Sharm - would you?
Discussion
Jarcy said:
We're going to Sharm next month on the suggestion of our travel agent.
This is potentially our last family summer holiday as the lads are 17 & 20, so will want to do their own thing next year.
So we were looking for something a bit different to our normal Greek/French/Spanish holiday - with something for the kids to do.
I'm a qualified diver but with not a lot of experience. I'm doing my PADI Advanced course next week, and at the same time my kids are doing their PADI Open Water. So lots of diving will be on the cards. Snorkling on the off days too as the reef is right up to the hotel beach.
Mrs Jarcy will be happy lying in the (extremely) hot sun in a 5-star hotel. This in itself is something different for us as our holiday accomodation is usually 2 or 3 star. Our first all-inclusive holiday as well, so we're looking forward to being waited on hand and foot. Nice to try the other 5-star trappings - gym, spa, pampering etc.
The plan is to organise internal flights to Cairo to round off the sight seeing (I was considering organising this independently, but I think an organised tour would be wise now). We had also hope to do stuff like jeep safari in the desert, but venturing out into the Sinai Penisula is not a good idea right now. We'll have to try the 3 go-kart tracks in Sharm so that me and the lads can get our petrol-head fix.
We are concerned by recent events, and if we were booking now we may have considered elsewhere. But for the price (4 x adult fares is always expensive) I'm not sure where we'd go. We wanted somewhere out of Europe as that's where we always go. Carribean was considered but too expensive and not the best time of year. Far East also too pricy.
The chances are that resorts such as Sharm are now much safer than before, due to heightened security. I understand that it's sort of ring-fenced from the rest of Sinai. We'll see. Can't wait to go in any case.
Well if the sThis is potentially our last family summer holiday as the lads are 17 & 20, so will want to do their own thing next year.
So we were looking for something a bit different to our normal Greek/French/Spanish holiday - with something for the kids to do.
I'm a qualified diver but with not a lot of experience. I'm doing my PADI Advanced course next week, and at the same time my kids are doing their PADI Open Water. So lots of diving will be on the cards. Snorkling on the off days too as the reef is right up to the hotel beach.
Mrs Jarcy will be happy lying in the (extremely) hot sun in a 5-star hotel. This in itself is something different for us as our holiday accomodation is usually 2 or 3 star. Our first all-inclusive holiday as well, so we're looking forward to being waited on hand and foot. Nice to try the other 5-star trappings - gym, spa, pampering etc.
The plan is to organise internal flights to Cairo to round off the sight seeing (I was considering organising this independently, but I think an organised tour would be wise now). We had also hope to do stuff like jeep safari in the desert, but venturing out into the Sinai Penisula is not a good idea right now. We'll have to try the 3 go-kart tracks in Sharm so that me and the lads can get our petrol-head fix.
We are concerned by recent events, and if we were booking now we may have considered elsewhere. But for the price (4 x adult fares is always expensive) I'm not sure where we'd go. We wanted somewhere out of Europe as that's where we always go. Carribean was considered but too expensive and not the best time of year. Far East also too pricy.
The chances are that resorts such as Sharm are now much safer than before, due to heightened security. I understand that it's sort of ring-fenced from the rest of Sinai. We'll see. Can't wait to go in any case.
t hits the fan you can always practice on your underwater knife fighting skills http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33340458
Sinai in the news today. I know it's the northern Sinai but it's still Egypt. Possibly not the safest place to be at the moment.
Sinai in the news today. I know it's the northern Sinai but it's still Egypt. Possibly not the safest place to be at the moment.
Rosscow said:
I have to say that normally I would fly in the face of this kind of crap, but there's no way I'd risk my family by taking them to Egypt, Turkey, Cyprus, Tunisia etc. at the moment.
Plenty of other places to go on holiday.
Why Cyprus, havent heard any issues there. Especially as long as you stay in the Greece side of the borderPlenty of other places to go on holiday.
Stevanos said:
Jarcy said:
We're going to Sharm next month on the suggestion of our travel agent.
This is potentially our last family summer holiday as the lads are 17 & 20, so will want to do their own thing next year.
