All I can say is that you get what you pay for. You pay cheap, you get cheap. This trip is not inexpensive; it's only a whole lot better, IMV. After all, how many times are you going to go to Egypt? And why would you not want the best experience you can get? We have a company in the US, Tauk; they offer premium trips at premium prices But when you compare their itineraries for their land trips to other companies, you see you're essentially getting the same thing but paying more. What you pay for is first-class service and first-class hotels and restaurants. Here, you do stay at the former Mena House ( now the Marriott ), but other tour groups stay there as well. What you get that you DON'T get from other tour groups is first and foremost, the expertise of Dr. Hawass ,the private entries to major sites, thus avoiding all the others who booked their tours for less money, and of course, the visit with Madame Sadat. Why do you object to Dr. Hawass monetizing his reputation? What difference does it make as long as he gives the traveler the experience for the money he/she pays?

You can ALWAYS do a trip cheaper. We took the Trans-Siberian RR across Russia on the Golden Eagle and wrote an article that appeared in ITN ( International Travel News ). Someone wrote a reply that they did the trip in the Russian trains for 1/3 the price, eating Raimon noodles and rushing at each station to the kiosks to purchase a few bars of chocolate before the train pulled out. If that's your thing, great. But this trip is well worth the money you pay.