Egypt - Travel advice for a newbie???
Discussion
Looking to travel to Egypt (Sharm el Sheikh) for the first time in October, and need help on just about everything!
Withe regard to hotels, lookingt at Concord el Sharma, Crowne Plaza, Tropicana Rosetta or the Holiday Inn. Any recommendations/comments?
Is Sharm el Sheikh expensive? ie eating/drinking outside of the hotels?
I get the impression that taking euros and changing into Egyption pounds over there is the best way to handle money, am I correct?
Anything members think we MUST do/see whilst we are there?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Mastiff.
Withe regard to hotels, lookingt at Concord el Sharma, Crowne Plaza, Tropicana Rosetta or the Holiday Inn. Any recommendations/comments?
Is Sharm el Sheikh expensive? ie eating/drinking outside of the hotels?
I get the impression that taking euros and changing into Egyption pounds over there is the best way to handle money, am I correct?
Anything members think we MUST do/see whilst we are there?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Mastiff.
d Off I went a couple of years ago, not sure I would at the momnent though....we were escorted by armed guards to protect us from Port Said all the way to the Pyramids. They even came on the coach with us.
Anyhow, if you are going you must visit the Museum Of Antiquities in Cairo which is simply amazing but somewhat hectic outside. Obviously the Pyramids and Sphinx are also a must(Do not go off on a Camel for a picture of you will probably be mugged).
The Valley of the Kings is awesome too.
Anyhow, if you are going you must visit the Museum Of Antiquities in Cairo which is simply amazing but somewhat hectic outside. Obviously the Pyramids and Sphinx are also a must(Do not go off on a Camel for a picture of you will probably be mugged).
The Valley of the Kings is awesome too.
Went to Luxor just after 9/11 - It was lovely and quiet!
Take GBP not Euros. They like 'hard' currency there USD or GBP. Changing it is no problem and you'll bet a better rate than here. Don't use street changers though, you'll get fleeced.
Bargain for everything, and I mean everything. They also expect some Baksheesh (a tip) with everything as well.
Apply for your visa from the Egyptian Embassy in advance - it saves time at the airport when you arrive. Everyone was queueing and we just walked past to immigration.
Beer and wine is 'dear' by Egyptian standards which if memory serves me correctly puts it at about the same price as the UK - local Camel's piss is cheaper though.
Cost of living is much cheaper - taxi accross town and waited whilst we ate a Mcdonalds (!) was less than a uk pound. Rate should be something like 6/7 EGP to a GBP.
Take GBP not Euros. They like 'hard' currency there USD or GBP. Changing it is no problem and you'll bet a better rate than here. Don't use street changers though, you'll get fleeced.
Bargain for everything, and I mean everything. They also expect some Baksheesh (a tip) with everything as well.
Apply for your visa from the Egyptian Embassy in advance - it saves time at the airport when you arrive. Everyone was queueing and we just walked past to immigration.
Beer and wine is 'dear' by Egyptian standards which if memory serves me correctly puts it at about the same price as the UK - local Camel's piss is cheaper though.
Cost of living is much cheaper - taxi accross town and waited whilst we ate a Mcdonalds (!) was less than a uk pound. Rate should be something like 6/7 EGP to a GBP.
However friendly the guys with camels are, saying they will take a picture of you with them, just keep saying no, because if you let them they will follow you around asking for money for the honour and if you refuse they can get quite nasty. Also don't take any pictures of them on camels as they expect to be paid for that too. They are especially notorious around the pyramids and the Sphinx. (sp??)
We took Egyptian pounds with us from the start, meant less hassle trying to change it when we were there, especially as we were on a whistle stop tour.
For the lady, keep covered up if you go to the markets, as you get pestered enough as it is.
Don't feel bad saying no to them, but be prepared to have to say it at least a half dozen times before they take any notice, they are nothing if not persistant.
Just remember you get nothing for free off these people, any favour they do, they expect to be paid for it.
But for all the negatives, Egypt is a wonderful place, I enjoyed every minute of it
We took Egyptian pounds with us from the start, meant less hassle trying to change it when we were there, especially as we were on a whistle stop tour.
For the lady, keep covered up if you go to the markets, as you get pestered enough as it is.
Don't feel bad saying no to them, but be prepared to have to say it at least a half dozen times before they take any notice, they are nothing if not persistant.
