The Weblog of Spring Tours Egypt

The S/S Karim, Egypt’s only steam-operated Nile cruise boat, will be offered for weekly charters and special events as of November 2010 for a limited number of embarkations.

This historic vessel was originally used by King Fuad I of Egypt and later by his son King Farouk. After the Egyptian revolution, the S/S Karim was used by the state and hosted President Gamal Abd El Nasser and later on President Anwar Al Sadat and his wife Gihan. Still powered by its original 1917 steam engine and stern quarter wheel paddles, the S/S Karim today combines the comfort of the modern era with the grandeur of the bygone past.

The boat has 15 guest cabins and can take up to 30 guests . She is decorated in a period style with many subtle reminders of her distinguished past. The restaurant serves a splendid selection of both – international and Egyptian cuisine with buffet and waiter service. With 32 covers, this elegant room provides an intimate setting for dinner parties on board. The lounge bar offers a full international bar service, a library with a collection of books dating back to 1849, as well as a dance floor and music system.
Outside, the lower sun terrace provides a shaded area with elegant tables and chairs as well as deck bar service. The upper deck has sun loungers, a Jacuzzi pool and is home for the ship’s steam funnel with original ship’s steam whistle. The reception area has colorful stained glass windows through to the restaurant .

The S/S Karim offers an unmatched opportunity to sail the Nile on a truly authentic historical vessel. The boat is available for charter on limited embarkations as of November 2010 . The start date in Luxor is Mondays for a return trip to Aswan .
For available weeks and a detailed itinerary (which can be slightly adjusted to meet special requirements), please contact Spring Tours Egypt at info@springtours.com .You can also see the following URL http://springtours.com/boats/Karim.html.

Spring Tours Egypt
Cairo Head Office
Address :3, El Sayed El Bakry St. ET-11211 Zamalek, Cairo.
Tel: +202 2736 59 72
Fax. +202 2736 59 67
E-mail: info@springtours.com

We often receive emails or letters from people whose visit to Egypt has been made extra memorable by Spring Tours. Here is one of those messages from Ms. Julianne Jack from Canada, who visited Egypt in March 2010:

Mr. Helal,

I just returned back home to Canada from a wonderful visit to Egypt through Spring Tours. I have been praising your tour company and Tour Director to my friends and work associates, and realized I should also take a moment to pass on my praises to you personally.

I traveled on the CAA tour with Mr. Walid Shaker as our Tour Director from March 2 – 12. I also had the pleasure of meeting you at the Cairo Marriott Hotel at our tour farewell dinner.

I have been on several tours across Europe and the Mediterranean, and have also travelled extensively on my own and with friends. I am very happy to say that this tour was the best travel experience I have ever had. The reason is simple – Mr. Shaker provided exceptional customer service to our group. His professionalism and wealth of knowledge is unparalleled and his attention to detail is outstanding.

As a public relations professional and event planner myself, I know it’s the small things that most people don’t notice that makes for a special “above and beyond” experience. Mr. Shaker was always attentive to our needs – organizing changes to the schedule, available to answer any question at any time… and in my case, even helping me package up leaking spice bags I bought at a market and ensuring I received a new itinerary to replace my lost one. These may seem like minor things, but combined with his strong organizational abilities and excellent people skills, Mr. Shaker ensured our entire group had the trip of a lifetime. He has certainly set the bar very high for any tours I go on in the future!

Thank you again for this wonderful experience. The itinerary organization, accommodation and hospitality on the MS Medea was second to none. I am already recommending Spring Tours and Mr. Shaker to my friends and colleagues who are expressing interest in a trip to Egypt in the future.

Shukran!

Julianne Jack

We often receive emails or letters from people whose visit to Egypt has been made extra memorable by Spring Tours. Here is one of those letters from Ms. Vrooda Makhan of South Africa who visited Egypt in January 2010:

Dear Spring Tours,

Thanks for your reply. I didn’t expect one but I am so thrilled to have heard from you. We miss Egypt a lot and hope we can return soon.

I have to say again that you have the best staff ever. I think that is one of the reasons why your company is so successful.

Well done SPRING TOURS. If and when i come again I want to go on a longer cruise as that was my highlight of the trip.

You are really a world class tour company and you should really be proud of yourselves becuase I cannot fault you on anythings.

I will be telling all my friends and family about Spring Tours. I have already told my local travel agent in my city about you.

It is really people like yourselves who make our holidays worthwhile.

Always remember that you are the NUMBER ONE COMPANY and I have lots of respect for you and your staff.

Thanks again for taking the times and writing to me.

Kind regards from South Africa and my daughter in South Korea.

Vrooda Makhan

We often receive emails or letters from people whose visit to Egypt has been made extra memorable by Spring Tours. Here is an excerpt from one of those letters from Ms. Ludmillia K. and Mr. Gary B. who visited Egypt in Fall 2009:

Thank you for a memorable home-coming to Cairo for Irene and me, and a first class travel experience for the three of us.

