egypt, safe for children?

Broken_hearted

I think older children would be fine, my youngest is only 4. I may take them when they are teenagers.

budgetflyer

Ive been wanting to go to Egypt for 2 yrs now but have finally decided it is one place Ill never see.
Practically everyone who has been is Ill with food poisoning (or a variant of it) for half their holiday regardless of the quality of hotel they stay in.
I certainly wouldn't take a baby there.

lisyloo

Firstly I don't believe it will be that hot in January.
We went to Egypt (different part in February) and it was down to about 13 degrees at night so needed a fleece first thing in the morning.
Up to about 27 in the daytime.
Nice temperature but not the ridiculously hot temperatures others are talking about at other times of year.
When you go is very important.

Personally I would not take a baby or small children due mainly to the health concerns.

Practically everyone who has been is Ill with food poisoning (or a variant of it) for half their holiday regardless of the quality of hotel they stay in.

Did they drink the water.
I have been twice.
First time I brushed my teeth in the water and got diarrhea which was quickly sorted out with tablets.
Second time brushed teeth with bottled water and didn't eat any fruit or raw food and was fine.
Also followed instructions from GPS surgery about yakult and vitamin B complex.
I think that if you are very careful (don't even brush teeth in their water) and don't eat anything dodgy then you will be fine.
Only danger is contipation through not having enough fruit etc.
Tried to eat bran and cooked beans to reaplce the fibre.
A bit of a pain but we were both well.

Becles

I wouldn't take a baby to Egypt. The day time heat can be intense and I would be worried about how a baby would cope. My parents struggled with daytime temps there, and ended up sightseeing early morning and late afternoon, and going back to the air conditioned room from mid morning to mid afternoon.

What about one of the Canary Islands? Maybe one of the quieter resorts - it would be cooler for baby, and better hygeine.

Angel777

Oh no, i am really worried now!

We booked a weeks holiday to Egypt yesterday, we go in 2 weeks and we have an 8 yr old with us. None of the travel agents said anything about not taking him with us, its for him that we are actually going!

The hotel seems to cater for children.

We will take precautions such as bottled water, trying to keep cool and hydrated etc.

Any advice???

black-saturn

Start having a bottle each of Yakult milk every day and a vitamin tablet to get your immune system up a bit and carry on doing so while your there. If your going to eat fruit there don't eat the peel and also ask to peel it yourself (if they do it their nails might not be clean). Never use tap water for anything except showering, even brush your teeth with bottled water. When showering keep your mouth closed!!! Take a diorrea (sp?) remedy with you. Don't eat food from a takeaway on the street and always try to eat at the hotel or an establishment that looks really clean. Take a packet of wet wipes with you and use them regularly to clean your hands and also before and after a meal.

I'm sure you will have a great time and as long as you follow these rules I'm sure you will.

lisyloo

The day time heat can be intense and I would be worried about how a baby would cope.

The OP is going in January.
People who have had bad experiences with the heat have either been very unlucky or not done their research and gone at the wrong time.

November throught to Feruary is absolutely lovely (will need a fleece last thing and first thing) and is generally not intense heat.

Obviously weather can be unseasonal but doing some research before you go is well worthwhile.

lisyloo

None of the travel agents said anything about not taking him with us, its for him that we are actually going!

Firstly don't panic.
Much of the advice on this thread was responding to taking a baby and not an 8 year old.
I have been a couple of time and I don't think it's a problem for 8 year olds.
I would just be more worried with small children because obviously their immune system is not as well developed.

You will need to be strict with your 8 year old because it's ever so easy to stick your toothbrush under the tap out of habit whatever age you are.

Any advice???

Have you been to your doctors?
They should be able to give you all jabs and advice.
We had typhiod, hepatitus A, tetanus and diptheria.
In some areas Malaria is prescribed but the advice does vary depending on location.
We were advised to take yakult and vitamin B complex.
No to drink (or brush teeth) in any local water.
Not to eat raw food (salad).
Only eat fruit if you can peel it. The problem comes from the water it's washed in so if's it's unpeeled and you can peel it yourself that's OK.
Take "stoppers" and "goers" i.e. laxatives and immoduim.
Try to eat beans, bran etc, because you might find that avoiding fruit and veg means you don't get enough fibre which would lead to constipation.
Obviously take the usual precautions with the sun - suncream, carry bottled water always, hats, cover up etc.
Don't buy water off roadside stalls, get it from hotels or cruise boats.

Becles

lisyloo wrote:

The OP is going in January.
People who have had bad experiences with the heat have either been very unlucky or not done their research and gone at the wrong time.

My parents went in the winter but it was excessively hot when they were there - above 30°C. This would concern me if I was taking a baby into such heat, as they don't cope with heat as well as adults and children do.

A baby's immune system is also not as good as an adults, and they are more at risk if they get tummy bugs which are common in Egypt due to poor hygeine.

lisyloo

Yep, unfortunately all the planning in the world cannot prevent problems, so I agree it's risky going with a baby or small child.
It's certainly possible to experience non-average temperatures and it's also possible to be stuck in an airport without air conditioning.
We were in Jordan at the end of April and the air conditioning had not been switched on at the airport so it was very hot.
Doesn't matter if you've paid for a 5* hotel, you'll still be in the same airport.

In Italy one year in June it was unseasonally hot (up to the 40s) but hotels only put air conditioning on in July and August.

Travel is somewhat risky unfortunately whatever planning you do.

I travelled back recently during the crtitical terrorism alert.
Luckily we didn't have anything fragile but obviously when we went out we didn't know it was going to happen.
It was sheer luck we didn't have expenses cameras and lenses with us.