Cairo Half Day Tours To Giza Pyramids And Sphinx

Amazing tour of Pyramids, Sphinx and Museum with Sayed Mahmoud and our driver Manem. They were knowledgeable, friendly and we had such an amazing time. Would highly recommend both of them.

(1) This is a fake tour and scam - DO NOT waste your time and money and live to regret booking this tour. You can just make your way to the pyramids by yourself via public transport or via a taxi/Uber. You can then buy tickets upon entry (there wasn't much of a queue when I arrived at around 10:30AM-11:00AM on a weekday morning) and make your way around the pyramids by yourself. There is a small indoor museum with information also in English which you can read yourself as well as a shuttle bus which takes you to various stops within the pyramids (around 3-5 stops I think depending on what type of ticket you have purchased) and you can ask other tourists or staff if you are unsure about anything. (2) The real purpose of this fake tour is to extort as much money out of you as possible via currency exchange rates (USD vs EGP) e.g. they purchase tickets in local currency and sell it to you in US Dollars and then pocket the difference, a pointless tour guide (who will not provide you with any useful information or information which isn't already available to you) and by taking you against your will to tourist shops to pressure you into buying things you don't want so that they can make more money for themselves. Your happiness and enjoyment at the pyramids is of no concern to them - they couldn't care less - all they care about is your money. (3) The tour is advertised as half a day/4 hours, but will actually last for about 1 hour i.e. around 1 hour spent in the pyramids (around 15 minutes in the indoor museum and around 45 minutes outdoors in the actual pyramids) and the rest of the time at tourist shops - you may easily spend more time at the tourist shops than at the pyramids themselves! (4) The real purpose of the tour guide is to hasten you through the pyramids and then to take you to some tourist shops (to make money out of you) against your will and which is NOT part of the agreed itinerary (a perfume shop and a papyrus shop as of October 2025). (5) You will notice that your tour guide will ask you for your phone and offer to take photos for you. This is not the tour guide being courteous but is actually a tactic to control you. You will also note that the tour guide will move you along quickly through the pyramids, but will leave you alone and give you as much time and space as you need when at the perfume/papyrus shops i.e. tourist shops. In these shops you may feel cornered and pressured into making a purchase against your free will. The perfume will be sold to you at an extortionate price (around £70 GBP or $90 USD). They will claim that it is made from expensive oils and has health benefits etc. I believe that the tour guide receives a commission from these shops, hence why he/she will hasten you through the pyramids but will give you all the time and space that you need whilst at the tourist shops. (6) You may also note that the tour guide may ask you for a tip, even asking persistently and making you feel uncomfortable. (7) When you ask for a refund (full or partial) from EMO Tours Egypt they will refuse outright. (8) I am from the UK and managed to get a full refund plus £100 compensation from my bank NatWest under the chargeback scheme in relation to the perfume which I purchased against my will. (9) I am still pursuing a refund and compensation in relation to the tour itself via my other bank Santander (as of March 2026), but this is being referred to the Financial Ombudsman as Santander has so far refused a refund claiming that it is all subjective.

A private guide to tour the pyramids makes the experience much better. My guide Osama was a wonderful guide— knowledgeable and affable. He was also the best photographer— that was a huge bonus. The driver, Belal, arrived on time to pick me up for the tour. We met up with my guide Osama close to the pyramids. Belal stopped on the way to get me some snacks. That was kind and thoughtful as this was not included in the cost of the trip. Highly recommended

Our trip with Abdullah and Emo Tours was amaxing. Guide was a perfect gentleman and was very flexible with our schedule. He took amazing pictures and gave us great insights of the area. We highly recommend this company!!!

An excellent tour of the Pyramids and the Sphinx from start to finish. Everything was well organized, from timing to logistics, which made the experience smooth and stress free. Our guide, Aladdin, truly made the difference. His knowledge of the history, symbolism, and construction of the Pyramids and the Sphinx was impressive, and he explained everything in a clear, engaging way. You can immediately tell he has years of experience guiding visitors on this site. Beyond his expertise, Aladdin was extremely friendly, approachable, and attentive. He took the time to answer every question, adapted the pace to the group, and shared many fascinating details that you would never get from a standard guidebook. We could even add a stop in a local restaurant with a view of the pyramids to finish the day, which was not anticipated, but highly appreciated! A well organized, enriching, and memorable visit. Highly recommended, especially with a guide like Aladin.

