What is difference between a Licensed "A" and Unlicensed Travel Agency in Egypt?
The allowed the capital to get the Licensed "A" is from US$ 300,000 to US$ 5,000,000. The company is classified for outbound and inbound tourism and all other travel related services like Aviation Bookings, Hotels Reservation, Cruises Reservation, Transportation and Guiding Domestically and Internationally. The Ministry of Tourism has applied the condition on all the Category "A" Companies that they must have the business volume of along the year equal to the allowed licensed capital of US$ 5,000,000. The "B" Category companies work for a capital lesser than US$ 300,000. They work in only one activity like transportation or aviation. The "C" Category companies work only for the travel services like hiring guides, renting cars and provide travel information. The allowed capital for them is lesser than US$ 100,000.
Is your Travel Agency licensed?
Our company is classified in the category of Licensed "A" and the allowed licensed capital is US$ 5,000,000.
For how many years have you been in business?
Our company was opened up 09 years ago and the experience of our staff in the filed of tourism industry goes back to 20 year.
Can you provide any references from people that took tours with you?
We cannot send any testimonials due to the privacy of the contacts with our guests. However, there are some testimonials from some of our clients on our company's web site www.egypttravelhub.com/Letter.htm.
Do you have 24 hours/7 days a week contact with your staff through mobile phones during our trip?
Sure, our working staffs have mobile phones and walkie-talkies. Mobile service is available 24 hours in all destinations of Egypt and our staff is in thorough contact with us throughout the period of your trip.
Does your programs start at anytime (flexible) or you do have fixed dates?
We have fixed dates to start the tours, but we also provide flexibility to the client to start his program later in case of the delays in flight or any other mean of transportation or when they want to have some rest.
How much experience & knowledge do your guides have?
Our guides are active, qualified, experienced and informative to deal with the clients in a polite and gentle way and satisfy all their queries.
Do you have your own guides? Does the tour includes visit inside the Great Pyramid?
We have our guides that can converse comfortably in many languages. Normally, we do not include the visit inside the Great Pyramid in our tour and leave the option with the client. The ticket to enter the Great Pyramid is excluded from our packages and we include only the visit fee to the Pyramids area. It has a limited number of tickets in the morning, i.e., 150 tickets only and the same number in the afternoon.
What is the cost of the Tourist Visa?
The actual cost of the Tourist Visa is US$ 15 Per Person plus 5 US$ for the assistance through formalities, i.e., total of US$ 20.
What kind of meals and drinks are included with your package?
Our quotation is always based on bed and breakfast basis in all destinations except the Nile cruises that are on full-board basis. Also, some hotel or resorts in Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh are on half-board basis. Extras like soft drinks, wine, beer etc are excluded.
What is the camera fee and how much does it cost?
As far as video camera is concerned, you have to declare it much in advance and it must be registered on the Passport upon arrival to Egypt. There are fees on the sites for any commercial usage of the video camera. The normal digital normal is allowed.
Do you offer special rates for children? Up to what age?
Yes, less than 12 years old is 50% from the adult price. The children above the age of 12 are considered as adults.
Do children have special rates on the Sleeping Train, Air Plane or Bus?
Yes, there is a special rate for the children less than 12 years old on the Sleeping Trains that cost approximately 18% of the adult price and include 2 meals, i.e., dinner and breakfast. Infants up to the age of 2 years are free of cost. Normally, we reserve the tickets on the first class but there is no special price for the children and there is no meal included in the price.
The flight tickets is subject to change or review according to Egypt fares during different seasons. The fare of the children less than 12 years old is 67 % of the adult fare plus the due taxes.
For the buses, there are no special prices for the children.
How comfortable is the Sleeping train in the 1st Class and the Sleeping Cabin (traveling with children)?
You can check the site of the sleeping train www.sleepingtrains.com.eg.
Can you provide pictures of the features of the Sleeping Train?
You can check the site of the sleeping train www.sleepingtrains.com.eg.
Can you include a bus tour to Abu-Simbel from Aswan? How long will it take and what will be the adult and the children rate round trip? What about Abu Simbel by air?
Yes, we can include the trip to Abu Simbel from Aswan by bus. It takes 03 hours and the cost for the round trip is US$ 60 Per Adult Person and US$ 35 for the child. The price also includes the entrance and guiding fees of the 02 temples. By air fare per person is US$ 170 that includes round air tickets and entrance and guiding fees of the 02 temples and 02 transfers to and from the airport.
What are your payment options and policies?
We accept total payment through a bank transfer from the client's side or at least 50% of the total amount at the time of booking. The rest of the payment will be collected upon arrival to Egypt in cash currency or by the credit card plus additional 3% bank fee on the requested amount. We do not have the online payment by the credit card due to security reasons in Egypt.
Do you offer free upgrades?
It is subject to availability.
How big are your groups? Is there any minimum number of persons to start the tour?
We arrange our offers for either individuals or groups. For the individuals, we arrange their programs with private car and guide.
Can you provide a list of the hotels you are dealing with? Do they have a website?
We deal with all the hotels & Nile cruise according to the client's request. Most of the hotels have their own websites specially the big chains like Hilton, Sheraton, Movenpick and Accor. The 3 Star Hotels are not so luxurious in Egypt as in Europe or America.
What about tipping?
Regarding this point, we would like to clarify that tipping is a familiar and common trend in Egypt. It is to be paid for the people who serve you in every destination during your trip such as the porters in the airport, station, port or in hotels, Nile cruises, drivers etc. So, you can keep aside a sum of I.E. 100 for these people. The tourist guides take an average of US$ 10.00 per day. The Nile cruise tip per person/per day is US$ 3.00 that covers the tips for the entire cruise staff of the restaurant, reception and housekeeping.
Is it an obligatory matter?
The subject is at your own discretion. It is good to appreciate who have rendered their service but there is no problem if you do not give any tip. But, it is something that is expected from the guests by these people.
