Amazing Experience in Fayoum

My son and I had a wonderful experience with Mahmoud as our guide and Ahmed as our driver for the day in Fayoum. We started off the day with falafel, courtesy of Mahmoud. Mahmoud’s knowledge on the history of Fayoum puts him in a great position to share the evolution of whales and archaeological work in the area. Mahmoud was very patient with my son (diagnosed with autism) throughout the entire journey. Mahmoud and Ahmed included sandboarding in the desert for my son and with success. I highly recommend Mahmoud as your guide to Fayoum area.

Fabulous Fayoum

We were lucky to find THE best guide and driver for our day trip to Fayoum. Mahmoud organised a perfect day of interest, fun, relaxation, history and culture. We highly recommend his tours. He has a passion for his work and his country.

A part of Egypt that should not be missed

We saw a part of Egypt neglected by most organized tours
The trip was well planned by our guide,Mahmoud Kamel.we visited the different lakes of the area,the village of Tunis and its pottery school.we had an old cciting but safe drive on the dunes thanks to the expert driver,TalaatThe visit to the UNESCO natural site of the valley of the whales was an eye opener on the life of this area 40 millions of years ago and the evolution of these animals
Mahmoud was excellent.He is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about sharing his experience and knowledge
It was a great experience for us

Special window into the fascinating Fayoum

We spent three days under the excellent guidance of Mahmoud of Explore Fayoum. As a lifelong native, scholar and enthusiast for all his region has to offer, he shared unique sites throughout Fayoum with us, from the most remote (Qasr Sagha Temple) to the most popular (Valley of the Whales) . We visited geological, paleo-biological, Pharaonic, Greco-Roman and agricultural heritage sites, and desert landscapes of great beauty. We especially liked Medinat Madi and hiking across farmers’ fields to see an ancient waterwheel Mahmoud had discovered by bicycle. We did find the prevalent trash, terrible roads and poverty distressing but these, too, are part of today’s Fayoum. Mahmoud is a skilled communicator and a personable, energetic leader. Couldn’t ask for more!

Amazing Artisans Tour with Mahmoud

We had an absolutely fantastic time with Mahmoud on the Fayoum Countryside and Artisans tour! I found the company online and contacted Mahmoud via WhatsApp for availability, tours and prices. His communication from the very start was amazing, and he even helped sort out transfers for us from Cairo to our accommodation in Tunis Village (and back) at a much cheaper price than we were quoted elsewhere. The tour itself was exactly the sort of thing we were looking for and gave a real sense of the livelihoods and culture of this part of Egypt. After pickup from our hotel, we started with a visit to Nazla village and were introduced to a style of pottery using the ground which is only used in this place. We were able to see how the pottery is created, where the materials come from and how the pottery is used (even the buildings are made from the pots in this area!). They were immensely talented and more than happy to answer our questions. We then visited Mohammed who makes chairs and other furniture from palm fronds and sells them on. What he created was beautiful and he worked with such skill and knowledge which was incredible to watch. Unfortunately we weren’t able to visit the plant nursery, but we went to a local temple dedicated to the God Sobek instead, before finishing with the pottery school in Tunis Village and some history on this style of pottery in the area and a demonstration on how it is produced. Mahmoud was an exceptional guide, with a huge amount of knowledge of the area and a lovely guy. We had a wonderful time on this tour and would encourage anyone visiting the area to do it!

Beautiful Tunis Village & Fayoum desert

We spent a month with friends in Tunis village. Tunis turns into a tourist village on weekends and it is lovely to see people from other parts of Egypt and around the world visit and take part in pottery workshops. The rest of the week it is a lot quieter and we enjoyed the pace of life, watching the farmers and villagers, going for walks to the lake and through the fields and taking pottery classes at Fayoum Pottery Svhool. Thr people in Tunis were friendly and welcoming and we miss them all. We went with Mahmoud (Fayoumer tour guide) to the desert nearby and spent a beautiful day in the desert seeing the wadi, the oases, waterfalls and enjoying delicious fish cooked by Bedouins. Thanks so much to the wonderful people of Fayoum, we hope to be back soon.

Magical desert tour in Wadi El Hitan and Wadi el Rayan

We had a magnificent day-trip in Wadi el Hitan and Wadi el Rayan with Mahmoud. Mahmoud catered to our specific requests (adding a beautiful dinner under a camp tent when we asked if we could add an evening meal to the tour), and organised everything for us (car, tickets, meals including lunch and despite his Ramadan fasting !). We could not have wished for a better guide to discover Fayyum and will definitely contact him whenever we’re back in the region and want to discover another part of it ! Thanks again for the wonderful trip 🙂

Best experience I had from Egypt!

