Tour de un día a Wadi El Natrun desde Alejandría

Interesting tour, on paper, but not well organized. Of the four monasteries scheduled, I could only visit two: one (Deir Es Surian) is open only a few days a week (but the organizers should know this), another was told that it was too far away and that the road was rough (but then why put it in the program?). The two I visited (Deir Anba Bishoi and Deir Abu Maqar) were many interesting, but they represented only half of what was promised. The driver and guide were certainly two good people, but for both of them that was the first time they reached the Coptic monasteries of Wadi Natrum. If for the driver this could be good (in fact he was very good) for the guide not; he had no information on the places to visit, fortunately in both places a monk accompanied me on the visit and provided me with a bit of information and explanations (of course in exchange for a small donation, but then what is the cost of the guide, who also knew my language quite roughly?). In summary: very interesting tour, but badly organized, at a not small cost (€107).

Lovely day trip. Peaceful and spiritual location. Guide and driver friendly, helpful and informative. One small suggestion is a “packed lunch” to be eaten there rather than a restaurant on the late afternoon return, although lunch back in Alexandria was certainly nice!

Our tour with Ola was amazing! We learned so much and got to see the Alabaster Mosque, the Al Rifa'i Mosque, Al Azhar Mosque and several others. There was so many rich sights to take in and enjoy, I felt like I had to stop many times to just observe in all directions; the intricate carpets, Marble floors, intricate woodwork and pillars on the walls, and of course the famous domed ceilings adorned with caligraphy and lanterns. Ola exllained everything to us in rich detail and answered all of our questions. She even helped us find local fruits and authentic Egyptian food after the tour. Our Driver Said drove us to all our destinations safely and promptly. Said was a chef in the past and has been conversing with us about different dishes and Egyptian foods. It was a pleasure having this great tour guide and driver show us around Cairo. I wish all of our guides were this polite, kind, and dedicated, it felt like having family members show us around.

Kholoud, my guide, enabled this solo traveller to get to an area which would be lengthy and difficult by public transport. Her placing of the Coptic monasteries in the context of history and culture made a lengthy drive from Alexandria pass easily. At least one monastery was unavailable on the day due to special religious observances, but this enabled an extended conversation with the gentle, humble monk who connected with us at the Bishoi monastery.

<p>it was a really great day out at the monasteries being personally shown around by one of the monks. Just a peaceful and tranquil place to visit. My guide, Kholoud, was amazing knowing absolutely everything about Wadi El Naturn and the surrounds.</p>