On my second day in Egypt, I wanted to splurge and have a private tour, so I could see the sights of Dahshur, Memphis, and Saqqara at my own pace. Trying to find a reputable Egyptologist guide online was a bit daunting, so I decided to go in a different direction. This is my review of Egyptian Sidekick. This review is my own and was not solicited by the tour company and I paid full price for the tour.
What is it?
Egyptian Sidekick is a private tour organizer that provides tailored sightseeing experiences for you or your group. They employ local Egyptian college students or locals to be your “Sidekick” while you explore. They operate in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and Aswan and 92% of the profits go strait to your Egyptian Sidekick and driver. You can pick between half day or full day trips and you choose the sites you want to visit, or have your Sidekick help plan an itinerary for you.
How I found it?
I had heard it was easy to find a guide and driver in-country and haggle…but honestly? I didn’t want to have to deal with that stress when I’d likely still be jet lagged. I tried searching for private guides on TripAdvisor, but it seemed like most were overpriced or all the “reviews” were written by friends. I knew that I could also see the sights I wanted to see via G Adventures (the tour company I used for the bulk of my trip) but…I wanted to be able to go at my own pace and not be rushed anywhere. I also didn’t want to be packed into a van with multiple other people that I’d already be spending 2 weeks with just on the off chance that they annoyed the heck out of me. (Thankfully I loved everyone on my trip! So that was an unfounded fear.) So I was stumped and put off planning my day trip for months.
As part of my planning process I scoured the web for recent Egypt Travel Blogs. I stumbled upon this article about the Top 7 Egypt Travel Bloggers on the Egyptian Sidekick site. The other part of Egyptian Sidekicks’ business model is their robust blog and social handles. They have numerous helpful articles on Egyptian sites or important topics like how to get phone/internet in Egypt. I also found that their Twitter and Facebook accounts frequently post about news in Egypt or other Egypt related Travel blogs. (If you are planning or dreaming of a trip to Egypt I highly recommend you follow them on social.)
Why I Chose Them:
After reading their blog and social posts for months, I decided “Why not?” Sure they weren’t Egyptologist but they seemed like they knew their stuff, and it would just be a lot less headache to book with them than continuing my fruitless searches for an official Egyptologist guide. And yes, their prices are higher than TripAdvisor said I could get if I haggled.  But since Egyptian Sidekick guarantees that no tip is required because the Sidekicks are well paid and the fact that I could change things on the fly, it seemed like the better “bargain”. I also liked the fact that their Sidekicks were close to my age, and thought that it would be less stuffy and more fun to have someone to hang out with. I was glad to get a male Sidekick who could help translate for me, protect me from touts, and if I had gone shopping in the markets could be my male chaperone.
Costs:
You pay just $5 up front, and the rest is paid in cash at the end of the tour. Tour cost covers the transportation (unless you go to further out sites) but does not include admission costs for you, the tourist.
Full Day Cairo Trip: $90
Driver Fee: $20 (due to Dahshur/Memphis/Saqqara being far out)
Dahshur Ticket: 47 EGP (plus 3 EGP tip)
Memphis Ticket: 43 EGP (plus 8 EGP tip)
Saqqara Ticket: 95 EGP (plus 10 EGP tip)
Water: 4 EGP
Lunch: 38 EGP
Note that the prices for other cities or half day trips differ. The price is set up to 3 people (you can pay for more people), so it would be cheaper per person than it was for me. If you have an International Student Card you can get cheaper entrance tickets.
My Sidekick:
My Sidekick was Mohsen, a Foreign Trade student at Helwan University.
My Experience with Egyptian Sidekick
Communication prior to trip:
A few days after securing my reservation for the tour Milosz Zak (day to day operations) sent me a welcome email letting me know who my Sidekick would be and pointing out some of their helpful blog posts. A little over a week before my trip Milosz contacted me again to help firm up details of what I wanted to see and do.
Then a few days after that Milosz asked if I wanted company on my trip. It turns out a travel blogging couple had just booked for the same day as I, and they were requesting my guide, Mohsen. Milosz suggested that they combine us into one single group since we were all of similar ages and would have fun together. I explained to Milosz that I purposely picked Egyptian Sidekick for a completely private tour, as I didn’t want to feel rushed or hold people back and so wanted to go at my own pace. (I also noted no discount was offered for now sharing my tour with others. I get it, if I had said yes it would have been much better for the bottom line: One driver, one guide, 3 paying customers.) But to their credit Milosz graciously accepted my answer and so I got my private tour. (Although I did end up bumping into that couple on my day out with Egyptian Sidekick and the following day on the start of my G Adventure tour.)
What my day was like:
I saw and did so much I ended up having to spin off my day into 5 parts. While long I think it will help show you all details of my day with Egyptian Sidekick.
Part 1 – The road to Dahshur and the Red Pyramid
Part 2 – The Bent Pyramid & the Queen’s Pyramid
Part 3 – Memphis Open Air Museum
Part 4 – Saqqara
Part 5 – Imhotep Museum & Kushari
Re-cap:
Overall I really enjoyed my day out with my Egyptian Sidekick Mohsen. He was a lifesaver at Dahshur and his energy made me get over my fears and helped make lasting memories that few others experience in Egypt. I do wish I had a little more attention in Memphis, but still had a great time on my own.  My key negative about the day, (and its something Egyptian Sidekick is completely up front about) was at Saqqara. I knew the Sidekicks were not Egyptologist, but I had hoped the Sidekicks would be somewhat informed about what to see at this site. Since Saqqara is so large and there is so much to see, I wouldn’t recommend that you use Egyptian Sidekick when visiting this particular site if you are an avid ancient history buff. For a place that vast you’ll want a knowledgable Egyptologist. But in the end Mohsen helped me recover from my gaff of forgetting change to tip the caretakers, and was amusing company as we wandered around. I totally would use Egyptian Sidekick again if I was exploring Cairo or any of the other sites in Egypt. In fact I saw some videos of other tourists with Mohsen just out exploring Cairo and he seemed much more in his element. I wished I could have used Mohsen as my guide for my last free day in Egypt as it would have been nice to wander the city in a low key way with a local.
My recommendation:
I would recommend Egyptian Sidekick if you are looking for a personalized tour around Cairo. Egyptian Sidekick excels in making sure you are comfortable and safe while providing local insights and conversations during your exploration. Egyptian Sidekick however may not be best if you are an ancient history buff looking for a lot of knowledge to be provided to you. You are hiring a friend to come with you on your adventures for the day, not an Egyptologist that is providing a master level crash corse in Ancient Egyptian history or culture. As long as you know that going in, you are sure to have a good time.
Leave a Reply