Where do I start? It was everything I dreamed of and more! The excellent level of english, the infinitive knowledge for the place , the unbelievable level of relaxation and excitement at the same time with the love for the nature and its history made this trip MY FAVORITE MEMORY FROM EGYPT! I wish more people knew about this place and had the opportunity to live this life- changing experience! If you are skeptical like me I guarantee you, in this experience you will feel and be safe,too ! I will leave some photos to do the rest of the talking but as a conclusion I would say that don’t even think about it, just book it!!!

Day trip to north lake Qaroun

It was excellent and very informative. Mahmoud Kamal is very professional and he very kindly met all our requests. I’m definitely coming back for more discovery about Fayoum with Mahmoud. My deepest thanks to him🙏

An amazing trip with Mahmoud!

We were a group of 6 friends coming to Fayoum. We wanted an unforgettable experience in the desert, and it is what we got thanks to Mahmoud and the Bedouin driver. We went to the Valley of the whales which was so impressive, not only the whale fossiles, but also the landscapes and the very good explanations from Mahmoud. The off-road trip with the 4×4 car was also super great and something that we will never experience again I think. Absolutely amazing, super great moment! We definitely recommend Mahmoud as a guide!

Excellent tour and great guide!

Mahmoud is wonderful and very knowledgable of his hometown which made a great tour guide. Highly recommend an experience with him in Fayoum!

Note that you will have to organize transportation*

Fantastic experience

Mahmoud is a great tour guide! We had a thrilling, interesting and laidback day exploring Wadi El Rayan and Hitan , as well as the climate change museum. Mahmoud has excellent knowledge as well as a very high level of English. The local Bedouin driver was also super nice and the whole day-trip was simply fantastic. We would definitely come back again to do another tour!

Beautiful Fayoum!

I loved my trip to the Fayoum! It was beautiful and I learned so much. First we went to Whale Valley/Wadi el-Hitan and the larger park, learning about the prehistory and geology of the region. It was an excellent example of sustainable tourism and I appreciated the eco style tour that focused on the environment. Tunis village was just as enjoyable. I made my own pottery and then shopped at all the local schools and shops. Each place offered something unique and handcrafted. We ended the day at Ibis Restaurant, which was delicious! I highly recommend going to Fayoum, I know I’ll be back!

Simply Beautiful and Exciting

It was our family reunion, young and old. Our tour was well organized and very informative. This was a tour for the lovers of hidden treasures and the unusual sites. We all enjoyed visiting the best side of Bayoum (now Fayoum), it’s always precious to learn more about our land Egypt.
Please, don’t miss to enjoy the tranquility of the desert and KEEP IT CLEAN while visiting.

Visit to Wadi Rayan and Tunis

Me and my two friends spent the day with Mahmoud who guided us to some beautiful sites in Wadi Rayan and to the potters of Tunis village. We had a great day full of experiences, from many beautiful lake and mountain views, to sandboarding, to a pottery shopping spree and some great food. It was so nice to be in the company of somebody who is so at home and knowledgeable about the area. There is still so much I wish to see in Fayoum, and if and when I go back I will definitely get back in touch with Mahmoud.
! شكرا جزيلا محمود

A unique experience with Mahmoud!

My mother and I wanted to do a day trip to Fayoum to explore the community through their unique methods and design in pottery. Looking back, this experience in Fayoum could not have been better!

Firstly, Mahmoud was very quick with following up on our booking request that we made the night before our trip to Fayoum.

While meeting Mahmoud, we enjoyed a great breakfast at the cooking school, which had an extraordinary view of the lake. We then headed out to Nazla to see the traditional method of doing pottery. On the way, we passed by a busy market that gave us the true Egyptian pulse. While at Nazla, we met Hosny, one of the men working there who told the story about their pottery that has gone by for generations. and we watched their method in action.
Truly astonishing.

We headed back to Tunis village and visited the pottery school there and learned more about the history and methods of doing pottery, from beginning to end.

We rounded off with visiting some of the ateliers of the students and ended up purchasing some gems home.

We truly recommend Mahmoud as a guide. He made us feel like we weren’t imposing, and you could tell that he is passionate about the Fayoum community, greeting people by name on the streets and bringing the day with joy.

Prices were very accurate, especially since most of the profit is going back to the community.

