Upon the Petty’s arrival in Cairo, they were on their own. They had to navigate the airport and find a taxi to get themselves to the hotel.

When they met their fellow tourists, it seemed that the group was a compilation of other tours that had too few participants which had been re-grouped into one large tour. Some of their companions seemed unhappy with the tour dates.

Plus, the meals were boring. They were all either hotel buffets or preplanned menus with few choices. 
Even though the Petty’s guides were knowledgeable, their personalities could have been better (meaning they weren’t very friendly). Sometimes they were difficult to understand because their English was not that great, and due to the size of the group, if they were not at the front of the group, they couldn’t hear what was being said.

For people interested in Egyptology, which Bill and Nancy (the daughter) are, way too much time was devoted to shopping – Although the Nancys will admit to loving the jewelry in Egypt! Even the guides complained that they were required to take tourists to the shops (which paid the tour company a commission on sales!).

Bill decided that they could do better.  

Thus, Museum Tours was born in 1995, when Dr. Bill Petty started his own tour company to correct those deficiencies (He did a test trip with several friends in 1994 to make sure all would go well). Dr and Mrs Petty have been traveling to Egypt almost every year since, spending weeks ensuring our groups are being well taken care of, creating new tours, writing books, making sure everything still meets our company’s exacting standards, and simply Enjoying Egypt!