This was never going to be straight forward as we were embarking on a couple of new experiences.
Firstly we were hoping to arrange a long and tourist packed holiday with a tour operator who must ensure guided excursions, decent quality accommodation at competitive prices.
Secondly we were trying to co-ordinate the requirements of four people (we were intending to make this visit with two friends) and although our interests and needs were very similar there was always the chance that we’d have to consider some compromises on route.
So we started with the well-tested format to plan any joint venture. An evening at home with the four of us enjoying a take-away and a glass or two of a fine Shiraz. We consumed the meal, chatted over the virtues of a Shiraz and a spicy curry, cracked open a bottle of whiskey and then decided we need to spread out the holiday brochures. Now this is where the fun, or do I mean confusion started. Although there were many similar features with each of the tour operators there were also significant differences and it was these that prompted us to draw up a preferred itinerary with the intention to discuss this with specialist operators.
Of course the fact that we’d decided to open it up to specialist tour companies was bound to introduce further problems and the following weeks resulted in our trip to Egypt progressing into a grand tour of the region. I’d begun to entertain the possibility of a short extension to take in Amman, Petra and Wadi Rum and once I’d proposed that option to our friends they suggested a visit to Abu Simbel seemed to be a good idea alongside an extension, at the end of the holiday, for some Rest and Recreation (R&R).
The original 10 day sketch of a holiday was growing into a three week excursion packed adventure pulling in the neighbouring country of Jordan. Unperturbed we set about speaking with three specialists and asking that they let us have an itinerary taking full account of our requirements. One company was unable to oblige and only Audley Travel and Longwood Travel were taking our requirements seriously. After further discussions it transpired that Audley Travel was less flexible that Longwood who were patiently obliging in both email exchanges and telephone discussions. They filled us with confidence that they would deliver to our requirements. The "die was cast" and we decided to commit to Longwood reassured by a local travel agent that they were indeed Egyptian specialists who ensure tailor made holiday packages work to the advantage of the traveller.
Having committed it soon became clear that we looking at a holiday packed with excursions and we decided to pre-book as many of these as we could. This would remove the hassle of sorting them out when we arrived at each hotel and ensure that we had a personalised guided tour for just the four of us. Only one small problem ensued and that was that Longwood had less strong links with Jordan and so it was unlikely that we’d be able to pre-arrange those trips prior to the holiday. "No problem" the agent reassured us "it’s perfectly usual for trips to be sorted on arrival. The local reps are geared up for this!"