Dendera and Abydos Temples Day Tour from Luxor

Tour guide and tickets not included in the price even though listing states they are included. Tour operator argued with us saying they weren’t, and they could only provide a guide for one site for an additional $25. Don’t book this tour. We have requested a refund in the middle of the booking. I’m not even sure we will make it to the temple because the driver appears to have turned around and headed back to Luxor.

I booked the most expensive and complete option of this tour: private vehicle and driver for a group of 4 people, for 85€ per person. The description of Viator and my voucher clearly stated that this option included: escort guide from my hotel in Luxor throughout the visit to Abydos and Dendera and all tickets included. However, when starting and asking for the guide, the tour operator (Nile Holiday) told us that that 85€ per person only corresponded to the transfer to the temples, which completely contradicts what was specified in the voucher that I bought. As a result, we had to pay 1,700 Egyptian pounds for the entrance fees to the Dendera temple, when they had to be included. In addition, the itinerary was altered without explanation, making first Dendera and then Abydos, which negatively affected the pace of the excursion. Nor was there a guide accompanying us from Luxor; we had to look for local guides as we went, wasting considerable time. The driver who did not speak English and with whom we could only communicate via whatsapp, moreover, was very unprofessional. We had two near-accident situations and during the visits he constantly pressed us to hurry, to the point that we could not stop to eat. We left at 8:00 in the morning and returned at 20:00, after a long, exhausting and improperly managed day. During the excursion I tried to resolve the situation through Viator support and I keep all WhatsApp conversations with the driver and the operator. I will continue the claim upon returning home to provide all the evidence. This experience does not correspond at all to what was advertised or paid for. I do not recommend this tour or this provider.

We were picked up and everything seemed okay until at the temple the certified Egyptologist guide started talking about some of the gods and I soon realized that he was incorrect about some of the most common names and roles. As we headed to the last temple at Karnak we started heading in the wrong direction and I mentioned that. He told me I am wrong and let him worry about it so I did, just for him to tell me I was right 25min later and we turned around. One we arrived we toured through and when we got to the Osirion he said “do you know about it? Because I do not” and was not able to explain anything about it at all. At the end of this temple he then proceeded to tell us “you know tips were not included in the tour price” (implying we need to tip him afterwards). Then at the end of it he had troubles finding his way back to our hotel. We kindly asked the tour operator for a partial refund and he said that because of gas prices for the trip he made no money and will not be refunding anything at all. Which I find funny because a lot of gas was wasted because the guide got lost driving to Karnak. We were extremely disappointed with this tour. We highly recommend just paying for a driver and googling the stuff you need as you go since it was just as informative.

Having seen and experienced Luxor, Aswan, Memphis, and Giza, Dendera and Abydos are hands down the ones I would go back to again and again! Of course, nothing compares to the great pyramids but temple-wise, Dendera is truly an amazing site. You'll come out with a neck ache from gazing at the ceilings for so long but well worth it. The guide was amazing with insights at each of these places and the driver was super-friendly. One of the best tours I took in Egypt.

Hesham and hamada are very professional. Nice car. Speak very good english and knowledgable. Would definitely recommend.

Thoroughly enjoyed both temples. The colours are amazing in Hathor’s Temple and Temple of Seti. Well worth taking the time to go and visit as well as experiencing Egyptian way of life in drive up to Abydos. Guide was very good and driver took lots of care over numerous speed bumps.

My wife and I took a guided tour of Abydos and Dendera Temples with Nile Holiday from Luxor during a 17-day holiday in Egypt. Our guide, Walid, arrived on time and we were pleased by the modern, clean, comfortable car. Muhammed was a safe driver. Walid spoke good English and was a fountain of knowledge, as well as being a qualified reader of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is a long way to Abydos but the drive was quite interesting, as we saw a lot of the local scenery and local population. Abydos is quite unique and is one of Walid’s favourite Egyptian temples. Although it was about 22 years since our last visit, this was a wonderful refresher and there were a lot of improvements to the site since our last visit. We then headed to Dendera which we had also visited before. Once again, there have been significant improvements to the site, notably cleaning of the ceiling in the first hypostyle hall, which has amazing colours. Other ceilings are due for similar treatment. Although this was a long day, we really enjoyed it and found it very interesting. Highly recommended.

Excellent trip to see these two lesser visited sites. Mahmoud was an extremely knowledgeable guide, doing a particularly good job of explaining the meaning of the hieroglyphs at both sites. And Mahmoud the driver did a fine job of cutting down the long journey time - even negotiating with the police to prevent a long detour. Highly recommended.

We had the most amazing daytrip to Dendera and Abydos thanks to Khaled from Nile travel and his guide Walid. The communication with Khaled was excellent and he answered punctual. The tour itself was a dream. Our driver was super (adel?) and very safe and the car in very good condition. Important when you drive the long distance. For example he didn’t take a phonecall when he was driving. Our guide Walid was the best, he was full of knowledge and explained so much. He was really an educated Egyptologist and hyrogliefic expert. And a very kind person too. This trip was a highlight in our already great holiday in Luxor. We will return and definitely book a trip with Nile travel again. Thank you so much

The long drive was worth it, the temples were amazing and my guide Walid was great. He was a wealth of knowledge and took some great photos for me. Recommend this tour.