January Nile Cruise deals

We have some great deals available for January 2012 on some of our best selling Nile Cruise boats.

RA II 7 Night Nile Cruise with sightseeing and full board from only £ 649.00 pp on selected January dates. This is over £120.00 cheaper than the same holiday with Longwood travel !

Ms Farah and Ms Mayfair Luxury Nile Cruises with sightseeing and full board from £899.00 on selected January dates. You cannot get a Nile Cruise of the same standard for anywhere close to under £900.00!

Its a great time to travel with the weather in the 70s and no chance of rain. Plus the tourists sites are quieter so more time to enjoy the wonders of Egypt.

Thanks

Andrew

Atp Travel

A client recently asked me about Atp Travel and who we were and after I had finished giving all of the information it seemed a good idea to include in a post.

Atp travel are a small family run tour operator, travel agent and wholesaler who started life selling mainly bespoke Nile Cruises, Nile Cruise holidays, Classic Tours and Nile Cruise and Stay holidays to Egypt. Our goal is to offer a very personal service using all of the experience we have of Egypt so that our clients holiday is the best it can possibly be. This includes offering as much information and options required before the clients travel as well as ensuring that the service level, hospitality and overall arrangements exceed their expectations.

All of 0ur Nile Cruises have personally been inspected and each is the best in its class, be it value for money, or standard. We have boats like the very popular RA II which is also sold by companies like Longwood Holidays and Thomas Cook Signature but our prices are nearly always much lower than these guys.

We also have two of the newest most luxurious Nile Cruise boats, the Ms Farah and the Ms Mayfair, both launched in October 2010. Each offers superior levels of accommodation and facilities and will ensure a true luxury Nile Cruise experience but at a price lower than most of the competition selling these boat such as Mosaic Holidays and Nile Cruises Direct.

Our classic tours are all bespoke and private for clients and tailored to individual requirements but again at very competitive prices.

We have also now branched out into the Turkey and Jordan classical market working with 2 very experienced local operators and this shows great promise for 2012.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone.

Andrew

Is Egypt safe?

Egypt again finds itself in the worlds eyes with the return of demonstrators to Tahrir Square and the very unfortunate death of some of these people during clashes with the authority's.  Of course this only has a negative impact on tourism in what should be a very busy time and we have certainly seen a reduction in enquiries along with negative comments from some people who had been looking to travel there.

But is it safe? We actually had clients in the Egyptian museum on the first sunday of the unrest and they certainly said that they were not worried by the demonstrations and enjoyed their time there. Further of all the recent posts on sites such as trip advisor from tourists who are in Egypt or who have spoken to people who are there, none have said it is not safe or not to go. The FCO travel advice has of course been updated but there are no travel restrictions in place.

So the reality is that whilst things look bad from what we see on the TV in Tahrir square, Egypt's tourist areas carry on working as normal. Its unfortunately a shame that the same cameras that are stationed in Tahrir Square could not travel around Egypt for a couple of days to Luxor and some of the Nile Cruises as well as some of the Red Sea resorts just to show that life there carries on as normal.

World Travel Market

Next week is the main trade show for the travel industry - WTM - and it promises to be an interesting if tiring week. As well as our Egypt FIT business we will be talking to agents about our new partnership with Joyetour for inbound FIT and group business to Turkey.

Turkey has experienced phenomenal growth over the last few years and especially this year partly due to troubles elsewhere in the Middle East. In the first 7 months of this year over 11 million tourists visited, an increase of over 10% on the same period last year.

Supported by one of the biggest tour operators there we believe our new partnership will develop strong business relationships which will add to Turkeys tourism growth.

Copthorne Hotel Wedding Fayre

We exhibited at a wedding fayre for the first time yesterday mainly to promote our luxury Nile Cruise boats, Ms Farah, Ms Mayfair and our Dahabeyas as honeymoon holidays but also to see how they were viewed by the public in terms of value for money and as a luxury holiday idea.

The results were very good in that virtually all the people we talked to felt that the boats represented very good value for money - lead in summer 12 prices are from £899.00 including flights, full board, transfers and sightseeing - and were also very impressed with the decor and finish of all boats.

As expected we also received a number of enquiries from the mums and dads accompanying their daughters at the event so all in all a good day.

Copthorne Hotel Wedding Fayre

We exhibited at a wedding fayre for the first time yesterday mainly to promote our luxury Nile Cruise boats, Ms Farah, Ms Mayfair and our Dahabeyas as honeymoon holidays but also to see how they were viewed by the public in terms of value for money and as a luxury holiday idea.

The results were very good in that virtually all the people we talked to felt that the boats represented very good value for money - lead in summer 12 prices are from £899.00 including flights, full board, transfers and sightseeing - and were also very impressed with the decor and finish of all boats.

As expected we also received a number of enquiries from the mums and dads accompanying their daughters at the event so all in all a good day.

Nile Cruise Deals

The current low level of tourists to Upper Egypt has had a massive effect on the Nile Cruise trade and as mentioned previously on the number of boats sailing, at most maybe 15% and more than likely much less. Some of the companies Atp Travel work with have not had sailings on their boats since the start of the revolution in January.

