Sharm or Tenerife?
Discussion
^^^ Agree with all of that - just got back from a fab time in El Gouna over Christmas!
Be warned it can be very quiet though - it was pleasantly busy over Christmas, but I found the lack of atmosphere in the Restaurants etc. when we went last Feb/ March a little disappointing (although not disappointing enough to stop me going back!)
Be warned it can be very quiet though - it was pleasantly busy over Christmas, but I found the lack of atmosphere in the Restaurants etc. when we went last Feb/ March a little disappointing (although not disappointing enough to stop me going back!)
We did Tenerife a few years ago , found it a bit shell suit and beer belly . so moved on to Grand Canaria , and have stayed about 12 times in Maspalomas , on the south of the island , the weather is a pleasant 21+c most days at this time of year and for a bit of shell suit and beer belly you can go to the next resort of Playa del Ingles . As far as Egypt is concerned , this year will be our 3rd visit ,second time to Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and Spa in Sharm, from our point of view this is an excellent hotel/resort .weather there is a touch warmer than the Canaries ,at present forecasts show it to be cool a 19c but getting up to 26c by mid January .to see lively life you need to go to the old town , something we have avoided as I would end up decking the persistent street vendors who , I understand , do not know the meaning of “no”
There are only a couple of things wrong with Egypt
1/ Sharm airport ,which is a military base as well, is total disorganisation , our last departure from there had us going through a departure gate with another flight, and the transfer coach drivers having no idea which aircraft was ours and the other flight !
2/ Hygiene , take anti bacterial sprays with you and wash your hands at EVERY opportunity .If you handle Egyptian currency spray it to kill germs , we did and avoided Egyptian belly . never had problems with the food
There are only a couple of things wrong with Egypt
1/ Sharm airport ,which is a military base as well, is total disorganisation , our last departure from there had us going through a departure gate with another flight, and the transfer coach drivers having no idea which aircraft was ours and the other flight !
2/ Hygiene , take anti bacterial sprays with you and wash your hands at EVERY opportunity .If you handle Egyptian currency spray it to kill germs , we did and avoided Egyptian belly . never had problems with the food
MX51ROD said:
There are only a couple of things wrong with Egypt
1/ Sharm airport ,which is a military base as well, is total disorganisation , our last departure from there had us going through a departure gate with another flight, and the transfer coach drivers having no idea which aircraft was ours and the other flight !
2/ Hygiene , take anti bacterial sprays with you and wash your hands at EVERY opportunity .If you handle Egyptian currency spray it to kill germs , we did and avoided Egyptian belly . never had problems with the food
Thanks, the OH has chosen Egypt so I'll take your advice and some anti bac sprays. 1/ Sharm airport ,which is a military base as well, is total disorganisation , our last departure from there had us going through a departure gate with another flight, and the transfer coach drivers having no idea which aircraft was ours and the other flight !
2/ Hygiene , take anti bacterial sprays with you and wash your hands at EVERY opportunity .If you handle Egyptian currency spray it to kill germs , we did and avoided Egyptian belly . never had problems with the food
I went to Sharm for the second time last year, Sharm is definitely on the decline IMO. We will not be going back as it appears everyone there is now trying to catch you, especially the taxi drivers! My advice, find a good one from the hotel, take his number and use him and him only, three different taxis tried to rip us off, one succeeded too!
Heres how they caught us, I have used GBP pounds as example figures: We had a taxi, the fare came to say £5, we handed over a £10 note to which the Taxi driver showed us a note worth £1 asking "What is this, this is £1, the fare is £5?", this was late at night and when I disagreed he got all high rate, the security guard came out, spoke with the taxi driver and seemed to side with him, he didn't have change of the other cash we had so we were at logger heads, the cash point at the front of the hotel was out of order so the guard agreed to pay the taxi driver on our behalf as long as we reimbursed him, which we did. The whole thing stunk but we were tipsy and truth be told I doubted my partner who was adamant she "kept back" the right note for the taxi.
Following nights we used our hotel taxi without issue, one night we were too late to phone him so we had a street cab, we both double checked the note and pulled up outside the hotel, same old bulls
t "What is this, this is..." before I butted in aggressively telling him in no uncertain terms, I knew his game and I want my change immediately, he got high rate - I got higher, the security guard came over and I promptly told him to go away as I had this under control. Eventually he gave me my change and drove off shouting stuff like "death to your mother", ironic as shes dead anyway 
Third time then, the day we were about to leave we decided to visit the town one last time, we tried to arrange our regular driver but he was away, instead his colleague was in the lobby and he was happy to take us. We jumped in and all was well, coming to the end of the journey then he started getting pushy about picking us up, I tried to be friendly "but I don't know how long we will be..." but he kept pushing until I had to give him a firm No. That was that, we done our shopping, had some food and returned using a street cab. Few hours later we are in the lobby waiting to go to the airport, we order a cab and the (hotel) driver from earlier appears, I greet him and like all taxi journeys I try to negotiate a deal before entering the car, I suggest "£5" he agrees with the figure and then states "£5 for now, £6 for earlier", I reminded him that I had already paid him for the earlier journey to which he responds "but I wait for you, I was there for return jounrey, you not turn up", I state that he must of been confused, again he starts getting high rate and this time its my other half who loses her rag, jumps out of the car and starts throwing the suit cases out of the car, she storms back into the lobby to see the manager.
