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Package Tours vs. Independent
Travel to Egypt:
Which is right for you?
By Jimmy
Dunn
We at Tour Egypt have often promoted independent
travel to Egypt, and we will continue to do so. Particularly for
well-informed and experienced travelers, an independent trip to
Egypt can be fun and fulfilling. But for many visitors, this is
not the best way to visit Egypt, and for many more, it will
certainly not be the least expensive way to view the country. For
the first or second time visitor to Egypt, a guided package tour
will work be much more satisfactory. There are several reasons for
this.
A number of readers have been emailing us who
are trying to make rather complex arrangements for travel to
Egypt. Independently, they are often attempting to include other
areas such as the Holy Land, as well as various European
destinations as part of their itinerary. That is all fine and
good, and tour companies do this all the time, but it can get very
tricky, as well as costly for a private individual.
The typical thinking is that tour companies must
charge a profit for their services, and hence, traveling
independently saves that money which would otherwise end up in the
tour operator's bank account. In many, if not most cases, this is
an incorrect assumption.
Costs and Pricing
Most of the tour and travel companies bringing
tourists to Egypt receive deep discounts from both airlines and
hotels. Often, they may pay as little as half of the going rate
for such services. This is due to the number of bookings they
make, which entitles them to "wholesale" discounts.
Package pricing varies among tour and travel operators, but it is
safe to say that in some instances, a percentage of this savings
is even passed on to tourists, making the trip cheaper then they
could have arranged it themselves.
Once inside Egypt, independent travelers must
always arrange to visit the antiquity sites that they are
interested in seeing. This can be done in one of two ways; either
by going it alone completely and only hiring transport to the
antiquity sites, or by joining a day tour. Particularly from the
standpoint of an inexperienced traveler, hiring the transport to
sites can end up being as expensive or more expensive than a day
tour. In either case, if one wishes to visit a number of antiquity
sites throughout Egypt, day tours or transport can easily add up
to more then the cost of a packaged tour. On top of that, making
all these arrangements can take time out of the trip. One can
easily find oneself spending several weeks in Egypt, but using
several full days to make independent arrangements for various day
tours or transport.
Aggravating this situation is the fact that many
independent arrangements cannot currently be made prior to arrival
in Egypt. Certainly one may arrange day tours prior to the trip,
but transportation to certain locations can be a real problem.
Trains, busses and Red Sea ferries are very difficult to book from
outside of Egypt. Tour and travel companies receive no commission
for simply booking a train, bus or ferry so about the only way for
the independent traveler to make these types of transportation
arrangements is to do so after arrival.
Other Concerns for Independent Travelers
Tour operators often provide somewhat of a
shield for inexperienced travelers from hawkers and other
potential tourist ‘snags’, as well as good advice on many
aspects of the visit, such as help with visas, entertainment
beyond the tour, places to shop, help with taxis and more. In some
highly tourist-oriented areas such as Luxor, this assistance can
be invaluable.
Another aspect of packaged tours is simply the
company of others. Traveling far away from home can be somewhat
lonely, even for couples. Planned tours bring together people,
usually of the same nationality, and very often, with similar
interests and can make a distant trip much more enjoyable.
Finally, even for some experienced travelers,
there are times when only a good tour or travel operator will be
able to efficiently make certain arrangements. For example,
certain areas of Egypt, including some major antiquity sites,
require a special permit that must be arranged days in advance of
the visit. Even if one is a highly experienced traveler, where to
go and how to get these permits would end up being not only a
problem, but a time consuming one as well. In addition, tour and
travel companies often offer opportunities which independent
travelers will never get, such as lectures or visits by famous
Egyptologists or special entertainment (one tour company arranged
dinner for its guests inside the Temple of Luxor).
A Final Word on Independent Travel
In reality, most successful independent
travelers to Egypt have made prior visits to the country. Often,
they are not intent on seeing a wide range of antiquity sites
throughout Egypt, but are rather focusing on specific sites. In
many other instances, they may not be that interested in
antiquities at all, taking instead beach vacations, or
experiencing the culture of Cairo. For those wishing to travel to
Egypt independently, the material presented in Tour Egypt will
enable you to do so, but this material must be studied thoroughly.
I personally love traveling to Egypt independently, and I always
enjoy myself. But, no matter how you choose to see Egypt, please
do go and have fun, as there is no more fabulous place on earth to
visit.
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