So we were looking for something a bit different to our normal Greek/French/Spanish holiday - with something for the kids to do.
I'm a qualified diver but with not a lot of experience. I'm doing my PADI Advanced course next week, and at the same time my kids are doing their PADI Open Water. So lots of diving will be on the cards. Snorkling on the off days too as the reef is right up to the hotel beach.
Mrs Jarcy will be happy lying in the (extremely) hot sun in a 5-star hotel. This in itself is something different for us as our holiday accomodation is usually 2 or 3 star. Our first all-inclusive holiday as well, so we're looking forward to being waited on hand and foot. Nice to try the other 5-star trappings - gym, spa, pampering etc.
The plan is to organise internal flights to Cairo to round off the sight seeing (I was considering organising this independently, but I think an organised tour would be wise now). We had also hope to do stuff like jeep safari in the desert, but venturing out into the Sinai Penisula is not a good idea right now. We'll have to try the 3 go-kart tracks in Sharm so that me and the lads can get our petrol-head fix.
We are concerned by recent events, and if we were booking now we may have considered elsewhere. But for the price (4 x adult fares is always expensive) I'm not sure where we'd go. We wanted somewhere out of Europe as that's where we always go. Carribean was considered but too expensive and not the best time of year. Far East also too pricy.
The chances are that resorts such as Sharm are now much safer than before, due to heightened security. I understand that it's sort of ring-fenced from the rest of Sinai. We'll see. Can't wait to go in any case.
Well if the sThis is potentially our last family summer holiday as the lads are 17 & 20, so will want to do their own thing next year.
So we were looking for something a bit different to our normal Greek/French/Spanish holiday - with something for the kids to do.
I'm a qualified diver but with not a lot of experience. I'm doing my PADI Advanced course next week, and at the same time my kids are doing their PADI Open Water. So lots of diving will be on the cards. Snorkling on the off days too as the reef is right up to the hotel beach.
Mrs Jarcy will be happy lying in the (extremely) hot sun in a 5-star hotel. This in itself is something different for us as our holiday accomodation is usually 2 or 3 star. Our first all-inclusive holiday as well, so we're looking forward to being waited on hand and foot. Nice to try the other 5-star trappings - gym, spa, pampering etc.
The plan is to organise internal flights to Cairo to round off the sight seeing (I was considering organising this independently, but I think an organised tour would be wise now). We had also hope to do stuff like jeep safari in the desert, but venturing out into the Sinai Penisula is not a good idea right now. We'll have to try the 3 go-kart tracks in Sharm so that me and the lads can get our petrol-head fix.
We are concerned by recent events, and if we were booking now we may have considered elsewhere. But for the price (4 x adult fares is always expensive) I'm not sure where we'd go. We wanted somewhere out of Europe as that's where we always go. Carribean was considered but too expensive and not the best time of year. Far East also too pricy.
The chances are that resorts such as Sharm are now much safer than before, due to heightened security. I understand that it's sort of ring-fenced from the rest of Sinai. We'll see. Can't wait to go in any case.
t hits the fan you can always practice on your underwater knife fighting skills t or be held accountable if you get blown to bits. If you're never leaving the hotel, and just want 5-star pampering... you can get that in a million places, most of which come with a more comfortable ambient temperature, more solid bowel movements and less being murdered. Why dial in the jihad risk exactly? Well, you've said it really - it just always comes down to the money, and it seems people will do anything to save it. Is it cheap because it's genuinely unsafe, or because the perception of it being unsafe... i can honestly say that's the same thing to me. The market isn't often wrong, en masse. Look at differing depreciation across different car manufacturers - sure maybe a bit of it is snobbery - but it's far more founded in reality.
Just as a sideline (not even touching on the fact that it probably has an even higher risk), I've no idea why anyone would want to fly to Sharm and then take a 'little' trip out to Cairo. It's basically like saying "OK we're in France for the weekend, let's go on a little trip out to eastern europe". It seems very common though, mainly because agents encourage you that it's a good idea... hmmm.
