Home > Cairo > Private Tour: Alexandria Day Trip from Cairo
USD $117.00
Private Tour: Alexandria Day Trip from Cairo
Cairo, Egypt
Take a fascinating private tour to Alexandria from Cairo in the company of your own Egyptologist guide. With your own private Egyptologist guide to lead the way, you'll enjoy personalized attention on your private tour of Alexandria. As this is a private tour, you can determine the amount of time you'd like to spend at each of the sites in Alexandria you'll visit.
The second largest city in Egypt, Alexandria has an atmosphere that is more Mediterranean than Middle Eastern and is famous for its Roman remains. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 312 B.C., and was the capital of Graeco-Roman Egypt.
Your first stop in this historic city is the catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa, a Roman burial site whose family tomb reveals the merging of Egyptian and Roman art and architecture. Descend below ground to visit the tomb and Caracalla Hall.
Back above ground, continue to Pompey's Pillar, an 82-foot (25-meter) granite column built to honor Emperor Diocletian, who freed the besieged city and brought food to its starving people. Continuing the Roman theme, the next site your guide will show you is the Roman amphitheater, possibly the best preserved Roman site in Egypt. The site also includes the remains of a Roman street and homes.
After lunch (included) you will visit the famous Alexandria Library. In contrast to the ancient architecture found throughout Egypt, the Norwegian-designed building is a striking piece of modern design. A copy of every book published in the world is kept in the library, making it one of the great literary sites in the world. The library also houses several exhibitions relating to the history of Egypt and a display of rare antique books (additional cost).
This was a fun trip. You are picked up from your hotel and begin your journey bright and early to Alexandria. Very professional and knowledgable of all the history in Alexandria. If I wanted to make a quick stop somewhere else on the way, there were no issues. Totally worth your time and you won't be disappointed.
Review by: Leith Patrick K, September 2016
Outstanding. Our guide picked us up as scheduled and drove to Alexandria. We saw many sights and the guide explained them in detail. We visited the Library at Alexandria. The building is as much a work of art as the collections. Very nice lunch overlooking the bay and then a pleasant drive back to our hotel in Cairo. My only regret was having to leave. Highly recommended.
Review by: Rajdeep S, July 2015
Worth doing! Again Osama took us out to Alexandria. He was great, and kind and showed us the key spots. My only regret is to have spent more time here but we only signed up for the day. Great city.
Review by: john g, May 2015
Great day out with a great guide
Review by: Silvio L, October 2014
Some people don't get a guide in Cairo. That's a mistake. If you have a private guide with you, like we did, your days (and I mean, every single day) will be just amazing. Firstly, our guide spoke great english. Secondly, he is a fun, approachable, professional and extremely knowledgeable guy!!! Our guide was very proud of their history so it was just very exciting to listen to everything he had to say. The guide was also very flexible!! We had a day trip to Alexandria that we decided not to do anymore, as we felt there was still quite a lot to learn and see in Cairo. So, our guide asked us what we wanted to see and we managed to change our plans and have a great day. He quickly realised we didn't want to, for instance, do the cruises and all the super touristic stuff so he took us to a restaurant he goes to very often and likes very much. We tried a very traditional meal called 'Kushari' and it's delicious, really worth trying! Anyway, definitely take a guide. It's worth the money, you feel safer, less 'uncomfortable with the guys staring at you etc.
Review by: Qinou Z, July 2014
A wonderful trip. I required a Chinese speaking guide trially, they did that! Surprised me! I have to say that it was perfect trip. Generally we visit four attractions and a restuarant in Alexandria. Not too many people there and the food was really good. An amazing city. Driver and guide are highly recommended. The guide name is Mahmoud Mohamed Fayed, If you are a Chinese visitor, he will be the right person for you.
Review by: Lorenext, May 2014
It is a long drive to Alexandria... there are good things to see and our Egyptogist Tito was amazing. Unfortunately, the library was closed because of elections two days later... would have liked for the company to have checked this before.
