Travel to Egypt - Is it safe??

dropinthocean

Hey,

I booked flights to Egypt ages ago, and now I'm due to leave from Dublin next week. I'll be flying to Cairo for a few days and then from there to one of the red sea resorts.

We've all been hearing about terrorist bombings and kidnappings recently on the news. Does anyone know is it safe to travel there at the moment?

VG31

Here is the travel advice for Egypt from the Department of Foreign Affairs: https://www.dfa.ie/travel/travel-advice/a-z-list-of-countries/egypt/ and the UK Foreign Office: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt

Atlantic Dawn

My own personal opinion is any country you go to where the hotels require armed protection is not a safe country to go to.

dropinthocean

Thanks for the above replies. Does anyone have personal experience having been there recently?

whiskeyman

read of a bad heatwave there at the moment.
Worth checking on it's status when you are going:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/12/egypt-heatwave-death-toll-rises

coylemj

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

My own personal opinion is any country you go to where the hotels require armed protection is not a safe country to go to.

So when travelling, you deliberately avoid Heathrow airport which is crawling with cops with machine guns?

If there are armed cops or security guards in hotels in Egypt, they are there as much to reassure tourists as repel potential terrorists. I was there a few months after the shooting in 1997, there was even an armed cop standing at every outdoor ATM machine, all to reassure the tourists.

As the incidents in Paris and Sydney illustrate, terrorism is now a global phenomenon, it doesn't need to be a Middle East country. All it takes is a lone nutter with a gun. Egypt is as safe and dangerous as anywhere else.

Wizard!

Been there recently. Things are pretty quiet, however there is a risk, maybe higher than other countries, thus the prices are low, to attract tourists.
If I had to go again, I would read the recent news about the current situation. Usually Red Sea resorts do not have problems, however occasionally there are terrorist attacks there.

Beyond that, I do not know how many days are you going to spend in Cairo and what are you going to do there, but if your plan is to see the city, the pyramids and the museum, do not waste more than 24 hours. Cairo sucks. Go to Sharm El Seikh, or any other Red Sea resort and live in paradise city, enjoy the sea, do scubadiving and any other watersport.

coylemj

Wizard! wrote: »

Beyond that, I do not know how many days are you going to spend in Cairo and what are you going to do there, but if your plan is to see the city, the pyramids and the museum, do not waste more than 24 hours. Cairo sucks.

+1 Just read the OP's post again where 'a few days' is mentioned for Cairo. I would not recommend this and agree with the poster above. We did two nights in Cairo so had one whole day to do the pyramids and the Cairo Museum (to see King Tut's gold) which is all you need.

The air in Cairo turns a distinct shade of brown in the afternoon thanks to the fact that the local cars are in the main imported bangers from Germany and other European countries. They drive on the left in Egypt but a huge number of the cars are LHD and they spew out noxious fumes which clog up the air you breathe.

Columbia

Cairo is the worst place I've ever been, and I've been to quite a few places. It's relatively safe though. Don't know about the rest of Egypt, but I'd be avoiding places like the Sinai peninsula.

I had the misfortune to spend 3 weeks in Cairo (I wasn't there as a tourist), and I would rank them the 3 worst weeks of my adult life.

The Egyptian museum is amazing though, you'll spend hours and hours there. A bunch of guys outside the entrance will try to tell you it's closed. Ignore them. It's open. I know their reasons often sound very convincing, but they are lying to you. I went three times, and each time I had a guy swearing with his hand to Allah that the museum was closed. It was open, every time.

The pressure to get your money will be intense from the moment you step off the plane. Even when you tip, they very often complain and act insulted at the amount, even if it's generous. Practically every touristic experience ended with an awkward and embarrassing conversation about money, hugely unsatisfying.

The one great thing about Cairo at the moment is that the Pyramids are not thronged with tourists

dropinthocean

I've just arrived home... I had a great time staying in Cairo and down in Hurghada.. I felt very safe for the entire trip and most locals were very accommodating and helpful. Most places had tight security including xray machines and metal detectors at the hotel!

I would happily visit again