Egypt help

folkestonelisa

Does anyone have any ideas that has been to Egypt, pointing me in the right direction.
My son and i would like to go to egypt, would like to vist cairo and luxor, will be flying as quicker, so we are after a resort that will allow us to get to the airport quickly. As well as a place where we can wonder round markets in the evening and during the day, snorkel and do other touristy things, and then on the last day, just lie on a sunbed and recharge our batteries.

I have looked at hundreds of hotels (that is not lie), and though they all seem lovely, im just so confused which is the best resort to stay at. We are going on May 1st if that helps. But any help will save me trawling through unsuitable locations, (will free up more time for me to write my uni essays :T)

Thanks

Pee

I'm not sure if this is much help, but a first step would be to get a rough guide to Egypt or similiar, doesn't really matter how old, from your local library.

You can then look at distances and see how possible different options look before investigarting them further.

For instance there is a sleeper train between Cairo and Luxor that you could book on line which might meet your requirements.

I think the co-operative had a good tour taking in Cairo and Luxor.

folkestonelisa

Thanks for that.

We have brought a book, but they all look so good the resorts. I think that im going to have to resort to a map and a pin as i cant decide:rotfl:

Pee

I think you will find a lot of the resorts are just too far away from Luxor and/ or Cairo for that to be an option.

shykins

what many people dont realise is just how far apart luxor and cairo are. u could find a holiday that allows you to stay a few days in each place or u could look at the red sea and maybe do the 1 or 2 day fly trip to cairo one week and luxor the following week

we go to el gouna which we love (approx 40mins to hurghada airport) all the hotels offer trips to cairo and luxor but be warned they are VERY long days whichever u decide

hth

tedster123

The Hiltons in Luxor and Cairo both pretty decent - haven't stayed in either but family has said it was nice, have eaten there food is lovely

Would recommend Sharm El Sheik - naama bay - red sea to stay but you would look to take a flight - although in May - it will be quite hot.

Tripadvisor is a good resource for looking at hotels

kegg_2

Egypt is not the sort of place to wander around markets. There are plenty of tourist type shops in the main red sea resorts but they all sell the same tourist tat and the hassle you get to buy/looking in their shop/sign their guest book is awful and about a few minutes you will just want to get back to the peace of your hotel.
I have done both cairo and luxor from hurghada both times by road and you are looking at a 20 hour day and even then you will go get to see a fraction of the sites.
The other main red sea resort is sharm el sheik but again both cario and luxor are a long way away and you are looking at long trip to both.
Sharm is a purpose bulit tourist resort and you could be anywhere in the world as there is nothing egyptian about it bar the young men who work there, so if you are looking to see a bit of egypt then dont pick sharm

flossy_splodge

kegg wrote: »

Egypt is not the sort of place to wander around markets. What an absolutely daft load of baloney!There are plenty of tourist type shops in the main red sea resorts but they all sell the same tourist tat and the hassle you get to buy/looking in their shop/sign their guest book is awful and about a few minutes you will just want to get back to the peace of your hotel.
I have done both cairo and luxor from hurghada both times by road and you are looking at a 20 hour day and even then you will go get to see a fraction of the sites.
The other main red sea resort is sharm el sheik but again both cario and luxor are a long way away and you are looking at long trip to both.
Sharm is a purpose bulit tourist resort and you could be anywhere in the world as there is nothing egyptian about it bar the young men who work there, so if you are looking to see a bit of egypt then dont pick sharm

This last comment I DO agree with.
Sharm is what it is. If you want to see a bit of the real Egypt you have to a) make more effort and b) be careful of your personal safety but NO MORE than in New York orBarcelona for example.
My DD is the best one to help. I'll get her to check this thread and hopefully offer some thoughts. She is an Egyptologist with a number of trips to Egypt under her belt ALL of which she spent in the 'real'Egypt and has a wonderful time each time she visits. Last one was with a friend and colleague, also a female and also an Egyptologist. They respect the people and culture they are visiting - none of the sadly too frequent lack of awareness of the British in wearing skimpy clothing with plunging necklines etc excess alcohol and lewd behaviour. Act in that way and you would certainly attract unwelcome behaviour.
I too have been, indeed, as a family we have lived in a much less westernised Arab country and were welcomed and included and have memories that will last a lifetime. Indeed, same DD started at school at age 4 in a totally Arab speaking school and loved it.
The Egyptians are now predominantly Muslim. Remember that and you won't go far wrong.

tedster123

would agree with Sharm comment about not being very egyptian but sea is beautiful and snorkel out there in Mas Mohammed lovely - if you like seafood Sinai Star (old market) is great and fairly cheap

When going around markets in Cairo/Luxor/Red Sea remember your haggling I typically go 10% of whats asked and work way up, same for taxis, hotels will often take care of taxis from airport but if not; for Sharm remember they were asking 200 egyptian ended about 70

jojo2004

Hi,
I'm flossy_splodge's DD, will try and help!

OP, you keep mentioning 'resorts'. If you definitely want a resort, i.e. a dedicated tourist area, with swimming pools etc and multiple hotels, you will have to go to Hurghada, or the Red Sea Coast (sometimes called the Red Sea Riviera), basically the area around Sharm el-Sheikh. As far as I am aware, these are the only/main places that have resorts. I am not aware of tourist resort in or near Cairo or Luxor.

Travelling between any of these resorts and Cairo or Luxor is not a holiday. It takes 18 hours by bus from Sharm to Cairo. If you want to see Cairo or Luxor or both, you will need to stay in the city/cities, which means not a resort! Loads of hotels are large, have nice grounds and swimming pools, so it's not a dissimilar experience, it just depends what you are looking for.

If that's okay with you, then I can happily suggest several hotels in different price brackets, and some must-see sights.

If you want a resort (personally I loathe places like Hurghada and Sharm, they are generic, concrete and could be anywhere in the world, but each to their own! They have beaches and snorkelling/diving!), I'm not the person to help!

One other thing, if you do want to do Cairo/Luxor and then have a couple of days at the seaside, you could always go up to the Mediterranean coast, near Alexandria, at the end of your holiday. That's where Egyptians holiday, and it's lovely. If you just want time on a sun lounger, there are plenty of places in Cairo and Luxor that will provide that (hotels which are secluded enough for you to feel comfortable sunbathing).

Please do let me know, either here or via PM, whether you would like further info about Cairo/Luxor etc. And enjoy Egypt! Don't listen to the tosh people spout about it - yes, you'll get 'hassled' (asked to buy stuff, talked to and at, admired etc), but so what? It's a foreign country with foreign customs! If you don't like foreign, don't go abroad.

Egypt has an incredibly, ridiculously low rate of crimes against foreigners, and most of those are bag/money snatches, so by being sensible, you can be pretty confident you'll be safe. Wandering around bazaars in Egypt is an awesome experience - the Khan el Khalil in Cairo is one of the oldest souks in the world, and is a pretty friendly and happy place (although also mental and noisy!)


Hope that helps!
xx

folkestonelisa

Jojo2004 Can i just say thank you for your informed post. Its really made us change where we are looking at, but i will pm you for some more info.
I am so glad that i posted on here and your mum read it, so a big thank you to your mum as well:j