Review by: Ahmad S, May 2014
This was a wonderful tour. Our planned departure was 7:00 AM. The night before I got a call from our tour guide asking if we would mind starting at 6:00 AM instead. He said we can beat a lot of the traffic coming back. And a lot of traffic there is in Cairo. We agreed and our tour guide and driver showed up promptly at 6:00 AM the next morning. We made the 3 hour journey from Cairo to Alexandria. Our guide spoke English well, he was very knowledgeable, and passionate about his work. He told us he was flexible and he would make any detours that we would like. And that's exactly what we did. After the burial site we asked to sit down for some shisha. They knew exactly where to go.We sat down for some coffee and shisha in a nice cafe. I asked how far our next stop was and he pointed across the street. He said Pompey's Pillar is just past these walls that we are seeing. It was so nice to just sit down and take in the whole thing and live like those in Alexandria. Anyways, we hit the pillar, and then headed over to the amphitheater before having lunch on the Mediterranean Sea. Our guide took us to a wonderful seafood restaurant. Food was included in the price, but drinks are not. No big deal, as drinks are not expensive anyways. After lunch we went to the library, but we were a little disappointed with this stop. Maybe we were just expecting an older library. Everything is brand new and modern. It's still a wonderful place, but the old library was destroyed. After the library we headed back to our hotel. We didn't get back until about 5:00 PM. Boy were we glad that we started early! We said goodnight until tomorrow morning to our tour guide and driver. It was so nice to have the same group for all of our tours. We tipped the tour guide 100 LE (Egyptian Pounds) and the driver 50 LE for each tour. All-in-all this tour was worth the money.
Review by: Pablo P, June 2013
I wouldn´t recommend this tour, it isn´t worth the price! Our guide was terrible, we asked for a Spanish speaking guide, and he didn´t know anything about Alexandria, he didn´t even know who was the designer of the famous library. Very poor information, he even tried to impose his religion on us! The car was Ok with A/C in very good condition, but the driver as every driver in Egypt are very irresponsible, don´t follow the laws and driving signs. I had other tours on other days in our Nile River Cruise and were absolutely excellent. Me and my wife were very anxious for Alexandria for its rich history and when we were there we only wanted to go back to our hotel. The lunch was terrible, they took us to a very dirty restaurant. When we entered we told the guide we didn´t want to eat there since the tablecloth had stains all over it, and he told us that it wasn´t possible since he had ordered our meal already. We wouldn´t care not to eat and lose our lunch. Our experience in Alexandria was very bad!! I don´t recommend it!
Review by: Miguelangel M, July 2012
Nice drive to Alexandria. Interesting tour.
Review by: Pamela B, March 2012
This was terrific. Alexandria is an old, historic city from the Greek and Roman times in Egypt. The beaches have eroded but the new library is wonderful. I am sure there are still many antiquities still undiscovered since the historic sites are in the middle of areas of housing that have been there 100 years or so.
Review by: Renee Q, October 2011
Very disappointing to say the least. Our driver was doing 150km on the five lane motorway and on spotting a traffic jam ahead, reversed down the motorway, shortcutted over a bridge that was still under construction and then drove into oncoming traffic. If that wasn't bad enough on the way back to Cairo in the afternoon our guide layed down in the back of the mini bus, took off his shoes and went to sleep, while our driver was nodding off. We found the experience terrifying to say the least. The guide although informative, advised us that as we were Australian it was necessary to 'tell us that it was important to tip accordingly and that $10 euro was not the equivalent to $10 Australian Dollars. We felt completely stupid.
Review by: John g K, June 2011
Again Khlaed Lotfy our Egyptogist and our driver were superb.We were able to modify our standard agenda and skip some of the planned sights and have a wonderful pinic on the Alexandria coast with our tour group providing a pinic lunch and allowing us to see the lovely Egyptian families at play on the beach.Definitely the best group of tour personnel.
Review by: John g K, May 2011
Again Khlaed Lotfy our Egyptogist and our driver were superb.We were able to modify our standard agenda and skip some of the planned sights and have a wonderful pinic on the Alexandria coast with our tour group providing a pinic lunch and allowing us to see the lovely Egyptian families at play on the beach.Definitely the best group of tour personnel.
Review by: Trine, April 2011
This trip shows you a different side to Egypt. A bit quieter but just as interesting. The catacombs are a truly amazing sight and should not be missed. The standing pillar is also very spectacular. The library is a beautiful modern building, but you will need to take cash with you as the museums inside you have to pay to visit and they confiscate handbags on entering the library.
