Travelling in Egypt?

[luckykitty]

Hey! Has anyone here travelled to Egypt before? What were your experiences like? I noticed alot of travel agents have some cheap holidays with hotel included, has anyone tried taking the unspecified hotel option, and was it ok? Mostly, is it safe walking around in Sharm el Sheik or going to Cairo by bus and touring the pyramids etc?

I read about people giving women a hard time tho, so I was wondering what your own experiences are like of that.

Thanks
LK

[EP]

I was in Egypt for Christmas (Dahab, about 80 kilometres from Sharm). Before I have been to Luxor. I have not taken the unspecified alternative but there were some people who stayed in Sharm and had that option. They did not complain, the hotel had been just fine, the only minus had been that it was not on the beach.

It is safe unless some lunatic decides to blow a bomb as has happened every now and then. I was in Luxor just two weeks after some fanatic shot 80+ tourists at Hatsepsuth´s temple. But those are just things that may happen anyplace, think about that Dutch tourist who was stabbed to death just randomly in Finland a couple of years ago.

It is a long way from Sharm to Cairo, if possible make it a two day tour or fly. But if you stay only a week you will find enough to do also in Sinai (St. Catharine´s monastery, Coloured Canyon + White Canyon trekking tour (<--- physically demanding with lost of climbing), great snorkelling, surfing, diving...)

Maybe I am so old that nobody gives me a hard time anywhere. A lot depends on you: no skimpy clothes except on the beach, no flirting, no aggressive behaviour. I have found Egyptian people extremely nice and friendly. I have even been to an Egyptian wedding in Luxor (danced with the bride´s mother).

[luckykitty]

Hey EP, thanks for the answer
If its not on the beach, where is it? is it just walking distance? are the beaches public?

If I go snorkelling whats a good place to see fish and some coral? but I heard there were lionfish around so bit scared o.
Yeah, I just read on the forums that the men keep talking to women, maybe they just like talking alot.

Have you toured the pyramids? do you know how much it costs roughly for 1 or 2 day tour? Thanks

[EP]

I have no idea, I have never been to Sharm. The unspecified hotels could be anywhere. The beaches are either public or hotels´private ones. Hotels have pools.

In Dahab I could see fish and corals right from the hotel beach, but better places are National Parks, more colourful corals. They are not too far and there are day trips for snorkelling and diving to those.

No, I have never been to pyramids, I am saving those for the time when I am staying more near. You might take a trip to Jordan from Sharm and visit Petra, that is also on UNESCO´s World Heritage list and very, very worth visiting.

I just read on the forums that the men keep talking to women, maybe they just like talking alot.

They like talking, and first of all, they like joking. They stop talking if you don´t answer or look into their eyes. Besides, Egyptian men are not the pushiest flirts, Greek men are.

[luckykitty]

I have no idea, I have never been to Sharm. The unspecified hotels could be anywhere. The beaches are either public or hotels´private ones. Hotels have pools.

In Dahab I could see fish and corals right from the hotel beach, but better places are National Parks, more colourful corals. They are not too far and there are day trips for snorkelling and diving to those.

No, I have never been to pyramids, I am saving those for the time when I am staying more near. You might take a trip to Jordan from Sharm and visit Petra, that is also on UNESCO´s World Heritage list and very, very worth visiting.

I just read on the forums that the men keep talking to women, maybe they just like talking alot.

They like talking, and first of all, they like joking. They stop talking if you don´t answer or look into their eyes. Besides, Egyptian men are not the pushiest flirts, Greek men are.

Petra looks great too, thanks for the tips . So u've been to Jordan?
But the pyramids are so magnificent, hope I get to explore them. Thanks for the info!

[EP]

Yes, I bet pyramids are great, but that does not have to be your last trip to Egypt. Never try to do too much on a holiday. Charter companies start trips to Aleksandria region next summer. It is half shorter to Cairo from there. Or think Luxor if beach is not too important. There are Valley of the Kings and Karnak and Luxor temple areas. And Nile. And nice weddings, horse carriage rides and funny people.

Yep, I was in Jordan a year ago.

[Ref]

sharm is a pretty place with loads of hotels,there are few public beaches but usually the hotel you are staying at has it's own private beach.,there are trips to Ras Mohamed wich's one of the best places to snorkle or dive in the world make sure you go there if you're into these kind of stuff.
Dahab is 60Km from sharm and it's completely different it's more like a hippie place,very cheap motels and camps unlike sharm not much of night life if that's one of your concerns.
Cairo is 550Km from sharm there are buses coming and going all the time i think it was about 20Euros a ticket,the trip could take 6 hours.

Sharm is a safe place but expect to get attacked by the sales dudes they will always try to sell you something for quadruple the price they are usually in neamaa bay or the old market but you can always ignore!!!

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

I went to Cairo, Aswan, Luxor...went in the pyramids, rode a camel....Did loads of good stuff. Boats on the Nile, ate tons of good food, got chased by a mummy around a haunted museum with a dog that eats big sandwiches... got stupid sick, everyone else waited until they returned to Cyprus (where we were living) for that to happen.

It was about 21 years ago so I cant really remember much and what we saw or what it was like. We were there for a few weeks though.

Good fun!

