Eygpt-Sharm

[anna68]

My partner and I are thinking of going to Eygpt and specifically Sharm El Sheik for a week next April.

We usually go to the Canaries at that time of year, however we think it might be our only holiday next year, as we are also moving house, so we wanted a holiday where we were sure of good weather.

Does anyone have any experiences of this area and especially hotels. We are currently looking at the Hilton Sharks Bay which has very good reviews but is only a 3* property.

I have to admit that I am not a huge 'beach holiday' fan and need to be doing something, is there stuff to look around and do you feel safe if you took the tour operators trips out to various places?

Does anyone know what the centre of Sharm is like?

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[DisneyPrincess]

I have been twice and love it!! Going again next year!!

Choose a hotel in the Naama Bay area, i have stayed at the Hilton Fayrouz and the Novotel. Both are directly on the beach and the beach is great! No large waves, very calm and there are fish and coral literally inches into the water!!

I have visited Sharks Bay and to be honest i didnt rate it, it wasnt as high a standard as the Naama bay hotels, plus the hotel has a long steep slope to the beach and is a bit of a trek! I was there for 2 days diving and i wouldnt have called it a Hilton. It was cheap but the food was awful.

There are a few good trips to do, the Mount Sinai trip is awesome and you can take sailing and boating trips to the nearby Tiran islands for snorkelling or chilling out. You can also do camel rides and venture out to meet the Bedouin.

We also flew to Cairo for a 2 day break to see the Pyramids, that is well worth doing!

Naama bay in the evenings is great, lots of places to eat (very western places too - Pizza Hut, Hard Rock Cafe etc) and lots of Shisha bars. Most tourists and locals mill about in the small town in the evenings, children too.

You must to go the Panorama bar at the end of the town, its very Bedouin style and it serves lovely fruit juices and shisha, but you have to climb up to (what feels like) a mini mountain, and then when you get to the top, there are lots of seats and you have the most wonderful view of the whole of the Bay - its fab!!

Egypt is very friendly and there is practically no crime. I felt safe there, i even ventured out on my own. Crimes against women (rape etc) are almost unheard of and Egyptian men do not tolerate this kind of thing. I hear that if the locals spot a woman in distress they will come to her aid (not ignore the situation as in some other cultures). Stealing and theft is also very rare. The only thing that may bother you is the constant 'hard sell' from the locals - who never forget your face!!

Go for it - Egypt is a great place! If you have any qustions feel free to ask!!

[DisneyPrincess]

A few other things i thought of.

Toilets - In Egypt the hygiene standard is low. Most public toilets have no loo paper and no flush - just a 'hose' type thing you use to flush the contents down the U bend with. You also dont put loo roll in the loo but in a bucket next to it - eugh!!! This does not apply to hotels and very western places (Hard Rock Cafe etc) but you may find it in the town. I always carried pocket tissues with me and then it was ok.

Food - Dont eat the salads. You likely will come down with a dodgy tummy (i did) so its best to eat well cooked foods. Take some medicines with you like Immodium just in case.

[coxan56]

Hi I have been to Egypt when my sister lived there, hygeine to me was a big issue. My sister and I went to Cairo for a couple of days. Not good without a male around, we were hounded on the street and in the hotel. We stayed at the Cairo Hilton, and I came down with a tummy bug that I couldnt get rid of. After three weeks my GP had to give me a prescription for something stronger than I could buy. It is definetly and experience and having been twice, I have no longing to return Annie

:jump: :jump:

[fayeg]

Im going to sharm el sheikh very soon (as you can see from my countdown ;)) Im very nervous about this hol but hope it will be fab!! Were doing a PADI open water diving course (which im reeally looking forward to) but mainly im just looking forward to chilling out and having it not rain!!!!! (As it rained for most of our hols in florida last year :( )

[DisneyPrincess]

Where are you doing your course Faye?

I did mine in Sharm, so glad i did as the water was so calm and thre was so much to see under water - i couldnt imagine doing it in the UK in a quarry like a friend of mine did!

I want to go to Sharm now!!

[anna68]

We have decided to book a week B&B in the Movenpick Jolie Ville Resort and Casino with Thomson. It is right in the middle of Naama Bay so lots to walk to.

[DisneyPrincess]

Good choice Anna, i know exactly where it is. Beware the Movenpick ice cream stall (if it is still there) that is near the beach - the ice creans are to die for!!

Hope you have a great time - let us know what you think when you get back!!

[claire]

I am going to Sharm on the 7th July I'll let u know how we get on, we are a fair way out of Naama Bay at the Dreams Beach Hotel. We are only staying a week but if you want to know what your hotel is like if you look it up on holiday truths or holidays uncovered you'll get people's opinions.

[anna68]

The movenpick has nothing but good reviews especially on trip advisor.

[fayeg]

we havent booked our course yet - eek! But we are planning to book it with emperor diving school - aparently its a good one, does anybody know of it! Wow, just noticed weve only got 16 days left :) how exciting

[claire]

You'll be there when I am Faye, hope you have a good time!! My other half is a bit dubious about going to egypt but reading the reviews on holiday truths, holidays uncovered and trip advisor I am really getting excited about going now.

