Osiris Tours Reviews 

We recently returned from a 12 day trip to Egypt organized by Osiris Tours. From the first contact with Mahmoud I knew this was the company I wanted to plan my trip. Mahmoud was very responsive and planned an itinerary to Cairo, Aswan and Luxor that hit all the highlights but also kept things at a pace that we could enjoy the magnificent sites we were experiencing.
Upon arrival in Cairo we were met by representatives that whisked us through the visa process and delivered us to our hotel. Each airport transfer went equally as smoothly. Our guides Marwa (Cairo) and Ismial (Aswan and Luxor) were knowledgeable (an understatement!), professional and attentive. They were simply wonderful. Our drivers were prompt and courteous. We were pleased with all our accommodations and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and friendly staffs.
This was a great trip that ran smoothly from beginning to end thanks to all the professionals that Osiris arranged.
Egypt was a fantastic place to visit. We never felt unsafe and would love to return in the future! I would not hesitate to use Osiris Tours again.

They did an amazing job! We felt safe and learned so much about Egypt. It was a trip of a life lifetime!

Osiris Tours are great! Years ago, I watched the lectures on Egypt through the Great Courses from the Teaching Company with prof Bob Brier. Since then, I had always wanted to go. I strongly recommend you watch the lectures before you go as Egyptian history is very complex. We had two groups of friends go to Egypt with Osiris and both loved it. Mahmoud Gebril of Osiris is very responsive and set up a wonderful itinerary. We had fantastic accommodations in Petra, Aswan and Luxor. We were less than 4 months after the start of the war in Gaza. We felt entirely safe. The airport representatives were very helpful, particularly in Cairo airport. The food was basic but wholesome and safe. Our drivers had to navigate in a country without traffic lights. Our guide, Ahmed Fathy was perfect. Very knowledgeable, patient, flexible and kind. He actually leads tours with Bob Brier and has been a student of Zawi Hawass. The very best travel is when you have an emotional connection to the sights you visit. Thank you Osiris for making that happen for me.

If you are considering a trip to Egypt, Jordan or any country that Osiris Tours accommodates, please do it and do it with them. We returned from our trip to Egypt and Jordan last week and I still dream about it. Not kidding! Safe, educational, beautiful, worry free from beginning to end. Traveling with Osiris was the one of best experiences we've had. Generally, we like to do our own thing when we travel, but for these countries, it is best to use a tour company and it absolutely should be Osiris!

Possibly the best trip we've ever had... Mahmoud/Osiris provide an amazing experience - the destinations speak for themselves, but the orchestration of the trip was perfect - extremely knowledgeable & friendly (& funny!) guides, impeccable logistics with drivers, transfers, etc., beautiful and convenient hotels. We went to places "off the beaten path" and saw things not on most tours, and were pampered with good humored attention to our spontaneous requests. If you're looking for a unique, safe and mind-blowing deep dive into Jordan and Egypt - this is it... worth every penny and then some - highly, highly recommend!

Mahmoud,

Karen and I wanted to reach out and thank you for arranging one of the truly most enjoyable tours of our lifetime - experiencing the richness and sights of Egypt with Osiris Tours.

Osiris did not disappoint! The difference that having a personal tour tailored to our particular needs and wishes, made to our appreciation for our time in Egypt, cannot be understated.

The warmness and friendliness of the Egyptian people was so genuine and ever present. Guides Sayed, Khalafa, and Ahmed were knowledgeable and attentive to our needs and wishes. Having Osiris attendants at our flight arrivals and departures was a huge assist to Karen and me. All our hotel accommodations, including our cruise ship cabins down the Nile, were exceptional.

We loved our time at the pyramids. Ahmed’s knowledge of the construction heightened our appreciation for the history and legacy of the pyramids. Other highlights were the leisurely cabin cruise down the Nile, the sights around Aswan, Luxor, the alabaster shop in Kurna, the handmade carpets at the family carpet school, and the visits to pharaohs’ tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Nefartari's tomb was exceptionally impressive. We enjoyed our time with Khalafa. His passion and enthusiasm for everything Egyptian was contagious, and we very much enjoyed our time with him. His commentary at Luxor Temple was particularly informative, given his extensive knowledge of the inscriptions seen there.