I booked this for my friend. It was all good till they took him to an extra location that was not in the package to the Papyrus Museum and he was coerced into buying items to be able to leave! That was a low move. We booked before with this company and we did not have that experience.

The guide was amazing and very knowledgeable. Hashtag and Ramadan provided great service and good price. I use them everytime I come to Egypt, they know me personally and they would do anything to make the experience the best.

Our tour to the Pyramids of Giza was absolutely fantastic! What truly made the experience unforgettable was our guide Ahmed Gohary. He took outstanding care of us throughout the entire trip and made sure we always felt comfortable and well looked after.

We had a great half-day tour of the pyramids in Cairo. Our guide, Mohammed Hamed, was very helpful and friendly. He knew a lot about the history and showed us the best photo spots. He also took amazing pictures of us, which we really appreciated. Everything went smoothly from pickup to drop-off. One of the highlights for us was the perfume experience after visiting the pyramids—it was unique and relaxing. Overall, it was a very well-organized and enjoyable tour. Highly recommend!

It was great. We wanted to have just the basics in as less time as possible and our tour guide Aladdin made it possible in the best way! He took amazing photos for us and showed us the beautiful pyramids with all of the historical facts. Super !

The guide could have done a better job in explaining the do's and don'ts about the pyramid entry. We paid for the kid and were told at the entrance, the kid is not allowed. As a result we all had to come out. Wasted our money!

We booked this tour with EMO Tours Egypt for 4 adults & 3 kids, all three less than 12 years. In my chats with EMO personnel prior to travelling, they said that I could book 4 camels on the go for all 7 of us in Giza at US$10 per camel. Our guide was Ahmed. First off, he took hold of the phone of one of us and said that he'll take all the pics. We thought that that'll give us some free time to explore. Instead, Ahmed controlled our movements, moving quickly through the attractions. He offered to pay for the camels in EGP, asking us to reimburse him at $12 per camel. When we visited the Sphinx, we were able to view it only from the side and only at a distance of more than 50 meters. We were not taken anywhere near the pyramids of Khafre & Menkaure and did not visit the Valley Temple stipulated in the itinerary. Instead, we were taken to a perfume outlet, where we spent easily over 1 hour. When Ahmed wanted to take us also to a papyrus factory/shop we declined. Neither of the last two visits were in the itinerary. When we were taken to a restaurant for lunch, Ahmad said that he has to travel far and would like to leave us with the driver to be taken back to our hotel after lunch. So, I gave him a tip to be shared with the driver, which he indicated was not enough. My son ended up giving him an additional tip. Ahmad definitely did not deserve the tip we gave him. We were quite unhappy that Ahmad's avarice muted our once-in-a-lifetime experience of this wonderful place on the Giza Plateau. After having originally booked this tour with Viator and reading in reviews that, with some companies contracted by Viator, the guides take the customers willy nilly to shopping outlets, we decided to go with EMO Tours because their reviews were much better and did not include shopping stops. We were solely disappointed that EMO Tours Egypt for this tour did not rise above other poorly reviewed tour companies. We are also disappointed that the over-the-top reviews on TripAdvisor for EMO Tours Egypt for this tour misled us very badly. We took another tour (Cairo Day Tour to Memphis Sakkara & Dahshur Pyramids) also from EMO Tours Egypt, which turned out to be much better.

Well, It has been a great experience for both of us. The guide Samaya was absolutely amazing, she has been very friendly same as the driver Mohammad who been great and very helpfully.

Great driver, very helpful We totally enjoyed the experience and appreciate his assistance. Great value for this important tour.

10/10 recommend! Was amazing! Aladin was the best tour guide! He has amazing knowledge! I’ve learned a lot about the history. He took time explaining everything. He took the best photos. Thank you

We had an amazing time with Aladdin and our driver Abdullah! Very knowledgeable Egyptologist, knows the history and knows all the best picture spots! They were very flexible with our itinerary and helped us drop off at the GEM after the tour.

Thank you to our tour guide Aladdin for the best experience of the Giza pyramids. The tour was arranged well, we were picked up on time and driven very safely by Mahmood. Aladdin had great knowledge of the pyramids and Egyptian history. He was always happy to answer our many questions. He was a very entertaining and friendly tour guide. We were also treated to Koshary at the famous Abu Tarek, which was very delicious and a great way to end the morning.