Just remember you get nothing for free off these people, any favour they do, they expect to be paid for it.
But for all the negatives, Egypt is a wonderful place, I enjoyed every minute of it
As said Egypt is lovely.
But no one does anything for free. It all costs, theres not a lot of crime, but theres a damned lot of pressure to part you from your cash.
A lot of it is silly - small change for toilet paper etc, and TBHG matters little to a western wallet, some of it is a pain.
Just be strong in what you want and are willing to pay for it.
But no one does anything for free. It all costs, theres not a lot of crime, but theres a damned lot of pressure to part you from your cash.
A lot of it is silly - small change for toilet paper etc, and TBHG matters little to a western wallet, some of it is a pain.
Just be strong in what you want and are willing to pay for it.
Went to Sharm last year (April) on a diving holiday.
I seem to remember the Holiday Inn was a decent place (didn't stay there but can't remember where we stayed - nice enough place though).
Sharm itself was OK - have a go of what we called smoka-de-pipe (the "touts" say this!)... a beer and some apple scented charcol smoke is nicer than it sounds! (don't get adventurous because we did and tried pineapple... even to a 20-a-day smoker like me it was really, really harsh!). Food was nice and so on. Also, lots of lounging around on cusions in a tent - with aforementioned beer/smoka-de-pipe.
If you dive or have a desire to dive - give it a go. I learnt at the Great Barrier Reef and I don't think that you can beat that as a location but the Red Sea was pretty good (swam with a wild dolphin!). The equipment was OK (they didn't have a wet-suit long/tall enough for me so I ended up walking like John Wayne.) - safe enough
I'm not sure I would rush back but this is mostly because there are other parts of the world I would like to see rather than a dislike of the place.
ETA: I don't remember it being expensive by the way. Taxi drivers are the same as most places - you take your life in your own hands!
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 23 September 10:02
I seem to remember the Holiday Inn was a decent place (didn't stay there but can't remember where we stayed - nice enough place though).
Sharm itself was OK - have a go of what we called smoka-de-pipe (the "touts" say this!)... a beer and some apple scented charcol smoke is nicer than it sounds! (don't get adventurous because we did and tried pineapple... even to a 20-a-day smoker like me it was really, really harsh!). Food was nice and so on. Also, lots of lounging around on cusions in a tent - with aforementioned beer/smoka-de-pipe.
If you dive or have a desire to dive - give it a go. I learnt at the Great Barrier Reef and I don't think that you can beat that as a location but the Red Sea was pretty good (swam with a wild dolphin!). The equipment was OK (they didn't have a wet-suit long/tall enough for me so I ended up walking like John Wayne.) - safe enough
I'm not sure I would rush back but this is mostly because there are other parts of the world I would like to see rather than a dislike of the place.
ETA: I don't remember it being expensive by the way. Taxi drivers are the same as most places - you take your life in your own hands!
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 23 September 10:02
Mastiff said:
Looking to travel to Egypt (Sharm el Sheikh) for the first time in October, and need help on just about everything!
Withe regard to hotels, lookingt at Concord el Sharma, Crowne Plaza, Tropicana Rosetta or the Holiday Inn. Any recommendations/comments?
Is Sharm el Sheikh expensive? ie eating/drinking outside of the hotels?
I get the impression that taking euros and changing into Egyption pounds over there is the best way to handle money, am I correct?
Anything members think we MUST do/see whilst we are there?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Mastiff.
We stayed at the Club Fanara, it was excellent, great scuba/snorkelling, Naama Bay is ok for cafe type bars and restaurants, not too expensive.
Fish was really ill for the last 3 days of our holiday, couldn't get out of bed, which was awkward as we moved around every couple of days.Go and do some snorcaling/diving in Dahab at the Blue Hole
www.goredsea.com/EN_dahabdiving.aspx
Its probably changed a bit since I went there in 1991
www.goredsea.com/EN_dahabdiving.aspx
Its probably changed a bit since I went there in 1991
Roadrunner said:
Cairo a must see, esp the pyramids - obviously. Luxor is overrated, so I'd give it a miss. Make sure you go everywhere with a guide and never venture off on your own!
:O
Did you miss karnak and luxor temple, and the museum? Not to mention all the outlying stuff like the valleys and hatchitsup's temple (sp).
Cairo has a big museum, is all, piramids are meh.