[fayeg]

Hey claire!

Yeah Ive been looking on holiday truths a lot - its been very helpful!! Ive been quite worried about going as well, mainly about the hygeine, the hassling you get while shopping and about getting a tummy bug :( eek!! Hopefully all will be ok though

faye

[claire]

Just don't let him trade you for an camels Faye. Hope you have an excellent time despite the health probs he's not having but hampering him anyway. I can't wait to go!!!!

[Dizzy]

Ooohhh, you are so lucky. I've always wanted to go to Eygpt. DD is doing a lot of work at school at the moment on Ancient Eygpt and is soooo interested in it all (especially how they make mummies:eek: not really the kind of thing you want to hear about over the tea table....lol).
Only thing is DH would hate it:cry: so unless I go alone with DD in a couple of years time it looks like I'm out of luck.

Just one word of warning, which is really common sense but still...... a friend of a friend got a last minute deal for Eygpt and went without getting her injections (says she never gave it a first thought never mind a second and I do think the travel agents should have pointed it out:( ) She is still seriously ill in hospital...so please for anybody going, especially if offered a fantastic last minute deal, please make sure you are fully immunized (sp) first.

[holidayrep]

You will have a great time, I spent 3 months living in Sharm when my boyfriend was a rep there. Naama bay is really nice, make sure you go to the old town as well.

Sally

[Scoop]

I am currently looking to book for Sharm for just after New Year. If we go right after New Year I can get all inclusive at the Coral Sea resort a four star hotel which has just been built for £300.00 more than I can get a week in Benidorm self catering over New Year.

When I spoke to the travel agent she said we did not need injections if we where not venturing out of the resort. What do you advise? This would be an issue because DD is only six and I would not want her to have them yet.

Also the hotel is classed has family friendly with a club, pool etc for the kids. Do you think it is a good place to take children?

[claire]

The injections are only advisable but when I asked at the surgery they said that we were better off having them. I had most of my injections last year when I went to Kenya but for Egypt you'll need Hep A and Typhoid plus any boosters of tetanus and polio if theya re not up to date. She said it was up to me to assess the risk of taking malaria tablets with me which I am not going to do as I have looked on the risk map and we should be fine going to Sharm I will jsut take some good insect repellant. With your daughter only being six I would definately get her vaccinated, the only thing that made me check with the surgery whether they were necessary or not were my two boys.

[AlexD]

My Brother paul was a Dive instructor at Sharm with Oonaas divers. He loves Sharm and keeps popping over every other month. He Said it is great and to get injections before you go.

[AlexD]

http://www.sharmguide.com/

[anna68]

Just booked a week at the Jolie Ville Movenpick Resort and Casino in April next year!

[tinkerbella]

Went to sharm last july would not go again my mum got food poisoning and we didnt feel safe in the resort.
The holiday was with thomas cook and quiet expensive could definately think of somewhere better to go at the money we spent.

[claire]

Well got back last Thursday and I wouldn't go again despite taking all precations against upset tummies 3 out of the 4 of us got it and it was awful as you didn't want to go out at all couldn't risk not being within a few yards of the toilet. My eldest son was the only one who didn't have upset tummy but he ended up with an ear infection and I ended up spending £50 on over the counter medicines. The hassle you got to buy stuff was unbelievable even in the resort while you were sunbathing every hour there was someone disturbing you trying to sell you something - glad I was only there a week. Conclusion I have come to is that Egypt is better of staying in the history books.

[anna68]

where did you stay claire and in which hotel?

[claire]

We stayed at the Dreams Beach, it was an all inclusive resort supposed to be 4 stars but it was a little outdated. Most of the entertainment was geared up for the Russians and Italians. I think the pool may have been to blame for our health troubles as the food seemed o.k. and I kept my family away from the usual causes tap water, rice salad you'll know the drill. All the meat we had seemed to be well cooked and things like pasta, omelettes and pancakes were coked right there and then in front of you and the cooks at the pool bar were strict on hand washing. I never once saw anyone taking temperature of the pool or maintaining it in anyway nad in those sorts of temparatures and with that amount of people in and out you'd think you'd see something. All I can say about the hassling rather than haggling is be firm and stand you're ground, the shopkeepers will come up to you and try to make conversation first, just walk away - this is hard when you're brought up with manners. As far as visas go if you are not venturing out of the Sharm area you do not need one. When you get of the plane and go through the doors to the airport queue up for passport control and do not follow the rep as he will take you to buy a visa and then you have to go through passport control, this is a cheap ploy so you can buy trips of them and there seems to be confusion between currencies. A good forum to try is holiday truths there is plenty of visa advice on there and they will all tell you the same.

[jules]

Shocking news coming from Sharm al-Sheikh this morning, at least 62 people have been killed and scores more wounded in a string of bomb attacks :(




jules