Any fears due to the Gazan conflict were completely overblown. There was not one time when we felt uncomfortable for our safety.

I rate Osiris Tours 'a five out of five.' Karen and I would heartily recommend your tour company to anyone wishing to experience the rich history of Egypt and the warmth and friendliness of its people.

If we can assist you in any other way in 'spreading the word', feel free to reach out to Karen and me.

Postscripts: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - Mark Twain

"Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel's immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad of new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing firsthand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way." - Ralph Crawshaw

Thank you so much for Osiris Tours and in particular Mahmoud for organising our private family tour to Egypt.
We had an excellent time and would rate the overall experience 5 stars out of 5. We felt so well looked after especially with kids in particular with with the guides who ensured that all activities were suitable for all of us and made sure that we felt comfortable at all times in particular when it started getting hot (for us). The girls particular loved the Nile cruise and rated this at the best thing in the trip along with seeing the mummy of King Tut. All of our hotels were very comfortable and catered to all of our needs. The flights were easy as well and enabled us to make the most of our time there.

Osiris Tours exceeded our expectations on all accounts! From initial planning with Mahmoud to the moment we arrived in Cairo, our every need was tended to. Mahmoud (owner of Osiris Tours) promptly answered all our questions creating a custom itinerary to meet our desires. When we wanted to make adjustments before our departure, he quickly accommodated us and offered options for our consideration. When the Israel-Hamas war started, Mahmoud eased our concerns sending us videos of other Osiris travelers currently traveling in Egypt giving us reassurance of conditions in Egypt.

Once we arrived in Cairo, the Osiris team met us before immigrations expediting us though the airport process with out a worry for us. Our Cairo tour lead Mina delivered us to our fantastic hotel accommodations getting us checked-in and getting us ready for our first day’s tour in Giza. Our Egyptologist guide, Marwa, was knowledgeable and attentive. She taught us so much about early Egypt during our amazing tours of the Egyptian Museum and the pyramids. She introduced us to Egyptian culture visiting artisans and enjoying the most delicious local food. Marwa is also an artist herself who helped us to take amazing pictures along the way.

Next we departed Cairo for the journey south to Abu Simbel. Again, the Osiris airport team moved us easily through the airport for our arrival to Aswan where met Sam our Egyptologist guide and began the the drive to Abu Simbel (the light show at Abu Simbel is a must). We absolutely love Sam who guided us through Abu Simbel, Aswan, Luxor and Dendera! Luxor Temple at night is a must, Nefertari’s tomb is must, Seti I tomb is a must, Dendera Temple is a must (catacombs, crawling into secret chamber, panorama view from up top)… we can go on and on. Sam was incredibly enthusiastic, knowledge, funny, kind and caring, and made us feel completely at ease. Sam made sure we had extra time at any site we desired, and was able to get us special access to certain tombs/temples. We can’t wait to see Sam again on a dig in his village, fingers crossed Sam gets the digging permit!! We can’t say enough positive things about Sam, we consider him part of our family now. Along with Sam, our drivers Ayman (Aswan) and Ahmed (Luxor) were fantastic, expertly navigating busy streets, and always making sure we were comfortable, and had plenty of drinks and snacks.

All too soon, it was time to return to Cairo for our last days in Egypt (at least for this visit). Again Osiris made all the arrangements go smoothly. Back in Cairo, Mina worked magic for us getting us the Presidential Suite in the Triumph Luxury Hotel in Cairo! We enjoyed our last day touring in Cairo meeting back up with Marwa and visiting a beautiful palace and grounds and the modern National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. When it was time to depart late that evening the most fantastic airport expeditor moved us quickly through the exit process and got us on our way.

All throughout our trip, the Osiris team arranged awesome plush accommodations (The Old Cataract Hotel is Aswan is the best ever and a must stay), expert drivers driving us to all sites, and Egyptologists provided detailed history with exciting ancient stories to keep us enthused and engaged. We felt completely safe throughout our entire journey to Giza, Abu Simbel, Aswan, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Luxor, Dendera and Cairo. The Egyptian people are courteous, kind and welcoming to tourists. Young children especially like speaking with tourists and taking pictures, they are so very sweet. We absolutely love everything Egypt has to offer and are incredibly grateful for such an amazing experience thanks to the expertise and professionalism of Osiris Tours. We look forward to future adventures with Osiris, they are the best!