Hope you get back there soon again!
An absolute gem!

Thank you, Mahmoud,
/Juliana & Eva

Amazing experience! Highly recommended

We visited Medinet Madi and the Tunis Village with The Fayoumer – Mahmoud, and we cannot thank him enough for the great experience. He walked us through the history of Medinet Madi, an amazing Egyptian-Greco-Roman city outside of the regular touristy routes. He is very knowledgeable and has a big passion for what he does and the history of Fayoum. He was also very flexible to accommodate our several requests. We want to come back and explore more sites with the Fayoumer! GRAZIE

An unforgettable desert trip

To do our tour in the Fayum in July, Mahmoud advised us to start early to dodge the midday heat. Due to work commitments, we could not be in Fayum the day before and set out from Cairo at 2 am the day of our tour. While this was certainly an exhausting experience, we arrived at the appointed time (4.30 am) and had the subsequent pleasure of witnessing the sun rising over the mountainous landscape in Egypt’s western desert. From this unique experience, Mahmoud and Fares drove us to other breathtaking natural landscapes, of which the Fayum as one of Egypt’s nature reserves is rich. We were lucky to have Fares as a driver off-road since the ways in the sand are lined with sharp stones and difficult to manoeuvre passages. Thanks to his careful driving, Mahmoud led us to the ancient city of Dimeh with its mudbrick ruins sticking out of the sand, the undecorated temple of Qasr es-Sagha, and the world’s oldest paved road. This road leads from the temple that is located at one of the ancient shores of lake Fayum inland and connected the ancient basalt quarries of Widan el-Faras to the lake. On this road, the stones with which the famous pyramid temples of the Old Kingdom were paved were hauled. The road is built out of petrified wood of which we saw our fair share not only lying around in the desert at the Red Mountains, but also at the visitor center, which introduces tourists to the fossils of the area. In the distant past, once the sea waters had retreated, the Fayum desert was covered in tall forests (trees grew up to 40 m) which were roamed by mega-fauna. Some of their petrified bones have been discovered by paleontologists and geologists and are now exhibited in the petrified forest visitor center.
Thank you to Mahmoud for guiding us on this great tour and sharing his experience with us!

A delight.

Mahmoud is knowledgeable, informative and incredibly helpful. It was like we were being guided by a friend. We visited a range of very old pyramids and then went into the desert to see the petrified Forest. I loved the experience. Thank you.

Unforgettable Journey

Mahmoud came highly recommended by our Air BnB host at Barefoot in Tunis, and man did he not disappoint. We spent a wonderful week in the Fayoum over Christmas break, and Mahmoud guided us on two amazing tours. He was not only knowledgable and passionate about the lands and culture, but his compassion and kindness made our days with him so much fun! While driving through the villages, children and adults would call out and wave “Mahmoud” full of smiles and excitement as he shared his expertise with us. He was flexible and accommodating with times of tours, amounts of stops and even extra care for my dog Stella who joined us for a whole day our to the Wadi’s. He said he was not a dog person, but by the end of the day, he was best friends with my Egyptian Baladi rescue. I’ve recommended him to so many of my colleagues and friends, and truly cannot wait to come back and catch up with him. He really does go the extra mile to make your stay in the Fayoum amazing! Thank you Fayoumer!!! ❤️

Thanks for everything during my time in Fayoum

Hi!

I met Mahmoud from the tourism Authority during my visit to Wady Rayyan waterfalls in a morning Saturday . I asked him about how to go to Wadi Al Hittan and he so cordially invited me to visit the place that day after midday. I just can say THANKS, it was a very nice experience. During the next two days I visited the different pyramids around Fayoum and Mahmoud guided me how to reach these places by public transportation.

If you are considering visit Fayoum, it will be a nice trip, one of the most beautiful places in Egypt, I recommend it and Mahmoud would be the best and perfect guide to see this amazing place.

Regards

Julián Pérez Hurtado

Excellent experience in the desert

Mahmoud was an amazing and very knowledgeable guide. We spent one night camping in the desert and two days visiting the Valley of the Whales, the Magic Lake, the Upper and Lower Lakes, different rock formations, and sand dunes. He was very accommodating, helpful, and he made sure to take care of us and our dog. I highly recommend Mahmoud to anyone wanting to visit Fayoum. Thank you for a wonderful weekend! Hallie says woof 🐺

Wonderful and different experience

Without a doubt, the best day of our trip to Egypt was the one we spent in El Fayoun. The whale museum, Wadi Rayan, the walk through the desert and the moments we shared with our guide Mahmoud will always be remembered. An experience that I always recommend to friends and colleagues.

