Holidays in Egypt.

[Hibbyradge]

I'm thinking of going to Egypt next month.

I haven't been before so I'd like to hear about your experiences and advice.

Thanks.

[RoslinInstHibby]

been to sharm the last 2 years, excellent place. Went both times in late April, still bl**dy hot, mid to high 30's hit the 40's three days on the bounce.

1st year did the trip to the cairo museum and the pyramids, long day but well worth it, second time round did the trip to the valley of the kings, amazing place and same as cairo long trip but totally worth it.

The best thing we did over there was quad bike in the desert, great fun.

All booked up for July this year, cannae wait.

I can provide hotel, trip details, pics etc if required???

[Lucius Apuleius]

One of the worst countries in the world to visit IMO. Everyone seems to think it is good for holidays though. Just stay away from Cairo airport and its environs, try not to have to be driven anywhere, especially at night, and you should be OK.

[Hibbyradge]

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One of the worst countries in the world to visit IMO. Everyone seems to think it is good for holidays though. Just stay away from Cairo airport and its environs, try not to have to be driven anywhere, especially at night, and you should be OK.

Why so?

[Jack]

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Why so?

To other Arab countries its known as the :asshole: / toilet of the world.

TBF I’ve never been there though a friend goes regularly, for scuba diving. He says its great but wouldn’t venture out the touristy bits or go travel [to] anywhere ‘unaccompanied’.

[Lucius Apuleius]

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Why so?

The infrastructure is an absolute nightmare. The lunatics drive with their lights off and only put them on when they think a corner is coming or another car is approaching. Totally corrupt administration (at least any I have worked with, but maybe not quite as bad as Nigeria ). Bum boat guys that come through the canal with you are without a doubt the biggest bunch of thieving barstewards I have ever encountered. Never seen a nice female.

[hibbie02]

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Why so?

Driving through Cairo is without doubt one of the scariest things you can do on Earth (and they appear to have a rush hour that lasts nearly 24 hours). Everyone will try to rip you off. We got a guide at the airport as we had limited time, and he took us to all his mate's places to eat and we got a visit to a tourist "bazaar" which we did not want. He took us to the pyramids late in the afternoon we paid to get in and were kicked out by armed guards 15 minutes later as they decided to close early. Nice!

In saying that the diving in the Red Sea (well away from Sharm) is amazing, as were what we could see at the Pyramids (don't take pics from the wrong angle or you will get the Cairo shiiiiity suburbs in the immediate background). The Cairo Museum is special but could do with a bit more info in English.

Oh aye. Try to avoid getting stranded in the Domestic Arrivals/Departure Lounge at Hurghada overnight as it is not a great experience, honestly it isn't!!!!

[Calvin]

I went to Egypt last year and I hated it and liked it in equal measure.

If you want a beach holiday and nothing else, then Sharm is undeniably excellent. Sublime snorkelling and very good diving, coupled with nice beaches and roasting temperatures make it a good bet for sunbathing all day. The hotels are generally All Inclusive and I wouldn't want to go there any other way, the only country I've been to which I've thought that about. The hotels are very nice, the food decent and overall it's pretty good. We only left our hotel complex twice in the fortnight and that's where the problem lay.

We went into Sharm on the 3rd day of our holiday. It is one of the worst cities ever, if you can even call it that. More of a town, it was manufactured purely for tourism and is rubbish. Sure, you can get a Starbucks, McDonalds, TGI Fridays or Hard Rock Cafe, but I don't want that on holiday. It is a soulless dirge of a place. The locals all stay in a slummy part kept away from the tourists, and my very naive Dad paid £10 for 2 bottles of water (his fault, but that's what they're like)

So I went on the Cairo trip. Brilliant to see the Sphinx, Pyramids, Muhammad Ali Mosque and the Museum, but Cairo as a city was awful. Driving through the slums is not something that appeals to me, but it is still the best day of the holiday.

I think that it is okay if you can afford the pricey trips out of your hotel, the Quad Biking sounded good as well, but if you like seeing things and going out for dinner, as I do, then it's not worth it.

[Hibrandenburg]

Aye, but kin ye git fish 'n' chips an a pint o heavy?

[Hibbyradge]

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Aye, but kin ye git fish 'n' chips an a pint o heavy?

I'll tell you in a couple of weeks!

[Hibrandenburg]

Have a good time and Rock the Kasbah Dave

[Betty Boop]

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I'll tell you in a couple of weeks!

Lucky dog! I'm sooo jealous!

[Jamesie]

Made up a two tour for me and the ex-flatmate in June 2008 - itinerary was:

Cairo-Luxor-Sharm-Aqaba (Jordan) - Petra (Jordan) - Tel Aviv - Jerusalem - Tel Aviv.

Cairo was a bit of a dump, although we were staying in the diplomatic quarter and that was a lot nicer, some good restaurants etc. We managed to acquire a taxi driver who took us round the Giza pyramids and others which were further out of Cairo with the minimal of "hard sell" - carpets, cafes etc. It only worked out about £20 each for an eight hour tour so it was well worth it.

Luxor was absolutely roasting at that time of year and was a lot more African. Some good sights though and a nice enough place to visit.

We then shot over to Sharm. Complete opposite! Total tourist resort. We had two days there and that was enough, although she really enjoyed the snorkelling and could have spent more time doing that.

It was interesting when we got outside the tourist areas - I took a taxi down to the bus station and my taxi driver ended up in a square go with some other drivers who pulled koshes on him! I legged it!

We took the bus from Sharm down to the Israeli border - it was pennies, but in retrospect we should have paid extra and negotiated a taxi - the journey too far too long. We could have also gone down to the hippy village of Nuweiba and then taken the ferry over to Aqaba, bypassing Israel, but the timings were relatively haphazard.

We hit Israel just as shabbat was approaching and thus had some difficulty getting a taxi, but eventually managed to get one and shot through Eilat to the Jordanian border.

We stayed in Aqaba, which was a nice enough town, before heading on an all day tour of Petra. If you get the opportunity to go there - do it - it really is one of the wonders of the world, an amazing place.

From there on it was back to Aqaba before heading to Eilat airport to take an internal flight to Tel Aviv, not before being held by the Israelis for over an hour and interrogated as to the purpose of our visit.

Tel Aviv was a great city, very cosmopolitan. If you go, make sure you go down to the old town of Jaffa as well. Wasn't as enamoured by Jerusalem and effectively got robbed at the Wailing Wall - I had no option but to hand cash over. Not nice.

Overall my pick out of the three was Jordan - amazing that the whole "bakeesh" culture of constant hassle in Egypt totally disappears as soon as you cross the border. I would have loved to spend more time there and to go up to Amman.

Egypt was alright, but I feel we saw a lot of it and I wouldn't rush back.