Clearly your chips are unpiss-on-able, and your british stiff upper-lip kind of commendable. If you do die though, don't come crying back here!
ehonda said:
ehonda said:
I politely asked a question and then politely thanked WW for a response. I haven't expressed an opinion of sharm.
ehonda said:
I can't think of a single reason to go to Sharm. If I was a diver I might think otherwise.
Serious question - Why would you go there?
Serious question - Why would you go there?
//j17 said:
Umm...
I'm not seeing an opinion there, perhaps you'd be kind enough to point it out for me?OK, I guess I could be miss-reading the emphasis in your scentence and in fact you mean "I can't think of a single reason to GO TO Sharm.", indicating that it's the travel rather than the destination you are referring to.
Or alternativly should it be read "I CAN'T THINK of a single reason to go to Sharm."? A statement that you lack the ability cognitate on the subject of Sharm when considering reasons to visit it, rather than expressing your opinion of/travelling to Sharm?
I can't think of a reason to go to sharm. I know it's a dive resort, but I'm not a diver, so I can't think of a reason to go there.
I don't know of other reasons to go there, so I asked.
Having now been informed I'll rephrase by stating that I still can't think of a reason to go there over and above a European resort. I'm not exactly in a minority in this thread holding that opinion and that extends to the OP.
I don't know of other reasons to go there, so I asked.
Having now been informed I'll rephrase by stating that I still can't think of a reason to go there over and above a European resort. I'm not exactly in a minority in this thread holding that opinion and that extends to the OP.
ehonda said:
I can't think of a reason to go to sharm. I know it's a dive resort, but I'm not a diver, so I can't think of a reason to go there.
I don't know of other reasons to go there, so I asked.
Having now been informed I'll rephrase by stating that I still can't think of a reason to go there over and above a European resort. I'm not exactly in a minority in this thread holding that opinion and that extends to the OP.
Depends on the time of year, Sharm is a nice temp in May, if you like to holiday earlier in the year the sunshine is guaranteed I don't know of other reasons to go there, so I asked.
Having now been informed I'll rephrase by stating that I still can't think of a reason to go there over and above a European resort. I'm not exactly in a minority in this thread holding that opinion and that extends to the OP.
Stevanos said:
Well if the st hits the fan you can always practice on your underwater knife fighting skills
O/T - The dark side in me now wonders how effective an AK47 would be at killing a submerged scuba diver.t hits the fan you can always practice on your underwater knife fighting skills Not very, it seems. A little google reveals the results of the Mythbusters experiments:
In their first experiment, the experimenters shot the 9mm pistol straight down into the water. At a range of up to seven feet, the 9mm round was effective in completely penetrating the ballistics gel – meaning a person at the same range would be killed. At eight feet, the bullet entered but did not exit the gel, indicating a possible non-fatal wound. Past eight feet, the gel was undisturbed.
The shotgun, loaded with a 3” deer slug instead of buckshot, not only "killed" the ballistic gel target at six feet, it destroyed the acrylic water tank, ending that method of testing.
The team then switched to a swimming pool to continue the experiments – and to make the test more realistic, switched from shooting straight down to an angle of twenty to thirty degrees off the vertical, approximating a shooter standing on the edge of the water and shooting out into it.
The first candidate for this test was the Civil War rifle. At a range of 15 feet, the ballistics gel was completely unharmed; likewise at five feet. Only when the range was reduced to three feet did the bullet finally penetrate the gel, suggesting that diving under water was probably a pretty effective way of dodging slugs during the Civil War.
The experimenters moved on to the hunting rifle, which was loaded with a full-metal jacket .223 round that emerged at roughly 2,500 feet per second. At ten feet, the bullet disintegrated and the gel was untouched. At three feet, the bullet again broke up, with its tip coming to rest on the gel – not nearly enough power to damage flesh.
A bullet from the M1 Garand, with a muzzle speed of 2,800 ft/sec, also disintegrated at the ten-foot range. At two feet, the slug penetrated about four inches into the gel, suggesting a non-fatal wound. The armor-piercing .50 caliber round didn’t do any better – it, too, came apart at distances greater than five feet and lost most of its punch by three feet.