A definite must do in Cairo. Sayed my guide from Emo tours was knowledgable and very accommodating. Spent some time to take it in at each stop and got all the photos I wanted. Would highly recommend. Shout out to our driver Yousef also! Took us around the complex and we never had to wait long anywhere and he pulled up to get me back in the air con. ✌🏼

A fantastic tour, with an amazing guide. Travelling with children the guide brought the history to life. Definitely recommend this trip with Emo tours.

The tour of the pyramids and the accompanying explanations were very good. However, the website indicated the tour would last 4 hours, but we finished in less than an hour. The guide then offered a horseback ride, which I found overpriced: 10 minutes for 15 euros, plus an additional 2 euros for the person who brought the horse. I felt this was a rip-off and it left me disappointed. After the horseback ride, we visited a few tourist shops. I chose not to go for lunch afterward. Overall, while the pyramids themselves were amazing, the tour did not meet my expectations and I cannot recommend this agency due to the misleading information and additional costs.

Excellent tour with tour guide Hamdi. Timely arrival and very knowledgable. Flexible tour with options available without any pressure. Driver also very welcoming.

Awesome! On time Hospitable Great funny tour guide (Osama) Best spots, best pictures Highly recommend

Ahmed Essam (tour guide) & Ahmed the driver were absolutely amazing from start to finish! Couldn't recommend this tour enough! It began with prompt pick up from our hotel & a very clean & spacious vehicle ready with complimentary cold water. Ahmed E talked us through history/culture on our way to the pyramids/sphinx and helped us get AMAZING pictures. He didn't pressure us at all and tried to make the day as easy/enjoyable as possible. We also went to a perfumery & a papyrus centre which was a pleasant surprise. He took great care of us as did the driver and we wouldn't hesitate to book a tour with the company again.

We had an amazing tour guide... Mohamed...who was very well informed and enthusiastic about the stories shared related to the sites. I learned a lot from him. He was.also patient and kind.

Top service, very friendly and knowledgeable guide, has taken good care of us, cannot recommend him enough

We really enjoyed this trip. Our guide was excellent he was kind and made as many pictures of us as we asked. He provided us a lot of information about the pyramids and made all of them interesting. He was kind and helpful, his english was pretty well and easy to follow. Be prepared for the shops, they will want to sell you parfumes and papyrus which is much more expensive than in the city.

Very easy half day trip door to door from hotel. Guide was knowledgeable and friendly and provided a great experience visiting the pyramids and sphinx. Also stopped at a papyrus shop and cotton clothing shop.

This was one of the highlights of our trip, not just because of the pyramids, but also because of our excellent guide and driver. Hamid and Muhammad made us feel safe and comfortable the entire time we were with them. Hamid told us the history of the pyramids and the latest theories on how they were built and took some incredible pictures of us with the pyramids and sphinx. After the tour, Hamid took us to a papyrus museum and store where we learned about the plant and how it was used to make the paper historically used. Hamid treated us to a cup of coffee at a local shop and it was a great chance to chat and learn more about life in Egypt. After coffee, Hamid ensured we got to try koshary for lunch then dropped us back at the hotel. Overall would recommend this tour wholeheartedly!

Overall was okay. It’s the pyramids, which was awesome of course, but our guide had minimal English compared to what I expected (she couldn’t understand most of the follow up questions I had about the history and only gave a very cursory overview when explaining) and overall didn’t seem very excited to be there. It was convenient to have the driver taking us between places but wasn’t worth the extra money for the guide and lunch. The extra papyrus demonstration was cool, but we didn’t get to go to the perfumery which wasn’t offered to us.

I did the half day tour to Giza Pyramids and Sphinx from Cairo with my mother. We decided to do the half a day tour instead of a full day because we were tired from travelling/other tours and also wanted to give ourselves more time to explore Cairo on our own. Thank you to our tour guide Hazem and driver Weal! Hazem took the best photos we could have asked for. In addition to seeing & learning about the pyramids and Sphinx, you can pay extra to go inside the pyramids and to take a camel ride to see a panoramic view of the pyramids. The tour also involved visiting papyrus, cotton and perfume shops. However our guide was very understanding when we decided to only visit one shop instead of all three. The tour was exactly what we wanted, although there is so much to do so if you want to see more than I'd suggest doing the full day tour instead of half a day.

