Sharm El Sheik

Gerrard_8_lfc

Hello Guys

Im just looking for a bit of advice and recommendations I am thinking of going to Egypt for the first time. I am worried that I go and hate it. Can anyone recommend.

The best hotels to stay at ?
Things to Avoid ?
Things to Do ?

and even just some reviews about your experiances. any view would be most welcome

p.s. I am thinking of going in january or febuary for my holidays

Jane2112

Hi,
YOu may have posted in wrong place - as this thread is UK holidays etc.
I suggest you have a look at 'tripadvisor' on t'internet and you can check out hotels etc and there will be a sharm forum.

Gerrard_8_lfc

Ahh So I have can a mod move this for me please thank you

Wintermute

My girlfriend talked me into going this year (me paying of course!), I was really unsure of it, but had an amazing time. You're certainly thinking about going at the correct time of year, we went for a week in July and we really felt the heat!

We stayed in the Mariot Renaissance Golden View Beach Resort which was great and isn't too far from shops where you can buy affordable water etc. (a quarter of the hotels prices!).

We're both fussy eaters and vegetarians and we really did struggle to eat while over there, we stuffed our faces at breakfast time (mm fresh waffles, pancakes and fruit!), but there wasn't many places to eat near by and nowhere seemed to have menus outside so we did't really eat much when we were there, but that could have been a good thing. An accountant from my work and her family were on the same flight as us over there, they stayed for a week longer than us and they all came back with terrible food poisoning so be wary of seafood and any fruit and veg that can't be peeled.

I got the impression when I was over there that most of the locals viewed us as a walking pound/dollar sign, you'll get taxi drivers stopping to hassle you so walk towards the incoming traffic and you'll get less grief, people will approach you on the street, invite you to their stores, offer you gifts etc. just keep walking and say no thank you. Coming from Scotland leads to a few interesting exchanges, it's either going to be "where you learn to speak English?" or "Yeah! William Wallace! William Wallace!" although one or two people did seem to know where Scotland was and were able to name some cities. If you want to buy something be prepared to haggle as it's a massive part of their culture.

We spent most of our time in the Red Sea snorkling, the water really is amazing, it's a completely different world down there, you'll see 3 meter long eels, the most amazingly coloured fish you've ever seen and if you're lucky you'll see dolphin and turtles. We went horse riding in the desert, that was pretty scary as the only time I'd been on a horse was when I was really young and had somebody along side me, I had to work out how to climb onto the hose and pretty much work out all the riding stuff myself while being terrified of falling off (no helmet of course), I'm glad I done it, I just wouldn't recomend it unless you already know how to ride a horse. There's plenty of boat trips available, there's no shortage of history you can take in and there's a lot of interesting excursions to the desert, such as quad riding and star gazing.

It was one of my most memorable holidays, there was some aspects I didn't enjoy, but I'd go there again, just not at the hottest time of the year! The accountant from my work said it's the best holiday she's ever been on, but wouldn't go back due to her becoming sick. My advise would be to go, but just watch out for the water and be extra careful of what you eat.

Interhacker

Not sure if i can write this here but im going too :P

My mate and his misses went last month, she paid for him to have 5 massages in the hotel massage "center" (£170) whilst she went shopping with the girls...

It turned out the massage "center" enjoyed making the male customers very happy via several sexual endeavors.
Later in the holiday it turned out that someone in the same hotel had taken a official cab to somewhere only for the taxi driver to take him out to know where and beat the !!!! out of him.
Apparently that was pretty common

Wintermute

Interhacker wrote: »

Later in the holiday it turned out that someone in the same hotel had taken a official cab to somewhere only for the taxi driver to take him out to know where and beat the !!!! out of him.
Apparently that was pretty common

I didn't hear anything like that when I was there or reading up in advance, from what I read there's not much crime over there, certainly less than Glasgow! I was advised only to get in the official taxis and when going along the roads you pass a lot of armed tourist police so there's plenty of opportunities to call for help so I wouldn't let that put you off!

kirwell81

We went to the Tropicana Grand Azure in April this year. It claims to be a 5* star hotel but the reality is it's probably a very nice 3* or 4*. The grounds of the hotel are lovely and really well kept the rooms could do with a bit of a face lift but nice and cleaned properly every day. The pools are great, there is about five of them spread over the grounds so they never feel too busy. It is an all inclusive hotel and we found the food to be good, nothing to write home about but we were well fed every night and enjoyed the different themes they put on. All the staff were friendly and helpful, the only really annoying thing was as you were sunbathing by the pool there was always people coming around trying to sell you massage/beauty treatments/boat trips/parasailing etc. After a couple of days of saying no the tend to recognise you and leave you alone.