The Mythbusters team concluded that you’d be safe from firearms even if they were fired straight down to a depth of eight feet, and probably safe at much lesser depths, especially if the bullet was aimed at an angle.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Mrs Jarcy however, being a non diver and blonde, is well and truely stuffed!I just hope those planning on going aren't making the decision for children.
At this point in time I believe it is reckless in the extreme to take kids to anywhere where there is a known insurgency/terrorist threat/civil unrest.
By all means go yourself but please don't endanger your family or other innocents who are not able to make the decision themselves about whether its safe to do so or not.
At this point in time I believe it is reckless in the extreme to take kids to anywhere where there is a known insurgency/terrorist threat/civil unrest.
By all means go yourself but please don't endanger your family or other innocents who are not able to make the decision themselves about whether its safe to do so or not.
Petrus1983 said:
Sadly I wouldn't bother - I've had some great times in Eygpt with both Nile cruises and Sharm chill outs - however I can't see the point of going on vacation if in the back of your mind you're worried about possible attacks.
Egypt's been an area of unrest since considerably before the present trouble with ISIS. Didn't stop any of the thousands of divers I've seen over there. However a lot of the places I've been diving in Egypt have been further down the coast towards Sudan. Sudan? SUDAN??
Anyway risk/reward scenario:
Late summer sun, good hotels, quite cheap, good convenient diving and snorkelling much closer to the UK than anywhere else.
Miniscule chance of being attacked by a loon with a gun.
gadgetmac said:
I just hope those planning on going aren't making the decision for children.
At this point in time I believe it is reckless in the extreme to take kids to anywhere where there is a known insurgency/terrorist threat/civil unrest.
By all means go yourself but please don't endanger your family or other innocents who are not able to make the decision themselves about whether its safe to do so or not.
yea... but have you seen the PRICESAt this point in time I believe it is reckless in the extreme to take kids to anywhere where there is a known insurgency/terrorist threat/civil unrest.
By all means go yourself but please don't endanger your family or other innocents who are not able to make the decision themselves about whether its safe to do so or not.
pincher said:
I'm sure you'll be fine but I've decided against it and have booked some flights to Portugal instead.
You say it's ring-fenced from the rest of Sinai and I'd agree it is by road but by boat is a different matter, as evidenced in Tunisia.
I'm glad I started this thread as it has thrown up some interesting viewpoints and few of the posts have actually been genuinely amusing.
I don't think I've been particularly influenced by anything in particular, other than my general philosophy of self-preservation - I just think that, even though the risk factor is probably small, it's not one worth taking.
I shall miss shelling monkey nuts in the Camel Bar in Naama Bay
And so, the terrorists have won.You say it's ring-fenced from the rest of Sinai and I'd agree it is by road but by boat is a different matter, as evidenced in Tunisia.
I'm glad I started this thread as it has thrown up some interesting viewpoints and few of the posts have actually been genuinely amusing.
I don't think I've been particularly influenced by anything in particular, other than my general philosophy of self-preservation - I just think that, even though the risk factor is probably small, it's not one worth taking.
I shall miss shelling monkey nuts in the Camel Bar in Naama Bay
twing said:
Sorry OP this isn't aimed at you in the slightest, I haven't checked if you're taking kids or not.
But the irony of someone saying they hope no one takes little ones to Sharm and you going to Portugal has just raised a smile here (just a teeny one, I promise)
Mine are 15 and 12, so more than capable of telling anyone who might want to try and take them to eff off But the irony of someone saying they hope no one takes little ones to Sharm and you going to Portugal has just raised a smile here (just a teeny one, I promise)
pincher said:
twing said:
Sorry OP this isn't aimed at you in the slightest, I haven't checked if you're taking kids or not.
But the irony of someone saying they hope no one takes little ones to Sharm and you going to Portugal has just raised a smile here (just a teeny one, I promise)
Mine are 15 and 12, so more than capable of telling anyone who might want to try and take them to eff off But the irony of someone saying they hope no one takes little ones to Sharm and you going to Portugal has just raised a smile here (just a teeny one, I promise)
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