We had a wonderful time in Egypt. The itinerary you arranged was excellent, as were the Spring Tours guides and drivers. Even when things did not go smoothly, as is inevitable in a long trip, the Spring Tours staff were outstanding.

We enjoyed and appreciated and the warm “welcome home” we received from all the drivers and guides, and the special care and attention given Irene. Thanks to them, she participated in all the sightseeing trips, bar one in 44 degree heat on Lake Nasser, which even people younger than Irene declined. The confidence she gained on the tours was such, that in our free time in Cairo she became our guide and found our old address and many other old haunts from her youth.

To Gary’s and my delight, she even braved “walking the plank” to come on a felucca, as you’ll see in the photo. With all the walking and climbing she did, she was fitter leaving Egypt than she was when she arrived. Next time we’ll have to take her on a dahabiyya cruise.

I would enthusiastically recommend your company, especially for tailored and private tours. Your tour and transfer personnel and arrangements all surpassed our expectations. Thanks again for a very special tour of Egypt, and for giving us a soft landing back in Cairo after 54 years away.

The SS Karim Royal paddle steamer

Spring Tours would like to extend sincere thanks and appreciation to Glasgow City Council for their prompt efforts to keep the S/S Karim, the last surviving quarter-wheeler built in Scotland in 1917, running on her original steam engines.

A few months ago, Spring Tours called on the Glasgow City Council for advice about procurement of rare parts for the royal paddle steamer’s one-of-a-kind engine. The city council relayed the request via the media to companies and enthusiasts.

Mr. Ian Mcmillan of Glascgow’s Waverly Excurions Ltd. visited Egypt in June 2009 to inspect the boat’s engine. With the invaluable aid of Mr. McMillan’s report, the Egyptian engineers were able to restore the original engine back to excellent working order.

The SS Karim will be embarking on its inaugural post-restoration Nile cruise today, October 12th 2009.

In the Valley of the Kings the tourists concentrate on visiting certain tombs – especially the tombs of Tutankhamun, Ramesses VI, and Horemheb – while others are hardly visited at all, even though the valley contains sixty-three tombs in total. This means that some tombs need added protection, while others need to be closed completely in order to save the ancient paintings. The Valley of the Kings is lightening so that people will be able to visit the tombs in the evening. This will help to protect the paintings because. This will allow the tombs to escape from the extra heat and moisture that builds up in them over the course of the day. Three special tombs are so important and beautiful that they need to be carefully protected: the tombs of Tutankhamun, Nefertari and Seti I. The latter two are currently closed to the public to help preserve them. In order to allow visitors to Luxor to still see the paintings in these beautiful tombs, On November 4th of this year, they will converting Howard Carter’s rest house in Luxor into a museum with displays focusing celebrating 86 years since the discovery of the tomb on Carter’s great discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun

While working on the project of developing the Egyptian Museum, a monument cache was discovered near the western door’s stair in the western part of the Egyptian Museum in el-Tahrir.

The cache is part of four other parts of a broken inscription that contain limestone hieroglyphic writing. It was divided into two parts with some hieroglyphic signs.

these monuments were buried in the past in this place through the Egyptian Museum archeologists when they were transferring the monuments from the archeological sites to the museum for storage. The Museum archeologists were examining the ancient monuments to burry the artificial pieces but these genuine ones were buried by mistake. The museum in el-Tahrir was set up and opened in 1902 by Auguste Mariette who was a distant relative of Champollion the decipherer of the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone.

On the other hand, the Grand Egyptian Museum is still under construction, but the opening date is not yet fixed.

Some of Spring Tours staff members were invited a few days ago to attend the opening of a new restaurant in Cairo called Taj al Sultan. The restaurant is perfectly located, at the beginning of the famous Khan El Khalili Bazaar and across the road from Al Azhar Mosque. As the restaurant’s name indicates -Taj Al Sultan or the “Crown of the Sultan”-, it is an authentic Oriental restaurant rich with luxurious Oriental décor. The restaurant not only serves Oriental cuisine, but Indian as well! The restaurants capacity is 350 seats spread on two floors, beside a coffee shop on the roof top. We would recommend combining lunch or dinner at Taj al Sultan with a stroll at Khan El Khalili and Al Mouez Street. After such tour, surely you will be enchanted by the “Magic of the Orient”.

The Dahab based “Bay View Resort” opened its doors recently while the Spa is announced to be ready to receive the guests as of October 1st. The resort’s management is mentioning to offer the resort on BB, HB and FB basis. According to current valid information, there will be a heated pool as of December 20th. Promotional rates are available till October 31st.

Egypt’s first Six Senses Spa has opened at InterContinental The Palace Port Ghalib Resort, in Marsa Alam (RMF), Egypt. The Six Senses Spa will service the three resorts located at Port Ghalib Resort.
The uniquely designed spa at Port Ghalib occupies 1,700 m2, comprising sixteen treatment areas including two Thai treatment rooms, and one wet treatment room with classically designed stone beds. The spa includes a sauna, steam room, changing rooms, fully equipped gym, and traditional hamam. A separate wet room offers a steam room and shower, plus a state-of-the-art ice room.