High risk to Britons in Egypt

Mr_Wang

dave_howard wrote: »

We booked it a while back on friends recommendations and of it being the warmest place for that time of year.
I knew of the troubles of Cairo etc, its only because of the High Risk alert just being announced which troubled us.
We have popped into the travel agents today and she has assured us that the FCO has not issued any warnings for Sharm and is safe.
Which i kinda knew they would say anyway.

http://chartsbin.com/view/1454

Twice as likely to get snuffed out in the UK than in Egypt.

I bet when your the sort of driver that needs a personal invitation to pull out of a junction - Or a gap of at least half an hour

foxwales

Egypt is an extremely safe country. I have been countless times over the whole country.

Sharm El Sheik is heavily policed, both by Egyptian Tourist Police and the military; you will also find the Egyptian people to be friendly and accommodating.

Sharm is a great place to kick back by the pool and enjoy the sun, you would be stupid to pass up a holiday because of some incalculable risks which you happily take every day you step outside your door.

Egypt relies heavily on tourism and the Egyptian people know this and how important tourist safety is, therefore you will have no issues whilst you are there.

dave_howard_2

[QUOTE=Mr Wang;56978389

Twice as likely to get snuffed out in the UK than in Egypt.

I bet when your the sort of driver that needs a personal invitation to pull out of a junction - Or a gap of at least half an hour [/QUOTE]

Fraid your wrong there,(with the driving), living in London you do not need to drive like an idiot but i do hate drivers that dither and drive too slow. This is dangerous
I have never been to Egypt before so i just wanted advice not smart comments.
And i know London is also a dangerous place, believe me i have come across some very unsavoury situations in the past so my character should'nt be under scrutiny.
Maybe i'm a bit naive regarding travelling abroad but the reason in the first place i asked advice was the couple coming with us also showed concern.

Incapuppy

dave_howard wrote: »

We have popped into the travel agents today and she has assured us that the FCO has not issued any warnings for Sharm and is safe.

You can check FCO advice for yourself here:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/egypt

PompeyPete

We're going to Na'ama Bay on 22 November for a week, then a Thomson Cruise.
Not worried in the slightest.

DUKE

My first trip abroad was Egypt, a few days before our flight the bombs went off. There was families on the news crying because they'd cancelled their holiday as they were too afraid to fly, they lost all their money too. I must admit that the night before we went I lay awake in bed wondering what on earth I was playing at as I was convinced that I was going to get shot ..... But it was our first time abroad, we'd gone into debt for this, & I was going on that holiday if it was the last thing that I ever did! It was great when we arrived In Luxor, the tourist police were everywhere to look after us, you only had to shout if you needed them - we didn't. We had to join a convoy on all of our excursions complete with a young lad in the front armed with his gun - just in case. We roamed the streets where the locals lived & visited their homes & had a lovely time. Go & see the TA if you want to put your mind at rest but don't give up on on your holiday, you're just panicked which is natural. Go & enjoy yourself, you'll have a great time!

Soz Dave I didn't read the last bit, I got completely carried away with my memories there :-/

miamoo

To be fair to the OP, the FCO have just put Egypt on a high alert as a terrorist plot to bomb western tourists has just been foiled, I dont blame the OP for being concerned.
If they thought this was a one-off they wouldn't of issued a high alert.
I am not saying the OP shouldnt go, just that I completely understand why they are worried.

vegasvisitor

I agree, OP was here to ask a genuine question not to be ridiculed about their driving as it is totally irrelevant.

OP - in some ways you will be more streetwise than many of us living in London, however you state you are not very travel-wise hence you seeking opinions on here. I don't think anyone can categorically say you will be safe in Egypt. That said, I'm sure you will agree that the risk is still relatively low when you read the amount of incidents and number of people involved, and consider the number of tourists in the area. Some of the hotels have in excess or 500 rooms, so there's probably quite a number of travelers in Sharm at any one time.

That said, I looked up the BBC stuff about the foiled attack and it's very recent and I agree it's a bit alarming. I was in India earlier this year, and given the level of security everywhere there I expect I was at more risk than I have ever been anywhere else!! When our driver took us to our hotels they would put a mirror contraption under the car to check for bombs. Never seen that done anywhere else I was holidaying - including Egypt.

If I had booked right now I would go. I haven't decided yet whether to go in January, but would still really like to go. I will probably decide quite soon.

[Deleted User]

The fact that a terrorist plot has been foiled means now is probably as good a time as any to go.
But the OP is right to be concerned.
British tourists are seen as a soft target in the region and it's only a matter of time before some fundamentalist nutter gets through.

marky_p

Even the FCO overplay everything.

I travelled all over Sinai last year with no problems. People there are really struggling, they were so glad to see tourists (we were very few and far between) and were obviously very down about the lack of business.

I understand if you're concerned but you HAVE to think rationally, to be concerned about going to somewhere like Sharm is as ridiculous as being scared of flying (which I am, but it wouldn't stop me going anywhere).