The sales dudes are a total pain...but it's the way it is. Just ignore them and move on. Don't even say 'no!'....that's all the chance they need to stop you and try and sell you something. But fair call, we all have to make a living.

But IIRC It was quite safe...Egypt relies on tourism so they don't want to many tourists getting kidnapped...But of course, things can still go wrong.

Edit: I dunno what it is like now but there was a lot of beggars but they never threatened or intimidated you...

[luckykitty]

Hey thanks for all the info . Sounds like a lot of fun, never went diving before maybe i can take a course there. or just chill out somewhere.
Bubba, were u with some tour operator in Cairo? did you have a guide with you? Is it easy to go from Cairo to the pyramids on public transport or how did you get around?

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

Ooooh....Think we went on a magic carpet or perhaps in The Mystery Machine.

I'm sorry, I really can't remember. I was 11 - 13 (22 or more years ago actually). We had guides and stuff...We went by bus to the pyramids, like a tour bus not public transport. How we booked it I really can't remember.

'Those' pyramids are kinda in Giza, a town near Cairo. If you look at the map below you will see the area and how close to a villge it is - Nazlet el-Samman...I think that's the typical thing that everyone gets suprised by...you expect them to be way out in the dessert but they're not. (Feel free to correct me folks). And of course, tons of people and tons of people with their little stalls selling the same souvenirs as everyone else. Cool, like, but I thought it would be a bit more Raiders of The Lost Ark.

You can find some good info about distance and transport here actually...good ole Wiki

http://wikitravel.org/en/Cairo/Giza

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Giza_ ... map%29.svg

[luckykitty]

Cool thanks Bubba ! Looks fun. Wow, parents seem to take their kids on lots of holidays here. I can remember only being on a few holidays as a kid and there were no camels or magic carpets or pyramids and stuff . Trying to make up for it now

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

Eeeerrrrr....I am English. We actually went to Egypt when we were living in Cyprus. It was kind of standard, Isreal and Egypt for a holiday but Isreal was kicking off and it wasn't safe, so we sadly, never went there.

We actually never went on that many exotic holidays cos we lived abroad a lot anyway and my parents were in a few places (Honk Kong, Turkey) working for 3 years before my brother and I were born...so when we were back in the UK we went to crap places like the Lake District for a wet, cold week of boredom!

[Rosamunda]

We took a family package holiday in S El S about 3 or 4 years ago. We went with a big operator flying direct from Helsinki to Sharm el Sheikh for one week in February, the weather was terrific, warm and nice. Except for the day we went on an excursion to St Catharine's monastery when it poured with rain. This was an event in itself as they had not a had a real rainshower for 4 years. That was a wonderful trip, through the desert, up into the mountains. The scenery and the light were amazing.

Our hotel was ***. I think it had originally been a **** hotel owned by some western company but had been bought up by a local company and downgraded to 3 stars. It was a bit old-fashioned but otherwise fab and good value for money (compared to the Hilton and the Whatever either side of us). Our hotel had excellent diving from the hotel itself, one of the only ones to have a reef in its own grounds. So we could snorkel for free. There were also diving lessons available (IIRC my padi hubby went on one). Even the kids could snorkel safely there.

We did a trip to Cairo which entailed getting up at 2am and having breakfast in a box on the coach. The journey takes quite a long time due to all the checkpoints and road blocks etc. We did the pyramids, the museum and the souk and also had lunch on a boat on the Nile. It was an expensive excursion but well worth the cash. We had excellent guides (English speaking inside the monuments but Finnish on the bus). The museum is totally awesome, not just the Tutankahmon (?) treasures but also all the rest (there is tons and tons of stuff). I thought the pyramids were nice enough from the outside. My SO and the smaller kids went inside but according to them I didn't miss much (too crowded, too hot, too smelly, too dark etc). We got back to the hotel very late in the evening. Our tour guide gave us the History of Egypt from infinity and beyond on the way back but I switched off and dozed off because my ability to listen to (and understand) Finnish is limited.

Also did a trip into the desert on camels. It was night-time and we had a camp fire and made food (camel), there was dancing, singing and pipe smoking. Fifty-four Finns on camels, singing songs around a camp fire... I'll never forget that moment, totally surreal!!!

It was a great holiday. We packed everything into one week because the cost of going back with three kids would've been prohibitive and we are not really beach and pool people anyway. We did wander around the old bit of Sharm et Sheikh (which is quite small compared to the coastline hotel areas), there are plenty of small affordable eating places.

It is not easy to walk around outside of the hotel areas. There are military guards and police on all the roads. I don't think you can just wander off into the desert for a walk. You might be stopped and questioned. But I felt very safe all the time.

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

Our hotel was ***. I think it had originally been a **** hotel owned by some western company but had been bought up by a local company and downgraded to 3 stars.

I tried to figure out which naughty words you were using to describe the hotels for a moment there.

Yeah, that museam (what's the name?) was cool.

But (again) IIRC....Inside the pyramids was a bit of a dissapointment...It's mostly just a few little corridor-tunnel type things and a couple of rooms...No mazes, pit traps, piles of gold. Of course, worth going inside just to say you have. But yeah, really cramped, dark and uncomfortable.

[Pursuivant]

When I see Zahi Hawass on the news he's just like Indiana Jones grown old