High risk to Britons in Egypt

dave_howard_2

Hi all,
I have recently just paid up for a winter trip in Egypt (End of Jan) and i am now concerned due to the government releasing a HIGH LEVEL alert for Britons traveling to Egypt.(read on BBC news)
Although it states Sharm El Sheik is staying the same at the moment, my wife and i are still very concerned, and is wondering if the Travel Agent would refund the money under the circumstances. (Its the Co op travel group).
Any opinions?

elsien

You need to go by the advice on the foreign office website rather than the news. Looking at what they say, the main risks seem to be in the Sinai and Cairo rather than resorts such as Sharm. It doesn't look as if tourists are specifically being targetted, unlike in the past. I'd probably carry on if it were me.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/egypt

Unless they offer specific advice not to travel, then the travel agent is unlikely to refund. Although no harm done by asking, if it worries you that much.

dave_howard_2

Hi
thanks for quick reply.
It still looks horribly close and my wife just wouldn't enjoy the holiday knowing unrest is just around the corner
She has been concerned for a while now.
Would the insurance company cover it?, or are they even harder to claim from in these circumstances?

elsien

Same thing, as far as I know, they'll only pay out if the foreign office specifically advises against travel to the area concerned.
If you really don't want to go, you might have to accept the cancellation charges as set out in the brochure and just accept the loss. This early before you go, you might just lose the deposit and no more.
As I say, can't hurt to run it past the travel agent and see what they say, or see if the holiday company will let you transfer to a different holiday elsewhere. Nothing ventured, and all that.

dave_howard_2

From the FCO website
Two people were killed in an armed robbery in Sharm el Sheikh old town market area in January 2012. There have also been some cases of abductions for financial gain. In early March 2012 there were two robberies at gun and knifepoint of tourists travelling late at night on unlicensed tour buses on the coast road north of Sharm el Sheikh. There were no injuries.
A call to the travel agent i reckon!!

dave_howard_2

I dont want to scaremonger but i really dont think we should go.
We paid £365 each for the week and only paid it all up 2 weeks ago.
Getting half back would be a result.

callum9999

dave_howard wrote: »

From the FCO website
Two people were killed in an armed robbery in Sharm el Sheikh old town market area in January 2012. There have also been some cases of abductions for financial gain. In early March 2012 there were two robberies at gun and knifepoint of tourists travelling late at night on unlicensed tour buses on the coast road north of Sharm el Sheikh. There were no injuries.
A call to the travel agent i reckon!!

And how many murders were there in London on the same day?

If you don't want to go then don't go - and I don't think it's particularly fair to try and talk you into it! - but the travel agent has zero obligation to refund you, and probably won't.

If you explain your concerns to a manager there maybe they'll let you change to somewhere else for a smaller fee, but Sharm El Sheik is generally safe.

elsien

But to put it in perspective, if you looked up a crime map for a British city, you'd also be getting armed robberies and knife crime.
And if you take basic precautions, you're not going to be on an unlicensed tour bus in the first place.
These things can sometimes look scarier in writing than than they are in reality. When you think about the number of tourists visiting Sharm, that's not a huge amount of incidents.

dave_howard_2

Yes,i understand all that but you just feel more vulnerable in another country and no one is raising a high alert for Britain are they?
Its just that this was in the news headlines and just wanted advice.

callum9999

dave_howard wrote: »

Yes,i understand all that but you just feel more vulnerable in another country and no one is raising a high alert for Britain are they?
Its just that this was in the news headlines and just wanted advice.

Is anyone raising a high alert for Sharm El Sheik? And I'm pretty sure at numerous occasions over the past few years, even the likes of France have issued travel warnings about Britain - you just don't hear about them because, obviously, you already live here!

As I said before, it would be unfair to try and talk you into something you don't feel safe doing, but my (not that you should take much notice of that!), the governments and your travel agents opinion is that Sharm El Sheik is safe - so you're unlikely to get any compensation if you choose not to go.

dave_howard_2

Ok, thanks for the opinion's its just the wife suffers with bad nerves and put me into a bit of a wobble.
We'll see what the travel agents say and think it over.
As you can probably tell,we're not seasoned travellers and have only been abroad 3 times with Turkey being only 2 months ago.
Even then I had to put my wife's mind at rest with the Syria situation so you must know where im coming from