Advice on holiday to Egypt please

SWEETCAN2000

Hi there,

The hubby and I are in the process of trying to book a holiday to Egypt and are looking for some advice please.

We’re not sure whether to book Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh but are looking for a couple oriented resort with some life to it but not craziness. Also, we want to visit both Luxor and Cairo but don’t know whether to just book them as day trips or to book Luxor as a day trip and fly to Cairo and stay overnight at the beginning or end of the holiday?
It all seems so expensive and I suppose I’m hoping to get advice from people who’ve been there, done that and managed to get it for a reasonable pice.

Thanks in advance for your help

Pythia

Hi,

I haven't been to Hurghada but would highly recommend Sharm as a couples holiday. We did a tour to Cairo and Luxor while we were there, as well as Petra in Jordan. We used Longwoods Travel for the trips. They probably weren't the cheapest but we were lucky on the Cairo and Luxor trip that no one else booked it so we had our own private guide. We stayed over night in Cairo and travelled to Luxor from there as it meant one flight less.

If you had to pick between the two, I would go for Luxor as there is far more to see there. Cairo is a filthy city too.

Sharm is great for couples, lots of restaurants and a relaxed atmosphere. I didn't come across any big groups of singles or young people. Most people at our hotel were couples or a family with a small baby. We stayed in the Hyatt Regency which is really great if it's in budget.

Finally, I'd advise going between October and April. It's extremely hot there even within those times and over 40 degrees in summer.

Enjoy!

Einhard

I'd suggest Dahab as an alternative to Sharm. It's on the Red Sea and has some incredible diving, snorkeling, and desert excursions, and while there are plenty of accom. and dining options, it doesn't feel as resort-like as other destinations. It's very laid back, probably because of its popularity with divers. It's also closer to Mount Sinai and the Jordanian border if you fancied popping up to Petra.

I didn't visit Luxor, but I agree with the other poster about Cairo. It's really a filthy city, with a seemingly endless supply of hucksters and vendors targetting tourists. The Egyptian Museum has one of the greatest collections in the world housed in the most appalling conditions, whilst the pyramids are encroached upon by the city right up to their boundaries. We travelled to the Red Pyramids outside the city to get away from the crowds and the vendors, and were basically extorted by the tourist police. If you really want to visit Cairo, I'd reccommend getting a professional operator to look after you while you're there and organise your tours and trips. From what I've heard Luxor is an awful lot different though. And I'm sure lots of people have a different opinion on Cairo so I wouldn't ;et my negativity put you off too much!

sunny2004

Hands down, Luxor over Cairo, granted you are not going to see the pyramids but luxor and its temples are amazing, the valley of the kings and queen are close by (day excursion) and a balloon trip down the nile is a must..

Cairo is a filthy filthy city..

Unwilling

We're planning a trip to Egypt in November - we're getting it via trailfinders and to be honest, after a year of back packing , we're definately going flash this time staying in 4 star hotels and getting organised tours.
However, we have received a few remarks about the hagglers and hecklers and how it is extremely intense in Egypt.
Has anyone experienced this?

As I say we're avid travellers - so we're used to heckling, Tunisia, Vietnam.. so how bad is Egypt!

Pythia

Where are you planning to go to in Egypt?

Unwilling

Pythia - we are going all over I guess.
Landing in Cairo, heading to luxor for one night, doing a 4 night cruise to Aswan. Then flying back to Cairo and going out to Sharm El Sheikh for 7 nights.
We are staying at Giza for 3 nights somewhere along the way too.
We've got 3 weeks............
Any suggestions..................

Pythia

I don't think you would need 3 days in Giza as Cairo is a filthy city.

In general, expect a lot of comments directed towards your other half (or you if you're the lady!). I got a lot of very inappropraite heckles, even from official people like police men. The police also looked for a bribe to let us bring our camera into the Pyramids. e5 well spent! Our Pyramids tour guide also tried to sell us some cd of pictures which we refused and he also tried to take us to some papyrus making factory which wasn't on the original itinerary so we refused to go.

Luxor wasn't so bad except that guys in traditional dress kept soliciting us to take photos of them for money, or offer to take photos of us for money also.

In Sharm, there was a lot of haggling that had to be done with taxi drivers, and them trying to change the price at the end and making us feel bad, e.g. "what is one more euro to you?". In the hotel, there was none of it though.

Overall it wouldn't put me off at all, but I just think it's funny most of the time.

Hope that helps!