My husband and I returned from an Osiris tour to Egypt and Jordan in early November. It was a trip of a lifetime and a wonderful experience. We felt very safe in both countries, despite hostilities in the region. In our view, a tour with private guides and drivers is the best way to explore the antiquities while learning about the culture of the countries, and the cost is not much more than small group tour. It also provides a lot of flexibility. Mahmoud Gerbril, founder and President of Osiris personally helped us plan our trip, guiding us through options to assure that we would realize our goals. When we needed to change our itinerary because of a cancelled pre-tour in Israel, he quickly modified our schedule, changing hotel reservations and offering options. The guides Osiris provided in Egypt and Jordan were excellent and we had no trouble understanding them. Sayed Bazuka was our guide throughout Egypt, and he was outstanding! The airport representatives were invaluable, getting us Visas, guiding us through customs and taking care of issues that arose, and we appreciated the helpfulness and safety focus of our drivers. Overall, we had a fabulous experience. We purchased extra tickets that allowed us to climb up inside the Great Pyramid in Giza and to enter some of the more spectacular tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Luxor and it was well worth it!!

We have taken many private tours over the years, and this tour of Egypt and Jordan arranged by Osiris Tours was definitely one of the absolute best!
First, on arrival we immediately felt absolutely safe with our private drivers and private guides. They were very thoughtful and protective of us and made sure that we always felt comfortable. Also, every hotel that we stayed in had excellent security and that made us feel even more relaxed during our trip. We never felt insecure or unsafe at all. I would definitely recommend the private tour arrangements if you are at all hesitant about traveling to this region. It is worth it because you will be completely safe and protected throughout your entire journey.

When I contacted Mahmoud with an interest in a trip to Egypt and Jordan he was immediately responsive and designed the perfect itinerary for us based on our preferences and what we wanted to see on our 11 day journey. He was very thoughtful in getting everything perfect for us, and was very patient when we had questions or wanted to make changes.

Immediately when we arrived we could see the level of organization. Our Osiris representative met us at the airport and whisked us through immigration and got us directly to our driver. Every transfer went like clockwork. They even made sure that we were checked in properly for our transfer flights, and never left us until we were ready to go through security.
Our drivers and private guides were all excellent. They were very professional and thoughtful, as well as knowledgable. The guides all had degrees in Egyptology or Egyptian history, or both. They were interactive and highly informative. We learned SO much! Also, they arranged our schedule to fit the times that we wanted to see or do things and made sure to get us to the busier tourist sites before (or after) the often stifling crowds of tourists arrived, making our experience at each place even more memorable and fantastic.

Our hotels were all really great and several of the 5 star hotels were absolutely amazing. Again, every hotel had excellent security so we always felt perfectly safe and comfortable.

We also appreciated the private portions of our tour, like the private access to King Tut's tomb, the private Nile River felucca boat ride (romantic and stunningly beautiful), and the private desert safari in Wadi Rum.

I can't say enough about how appreciative we are to Osiris Tours for this amazing and once in a lifetime experience. We would most definitely schedule a trip through Osiris Tours again, and we will recommend it to our friends!!

Osiris Tours gave us the most special and memorable experience of Egypt. From the initial contact, to the planning, during the trip and afterwards. Everything was meticulously planned. I can't speak highly enough of Mahmoud and his team. Read all the other reviews on TripAdvisor, Google etc (I've posted longer ones elsewhere because Mahmoud and his team deserve the recognition!) to see how much everyone absolutely loved their experience with Osiris Tours.

If I could rate a trip more than a 5, I would. We had a wonderful trip to Egypt and Jordan planned by Osiris. From the moment we got off the plane and were greeted to the exceptional guides, hotels and experiences, everything was perfect. Particularly given the extensive media coverage about the war, it was wonderful to feel safe and supported as we traveled around. The people we met and the things we did here were truly amazing. We are so very glad we came!