Amazing Fayoum & Wadi Al Hitan tour with Mahmoud

Mahmoud led an amazing day tour of Fayoum, the incredible UNESCO World Heritage site of Wadi Al Hitan, and 4-wheeling in the dunes of the western desert. He is such a wealth of knowledge about this region of Egypt, its history and culture, and the amazing open-air fossils at Wadi Al Hitan. I enjoyed touring & photographing the site while learning about the evolutionary history that the fossils reveal. That whales evolved from land-dwelling mammals! While I enjoyed the exhibits in the adjacent Climate Change Museum after the tour, our driver prepared a delicious cooked lunch feast, and then masterfully piloted a thrilling 4-wheel excursion across the drifting sand dunes as we headed back to Fayoum at sunset. I cannot wait to return and experience more of the culture of this amazing part of Egypt!

Totally mind boggling & amazing!

Amazing trip into the desert to the Valley of the Whales to see, learn & imagine a 30/40+ million year underwater world & history! Incredible. Many thanks to the guide for all his knowledge & enthusiasm. The museum in the desert is also fascinating. I told everyone I know about all the new whale/sea-life history I learnt from this trip!

Unespected Fayoum

I’ve had the opportunity to visit Fayoum Governorate, more then one time, to collaborate with Fayoum Tourism Authority in the framework of an Italian cooperation project.
It was not only work but a fantastic experience lived together with a very passioned guide, Mahmoud that with its professionality, its competence, its deep knowledge of Fayoum Oasis and its friendship, supported me in delivering my tasks (I’ve developed two maps and a guidebook on Fayoum).
Fayoum is not only a place to visit (natural and cultural heritage are unique and fantastic!), it’s a place to live together with people, their culture and their traditions.
If you want to know the real Fayoum you need a special tour guide, a “Virgilio” leading you in discovering a magic piece of a wonderful country called Egypt.

Amazing!

We had such an amazing experience! We started off with a delicious breakfast where we met Mahmoud and he told us about our day. From there we made a handful of stops along the tour to check out some really awesome finds and beautiful views. The Wadi El Hitan experience was unlike any other and we would definitely go back to check this place out again! One of my favorite moments was learning about the hand crafted pottery from the local town – it was all so beautiful!

Exciting day trip from Cairo!

My family and I absolutely loved our trip to the Fayoum! We enjoyed a typical Egyptian breakfast when we arrived in Tunis Village in the morning. Afterwards we visited Wadi el-Rayan and Wadi el-Hitan, which is one of the most spectacular and coolest places I’ve visited in Egypt! We finished the day in Tunis Village exploring the many pottery workshops.

Mahmoud is an excellent tour guide and has a wonderful passion for Egypt and the Fayoum! His vast knowledge of the natural and archaeological sites of the Fayoum and his passion for his work made the trip wonderful. His know-how and experience made the entire trip so easy. Everything was perfectly organized!

Wonderful

We visit fayoum in Jan , and thanks to our guide , we Discover all the best Place are in the area . We made and experience full immersed in fayoum history , our guide bring US in tunis Village and we appreciate the course of pottery , and show US all interessing view of fayoum area. The second day was full of adrenaline , we ‘ve visitare the Walley,the dunes, and all desert can offer . our guide give US full of information that only a person the love this Place can offer to you. I suggest to use or if you would like a Deep experience on fayoum .

Visit Fayoum with Mahmoud Kamel Hassan

Fayoum is a magical place on Earth. There is so much to see and do. You will need a week or more to do it justice and a really good guide! Mahmoud is your guy! Our little dog fell in love with him. 🐶 He took us to soooo many amazing places…whale bone museum, bird watching, pottery shopping, ancient ruins and a really fun trip through part of the desert. Mahmoud speaks perfect English, is unbelievably knowledgeable and funny, and is just the nicest guy ever. By the end of our stay there, he made us feel like family. If you want an unforgettable adventure, contact Mahmoud and he will take care of you, like family!

Good Photography Tour

I and my wife had a wonderful experience with Mahmoud as our tour guide. He knew exactly where to take us so we could make images that resonated with the culture and traditions. I would highly recommend Mahmoud for a great Fayoum experience.