Luxor the city is noisy , smelly , hastly and not worth it, whats there for a tourist is more than impressive.
Aswan is in contrast a lovly place, quite chilled and worht a visit.
Heard mostly great things about egypt, but here's 3 worrying-ish stories...
parents went to egypt on their honeymoon. Being the 70's, mum wore hotpants in one of the museums, and was promptly groped by a security guard
. Dad (ex-Int'l rugby player) flattened the bloke
, only to be surrounded by moustachio-ed guards, sporting six shooters
. He was chucked in jail, but the British embassy dude got him off with a fine.
Friend from uni went ot work as a dive instructor there. Fell for, and married her oxygen tank filler-upper, Mohammed. They have 2 (or 3?) kiddies now.
2 girls from uni had massages when they were in Egypt. Both groped by their masseuses.
Not impressed.
Lots of friends have been diving there - and it's apparently excellent. Have fun
/endofcrapegyptstories
>> Edited by bouffy on Thursday 23 September 13:56
parents went to egypt on their honeymoon. Being the 70's, mum wore hotpants in one of the museums, and was promptly groped by a security guard
. Dad (ex-Int'l rugby player) flattened the bloke, only to be surrounded by moustachio-ed guards, sporting six shooters. He was chucked in jail, but the British embassy dude got him off with a fine. Friend from uni went ot work as a dive instructor there. Fell for, and married her oxygen tank filler-upper, Mohammed. They have 2 (or 3?) kiddies now.
2 girls from uni had massages when they were in Egypt. Both groped by their masseuses.
Not impressed. Lots of friends have been diving there - and it's apparently excellent. Have fun
/endofcrapegyptstories
>> Edited by bouffy on Thursday 23 September 13:56
I went out this year and stayed with a mate who lives there. Was a truly brilliant experience and I wouldn't hesitate to go back myself, but I imagine that was more to do with the fact they have lived there for 18 years and know how things work
Couple of things (I assume your tour guide will be telling you this in a pack anyway):
* Visa, in Cairo it cost £10 (thats English £) and you had to get this from 2 stamps from the banks on the wall as you entered. Stick them in your passport (otherwise the grumpy guard gets annoyed!).
* As mentioned before, it's a place of money - everyone expects payment for things regardless of how small - the airport is exactly the same.
* When I went the exchange rate was roughly 11 of their pounds to one GBP, meals in Cairo were roughly £2, beer was £1, coke 10p... it's all very, very cheap. Expect the actual resort you are heading to be more expensive however. We went to El Gouna and prices were a little higher than Cairo, but still dirt cheap compared to UK. Surf-boarding and the like was EUR 150 for a day...
* People getting sick? Very possibly but I didn't until near the end and that was more to do with coming home than stomach bugs. It's true I was with a guide who knew where to eat and where not to, but you're heading to a resort...
* The notes, the 25p ones are only good for tips.
* Don't be surprised by anything you see there
* Driving is lots of fun (I drove most of the time over there), it's most enjoyable playing with other cars
* As Mrs F says, don't get on a camel/don't take pictures... everyone is after money and pray on the tourist - thats where Teemu came in very handy talking Arabic as he immediately commanded respect.
* When I arrived at 3am, it was hot. Wearing jeans and a loose t-shirt was too much. It might look daft (and you'll be cold on the plane) but travel in shorts/t-shirt.
* Take sun-cream, it cheaper/more reliable here. I took factor 60 (
a bit high ) and had to buy factor 10/15 there. Not too much but easier to take with you. * Oh and there are lots of people with guns. And they point them at you and search your bag
! Slightly terrifying! * There is no racism that I saw, non at all. Interest but no nastiness. Egyptians want you there and most of the tourist places understand English happily. The guards were excessive and we saw plenty of border patrols (although we did take a big off-road detour in the Jeep to get round one
) but be prepared for convoys, and protection when in reality it's not needed... * If you've a camera, get things printed out there. It cost me £7 for 90 digital pictures, a film developed and put on CD and within an hour...
Enjoy it! I loved it and it didn't cost me the earth, flights, food, activities and everything else cost me £450, although I had free board and lodgings...
And just because I can:
The full gallery (um, 139 pictures)
I could happily live in Egypt!
If you have any questions, email me and I'll ask Teemu if I can - between us we'll be able to answer them
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