The manager then reveals that the driver is claiming he wasn't paid for the earlier journey, we explain our position and what he had told us, the managers words were "but he is swearing you not pay", my OH screams "Swearing? I'll do more than bloody swear at him and you if you don't get me another car". Shes normally a very quiet girl too
Eventually our regular driver pulls up and he vouches for us, stating we always paid his taxis there and then (there was an option for a tab). The regular driver then ushers us towards his car and attempts to calm my partner down, I'm deflated, fed up and tired by now so I just sit there while she fumes, later in the journey he said words to the effect of "Hes not one of us, hes not regular driver for hotel, he work here maybe 3 weeks and we have a lot of complaints, complaints hes not honest, lots of taxi drivers here are becoming less honest, not me - Ali" with a huge grin which raised a smile and lightened the mood, we gave Ali around 4 times the fares cost just for being such a good honest driver, we hope we done our bit towards encouraging honest drivers
It felt like we were going to battle every time we wanted a taxi, which does get tiring after a while, add to the fact its no longer "cheap" out there and that the chances of catching the two bob bits is pretty high, It's put us right off, shame as its such a great place for diving
Heres how they caught us, I have used GBP pounds as example figures: We had a taxi, the fare came to say £5, we handed over a £10 note to which the Taxi driver showed us a note worth £1 asking "What is this, this is £1, the fare is £5?", this was late at night and when I disagreed he got all high rate, the security guard came out, spoke with the taxi driver and seemed to side with him, he didn't have change of the other cash we had so we were at logger heads, the cash point at the front of the hotel was out of order so the guard agreed to pay the taxi driver on our behalf as long as we reimbursed him, which we did. The whole thing stunk but we were tipsy and truth be told I doubted my partner who was adamant she "kept back" the right note for the taxi.
Following nights we used our hotel taxi without issue, one night we were too late to phone him so we had a street cab, we both double checked the note and pulled up outside the hotel, same old bulls
t "What is this, this is..." before I butted in aggressively telling him in no uncertain terms, I knew his game and I want my change immediately, he got high rate - I got higher, the security guard came over and I promptly told him to go away as I had this under control. Eventually he gave me my change and drove off shouting stuff like "death to your mother", ironic as shes dead anyway Third time then, the day we were about to leave we decided to visit the town one last time, we tried to arrange our regular driver but he was away, instead his colleague was in the lobby and he was happy to take us. We jumped in and all was well, coming to the end of the journey then he started getting pushy about picking us up, I tried to be friendly "but I don't know how long we will be..." but he kept pushing until I had to give him a firm No. That was that, we done our shopping, had some food and returned using a street cab. Few hours later we are in the lobby waiting to go to the airport, we order a cab and the (hotel) driver from earlier appears, I greet him and like all taxi journeys I try to negotiate a deal before entering the car, I suggest "£5" he agrees with the figure and then states "£5 for now, £6 for earlier", I reminded him that I had already paid him for the earlier journey to which he responds "but I wait for you, I was there for return jounrey, you not turn up", I state that he must of been confused, again he starts getting high rate and this time its my other half who loses her rag, jumps out of the car and starts throwing the suit cases out of the car, she storms back into the lobby to see the manager.
The manager then reveals that the driver is claiming he wasn't paid for the earlier journey, we explain our position and what he had told us, the managers words were "but he is swearing you not pay", my OH screams "Swearing? I'll do more than bloody swear at him and you if you don't get me another car". Shes normally a very quiet girl too
Eventually our regular driver pulls up and he vouches for us, stating we always paid his taxis there and then (there was an option for a tab). The regular driver then ushers us towards his car and attempts to calm my partner down, I'm deflated, fed up and tired by now so I just sit there while she fumes, later in the journey he said words to the effect of "Hes not one of us, hes not regular driver for hotel, he work here maybe 3 weeks and we have a lot of complaints, complaints hes not honest, lots of taxi drivers here are becoming less honest, not me - Ali" with a huge grin which raised a smile and lightened the mood, we gave Ali around 4 times the fares cost just for being such a good honest driver, we hope we done our bit towards encouraging honest drivers
It felt like we were going to battle every time we wanted a taxi, which does get tiring after a while, add to the fact its no longer "cheap" out there and that the chances of catching the two bob bits is pretty high, It's put us right off, shame as its such a great place for diving
I am not sure, if you have been to Egypt you will know the money is filthy and in low light conditions you can mistake notes, especially on your first visit or if you have had a few two many beers down the bay.
Looking at the exchange rate & currency I believe they were switching 50EP (£5GBP) with 5EP (£0.50GBP), I was naive the first time but quickly caught on, I strongly believe the Security guard was in on the "scam" too. Its not the end of the world, but being scammed always leaves that sick feeling in your stomach, the first time I was unconvinced/unsure whether a genuine mistake had taken place, the second time I was ready to show him who was boss "PH Goattee wielding style" and by the third one, I was just saddened. Also be wary that Taxi drivers like to take you to the wrong place e.g. Old town instead of Naama bay, when you state you said Naama bay they then say they can take you for X amount, which is way above the going rate.