Awesome adventure with a friendly face

Fayoumer took us for an adventure into Fayoum and showed us both the Wadi el Hitan and Wadi Rayan. Transport from Cairo was arranged very conveniently, then Fayoumer really impressed us with his knowledge as a guide of the area. He is, moreover, very friendly and will really listen to you and your wishes to make the best trip possible. Throughout the trip, we never felt rushed or pushed, it was an absolute pleasure to have Fayoumer with us as a companion guide. Besides the places we expected to visit, Fayoumer and his great Bedouin driver also took us to some unexpected and less well-known places.

Authentic Fayoum

Me and my mother spent four nights in Fayoum and organised the tour to include the history, culture and lifestyle of the city. So we decided that Mr. Mahmoud will be our organiser and tour guide. The guide and tour was extremely good, very flexible (appreciate this!) and for that he deserves a special thanks.

Mr.Mahmoud is such a warm personality and highly motivated guide. I truly enjoyed walking and gaining knowledge about the culture and history of Fayoum. The scenery was beautiful and it was a relieve to walk in such a quiet and peaceful environment.

All respect for Mr.Mahmoud who does a great job.

My first visit had me

My first visit to Fayoum was in August 2018 where I was introduced to Mahmoud as my guide. One of the places we visited was Wadi Al Hitan where Mahmoud walked around with me and shared his wealth of knowledge on the area. It is amazing to know whales used to swim through the valley, we also visited Egypt’s only waterfall.

January 2020 I returned to Egypt and contacted
Mahmoud to organise another journey to Fayoum.
Mahmoud organised some very good trips but unfortunately I was not well and could not do everything planned. I did get to visit Roman ruins, Jebel Qatrani Open Air Museum, the oldest paved road, Tunis Village and so much more and I got to see Flamingos in the wild for the very first time!!

I can’t wait to return to Fayoum as there is still a lot more to explore in this beautiful piece of Egypt and I hope Mahmoud will available to show me around.

I have no hesitation in recommending Mahmoud as a guide. He is friendly, polite, very helpful, speaks English very well and is very knowledgeable what Mahmoud doesn’t know about Fayoum isn’t worth knowing.

Rich and diverse tour

Mahmoud is an excellent guide with contagious passion for his work and Egypt. He definitely went the extra mile to make our 1 day desert safari amazing. We saw an amazing diversity of historical and natural sights, had amazing food and overall enjoyed a great time with Mahmoud.

Highly recommend

Unforgettable tour in the Desert and Fayoum

Yes, when we think of Egypt the first thing that comes to mind are: the pyramids, Sphinx, camels, markets spices… and it s true all this is amazing, but for me and my partner, what will stay in our hearts, is the desert! The desert, with Mahmoud as a guide and Omar as a driver. Mahmoud knows the desert as his second home… and knows all the history of it and is able to describe it as a story that can be heard with interest from an adult but equally from a child… we had the best guide in the desert and the fayoum area. Unfortunately we had only 4 days in total in Egypt so we had the chance to have one day with Mahmoud in Fayoum, but we will go back to Egypt with Mahmoud Kamel Hassan as a guide, to explore more this part of Egypt and the desert for more days.
PS: we were there during Easter…we had one of our best meals in the desert, prepared by Omar the driver, a bedouin collaborating with Mahmoud, who also knows the desert like the back of his palm.
In total, Mahmoud made us feel secure, happy, and made us love Egypt more and want to return Back one day…
Recommending the experience 1000% !! 🙂 One cannot visit Egypt without visiting the desert and Mahmoud is THE GUIDE!! 🙂

The best person to see Fayoum with!

We visited Fayoum in December 2020 and it is one the most cherishing memories of Egypt that I will carry with me for a lifetime! It was all the more enjoyable because Mahmoud was with us the entire time! There were two very young kids with us too, he made sure we stopped at only the safest of places and the best prices. We even got a last minute upgrade at the Qatrani Camp, Qaroun lake that made our night under the stars amazing! He had organized the entire schedule for us and according to our preferences including a visit to the Ibis Restaurant twice! He is well versed with English so we had no trouble at all. I would do it again and still have him as my guide. Last but not the least, he is very knowledgeable about the history and geography of the Fayoum region, so we got to hear very interesting stories about every place we visited. Needless to say, he took awesome pictures with his DSLR and was kind enough to send them over my email as soon as we got home! Loved every minute, would recommend Mahmoud and his team to any one who wishes to experience Fayoum as it should be! Cheers.
I wanted to give it a five star but seems like there is a technical glitch, nevertheless, doesn’t lessen my satisfaction.