We spoke to alot of people on the way home who all said they had had a terrible time and most of them put it down to the hotel they stayed in so I would definitely having a good look on Trip Advisor. It made me glad we had done our research as the hotel we stayed in was lovely.

Things to do - WASH YOUR HANDS CONSTANTLY! also have one of those little hand steriliser gels to carry around with you as I am still to meet anyone who has been to Sharm and hasn't had a dodgy tummy for at least a couple of days. Other things that help with this is not cranking up the air conditioning too high no matter how hot it is outside and also not drinking ice cold water. And make sure you are stocked up on Immodium and only brush your teeth with bottled water.

When out shopping be prepared to be hassled constantly. You will be often asked if this is your first time in Sharm, always say "no we've been here several times" in a - I know your game tone. You will get hasseled by taxis drivers so walk on the opposite side of the road, or if you do need to use one always agree a price before getting in. Don't make the same mistake my husband made - he thought he would go and buy a few beers for in the hotel room so went to the local supermarket, picked up a six pack of Heineken and didn't realise it was non alcoholic until it was paid for. He went back the next day and all the beer in the supermarket was non alcoholic.

The snorkelling in Sharm is awesome, take some shoes you can wear in the water as there is coral and you will cut your feet otherwise. Take some cheap snorkelling gear over with you and just enjoy spending hours in the warm water filled with amazingly colourful fish.

If you want to go to the Pyramids it's a long day, TBH it's probably too far away (about 200 miles) but it is on offer. We didn't do it ourselves and it is probably the one thing that we regret.

We had a lovely holiday but I don't think we will every go back to Sharm. My opinion is that I have been to nicer resorts with more on offer for a better price. You are of course guarenteed the weather - it was beautiful everyday we were there but it is a pretty long flight (five hours from Scotland) and so much of it, or at least the part where we were, was still like a building site.

Hope you have a lovely time.

GRM

We went to Sharm for the first time in July. If all you want to do is sunbathe and scuba/snorkel, it's a fantastic holiday. It's not picturesque, it's not somewhere pleasant to stroll around. It's wall-to-wall resort hotels.

I normally have the constitution of an ox but I still had a dodgy few days.

We stayed at the Royal Grand Azure. I'd go back again and I'd recommend it.

gizmo111

We went in February and are going back in November. Can't add much to above really, although we had no food poisoning. Both times we went/are going for a week. If I was going for a fortnight then it wouldn't be Sharm I'd choose but Cuba to return to. But Sharm is great for winter sun on a short break.

Have a great time.

kaya

we just booked the Ritz Carlton in sharm, 7 nights for two on a deluxe half board cost us £1500 (transfers taxes included), we have also seen day excursions to the pyramids or luxor by plane for £150 each( 1 hour travel on a plane)

shmeeko69

Gerrard_8_lfc wrote: »

Hello Guys

Im just looking for a bit of advice and recommendations I am thinking of going to Egypt for the first time. I am worried that I go and hate it. Can anyone recommend.

The best hotels to stay at ?
Things to Avoid ?
Things to Do ?

and even just some reviews about your experiances. any view would be most welcome

p.s. I am thinking of going in january or febuary for my holidays

Hi Gerrard

I can seriously recommend Sharm El Sheik. I went there last week in Sep. first week Oct. last year & it was great. I was a bit sceptical of the part of the world, but how wrong I was. We stayed at The Sunrise Island View Hotel in Sharks Bay for two weeks all inclusive. The main restaurant food was not very good, but the italian upstairs was spot on, there are four bar & victoria's upstairs stays open until 6am, it has four pools (one adult only) & has it's own private beach with snorkelling to die for. The ampartments are basic but kept very clean & the resort in general is spotless. We only went to the commercial Naama Bay for a trip, but was told to avoid the bus trip to Cairo, as it's a let down because the place is quite run down. There is plent to do in the resort itself & there is also nearby soho square with a nice selection of bars, restaurant & trendy shops. To sum up my Egyptian holiday - gauranteed sunshine everyday, spotless resort in a great location, great value for money & the best holiday I've ever had & that's even with the 5 hour plane journey from the UK.

Mark :beer: