STAY AWAY FROM THIS TOUR GROUP!!! Our tour with Let’s Travel Egypt began with our guide Mahmoud arriving at the incorrect hotel despite being instructed in writing on where to go when we booked the tour. After calling him from hotel reception and waiting for another 20 minutes we boarded a modern and clean people mover for Alexandria. There was a traffic jam due to fog which delayed us by 3 hours. I must also add that Mahmoud told the concierge that he was waiting at the Kempinski Hotel and he lied to us saying that the hotel he was waiting at, “had the same name”. On reaching Alexandria, we were driven to the Catacombs. Mahmoud led us through and took some cursory photographs. His instruction was disinterested and the information he provided was brief. He did not seem to know much at all about what was in front of him. I asked him about an inscription on one of the burial sites and he mumbled something entirely incorrect. He seemed disinterested and bored throughout the tour. On climbing out of the catacombs Mahmoud decided he needed to have a sit down before showing us around the rest of the site. The facts that he gave use again were basic and showed a superficial level of knowledge and interest. Next we drove to Pompeys Column. Mahmoud said very little during this stop and spent the majority of the time on his phone messaging on WhatsApp. He thought it was again sufficient to take a few photographs of us infront of the column and then move on. He made no attempts to engage with us or impart learning other than superficially. By this point Mahmoud’s service was starting to show its true colours. We drove along the waterfront towards the Fort complex and it was only on my repeated insistence that we stopped to take a photograph. We drove past a beautiful mosque complex which Mahmoud failed to comment on despite being a highlight of the trip. I therefore requested that the driver stop and we go inside the mosque. Mahmoud begrudgingly accepted this although he gave no details of the mosque And proceeded to take selfies of himself inside. We thought this was very inappropriate given people were praying. He remained committed to his phone screen throughout. After this, we went to the Fort. This was an absolute shambles. Mahmoud forgot his phone in the car and spent 10 minutes finding it whilst we waited for him inside the fort. When he arrived he proceeded to mumble some superficial facts about the fort and then lead us around its walls. Perhaps what was most disappointing was that we had to listen in on other tour guides because Mahmoud’s service was so poor. He again thought that a few photographs of me with the fort in the background was suffice and moved on. One of the most curious parts of the whole affair was that Mahmoud’s facts didn’t seem to match up with what was written on plaques inside the fort. He told us that a minaret was destroyed in an earthquake when it was written that the British destroyed it in 1882. It is concerning that he was advertised as a qualified Egyptologist when neither his knowledge or his ability to impart knowledge was up to scratch. We left the fort bemused and went to lunch. Lunch was something else, and the worst we have had in Egypt so far. The vegetarian meal consisted of potatoes cooked three different ways; boiled, fried and mashed. Flavourless and disgusting it was inedible. The fish served was horrendous and dry. The dishes were served with tomato and lettuce salad that was served wet and undressed. The service was slow and we asked several times for more tahini which was ignored. To rub salt into this, we were made to pay $5 AUD each for cans of Pepsi. What a joke, this is not what we paid for! After lunch our final stop was at the Library of Alexandria. We arrived after which Mahmoud announced, “this is the outside of the library” and the year it was built in. Upon my own questioning I attempted to establish why the library was important to which Mahmoud did not really have an answer. He only explained to us what happened to the old library when I asked him. We entered into the library to which Mahmoud said, “this is the inside of the library. You can go up and down”. He then proceeded to sit down on a chair and watch us explore. By this time we were sick of him and realised that he had no knowledge to upset anyway. We tried asking him where level B2 was with the old and rare manuscripts but he did not know so we deferred to a librarian. Perhaps the worst part of the entire tour was when we read on a sign that there was a museum inside the library. To this point Mahmoud had made no indication of this. We asked him about it to which he lied, “the museum is closed”. Smelling a rat and seeing people going down to the museums entrance we asked a security guard who politely showed us to the ticket office and stated that the museum was open. It must be noted that we paid for our own admission here. The museum was fantastic and Mahmoud sat on his phone at the entrance the entire time looking dejected and defeated. There were no attempts at photography or guidance this time. We left the museum as Mahmoud lit up a cigarette on the way to the car. He did not attempt to speak to us again. We had asked Mahmoud earlier in the day what “snacks” entailed as outlined in the package inclusions. He stated this was for fruit in the afternoon. We saw none of this, and none was offered to us. Perhaps Let’s Travel Egypt needs to rethink this fraudulent use of their guide allowances? Clearly Mahmoud was keen to avoid the subject of snacks and pocket the money. We arrived back at the hotel and left immediately. Mahmoud was a terrible guide and a blight on Let’s Travel Egypt’s reputation. I would encourage you never to book with this company in case you draw him as a guide. I must note that the driver was courteous and professional throughout. I highly recommend that Let’s Travel Egypt review Mahmoud’s contract of employment. This has left a foul taste in our mouths.