It is therefore very surprising to see so many companies advertising Nile Cruise holidays on boats which are not sailing and have no planned start date. On two recent trips to Luxor I met tourists who were allocated a different Nile Cruise boat on arrival from the one they booked and some who where the total number of guests were 7 on the whole boat.

At Atp Travel we are concentrating on selling the RA II over the next couple of months as we have secured seats at a great price on one of the charter airlines. Although an older boat it still enjoys great unbiased reviews and with its private mooring, walk on balcony and extra sailing excursion to Dendera is probably the best value boat on the Nile.

Lead in prices start from £619.00 pp

Luxor News

Just returned from a 2 week holiday to Luxor and tourist business there is very quiet. Although there has been quite alot of discounting on packages it has not really generated much business and all hotels are running at very low occupancy levels.

If anything the situation is even worse on the Nile Cruise boats with probably less than 10% sailing and most lying empty and mothballed at their moorings. Of the owners and managers that I talked to none could give me confirmed dates when they planned t0 restart.

One small upside to this is that the tourist sites are very quiet and so you can have as much time as you like at each one and infact at one temple we visited, Medinet Habu (temple of Ramses III) our family were the only tourists there!

RA II Nile Cruise specials

The current low level of tourists in Egypt and especially in Luxor and Cairo has effected the number of Nile Cruises that are operating. Currently out of around 300 boats only maybe 25-30 are sailing at this time and many of the others do not know when they will restart service.

One problem this can cause is that people booking a Nile Cruise may find that the boat they had booked to go on is changed shortly before they are due to travel as it does not have enough people in order for it to sail. This could then lead them to be put on an inferior boat.

The UK favourite RA II continues to sail with its normal program including its extra sailing to the temple of Dendera and at Atp Travel http://www.atptravel.co.uk/RA_II we have some fantastic deals for selected departures in September and October. If you book this boat you are guaranteed to be on it.

Call now for details

Imagine - The Pharaohs' Museum on Liberation Square

I stayed up to watch Alan Yentobs Imagine program as it was on Egypt and what happened to the Egyptian museum during the "revolution" in January on tuesday night. Having visited Cairo many times it was fascinating to see some of the locations that Mr Yentob and his camera crew got to film from, including the interview with Omar Shariff filmed overlooking Tahrir or Liberation square as it is now known.

The scenes with Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawaas, probably the second most well known Egyptian after the deposed president were a combination of uncomfortable and slightly embarrassing as it was clear that Mr. Hawass was unhappy with some of Mr. Yentobs questioning. Particularly those with regards to what went on during the revolution when the Egyptian Museum was looted and also the treasures currently held abroad in foreign museums.

The only saving grace with regards to the looting is that the looters somehow mistook the gift shop for the museum itself and so that is where most things were taken from!!! Pro democracy demonstrators then rushed to protect the museum on hearing of the looting and to prevent any further damage.

If you have never been to Egypt there are things you will see that you would think could only appear in a comedy film and I am not just talking about the driving. Whilst filming in the Tutankhamun room during opening hours Mr Yentob witnessed museum workers opening the glass case containing the gold death mask, take it out (1 guy lifting it up with no support) then put it down on a table before changing one of the bulbs used to illuminate the mask. Shades of Only Fools and Horses and the chandelier scene sprang to mind.

Overall the film was very sympathetic to the situation in Egypt using what happened had the museum to discuss the future and what it holds. Having just returned last week I can say with 100% accuracy that the current situation is very bad from a tourism point of view. Hotel occupancy in Cairo and Luxor was very low and very very few of the Nile Cruises were operating, maybe 20-30 out of 300!!

Unfortunately with no real government until the elections in September there is no chance for any support or help in the form of subsidies to aid incoming tourism so in some ways all we can do is sit and keep our fingers crossed.

Daily Mail Travel writer's Nile Cruise

I read a recent article in the Daily Mail from a writer who had enjoyed a week on the Nile (presumably paid for by the tour operator) and her heart had sank when she saw the "ugly floating hotels stacked 6 deep" and "passengers forced to walk cross the decks of others" and then she moved on to describe her own boat, prices for which started at £2745.00 pp for 8 nights.

Now I have never been on the boat she sailed on but it looks great (so it should for that money) and has a good number of facilities as well, but would it be worth paying that amount of money for the extra facilities and to have someone fix your laptop??

As with anything, you get what you pay for and whilst there are currently some great bargains to be had for not just Nile Cruises but alot of holidays in Egypt as operators cut prices to try to sell stock they hold, a Nile Cruise does not have to be an expensive holiday.

If you book early enough you can enjoy a Nile Cruise from £615.00 pp this winter on a good 5* boat or from around £899.00 for a luxury boat with your own private guide and transportation which to me represents much better value for what is essentially the same holiday visiting the same sites.

I agree with the writer on one thing and that is that Egypt needs tourism money right now, ideally the Ministry of Tourism is working on an incentive with the local operators as well as the airlines, fingers crossed.