Review by: Trine, March 2011
This trip shows you a different side to Egypt. A bit quieter but just as interesting. The catacombs are a truly amazing sight and should not be missed. The standing pillar is also very spectacular. The library is a beautiful modern building, but you will need to take cash with you as the museums inside you have to pay to visit and they confiscate handbags on entering the library.
Review by: eanderson, February 2011
After seeing the temples and monuments in Upper Egypt, Alexandria was disappointing.
Review by: Frances M, February 2011
The day was less than optimal because the 3hr journey to Cairo became 5hrs due to horrific lane closures and time spent on a highway at a total standstill. The driver was unfamiliar with the city, but he did get us to the various monuments which were mediocre. Some of the backstreets of Alexandria were very very interesting. Also, the guide was sick with flu and not at his best, very quiet,and he would have been better to be in bed. Apparently there was a shortage of people. Nobody's fault really, just a confluence of events which made for a very long drive to see not a lot.
Review by: Sharyn O, January 2011
Excellent - the guide was very knowledgeable. The only issue I had was I tried to contact the supplier many times, per the voucher form to confirm the details of my trip but no one answered the phone.
Review by: Frances M, January 2011
The day was less than optimal because the 3hr journey to Cairo became 5hrs due to horrific lane closures and time spent on a highway at a total standstill. The driver was unfamiliar with the city, but he did get us to the various monuments which were mediocre. Some of the backstreets of Alexandria were very very interesting. Also, the guide was sick with flu and not at his best, very quiet,and he would have been better to be in bed. Apparently there was a shortage of people. Nobody's fault really, just a confluence of events which made for a very long drive to see not a lot.
Review by: Dick, January 2011
Overall this tour was very good. The guide was personable and had a good command of English. The three hour drive returning to Cairo was more like four plus hours due to traffic. Time in Alexandria was limited because of the drive time, but I would have hated being in Egypt without a visit to Alexandria.
Review by: Gregory B, November 2010
A full and busy day, a long drive through a fascinating area until you reach Alexandria. Again a great tour with knowledgeable guide. Recommended to all.
Review by: Dick, October 2010
Overall this tour was very good. The guide was personable and had a good command of English. The three hour drive returning to Cairo was more like four plus hours due to traffic. Time in Alexandria was limited because of the drive time, but I would have hated being in Egypt without a visit to Alexandria.
Review by: ANGELA B, August 2010
The city of Alexandria is interesting and I would like to have seen more but the journey from Cairo took around 3 hours. In total around 6-7 hours travelling.
Review by: Patricia W, August 2010
Not really that much to see to make it worth the long day. The best part was the drive through the desert to Alexandria.
Review by: Patricia W, July 2010
Not really that much to see to make it worth the long day. The best part was the drive through the desert to Alexandria.
Review by: Mark P, July 2010
Longish trip from Cairo. Nice city and the library tour was great. We got sick from the lunch though.
Review by: Ivaylo D, July 2010
We got poisoned from local drinks from a tour we took the day before using the same company, so the whole day was a nightmare. There is a lot to see in Alexandria, but we were only shown a few sights. Upon arriving home, we found out that the Tower of Alexandria was one of the wonders of the world. This our guide did not show us or tell us about. There is a lot to see on the way from Cairo to Alexandria, but we where left with no comments during the 3 hour drive, becuase our guide was to busy sleeping. During the lunch he ordered a shellfish meal for us overlooking the fact that we are Jewish and would not be able to eat it. The driver and the bus that the company provided where excellent but the guide was very marginal for the second day in a row, during both days we were given the same guide.
Review by: Nathan W, United States of America, June 2010
Our guide, Mahmoud, was amazing. We would highly recommend him to anyone.
He was friendly, kind and knowledgeable. He was also very flexible when we wanted to change our schedule. We don't think we could have had a better guide.
Review by: Anonymous, June 2010
I loved Alexandria but felt that it was not flexible enough. We wanted to go see the city as it was by the sea and put our feet in the ocean and the tour guide was more concerned with us taking a photo of the library. Also a major fault was that the tour guide kept touching both my mother and myself and I was highly offended.
Review by: Robyn C, June 2010
I loved Alexandria but felt that it was not flexible enough. We wanted to go see the city as it was by the sea and put our feet in the ocean and the tour guide was more concerned with us taking a photo of the library. Also a major fault was that the tour guide kept touching both my mother and myself and I was highly offended.