We booked our trip over a year ago and pre-paid in advance. Mahmoud was very professional through the process but when we canceled out of concern for our safety given the violence in the region, he refused to grant any kind of refund or even credit forward future trip, despite incurring no cost for our canceled trip.

Our trip to Morocco was canceled due to the devastating earthquake, but we had babysitters lined up and wanted to travel. I set my sights on Egypt, but time was short to plan — two weeks to be exact. After 12 hours of researching and calls to other travel companies telling me we were too late, Osiris Tours’ owner, Mahmoud, actually picked up the phone when I called. It was Friday evening, his time. He had me submit a request with budget, interests, length, etc and when I woke up Saturday morning, there was an itinerary in my inbox! We exchanged a few more emails over the weekend to select some additional excursions, etc. and by Monday morning, I had a custom, private 12 day tour to Egypt booked! I was so excited he was able to work this magic for us.

Then, the time to travel began. Once you step off the plane in Egypt, literally everything is handled for you. Our plane was late and we arrived at 3:00 am in Cairo, but all of the people assisting us had smiles on their faces. In all of the airports, we had someone to walk us through every single step of the way. There is no stress about where you are supposed to go or do. We felt incredibly safe and taken care of. We had an amazing in-country coordinator who met us at the airport to explain how everything was going to work. He then met us a few hours later to introduce us to our private guide (do these people ever sleep?!) to start our trip. He gave us advice on tips (it is a tipping country) and advised us how much Egyptian money to pull out of the ATM. Super helpful… All of our tours included private drivers in spacious vans just for us who were waiting for us with the AC cranked and cold bottled waters. We had two guides — one in Cairo and one who traveled in Upper Egypt with us the entire way (Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbal). Their wealth of knowledge was incredible! I’m an Egyptology nerd, and I can’t believe how much new information I learned. Our guide in the South was like a mini celebrity with everyone saying hi to her and another guide whispered in our ear that we were lucky to have “the best.” We could tell. She knew these places inside and out. She also knew when the cruise ship groups would be arriving so coordinated all of our tours to beat the crowds (and heat as much as possible), which gave us beautiful pictures and short lines, if any. In Cairo, we had the same guide and driver for all of our time, and they were so amazing. Driving in Cairo is a bit of an adventure, but we quickly learned to trust our driver and could relax amongst all the honking. When we returned to Cairo at the end of our trip for our final days, it was like coming home seeing familiar faces. They felt like friends at the end.

Besides the people, the accommodations were great, the tours Mahmoud recommended were spot on, and the food they provided was amazing. Even the order of the tours was perfectly orchestrated. If we would have done our itinerary in reverse, I feel like some could have felt like a let down because it just kept getting better and better. (Tip: Nefertari’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens is spectacular and it’s hard to compete after seeing that. Definitely buy all the extra tombs that are recommended and feel free to skip the free ones in the Valley of the Kings if it’s hot and you are tired.)

If you are debating between a land only package or cruise, I highly recommend skipping the cruise. We watched the tour groups from the boats and couldn’t imagine moving in large groups at some of these places. So much wasted time waiting and we saw probably 2-3 times more than cruise itineraries would allow. It was a lot of time in the car, but they were so comfortable that we just rested and edited pictures along the way. The resorts we stayed in were fantastic, and we enjoyed massages at the hotel spa one afternoon after touring and ended most our days with a drink in the pool overlooking the Nile. We didn’t miss anything by skipping the cruise, except wasted time.

If you are considering booking with Osiris, just do it! You won’t regret it. You will feel like a VIP the entire time. Thank you Mahmoud and team for an absolute trip of a lifetime!

Visiting Egypt has been a dream for a very long time, and this trip was perfect. Mahmoud worked with us, responding to our many questions and ideas, to create our own ideal custom trip. He was very receptive to including those items that were important to us, and removing items that we did not want. Our local guide in Cairo, Sayad, our local guide in Luxor, Sam (Essam), and our Cairo representative Ahmed, were skilled, knowledgable, and made history come alive. Our Cairo driver, Ahmed, was skilled and made us feel safe in what felt to us to be a crazy traffic experience. The vans were clean, roomy, new and the driver always had the perfect AC temperature and cold bottles of water ready. The transitions from airport to hotel to historic sites were seamless. We would recommend Osiris, and all of our guides in Egypt, to anyone that hopes to have a once in a lifetime experience.

