Nobody used Jolleys then? I was informed they were quite good and used a lot by visitors! If you have used them, it would be good to hear about it, for me and anyone else travelling to Luxor and Cairo.

when i was in luxor i used karnak travel and they were excellant.a lot of the time i had a personal guide as i booked most trips on my own.i paid for it but it was worth it and still cheaper than hotel trips,
on one trip .dendera by cruiser,i was on my own but with many people who booked through the hotel.i paid between a third and in some cases less than half of what some of the other people on the boat paid with the hotel.i was also singled out at the temple as my guide at karnak new a guard here and had a personal tour by myself,including a visit to the crypt,no one else in the group got to see this as it is to small for groups.have a great time.
i also spent a whole day on a felluca by myself with the captain did banana island and sunset .agreed a price of £10 english for the day but gave him £15 because it was more than worth it,through the hotel wouldve been in a big group had two hours for the same price,also befreinded the egyptian captains and had many more trips foc,
these guys also showed me local life and how to pay local and not tourist prices.ie i went to abu simble with one of them paying for him also by train £40 inc two rooms overnight accomodation and all food

Thanks for the info on Karnak Travel. Where are they based? Your post goes to show how friendly Egyptians really are when you get to know them and they get to know you. I really cannot wait to get over there.

next to winter palace there are a couple of trip organisers next to each other,karnak can be found here and i seem to recall jollys are also here.
if you stand facing luxor temple on the left hand side opposite the junction you will find joseph,captain of the gypsey rose, ask any of the felluca guys and they will point him out,tell him gamooly sent you and he will take very good care of you....gamooly was a name they gave me,it is josephs home villiage ,i got this name because he said i was like an old friend of many many years..egyptian people also responded well when i told them this was my name

i realize this is probably a bit late, but i've not visited the forum all year!
we went to luxor last year and used jolleys for all our trips. we found them to be really good. they were the cheapest we found, the trips all went without a hitch and the guides we had were excellent - very knowledgable.
we are returning in august and will use jolleys again

i agree totally with you nigel, we were there last december, we also used a local taxi for a trip to the west bank but the service of a guide who really knows what he's talking about like you get with jollies makes it such a better trip.

Just back from Luxor. Rather than going on the Thomson excursions, we tried Jolleys. Not wanting to get ripped off we tried one trip, and made it clear to them that if it was good then we'd be back.
The trips we went on...

First was "West Bank 2". This covered Medina Habu, Valley of the Workers, Tombs of the Nobles and the Ramesseum. The first site was very busy, the rest quiet (the last being almost deserted). We had a mini bus from our hotel, at a time we wanted (within reason) and (very good) guide. The price was UK£15 or E£165. Expect heavy pressure to tip in the middle 2 sites, as well as a trip to an alibaster factory, where you'll be expected to tip again.

This went well, so we went on "West Bank 1" (valley of the kings etc). Same guide, so again very good.

"Balloning". One of us went on a ballon trip, for £55.

"Dendrah day cruise" on Le Lotus, £24ish. This was good, but the temple visit was rushed, and so spoilt it a bit. Buffet lunch, but no free drinks were included. In the winter wrap up warm in the morning. After lunch (at 1.00)it's warm enough to sunbathe until nearly sunset.

They accept UK£, so I would recommend taking that.

I have never used Jolly's although I read good things about them.

A few queries which those of you who have used them can no doubt help me with:

Can I book with them from the UK?

If I arranged - say - a three day trip Luxor/Cairo/Luxor on the spot in their shop under the Winter Palace and said - for example- I want to go the day after tomorrow, would they be able to arrange it and put us into good quality hotels in Cairo?

I hope you can see what I'm driving at - I'd hate to arrange a trip to Luxor, with the plan of doing a three day jaunt to Cairo via (say) Jolly's, only to find they can

A) get me there but not back

B) get me there but put me in some fleapit of hotel in the City of the Dead area.........

C) not get me there at all!

Stuart

Sancho,

I've sent you a PM.

Roger.

Cheers Roger

read and understood!

Stuart

Sancho, Jolleys do have a webste if you want to look what they do before you go
http://www.jolleys.com/program_list.asp?Cat=Packageshttp://

Roger can I have the info too please

Thanks very much

Hi Roger, any chance of getting the info also please - we are there in a couple of weeks and hope to make use of Jolleys also...

cheers

Been advised by many people on here that these are the people to use for excursions within luxor. Question I have is because I am only in Luxor for 3 days do you know if they run excursions everyday? I would like to see most things on the east and west bank which i understand will be 2 excursions. any info will be great. thanks.

