Advice please

Blue264

I agree with the Op's decision.

Right now, much of Europe is on a high, if not the highest terror alert, but Egypt is beyond that. In the last 2 weeks a lot has changed, I've seen travel agent rates to Egypt drop through the floor because many people who work in the industry don't want to go. Personally, I've never fancied Turkey either.

I'd go back to the agent and explain that you can't afford the new price and ask what they can get you in Greece, etc...

PeacefulWaters

maman wrote: »

It's about 500 miles from the Bodrum area to the Syrian border. Obviously it's OP's choice but it does help to be properly informed.

And it's 300+ miles from Sharm to Cairo and London to Edinburgh.

So what's the magic number?

stephb34

Saracen311 wrote: »

Hello, need some advice please.
In January I booked a family holiday to Egypt with First Choice and paid a £200 partial deposit. The remaining £600 of the deposit is due to be paid in March. Due to the current terrorist threat in Egypt and the foreign office warning against most travel within Egypt (although the area we are due to go to isn't currently included in that advice) we decided that we are not happy to go there and contacted First Choice to change the destination
We had found another holiday in Turkey for the price of £3700 which we wanted to switch to. We contacted First Choice and they said we could switch but there would be a £200 fee (which we were expecting and were prepared to pay) they then looked at the holiday in Turkey which we had found on their website and said the price would be £4500!! When we queried the price and said the price on their website was £3700 they said that as this wasn't a new booking the price they were quoting was the "transfer price" and that was what we had to pay to go to Turkey.
Is this right/legal? We now don't know what to do, if we cancel we have to pay the whole £800 deposit. We can't afford to pay £4500 for a holiday ( we were pushing it as it is) but we are worried for our familys safety going to Egypt. Any advice would be very welcome.

Thomson and first choice holidays are always about 10% cheaper on the internet you've booked through a travel agent so they would have price matched and charged you a £25 booking fee on a new booking but you've booked so they don't need to do that they've got you. Unless I've missed something on the news recently Cairo and Luxor have been on the list of not to travel to for at least the last year so when you booked it would have been the same advice. Sharm, Hurghada, Marsa alam etc are hours away by flight from Cairo I wouldn't swap to Turkey, if the situation in Egypt gets worse First choice wouldn't send you they would change your holiday free of charge.

PompeyPete

Stick with Egypt. There's not much concern on the Trip Advisor forum for Sharm...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g297555-i9225-Sharm_El_Sheikh_South_Sinai_Red_Sea_and_Sinai.html

But don't let anyone put you off a future trip to any of the many excellent resorts strung along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey either. For a few examples google...

- 'Bodrum Peninsular images'

- 'Antalya images'

- 'Fethiye images'

...and see the wow photos that'll appear.

runningben16

The Egyptian economy (what's left of it) relies heavily on tourism. Neither side in the current situation wants to bite the hand that feeds, and any trouble in the Sharm area would kill the entire economy stone dead, instantly. It'll be protected.

MasterPoo

Saracen311 wrote: »

Hello, need some advice please.
In January I booked a family holiday to Egypt with First Choice and paid a £200 partial deposit. The remaining £600 of the deposit is due to be paid in March. Due to the current terrorist threat in Egypt and the foreign office warning against most travel within Egypt (although the area we are due to go to isn't currently included in that advice) we decided that we are not happy to go there and contacted First Choice to change the destination
We had found another holiday in Turkey for the price of £3700 which we wanted to switch to. We contacted First Choice and they said we could switch but there would be a £200 fee (which we were expecting and were prepared to pay) they then looked at the holiday in Turkey which we had found on their website and said the price would be £4500!! When we queried the price and said the price on their website was £3700 they said that as this wasn't a new booking the price they were quoting was the "transfer price" and that was what we had to pay to go to Turkey.
Is this right/legal? We now don't know what to do, if we cancel we have to pay the whole £800 deposit. We can't afford to pay £4500 for a holiday ( we were pushing it as it is) but we are worried for our familys safety going to Egypt. Any advice would be very welcome.

OP if it's a toss up of losing £800 and your safety I'd take the £800 loss if you can't afford to pay the £4700. Personally, I would still go on the holiday.

pattycake

I spent last Christmas in Egypt (Hurghada) and I am returning in June. I was there during the uprising of the Arab Spring and I only knew it was happening via the television.

As stated above, if the advice from the FO changes that is a different matter. Go and have a fabulous time.

maman

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

And it's 300+ miles from Sharm to Cairo and London to Edinburgh.

So what's the magic number?

Of course there isn't a magic number it just brings a sense of proportion that the OP hasn't booked a holiday in a dangerous area hence the FO advice.

Blue264 wrote: »

I agree with the Op's decision.

Right now, much of Europe is on a high, if not the highest terror alert, but Egypt is beyond that. In the last 2 weeks a lot has changed, I've seen travel agent rates to Egypt drop through the floor because many people who work in the industry don't want to go. Personally, I've never fancied Turkey either.

I'd go back to the agent and explain that you can't afford the new price and ask what they can get you in Greece, etc...

Or it could be that people don't want to go because they (wrongly) imagine that their chosen destination is right in the middle of a war zone when with a bit of research they'd find it's not.

Archergirl

Another vote to go to Egypt, we are going to Hurghada in April, can't wait, we have been going every year, sometimes twice to different parts of Egypt for about 15 yrs now.

mick_vandick

Unless I've missed something on the news recently Cairo and Luxor have been on the list of not to travel to for at least the last year

Steph, Cairo and Luxor are not on the list of places the FCO advise against travel to. Luxor has been okay to travel to for a year or so now and Cairo many months! The only place in Egypt the FCO don't recommend travel to is North Sinai and the area above Sharm in South Sinai.

As for the OP, are you aware the FCO advice for Turkey says that there is a high risk of terrorism in Turkey? So what makes this different to Egypt?

Due to the current terrorist threat in Egypt and the foreign office warning against most travel within Egypt

As i have mentioned above, this is not the case, please check your facts!

Everywhere including the UK is on a high terror alert at the moment. Nobody can guarantee your safety in Egypt but then nobody can do this in London either.

I agree with the Op's decision.

Based on what Blue? Your comments about people in travel not going to Egypt does not ring true with me. Being someone who used to work in the industry i have many friends still in the travel world who have just been or are still going on their hols to Egypt soon. They tell me that prices haven't changed.