We also had the note switch tried on us at a small supermarket. Also, when haggling, especially with Taxi drivers, always state the currency e.g. "Naama Bay 50 Egyptian?" rather than "Naama bay 50/£50" because they will say they thought you meant sterling etc, it really is a place to keep your wits about you - sadly
Looking at the exchange rate & currency I believe they were switching 50EP (£5GBP) with 5EP (£0.50GBP), I was naive the first time but quickly caught on, I strongly believe the Security guard was in on the "scam" too. Its not the end of the world, but being scammed always leaves that sick feeling in your stomach, the first time I was unconvinced/unsure whether a genuine mistake had taken place, the second time I was ready to show him who was boss "PH Goattee wielding style" and by the third one, I was just saddened. Also be wary that Taxi drivers like to take you to the wrong place e.g. Old town instead of Naama bay, when you state you said Naama bay they then say they can take you for X amount, which is way above the going rate.
We also had the note switch tried on us at a small supermarket. Also, when haggling, especially with Taxi drivers, always state the currency e.g. "Naama Bay 50 Egyptian?" rather than "Naama bay 50/£50" because they will say they thought you meant sterling etc, it really is a place to keep your wits about you - sadly
We also got stitched this time after a shopping trip to Hurghada (in every possible way - claiming we needed to pay an additional toll fare to the police, driving round pretending he couldn't find our apartment despite the fact we could see the development on the horizon - refusing to believe the directions we gave him, followed by money swapping tricks, agression etc.)...
The best piece of advice I heard was from someone who travels there a lot: "pick the driver, don't let them pick you" (i.e you end up going with the 'aggressive' ones that are stood around touting outside shopping centres etc.). We found this works best by asking them for a price, and when they come back with a daft price (by Egyptian standards) simply walk away - don't haggle or even respond to them asking how much you're prepared to pay, as they'll only spend the journey trying to swindle things up to their original price again and then resort to the note swapping trick if that fails!
As said above, the best thing is to book through a recommended firm where possible to avoid such tricks (and even then, make sure you're not paying way above the going rate) - we have a good contact based in Hurghada if the OP or anyone else ends up that side of the sea (El Gouna/ Makadi etc.) and needs one - one of his colleagues to me back to the airport on Saturday and almost wouldn't let me tip!
As an aside, those little mini-buses that travel up and down Hurghada are great for getting around - was a bit daunting catching one for the first time, but you just flag them down, check they're going where you want, hop on and hand them a few coins - 5 Egyptian pounds is more than enough to get two people from one end of the city to the other!
The best piece of advice I heard was from someone who travels there a lot: "pick the driver, don't let them pick you" (i.e you end up going with the 'aggressive' ones that are stood around touting outside shopping centres etc.). We found this works best by asking them for a price, and when they come back with a daft price (by Egyptian standards) simply walk away - don't haggle or even respond to them asking how much you're prepared to pay, as they'll only spend the journey trying to swindle things up to their original price again and then resort to the note swapping trick if that fails!
As said above, the best thing is to book through a recommended firm where possible to avoid such tricks (and even then, make sure you're not paying way above the going rate) - we have a good contact based in Hurghada if the OP or anyone else ends up that side of the sea (El Gouna/ Makadi etc.) and needs one - one of his colleagues to me back to the airport on Saturday and almost wouldn't let me tip!
As an aside, those little mini-buses that travel up and down Hurghada are great for getting around - was a bit daunting catching one for the first time, but you just flag them down, check they're going where you want, hop on and hand them a few coins - 5 Egyptian pounds is more than enough to get two people from one end of the city to the other!
Taxi scam happens all the while, we were warned before going in November. They still try it on.
We booked ours through the hotel, paid the guy in reception so no hassle.
El Gouna, just use the Tuk-Tuks. £1 Egyptian anywhere in the resort, which is effectively gated and tout are not allowed.
The other scam is they quote you in one currency then ask for another.
They are truly amazing con artists, Nigerian emailers should learn from them.
We booked ours through the hotel, paid the guy in reception so no hassle.
El Gouna, just use the Tuk-Tuks. £1 Egyptian anywhere in the resort, which is effectively gated and tout are not allowed.
The other scam is they quote you in one currency then ask for another.
They are truly amazing con artists, Nigerian emailers should learn from them.
When you get off the bus run! The locals know where the bus stops and when.
It's not dangerous at all, but very in your face.
'Come sign my brothers book' is the favourite, they try and get you in a shop and then it's game on.
Another tip, if you like a drink in the room is buy alcohol on the way in or first couple of days, it's not easy to get.
It's not dangerous at all, but very in your face.
'Come sign my brothers book' is the favourite, they try and get you in a shop and then it's game on.
Another tip, if you like a drink in the room is buy alcohol on the way in or first couple of days, it's not easy to get.
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