To see things properly, you do indeed need a day each for the West Bank ( Valley of the Kings, Queens, Hatschepsut's Temple) and another for the eats bank ( Luxor and Karnak Temples)

I'm sure that Roger (Carrot) can assist on using Jolley's.

Hi all,
I recently returned from yet another amazing holiday in Luxor. I had never used the services of a local Luxor travel company before but, being on my own this time, I decided to try Jolley's Travel near the Winter Palace Hotel. This was to avoid any of the usual hassle of haggling with the taxi drivers and, at the other extreme, the extortionate cost of the Portland/Thompson trips on offer.
Last year my husband and I spent a wonderful week cruising the Nile and I wanted another taste of this most relaxing way of seeing the real Egypt. I went into Jolley's Travel and spoke to Ahmed who offered me a three or four day cruise. My main concern was the boat, which I imagined would be far inferior to the one I had travelled on last year with Portland.
I asked a lot of questions and Ahmed made sure that I understood every little detail before I booked a four day cruise which included an excursion to Abu Simbel. If I had waited a few days he could have booked me on a ship used mostly by the English but, as I wanted to go earlier, I was offered a boat used mainly by the French although there was also to be an English couple that had also booked with Jolley's.
On the first day of the cruise I was picked up from my hotel by a mini bus and a Jolley's representative and the English couple. After a short drive to Esna we boarded the boat and any doubts about using a local company were immediately dispelled.
The boat was excellent. The rooms were large, beautifully decorated with every comfort. The large, picture window opened like a patio door and I lounged on my sofa drinking my G&T as I watching the riverbank life drifting by. The food in the restaurant was excellent, the first night being silver service with a smoked salmon and caviar starter!
I really couldn't fault any aspect of the boat and the staff were really lovely. I would even go as far as to say that the boat even had the edge over the Crown Prince, the Portland holiday boat that I went on last year!
The English couple were great company and one of them had also booked to go to Abu Simbel. This was to be a long morning. Armed with our packed breakfast, the two of us were collected from our boat at three thirty in the morning by a Jolley's representative and shown to the mini bus waiting outside. We had the whole mini bus to ourselves and there were two drivers. I slept some of the way and awoke just in time to see a wonderful desert sunrise. Abu Simbel was amazing and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The travelling there and back for three hours each way across the desert in a convoy was very comfortable and it was reassuring to know that we had two drivers.
On the forth day I left the ship at Aswan an hour before it sailed and taken, (again by a Jolley's rep) to the railway station. He waited with me for the train to arrive so he could see me safely on board. At the other end I was met personally at 9pm by Ahmed in a taxi and taken back to my hotel. A thoroughly first class service all round.
I also enjoyed a morning on the West Bank at the Tombs of the Nobles, the Ramesseum and the Temple of Madinat Habu along with two couples and a very informative and interesting guide called Wallid. I then went on to book an exhilarating trip on a seaplane over Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, both with Jolley's Travel.
I cannot recommend Jolley's travel highly enough. I was very well looked after; it was good value with a very personalised service that I couldn't fault. Ahmed obviously loves his job and is also very well liked and respected by his colleagues, which I found very reassuring.
Alongside Jolley's, the Movenpick - a peaceful haven away from the hubbub of the town, both contributed to making this probably the best holiday I have ever had, and certainly the most hassle free!!
Best wishes for the New Year,
Annie

glad you enjoyed
i had been to sharm and did one day to luxor was fantastic cost us 130 inlcude every thing

I forgot to say that the boat that I went on was the 5 star MISS SARAH which is a boat of about a year old. It's the sister boat to the older
MISS WORLD that was mentioned by Roger ages ago when I first enquired on this forum about info regarding Jolley's.
The 4 days/3 nights full board cruise with the Abu Simbel trip included was £155 English pounds.
Annie

Just returned from a wonderful Nile Cruise and Stay in Hurghada.
Had Balloon Trip over V.O.K. Costing £40 English from Jolley's Travel agency (near Winter Palace Hotel, Luxor) The Tour Guide's price was £70 English!

Going to Luxor in June and quiet keen to use Jolleys, as they seem to have an excellent reputation.

Does anyone know if they do 2/3 day NILE Cruise?, as I am only in Luxor for 1week so I do not want to be away for long.

Look forward to hearing your responses.