Planning for this trip started in Nov/Dec 2019 – well before Covid. Mahmoud Gebril spent about 45 mins on the phone with me understanding our interests, preferred way to travel and physical readiness for the trip and then reverted with an itinerary which was tailor made for us. We placed our deposit in February 2020 for the trip to occur in October 2020. Then, COVID. The trip was rescheduled to April 2021 but we were not yet comfortable traveling that far with COVID lurking so I asked to postpone. Mahmoud was a gentleman and a miracle worker – carrying our deposit forward to September 2023. We can’t thank him enough.

As for the trip itself: it was perfection. We travel frequently and have worked with many agents/companies. This trip stands out. Mahmoud Gebril listened carefully to our interests and the trip was planned perfectly to accommodate us. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Cairo, we were in expert hands. Every person we interacted with was a consummate professional – courteous, on time and informative. Egypt is an extremely confusing place and the Osiris team made it easy. They helped us with our entry visas, in the airports, at the hotels and as we made our way around the country. Our guides in Cairo and Upper Egypt were amazingly knowledgeable (Marwa in Cairo and Sam in Upper Egypt). Our drivers were on time and professional. Special shout out to Mina in Cairo, our trip coordinator, for the best surprise of the trip which we will treasure. And to guide extraordinaire, Sam – we will never look at the Horus sculpture we returned home with without thinking of his kindness, sense of fun and knowledge.

If you plan to go to Egypt, there is no better choice than Osiris Tours.

Trip of a lifetime!

My family and I have just returned from a trip to Egypt organized by Osiris Tours (Mahmoud Gebril), and what an incredible experience it was! From seeing the pyramids and the Sphinx and riding camels in Giza, to visiting Saqqara and eating in an amazing bedouin restaurant to walking around in Cairo and having a guided food tour with our guide it was all breathtaking and incredibly eye-opening.

Then, we were off to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings (including the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amun) Habu Temple, the Valley of the Queens, (including the most incredible tomb of Queen Nefertari), Valley of the Nobles and Temples of Dendera and Abydos.

The next leg was the cruise on the Nile. Every morning, we met our guide for a new adventure: Karnak Temple, horse carriage ride to and from Edfu Temple, Abu Simbel Temple, just to name a few visits.

When we disembarked in Aswan, we were brought to the Old Cataract hotel, the oldest and most beautiful hotel in all of Egypt. We went on a Felucca (sailboat ride) up and down and around this fairytale-like place. We were also treated to the Nubian village and saw an elementary school and a house. What an incredible experience!

Then, it was back to Cairo and our guide Ahmed and driver Tito, who were both amazing. We saw the Citadel, and Mohammad Ali Mosque, the Egyptian museum and of course, the Khan El Khalili Bazaar, where we also had an incredibly delicious meal.

Our final leg of the trip was Petra in Jordan, and a desert jeep safari in Wadi Rum, followed by a day at the Dead Sea.

Mahmoud had made an incredible schedule with the perfect balance of visiting and discovering and downtime. Every place that we stayed at was stunning with service beyond anything that you see around the world nowadays. People were welcoming, and always ready to help us with anything that we could wish for.

Our biggest crush: the Four Seasons Hotel at Residence in Cairo. Coming back there was almost like coming home.

The people that made this trip so incredible: Mahmoud (Osiris tours), who organized every bit of it; Yasser, our coordinator on the ground; Ahmed, our guide in Cairo; Essam, our guide in the south; and Tito our super skilled and friendly driver in Cairo.

I did a lot of research before booking this trip because it had been a bucket-list item for many years. Osiris tours made it an incredibly amazing experience. We were ALWAYS accompanied everywhere we went: at the airports, with official security, for anything we needed and were never left wondering: “what's next?”

In one word: PERFECT.

