Egypt in October - Sharm El Sheik

randofmact

Hey everyone,

Myself and the girlfriend are on the verge of booking flights to Sharm El Sheik for a weeks holiday from 3rd - 10th October, so I'm looking for info from people who have visited Sharm/Egypt before.

I've been looking at hotel sites/blogs/travel sites so much that my brain feels like its melting at this stage I've got a few questions, so i thought of the boards...any information would be appreciated...:D

The Visa situation....seems like if your only going to Sharm, you just get a visa at the airport in Egypt/or you don't need one if staying in the resort areas?! We intend flying to Cairo to see the major sites for a long 1 day trip...will we need a visa for this? Anyone done a day trip to these sites?

The Health/Vacinations....we won't be getting any? Are we mad not to, or is that normal? As far as i can see, if your staying in tourist areas, drink bottled water and follow normal health guidelines, i.e. wash your hands, etc. we should be fine...:o??

The weather in October should be fine according to any website i've looked at...any been at that time of the year that can confirm this? Any normal hours of daylight?

The area of Naama Bay...any hotels that would be recommended, don't want to break the bank, but on booking.com there seems to be some great deals on '5 star' hotels for about €400 for the week. I'd just be a bit concerned that eating and drinking would rob us in a 5 star? Any opinions on hotels that are in nice area would be appreciated, not too far from the airport either, or too close

Any opinions/guidance/info that you can give me would be greatly appreciated....

Mike

coylemj

randofmact wrote: »

We intend flying to Cairo to see the major sites for a long 1 day trip...will we need a visa for this? Anyone done a day trip to these sites?

You can do the main tourist sights in Cairo in one day, they consist of a visit to the pyramids and the Sphinx which are on the edge of the city and the Cairo Museum to see King Tut's gold.

randofmact wrote: »

The Health/Vacinations....we won't be getting any? Are we mad not to, or is that normal? As far as i can see, if your staying in tourist areas, drink bottled water and follow normal health guidelines, i.e. wash your hands, etc. we should be fine...:o??

Correct, if you observe normal precautions and eat in decent hotels and restaurants you will be fine. Three of us went in 98 with no vaccinations and had no problems and we're not reckless travellers, we were in Southern Africa the previous year and did get malaria tablets, polio drops and tetanus shots but we did nothing for Egypt.

The main health risk in Egypt is tummy trouble - Delhi belly/Montezuma's revenge which can strike no matter how careful you are. Avoid uncooked food like salads if you can, and don't take ice in drinks in bars and hotels. You can buy mineral water in sealed bottles and it might be no harm to use this when brushing your teeth if you want to be really careful.

randofmact

Nice one Coylemj...

I appreciate the reply, thought as much re the stomach upset, read alot about that.. fingers crossed we won't be unlucky.

Out of interest, did you do the tours, what was the best, were they worth it?

Mike

Cork boy 55

i follow the security situation in middle east.

the security situation in the sinai is pretty bad at the moment
post-revolution and else where in Egypt.

I fear we will see a repeat of something like the luxor massacre in 1997 or 2005 Sharm el-sheikh bombings,


i would not go there and would advice others not to
and especially the sinai.

coylemj

randofmact wrote: »

Nice one Coylemj...

I appreciate the reply, thought as much re the stomach upset, read alot about that.. fingers crossed we won't be unlucky.

Out of interest, did you do the tours, what was the best, were they worth it?

Mike

We went with Michael Stein, now called Stein Travel though I don't think they're doing Egypt these days. It was a complete package which included two nights in a Cairo hotel with one full day's sightseeing, that was at the end of the Nile Cruise which consisted of a cruise from Luxor to Aswan, calling on various antiquities along the way, we flew direct from Dublin to Luxor. At the end of the cruise we flew from Aswan to Luxor, crashed out in a hotel there for a few days, then flew to Cairo, did the two nights there and then home.

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking by the way....

coylemj

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

i follow the security situation in middle east.

the security situation in the sinai is pretty bad at the moment
post-revolution and else where in Egypt.

I fear we will see a repeat of something like the luxor massacre in 1997 or 2005 Sharm el-sheikh bombings,


i would not go there and would advice others not to
and especially the sinai.

I appreciate that you need to keep an eye on the security situation, we went to Egypt the year after the Luxor massacre and security at all tourist sites was very tight, they even had armed cops at every ATM machine.

If you want to see exotic places you sometimes have to go places where there is a security risk, I personally would have no problem going to Egypt at the moment.

More Irish travellers die in in traffic and swimming accidents than are killed by terrorists, you have to balance risk with the spirit of adventure.

pbowenroe

you buy your visa at the airport in cairo

randofmact

coylemj wrote: »

I appreciate that you need to keep an eye on the security situation, we went to Egypt the year after the Luxor massacre and security at all tourist sites was very tight, they even had armed cops at every ATM machine.

If you want to see exotic places you sometimes have to go places where there is a security risk, I personally would have no problem going to Egypt at the moment.

More Irish travellers die in in traffic and swimming accidents than are killed by terrorists, you have to balance risk with the spirit of adventure.

Phew!! I'm not too worried to be honest, doubt that there would be any trouble around the resort areas such as Sharm el Sheikh...I'll only be going on a day trip to Cairo, other than that we'll be lying by the pool.

Thanks for the replys

Bits_n_Bobs

Went to Sharm el Sheik 2 years ago at around this time of the year.

Weather is near perfect for beach lizards If you don't know how I would recommend maybe getting a snorkling lesson in before you head off as swimming in the red sea is a highlight.

Sharm is definitely a tourist trap extraordinaire - so once you realise it is what it is you won't be disappointed. No vaccines are needed and we managed to get through the trip without any belly trouble. Having said that - the food in general sucks!

Even two years ago security around hotels and in the region as a whole was very high - armed police everywhere. Taxi drivers are rude bastards but don't seem completely intent on ripping you off - or at least not too much We found the hotel staff very polite but once you were out of the hotel we did not exactly feel welcome, not exactly the warmest people. Maybe it's the fact that the place is one huge resort.

A trip out to the desert to see the stars at night was a highlight for us.

We were looking for a chilled week with sun shine and not long haul - so it ticked all the boxes for that, but not much else.

coylemj

Bits_n_Bobs wrote: »

Went to Sharm el Sheik 2 years ago at around this time of the year.

Even two years ago security around hotels and in the region as a whole was very high - armed police everywhere. Taxi drivers are rude bastards but don't seem completely intent on ripping you off - or at least not too much We found the hotel staff very polite but once you were out of the hotel we did not exactly feel welcome, not exactly the warmest people. Maybe it's the fact that the place is one huge resort.

It's because the staff are all Egyptian and a large number of the tourists are Israeli. The hotel staff are 'very polite' because they're told to be and being indoor workers, they're under supervision most of the time.

You need to identify yourself as Irish every time you interact with people in cafes, taxis etc. Better still, get your girlfriend to wear a little cross on a chain.

DeeDeeC

How did ur trip go?!we want to do the same as you did,1 week in the resort with a day to go and c the pyramids,any advice/ tips?are the trips expensive?!
Thanks