The pyramid experience was awesome. Plenty parking ques well organized. Cannot go to cario and not visit the pyramids

A private tour with prepaid admission is best in any setting and our excellent tour guide Sayed Mahmoud was very knowledgeable about anything Egypt. Our driver Mr Ahmad was very prompt and on hand at all times when needed. We were so comfortable with them both, we requested them for this tour on our second day. Our first trip was at the Egyptian museum/citadel/khan kalilli bazaar.

We had a most wonderful experience made possible by our excellent and knowledgeable tour guide Sayed Mahmoud and not to forget also our driver Mr Ahmad. They were prompt and took us around with ease. I do recommend the private tours, totally worth it. Going into the great pyramid was quite the experience and should be a part of your tour. I highly recommend Sayed as your guide!

Chris my tour guide spent 1 hour 14 minutes in total for a 4 hours tour! All she did was take some photos for me at the 3 pyramids and spent 5 minutes taking some photos of the Sphinx from faraway for me. The start of my tour and of the photo taking was at 10:07am of the 3 pyramids and ended at the Sphinx at 11:21am at which it was the end of the tour. The start until the end is 1 hours 14 minutes! Can this be regarded as a rip-off? The verdict is yours to make.

We are so glad with our tour guide Esma and driver Muhammad. Esma cared about us and gave a lot of information about Pyramids and Sfenks. Thanks to her, we rode a camel 🐫 and were taken a lot of nice photos 📸 from different view. I definitely recommend you this tour program.

it was a great experience visiting the pyramid and sphinx many things to my tour guide jessy and to my driver you guys are awesome❤️!

The Giza Pyramids and Sphinx Tour was everything we imagined. Our guide gave us history as we walked around and he took awesome pix of us. Something NOBODY tells you, but I will. You can go inside one of the pyramids but if you're claustrophobic, pregnant, have a bad back, or can't take the heat, walk in 10 ft, for the experience, turn around and come out. It's like going into a cave where the path is maybe 6 ft wide. There are several flights of "steps" (wooden board with horizontal slats placed to mimic steps) along the way and some of the path you have to bend down to go thru. There's 1 way in and 1 way out so there are people passing you on the maybe 6 ft wide path as they leave. Your destination is a room with any empty tomb, YouTube it for a visual. If you go, wear a mask because people are nasty and cough and sneeze without covering their mouths. The path is so tight and no air is circulating so you know you're getting some of their germs! Also, we booked a tour of the Egyptian Museum with our guide for a different day. We paid him in cash (I know, rookie mistake!) and he said we were all set. The day of the tour there was no chat from anyone. They chat with you before the tour to make sure you know where to meet and so you have a contact for questions. I was concerned due to the lack of communication so called the tour company's number I found on Google and tried to start a conversation on the Pyramids tour chat number from a few days before. The company number rang then cut off and the chat never responded. I called our tour guide whose number we had, he was from a different company and a different tour, to ask for help. He made some phone calls then someone contacted me about the tour. Don't know if it was a scam that I was able to avoid by getting help from a local person, or what. All I know is DO NOT book a tour with your guide, do it thru the app for your protection!!

The tour was great. We took a lot of pictures and Sayed Mahmoud, ours guide was incredible and very helpful. Our driver Ahmed was great too .

Look at the the 5 star reviews and you will notice that the vast majority are from contributors with just one review, so this adjusts the rating. We went on a 4 hour tour of the pyramids/sphinx with a tour guide and all tickets paid for. We got picked up at our hotel and dropped off which is about the only good thing. The tour guide didn't know much more than what wikipedia can tell you so that was probably pointless. They are always in a rush as they're main objectives is to get you to the extras which need to be paid for. This is the camel rides, visiting a papyrus and cotton shop - I assume they make commission on these so they are always pushing to move along and not allowing time to take in the sights or take photos. Fortunately I had read about this prior to going on the tour (but still chose to as we had kids). My advice is to just ignore them, do what you need to and then go ahead, there is plenty of time (we took 2.5 hours to see all 3 pyramids and the sphinx). Viewing the sphinx is not up close, it's about 100 metres away from the side of a road and the guide will probably then complain they can't stop for long. Again ignore them. The cotton shop was just a clothing shop with fakes/knock offs but at original prices and surprise, suprprise the tour guides don't mind if you take your time here even if it's all day. For us with small kids this tour was enough but I'd recommend getting a local taxi (you will need to cover their entry fee - this is fixed and details online). Pay for your own entry tickets and then take your time. You will get locals trying to sell all sorts so just be firm and say no - be aware some will say pay whatever but then at the end demand a lot.

