Travel Department Reviews

Travelled to Croatia in 2023 and Sorento Italy 🇮🇹 in 2024. These people seem to have smart people working for them and good contacts.Chicago to Dublin, Dublin to beyond any where with this outfit.

This was my first trip with Travel Department. From the first I found the information provided concise and informative. My questions whether online, or on the phone and in the office at Arnold’s were dealt with immediately. All the flights on Egyptair were comfortable, punctual and the food was good. We were met by our guide at Cairo airport. ‘Dodi’ Emad Fathy became the fulcrum of the holiday. An erudite man who had studied the many aspects of Egypt, ancient and modern. His unexpected knowledge of Ireland and fluent English was a major bonus. Our coaches were clean, air conditioned and the drivers were great. I felt safe leaving my bag when touring the sites. Security is always very tight. Our bags were put through X-ray at every site and venue except for the markets. Hotels were good. The Radamis 2 our cruise boat was delightful. It is slightly old fashioned, in a good way. The crew were great (towel sculptures an unexpected touch) food was terrific, freshly cooked and a large variety. They even made ice from bottled water. With every excursion I thought “this is my highlight” Additional surprises occurs an extra. A visit to Abu Simbel ( my bucket list no.1) also watching sunrise over the Valley of the Kings from a hot air balloon, holding a baby crocodile in a Nubian village, love you Soraya. Then a submarine ride to the reefs in the Red Sea to watch Nemo and friends. By the time we got to Hurghada I started researching other journeys with the Travel Department, they took the anxiety out of travelling alone. So, thank you all, especially Dodi, purveyor of knowledge ,kindness and jokes and my fellow band of mad Irish who became friends.

I won a holiday to Puglia with Travel Department! I am a bit late posting my reflections and so the date is wrong - but really want the company to hear how fabulous the trip was. I was astonished and delighted to get the call from the company to give me the fabulous news. It was a weeks accompanied trip to Puglia, guided tours and staying in a four star hotel. What a brilliant adventure! I took my son and we were looked after from start to finish. It was fabulous to be picked up by taxi at the airport and taken to the hotel. The hotel was a delight and the staff couldn't have been more courteous and helpful. The guided itinerary was great fun with a fabulous tour guide. I am not very fit but learned a bit of Italian meaning 'slowly slowly'. I most especially enjoyed the cultural element of the tour and was struck by olive oil production and the vineyard trip and local geography. My son ventured further afield into the town and made some good friends in our fellow travellers. There was always someone to speak too in the evenings at dinner and there was a real sense of community that developed amongst us, due to the trips and the whole culture of the company. I would totally recommend Travel Department and many of our compatriots had enjoyed lots of different adventures and I would love to bump into them again. Thank you!

Trip very well organised and great day trips included. Very good guide. On all of the holidays I have been with Travel Department, the guides have always been very good and very knowledgeable about the area and the history.

Hello I have replied to your survey relating to my holiday on the Nile cruise (A491009) a few weeks ago but I didn't get an opportunity to speak about our guide Emad Dodi Fathy. I have difficulty in finding words to express my appreciation and thanks to Dodi for making this holiday such an unforgettable experience. I am somebody who carefully chooses his holidays based on the educational and cultural benefit and enjoyment I can get out of them and visiting Egypt has been a long-cherished dream. Well this dream came true thanks to the very competent guiding, care and humour of Dodi. He was really exceptional. I also appreciated the practical arrangements put in place by the travel Department for which I thank you. Yours sincerely Eoghan O'Loingsigh

The guide.in Egypt emad fathy has to be the best thing about This trip.his knowledge and his attendance to us actually made this trip for me.the nicest young man you could ever meet .pleasant. accomadating .fun .guiet and available to us 24 .7.no matter what you needed I asked about he was always there on the ready.in fack I don't know where his bed was or if he even had one because he was soo accessible at all times and made me feel so safe.iv been to Italy. India .Portugal etc and had many guides.sure they were fine but not memorable.this one was a tonic a friend and a gent with all the group.i don't usually travel to the same place twice .but I definitely would recommend Egypt trip to anyone and will be revisiting again because of the country and definite him.he was a pleasure you are soo lucky to have him..we definitely were.xxxx🤔😉💯💥💥💥👌🏻

This was my first solo trip with Travel Department and the whole experience was superb. Max, our guide, was very helpful and the trips were very interesting. I will travel with this company again :)

Above all the guide who accompanied our trip, Sean Crean. He was so friendly, very supportive at all times, obvious wealth of experience. The staff on Amadeus Cara where so professional, attentive and very friendly. Nothing was too much bother. Of course, the other travellers with us were like minded and we became friends during our trip This was our second trip with the travel department. We will definitely travel with them again

Great trip. Everything well organised. Guide very informative and helpful. Would've liked a couple of days to relax in between some of tours.

