Giza Pyramids: Private Tour, Pro Photos & Camel Ride

4.92

(193 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest — I’d seen the Giza Pyramids in pictures my whole life, but standing there in that dry Cairo air, sand crunching under my shoes, it hit different. Our Egyptologist guide (Ahmed — he had this way of making history sound like gossip) started pointing out details I’d never noticed: nine pyramids in total, not just three. The sun was already sharp on the stones and there was this faint smell of dust and horses from somewhere nearby. I kept squinting at the Great Pyramid trying to imagine how anyone could stack rocks that big without cranes or whatever. Ahmed just shrugged and said, “Magic… or maybe too many workers.” He laughed. I did too.

The photographer joined us right away — super friendly but didn’t hover or make things awkward. He knew all these little angles where you could get a shot with no one else in the background. At one point he asked me to look serious but I cracked up because a camel behind me sneezed (loudly). Speaking of camels: riding one around the Giza Pyramids was both hilarious and slightly terrifying at first — they’re taller than they look in photos! The view from up there is wild though; you see Cairo’s edges melting into desert and suddenly it’s just you and these ancient shapes. I still think about that view sometimes when things get noisy back home.

We stopped by the Sphinx too — honestly bigger than I expected and kind of mysterious with its half-worn face. Ahmed explained why Egyptians saw it as a god; something about power and protection. There were kids selling postcards nearby, shouting over each other in Arabic while our photographer snapped a few more shots (he promised to give us everything on a memory card later — which he did). Lunch was at some fancy spot with cold drinks and air conditioning, which felt like heaven after all that sun. Not sure if it was five stars or if I was just that hungry, but I ate everything.