Thanks a million Mahmoud

LS and family

We worked with Osiris for a recent trip of Egypt and Jordan. After a decent amount of research, I emailed Osiris to request a trip plan. We were allowed to customized the entire trip and Osiris really made all of our dreams come true! From start to finish, every airport transfer, tour guide, driver, and experience was perfectly executed. We had local guides at every location (Cairo, Luxor, Petra, Wadi Rum, and Dead Sea). We even had a last minute flight cancelation that caused little chaos, but Osiris adjusted our pick ups and it was like it never happened once we landed. We can't wait to plan another trop with Osiris in the future!

We had such an amazing trip with our introduction to Egypt coordinated by Osiris Tours!!! Definitely 5 out of 5 stars!!! All aspects of the trip were coordinated smoothly with easy airport transfers, wonderful accommodations (mini-bus and hotels), professional drivers and fantastic guides. Bazooka and Hamdy were perfect tour guides — informative, flexible and very personable. Your recommended itinerary covered such a great depth of information and centuries of history. In particular, I’m delighted that you recommend we add a day in both Upper and Lower Egypt. There was a good focus on Ancient Egypt with a splash of modern culture. We could not have been happier with the hotel selections — in particular, The Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan was spectacular. Ramadan coordinated everything very smoothly in country. Thank you to your whole team!

My husband, mom and I had a dream holiday to Egypt - thanks to Mahmoud and team Osiris! It was smooth sailing from the moment the landed in Cairo airport, as they organise airport attendants to help breeze through immigration.

Mahmoud was patient and very responsive on email, as I sent a lot of questions his way. We finally planned the perfect 10 days/9 nights trip across Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, with a day trip to Abu Simbel thrown in.

We started out with Mohamed Saad as our guide in Cairo. He was super friendly and kept my mom company as my husband & I climbed inside the Great Pyramid. Saad was great at giving us the history behind everything we saw at Giza, Memphis and Saqqara - and answered all our questions so well with his 20+ years of experience. He also gave some advice on dinner locations and recommended specific trustworthy shops at the Khan el-Khalili bazaar.

Our next guide who stayed with us for 7 days was Ismail Haroun Ahmed. Ismail was amazing - he's super experienced and could answer all of my husbands questions while giving us very detailed summaries of everything we saw (as he could tell we were super interested). I love how he helps us to remember everything (E.g. the South crown is shaped like a champagne bottle, the north like an ice bucket and when you combine the two, you get both the Upper & Lower Egypt crowns)! We extended our stay in Cairo a few days after our Osiris tour, and we could still remember all the tips Ismail shared as we visited the many beautiful museums. We really enjoyed his stories - and Ismail takes amazing photos of us as well. We really appreciated Ismails' suggestions for dinner and hanging out in Luxor - his hometown. He also spent sometime sharing more about modern life in Egypt - from his kids education to women's role in society. It's super fascinating, and we felt very lucky to have Ismail as our guide.

If you're looking for a luxe private tour - Osiris is your only choice (trust me, I've done a ton of research).

Some things to note:
- Please bring plenty of extra cash in EGP, and in smaller notes as well for tips. It added up to about USD 30/person per day as we'll need to tip drivers, tour guides, airport representatives, hotel staff and other folks such as bathroom attendants, sailboat drivers etc.
- Some caretakers in the tombs/inside the pyramids will also grab your phones to help take photos - in exchange for some tips. We didn't mind so much as they helped us capture some group photos inside these areas where guides aren't allowed.
- You can choose the tour start timings. We preferred to start early (7am pick-up on most days) to end around 12pm-2pm where they'll drive you back to the hotel. This allowed us to enjoy the cooler morning weather. Be sure to enjoy a heavy breakfast at the hotel as you'll be having late lunches.
- If you have your heart set on a particular restaurant for lunch, do let your guide know in advance. We spotted a beautiful rustic Nubian restaurant across from Philae Temple (Solaih Nubian Restaurant - do whatsapp them in advance with your menu choices), and Ismail helped to arrange a felluca ride for us to enjoy lunch in between our tour.
- Mahmoud will share some important travel information that includes clothing for women. Good to dress respectfully in a Muslim country to avoid stares.
- Note that as this is a private tour, we can choose to visit the various local government-approved factories and stores if we wish to - so speak up if you're not interested or prefer to head back to the hotel earlier. We skipped some, but enjoyed visiting the papyrus, alabaster and gold shops to customise a cartouche.