Experienced this beautiful country as part of an organised tour and so was blessed with all the thrills without the stress of all the planning. Unfortunately I missed the surprise extra excursions hot air ballooning , snorkelling in the Red Sea & Bedouin camp but I did get to experience Pharonic Egypt with its hieroglyphs, mummies & unforgettable treasures. This tour did not disappoint. Highlights for me included: A camel ride/photoshoot at the Pyramids, the dazzling Temples of Karnak, the craic of haggling once I got the hang of it (it took a time!!) and the wonderful weather. I delighted in the local cuisine , the fascinating Egyptian culture & the friendly people-especially on the riverboat & at Hurghada hotel. Special shout out to our superb tour-guide “Dodi” who was an outstanding A+ guide. He was patient & kind and always made us feel very safe. He was informative throughout on Egypt past & present. He even played cards & entertained us with his jokes ! Thank you Dodi. The tour group shared wonderful experiences and made memories of a lifetime. I recommend this amazingly beautiful trip to everyone.

I have recently returned from my first trip away with the Travel Department. It was a 12-day holiday to Egypt from 30/11/2024 - 12/12/2024 which included a few days in Cairo, internal flight from Cairo to Luxor, 7-day cruise on the Nile from Luxor to Aswan and back, followed by a wind down break in a marvelous Resort in Hurghada on the Red Sea coast. As you would expect, we saw all of the exciting and wonderful places in Egypt, from the Pyramids to the new Museum, multiple temples, the Aswan Dam, etc. I rarely take the time to give a review but that would be grossly unfair of me on this occasion. This holiday was organised brilliantly. From the moment we arrived at the airport in Cairo, we were looked after superbly. The bus transfers to and from the various locations were excellent, as was the accommodation provided throughout the holiday. But most outstanding of all was the guide provided to us by the Travel Department. His name was Dodi Fathy and the level of his knowledge, expertise, care, friendliness, professionalism, support, patience and sense of humour was second to none. Dodi could not have been better to us. And I thank him (and the Travel Department for him) for giving me one of the very best holidays I have ever had. The only thing the Travel Department failed to do was to "part the Red Sea" like Moses when we were there. :-) But to be fair, they did give us an excursion on a Submarine which I suppose was the next best thing. Thanks for everything. It was amazing. Finally, this was an organised trip specifically for "solo" holiday makers. This was not something I thought important beforehand, but I met with such a great group of people on this holiday. None of us knew anyone before the trip and we all formed a great little band of friends while in Egypt, which continues since our return on WhatsApp. Another thankyou to the Travel Department. Victoria Mullen

This was an awesome trip - a 7 day cruise of the Nile in addition to luxury hotel stays before and after the cruise. This is a very well designed and structured busy trip so you wont be bored or disappointed with the number of sights to be seen such as tombs of the various Egyptian Kings and nobility as well as a good number of very interesting temples. We were the first Irish group to see the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) and we also visited the original Museum. We got inside one of the pyramids and visited the Sphinx before moving on to enjoy the Cruise. It's worth knowing you need to be able to navigate many, many steps, uneven ground levels and steep inclines. There were also a lot of other excursions available such as hot air balloon rides, submarine trips, snorkelling, desert activities, camel rides and relaxation facilities. I would advise to bring plenty of Euro/US Dollars/British Sterling for purchasing goods or additional trips as its preferred. Dodi (Emad Fathy) an Egyptologist and our outstanding, exceptional guide took us through centuries of Egyptian history with ease and related it to us in a way that was both interesting and understandable. Dodi went beyond the call of duty to meet the groups every need. He was extremely professional, patient, helpful, understanding and kind. Always there if anyone had a query and he had the answers. Thank you Dodi for making my trip unforgettable. 30th November- 12th December 2024

What made my experience great was the Guide Emad Fathu. (Dodi). Nothing was too much for him, he respondef with care, concern and enthusiasm with all that was thrown ay him. He was extreamly professional, and clearly an expert in the field of Egyptology, which is of the essence when one takes on as challenging ta trip as thos one. I have no hesitation in rating him 5 star. I would in fact repeat this trip if imy budget could cope with it..... But alas no.... Margaret Morrissey. Egypt 30th November to 13th December 2024

Booking was easy. Flights were on time. Place was fab, hotel comfortable. Tours and tour guide AnnaLisa was excellent. A great holiday.

Egypt-Nile River Cruise. What a brilliant adventure. It was clear from the start that our guide, Emad Fathy (Dodi) ,was keen to make our holiday comfortable and memorable. His research about Irish counties proved to be a welcome icebreaker. The solo travellers were suddendly a group. That attention to detail was obvious at all times. The busy schedule involved early mornings, long days in the sun, and many many steps. Emad's patience, knowledge and humour made every challenge possible. I would higly recommend this trip and guide.

I can truly say that the Nile River Cruise has been one of the best holidays that I've ever been on. My interest in Egypt began when, at the age of ten or eleven, I saw slides of various important landmarks in Egypt in a neighbour's house; the husband had worked on the Aswan Dam. When I saw the trip advertised in the Travel Department's brochure earlier this year, I booked myself on it without any hesitation. I did a certain amount of reading before setting off, which proved to be a great help. Our guide, Emad Fathy (known by all of us by his nickname Dodi) proved to be excellent – we couldn't have asked for a better person. All in all, a superb experience – thoroughly recommended!