Review by: Rick E, June 2010
A long drive, with really not much at the destination. Half an hour in a catacomb, half an hour at Pompey's pillar, an hour at the library, then back to Cairo. The library was not at all what I expected - I can see modern buildings almost anywhere.
Review by: EMANOELLE B, June 2010
It was okay, but could have been better. We had lunch at a nice restaurant, but we paid a "fortune" for a juice and a soft drink. It was very good to see the library.
Review by: Genesis Roman A, Philippines, May 2010
The tour overall was amazing! You have an exclusive and very comfortable ride all throughout the tour. The tour-guide was very friendly, accomodating, and informative. All the sites visited were magnificent and awe-inspiring especially the Library of Alexandria. And most of all, you are in control of your time for the whole duration of the tour! I highly recommend this tour especially for group of friends!
Review by: Ryan M, United States of America, May 2010
Trip a little long, but again our guide Mahmoud was worth the money!!!
Review by: Anonymous, May 2010
A long drive, with really not much at the destination. Half an hour in a catacomb, half an hour at Pompey's pillar, an hour at the library, then back to Cairo. The library was not at all what I expected - I can see modern buildings almost anywhere.
Review by: Francisco R, May 2010
The tour is quite tiring. We should have started at 700 AM as originally planned. In addition, nobody told us that the Library opens at 300 PM on Fridays. Not seeing the library was a disapointment.
Review by: Anonymous, May 2010
It was okay, but could have been better. We had lunch at a nice restaurant, but we paid a "fortune" for a juice and a soft drink. It was very good to see the library.
Review by: Genesis A, May 2010
The tour overall was amazing! You have an exclusive and very comfortable ride all throughout the tour. The tour-guide was very friendly, accomodating, and informative. All the sites visited were magnificent and awe-inspiring especially the Library of Alexandria. And most of all, you are in control of your time for the whole duration of the tour! I highly recommend this tour especially for group of friends!
Review by: Halsi H, Canada, April 2010
It was unbelievable to have our own personal guide. He was so knowledgeable, he not only explained the history of the sites but was also willing to answer questions we had about society and the Egyptian way of life. The van was clean, comfortable and air conditioned with a driver that made you feel safe. Highly recommended, and prices were comparable to vendors in town.
Review by: Agnieszka P, April 2010
Nice city, and Pompeii's Pillar was kind of cool, but this isn't worth the 3-hour drive. Also, although the advantage of a private tour is that you can spend your time how you want, our guide still pressured us to be fast at each of the sites so that we could get them all done. She got kind of irritated that we took an hour at Pompeii's Pillar, because she had allocated us about 15 minutes for it. That's not nearly enough time, though, unless you're doing a quick walk-through and not taking pictures. Finally, just skip the Alexandria Library. Nothing to see there.
Review by: Anonymous, March 2010
It was disappointing. the only good thing was the library, but it looks exactly like a modern library. the exhibitions inside the library are the only thing worth going for. the food at Alexandria was absolutely terrible! we didn't even eat the food. yet again money wasted by having it included in my package. tour guide tried to provide more information but unfortunately i still wasn't satisfied. the catacombs were also a good thing see. once again, i think A day trip to Alexandria can be better accomplished on your own.
Review by: Richard M, United States of America, February 2010
Very good overall. On time and safe driver. Could not have ask for more
Review by: George S, United States of America, December 2009
Met our expectations. Guide was good. Transportation comfortable
Review by: Raymond P, United States of America, October 2009
A fascinating city with a rich relationship with the sea. A story we'll told by your guides.
Review by: James B, Canada, October 2009
The tour was a small group - myself and one other person. The guide was very knowledgeable, and added some extra stops that weren't on the main itinerary, based on what both of us wanted to see.
Review by: Richard C, United States of America, October 2009
Our Egyptian guide was superb. He was cordial and very knowledgeable. We had a great time!
Review by: Jim B, October 2009
The tour was a small group - myself and one other person. The guide was very knowledgeable, and added some extra stops that weren't on the main itinerary, based on what both of us wanted to see.
Review by: Lorena P, United States of America, August 2009
Our tour guide was excellent. Be ready for a long drive but a fun day. The agency picked us up at our hotel and were on time and very accommodating.
Review by: Steven L, United States of America, August 2009
Very interesting! The library was the best part of Alexandria!
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