I've waited 3 months to post this review. I wanted time to regain my objectivity and my grace. I had very much looked forward to traveling with this company since they seemed to have many interesting trips and I thought this would be the first of many trips to be taken with their guidance.
In December 2017, I asked Barbara, the owner of Original World to put together a trip for me, a solo traveler, to Egypt and Jordan. I had a very good idea of the itinerary I wanted and I felt that she did a good job putting it together.
This review will only cover the Egypt portion of my trip as the Jordanian part was provided by a different local agency which was wonderful. Both the guide, Maha, and driver, Rami were just terrific and their company added immeasurably to my trip.
Unfortunately, I had quite a bad experience in Egypt which was made much worse by my own agent, Barbara Sansone at Original World.
Egypt is a country going through economic and political crisis. The value of the Egyptian pound has dropped against the US dollar and tourism, as a result of recent and not so recent terrorist attacks, has fallen precipitously. As a result, many tourist sites are not open for all the hours advertised, the hotels have become a bit shabby, unemployment is high and tipping is how just about everyone connected with tourism makes a living. I tipped often and generously but I was only one person and there were times when I was made to feel that even a 20 or 25% tip wasn't enough (which, of course, was on top of the hefty fees I had paid Barbara at Original World.)
However, this is what happened in Egypt:
In Cairo, I was greeted at the airport by the travel agency (Excel) representative. He was not terribly friendly but I didn't ascribe anything to that.
We arrived at the hotel in Giza and he introduced me to my first guide and then to the first of a succession of drivers I would have for the next 8 days.
Over the course of those 8 days in Egypt, I saw many fabulous sites and was dazzled by Egyptian history and culture. If the trip had ended there, it would have been fine. The trip went off the rails, however, when I noticed that the weekend portion of my schedule, which included a visit to the very large and well known bazaar in Cairo, was scheduled on a Sunday when the bazaar was closed and a tour of the Coptic churches scheduled on Saturday. I, I thought quite reasonably, requested that the plans for Saturday/Sunday be swapped so that I could go to the bazaar on Saturday and the churches on Sunday. At that, my agency representative became quite angry. I was told that it was impossible, that US tourists required special security, that the guide was not permitted to go into the bazaar on Sunday, that the tour agency couldn't change the itinerary and on and on. I said ok, that's fine, I will then skip the tour of the Coptic churches on Saturday and go to the bazaar alone since that was a priority for me. That seemed not ok as well. Harsh words were spoken and I reminded everyone that this was MY trip and that I had paid quite well for it and that, unless, a reasonable excuse could be given, I wanted to follow my own instincts and my own itinerary.
At no time was I asked for additional fees, or was I asked my religion (which would have seemed quite a strange question.)
In the end, I did go to the bazaar, WAS accompanied by my guide but had to give up the tour of the Coptic churches, to which I agreed.
What happened next was completely shocking and inexplicable.
Apparently, Excel travel called Barbara in California, told her that I had refused to pay an additional amount (not true) and that I refused to see the Coptic churches because I was Jewish. (Also not true).
To my surprise, Barbara called me, did not ask me a single question, did not ask me what happened, (I thought she was calling to ask me how I was enjoying my trip) and then for berated me for incurring charges which I was accused of not paying, for changing the itinerary against the will of the local agent, and for refusing to see the churches. When I suggested to Barbara that she seemed to have forgotten who paid her for my trip and that I had no reason whatsoever not to tell the truth, she said that Excel had "no reason to lie". I guess that means that Excel word is more important to her than her own client. To date, I have never received an apology, and have never heard from her again. That sort of treatment by a travel agent is simply stunningly awful. To be "thrown under the bus" in favor of an anti-semitic travel agency was mind boggling and I would certainly never recommend anyone use her agency.
I'm happy to answer any questions from travelers who are considering a trip to Egypt and Jordan. It was nearly 100% wonderful and if not for a very, very unpleasant end to the Egypt portion and a very upsetting and entirely inexplicable altercation with my own travel agent, this would have been a fabulous trip. read more