I opted for Emo based on TA reviews. And this was spot on! My location was not in their list of pickup points. Shimaa from Emo support coordinated over WhatsApp to ensure that my location was recorded correctly in their records. The car reached my apartment on time. From my previous experience I have realised that the guide can make or break your trip. Rania - my Egyptologist guide was a great natured and warm person with a deep knowledge of Egyptian history. She gave me a wonderful tour of the pyramids and sphinx. Luckily she was with me for the Egypt museum tour the next day. Full marks to Emo for their professionalism.

Our guide Sayed Mahmoud and driver Ahmed Ali went above and beyond! The tour included extra stops we never would have seen otherwise.

I took a half day tour with Hamdi, who was AMAZING! He made the whole thing feel friendly and fun, he was super knowledgeable and engaging, and he took the greatest photos of me with the pyramids, sphinx, etc. It was a great trip and I highly recommend Hamdi (and the wonderful driver we had, whose name I can't remember, unfortunately). Highly recommend!!!

The tour was great! The tour guide was absolutely fantastic. He tailored my experience according to what my needs were and what I was most interested in seeing. The drive there and back was safe. Overall, it was wonderful seeing this wonder of the world. I highly recommend booking this tour. It’s also a really safe option rather than trying to navigate a very busy crowded tourist place with hagglers and long distances between the different sites.

The guide Sayed Mahmoud was really wonderful and amazing throughout the tour. He and his driver Hamdi were very helpful for the entire half day tour. Highly recommended!!!

Great communication and very flexible for our needs and what we wanted to do. We were able to shorten the time and limit the locations that we visited because of our flight schedule that day. Guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. Very pleasant attitude. I'd highly recommend this service to anyone.

We had a private tour with Sayed Mahmoud and Mohammed as our driver to see the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx and the Egyptia Museum. Was very interesting and informative and got lots of lovely pictures. Said was very helpful in dealing with street vendors so we didnt feel like we were constantly being bothered by them.

Was a great and interesting guided tour to Giza. Started as a Half Day then easily extended to a Full Day tour. Sam was a great and very knowledgable guide. There were crowds of tourists in Giza that day, but if you well prepared in advance, with a lot of patience to the traffic of Cairo as well, then you will enjoy it.

Essam was very friendly and helpful. I also enjoyed a camel ride to see the 9 pyramids. Full of info and took lots of fun photos - thank you

We booked a half day tour of the Pyramids and Sphinx with EmoTours Egypt via Viator on our first day in Egypt with a car and driver, tour guide, entrance fees paid and lunch and it was a complete disaster. So much so, we ended the tour after two hours.... Emo did not provide a tour guide, only a driver, who introduced himself as the guide, which would have been fine, if the driver was a guide too, however, he didn't know anything about the Pyramids and tried to tell us that a Pharaoh lived for 500 years! When we questioned this fact, he wasn't happy. This apart, what really spoilt the tour was the constant 5 minutes, 5 minutes, not expecting us to get out of the car and walk around the Pyramids, but only take photos and move on. When we asked to stop to look at Menkaure Pyramid, the driver told us that the wasn't allowed to park in the car park as sky diving was taking place... despite the fact we could see lots of other cars and coaches parked in the car park. We finally persuaded him to take us (part of the tour) and again, we were given five minutes to walk around, not sure how we were going to spend the next two hours of the tour, apart from eating lunch! By this time, my husband had had enough and told the driver that we would walk by ourselves for the rest of the tour and ended it there and then. We met a man at Menkaure Pyramid selling his wears and he spent 10 minutes explaining to us about the Pyramid and how it was built (an ex tour guide) and we learnt for from chatting to him than in the last two hours with the so called Emo tour guide. On our return, we complained to Emo about the tour and lack of guide, which we had paid for. After several days and lots of communication, we were told that they would refund 35% of the tour cost. We did not think this was good enough, as the tour guide was a large part of the cost of the package. Viator stepped in and we were given a full refund. I guess if Emo had said that they did not have a guide available for the tour on the day we booked, we would have just accepted that, instead of trying to pass a driver off as a guide and a driver - not good Emo.....