But I think I would like her to view some of my boats before she puts us all in the same category for Nile Cruises

Egypt - New discoveries

After what most people involved in Egypt tourism would describe as a very bad year so far its great to see a story involving new discoveries which showcase Egypt positively. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13522957

Egypt's Lost Cities which goes out on Monday the 30th May on BBC 1 at 2030 follows an American archaeologist as she excavates sites discovered through the use of satellite infra red imagery.

The findings include at least 2 new suspected pyramids and over 1000 tombs which eventually could lead to new tourist sites.

May and June Egypt Bargains

There are some great bargains to be had for both Nile Cruises and Luxor stay Holidays over the next couple of months due to the low flight rates that are currently available.

The Luxurious Ms Farah is available from £699.00 per person with free deck upgrades and the choice of private sightseeing on selected May and June departures which is a crazy price for a boat that is only 9 months old.

The RA II is also available from £569.00 which as anyone who has travelled on her before knows is a great offer and this includes sightseeing and all transfers

7 nights bed and breakfast at the Sofitel Karnak is available from just £329.00 pp and a week at the Sonesta St George in a side Nile view room from just £359.00 pp. You can then book some of our very well priced half and full day tours to enjoy the treasures of Luxor for a brilliant and cheap holiday.

Both hotels offer excellent value for money for a leisurely break

Nile Cruises 2011

With all of the recent bad press for Egypt and the demise of another Tour Operator - African Safari Club -its nice to be able to report something good.

We have managed to secure rates for winter 2011/2012 on many of our boats at the same prices as this years. So for early bookers we can offer lead in winter prices from £699.00 on the RA 2 and £899.00 on the Ms Farah.

These prices include return flights, full board on the boat, full sightseeing itinerary and all transfers in Egypt.

Slow restart to Tourism in Egypt

Although technically things are supposed to be back to normal its clear from talking to my guys in Egypt that things aren't as good as everyone would like.

As if to reinforce this, both inquiries and bookings have been slow with more people shopping than booking. The loss of the Easyjet Monday flight to Luzor for as yet unanswered reasons will also only add to problems as this will effect capacity and price leaving only Monarch operating a Monday Luxor flight.

Hopefully as clients return and we can add positive reviews this will help to spread the good word

Foreign Office Travel Advice - Luxor

The FCO yesterday changed its travel warning for Luxor and no longer advises against all but essential travel to there.

This is great news for all involved in tourism to Luxor but it now remains to be seen how quickly things get back to normal. Some of the charter companies had already cancelled flights for the next fews weeks and with a number of the Nile Cruise boats operating based on the flights some cruises may not start for several weeks.

Anyhow we all hope that over the coming weeks tourists return to all of Egypt as they will certainly need the economic boost.

Egypt unrest

Ive resisted posting anything on the current unrest for the simple reason that there is so much media attention as well as the other internet traffic - blog, facebook and twitter, that it does not really need anything else said, apart from what a terribly sad situation is.

Good friends of mine whose office happens to be in Tahrir Square have not been able to get to work due to the unrest and have no idea of the state of the office. Tourism in Cairo has ceased and having watched a John Simpson report this morning the attitudes of some Egyptians has turned quite nasty and you wonder how quickly this will change http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12387034

As someone who has worked in the Egypt Tourism industry for many years, been there many times and now a number of what I would call good friends it is both distressing and shocking at how quick things can deteriorate and I pray that somehow this ends quickly and peacefully.

February Cruise Bargains

On Selected dates in February we can offer holidays on some of our 5* and 5* deluxe Nile Cruise boats from just £599.00 including flights, full board, sightseeing program and all transfers.

Currently these deals are available on flights from Gatwick and Bristol with prices from Manchester from an extra £60.00.

February is a great time to travel to Egypt and also to escape from the English winter so why not contact us to see what is the best deal we can offer on 0845 580 9261.

Reviews/Testimonials

There is no denying that holiday reviews on the various sites can have an effect on what is booked. Of course everyone expects to go on holiday and have a great time and in general more people will write something when they have had a bad experience than those who have had the holiday they expected to have.

At Atp Travel we spend alot of time with our business partners and suppliers to ensure that our clients have the best holiday they possibly can. Whether its making sure that guides and staff are attentive to the clients needs, all transfers run smoothly without any delays or making sure that the clients are not taken on any unauthorised shopping visits

It is therefore really rewarding for us all to get the sort of review we recently had from a client who returned from one of our 7 night Classic Egypt Tours

Happy New Year

Firstly a happy new year to one and all.

Hopefully the stories from the latter part of last year from Egypt that made the headlines will not be repeated and we can get on with selling great Egypt Nile Cruises and Classical Tours.

Already bookings on our new luxury boat the MS Farah are looking great and we will be starting a special promotion for the summer season with some really low prices for a luxury cruise.

We also plan to have a Dahabiya Cruise available either for this summer or next winter with what we believe will be some of the lowest rates for this type of cruise.

Thanks