balloon trip - can anyone tell me more? thanks John

Hi Graham

Have also recently done this tour.

The sites were really quite amazing and not to be missed.

I was also concerned about meal arrangements when they were not included, but for us it was really only one night.

The day we arrived was so late that you had to be content with the in flight meal, maybe put some provisions in your luggage. The next evening there were several restaurant options in the hotel, and we shook out into different groups depending on your food preference, After that all meals were included, but do not expect a wonderful culimary experience. Also if you like wine, it had to be bought by the bottle, so you need a friend, or a pen to write your cabin number on the cork, if you are not up to a full bottle at one sitting.

The loacl guide was very knowledgable and very helpful. The days were long. The weather good, exhaustion only set in after I got home.

Hope you enjoy.

SFM

Hi graham,

The mix of ages varied from 26 ish up to 85ish (I think). There were more women than men but we all mixed and no one was left out unless they wanted to be. obviously little groups formed as they do, but even in these the majority of people included everybody. I really wouldn't worry too much just go & have a fabulous time; there will always be someone to chat with, have a beer with etc and of course everyone goes because they are interested in the cultureand history of Egypt. I can't give you my email address here as they wont print it but please do ask James or Olly and they will pass it on! As for not liking heights, I am terrified of them but somehow in a balloon it is different I really can't explain why but it was simply fantastic & well worth the early start, honestly I wouldn't lie to you it really is different up there in a balloon so quiet & peaceful.

Just go for it Graham you wont regret it, honestly!!

Bye for Now

DebbieW

Hello Graham, I communicate to all customers through these community pages and I am taking over for Olly temporarily while he focuses on some other work, so if you have a query you are fine contacting me this way.

Kind regards

James, your editor

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for your post; it's nice to hear from someone who's actually been on this trip. I more or less knew about what you mentioned about the cruise from some research I've done about it on the net. It doesn't really bother me as my main interest in this trip is to see the sites, and the cruise itself is secondary. Also my brother, who has been to Egypt, warned me of the pestering by the locals.

I'm not sure about the balloon trip as I'm not one for heights!

BTW when you were on this trip what sort of age range were your fellow travellers, and was it mostly men or woman or mixed?

Hi, James.

Thanks a lot. What is your email address btw?

Cheers,

Graham

Hi Graham,

I have just returned from this holiday, couple of things you need to be aware of. First of all although they say it's a four night cruise you are actually only cruising up the river nile for a day & half the majority of the time you are moored and usually 3 or 4 a berth, so although you may indeed have a "panoramic" window, for most of the time you are either looking at the dock which is filthy and full of rubbish or the boat moored next to you, depending on which side you are on. The Early starts are well worth putting up with as the sites are amazing, however do be prepared for the amount of crowds at ALL the sites and for the pestering from the market & bazaar traders. As long as you are firm and fair though you will have a fun time. Don't worry about the eating arrangements as the hotel has some very good restaraunts and I am sure your tour manager or local guide ( both of whom- Carole & Rasha- on our tour were fantastic, can't praise either of them enough) you should get two bottles of water a day and any extras you can purchase from the driver (cheaper than the hotel/boat etc) Don't expect first class cuisuine on the Ms Tulip as I am afraid you wont get it! I would highly reccommend the Hot Air balloon trip and with any luck you will get Captain Bob a great pilot (what he did with our balloon was to be seen to be beleived!)do keep things locked away on board the boat!!!! I suspect that this message will be highly summarised/censored so do ask Olly for my e mail address I am happy for you to have it! and just enjoy yourself and have fun It was truly a fantastic holiday!

PS I do hope you get to see the whirling dervish,I still have no idea how A)he walked in a straight line afterwards and B)his head didn't fall off!

Have fun Graham

Debbiew

Hello Graham, during the day time you will be out with your group and there will be opportunities for you to buy some food. Your holiday includes a lot of the main tourist attractions in Egypt and so there will be very nice places for food and drink wherever you travel. Just remember to take your spending money out with you.

I hope this information has been helpful and if you have any further queries then feel free to email me.

Kind regards

James, your editor

Hi,

Thanks a lot for all the info, guys!

What happens about food when we're away from the hotel for most of the day?

Cheers,

Graham