Going to Egypt
 

Hi all,

Me and the other half are planing to visit Egypt next April. Been looking at the Sharm El Sheikh area. Going to go all inclusive as then I can drink as much as I want without spending any more cash! Looking for relaxing in the sun and in the pool and sea as well as some diving and other activities. Cultural stuff would be good as well but not as important.

Any recommendation of hotels to stay at? Got a shortlist forming below....

Royal Albatros Moderna
Hotel Grand Plaza
Pyramisa Sharm Resort
Sheraton Sharm Resort
Sea Club Resort

Ghazala gardens ;)

Not stayed in any of those as we go B&B Have stayed in;

Naama Bay Hotel
Hilton Fayrouz
Ibertel Lido

Personally I would not go fully inc as I prefer to eat out etc. Check to see what is covered on the inc bit as I have heard that some are not as good as others.

Remember Sharm is now a big resort and unless you are staying in Naama Bay (area not hotel) you will have to get a cab to the centre.

Best bet to check on Trip Advisor.

Seriously you should stay at the Hilton in Sharks Bay. They have a dive school within the hotel and the coral around the hotel is regarded as the best in the whole area.

The food was very good and they had differing menus almost daily despite it being all inclusive.

If you check out trip advisor you'll see its one of the most highly rated in sharm 10th out of 180.

The hotel is about a 10 minute drive from Naama Bay (though i wouldnt go back to Naama bay) and the hotel runs both a bus and taxi service for next to nothing.

Mark

Grand Hyatt Hotel...

Just a crazy five minute (£2-£5) taxi ride away from narma Bay..

4 restaurants in the hotel, ranging from cheap as chips to exclusively dear .

Eating in Narma Bay is very very cheap if you don't mind the Eqyptian way of business.:lol1:

We spent 7 relaxed nights at the Renaissance Golden View Beach Resort. Great hotel, and well recommended.
Have a look on Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor to help you decide which is best for you.

What do you mean by the Egyptian way of business - bartering a lot I guess?

We will be going at least half board if not more as then we dont have to worry about going out to find something if we dont feel like it, it was also that drinking for free that I was interested in!

I need to weigh up costs etc but should have at least £1200 of holiday vouchers to use up and they need to be used by Feburary so will be booking it by then.

I stayed here a couple of years ago as well , really enjoyed it , nice place with a few different restaurants in the complex , nice Mexican down by the sea front ,
It had a diving school there as well.

And as for the crazy taxi's , they impressed me with there comitment and speed and thats not easily acheived :D :D

Well...If you look at it..then they start to bargain and sell you it... that includes looking at Menu's etc...so don't stray too close to any restaurant unless you actually like the look of it...:lol1: .. you will find a steady stream of holiday makers walking down the centre of the streets, with frantic restaurant owners/staff ready to pounce even with eye contact... it's great fun.

And if your wife/gf's blonde..well you've had it... like moths to a flame :freak3::lol1:

Best place I ate at in narma was a nice Italian, cannot remember it's name though, just past club Pacha on the left. well recommended!

I stayed in the Pyramisa a few years ago. Cracking food, Massive pool with swim up bar, sandy beach and some great reefs. Did the daytrip to Cairo to see the pyramids which was great. Make sure you do the quad biking in the desert, speeding across the sinai desert as the sun sets is an amazing experience.

I recon there is a pot at each taxi rank where the drivers leave their brains..:lol1:

One last thing (I'm sure the rep will tell you) never accept the 1st fare the taxi driver offers you... (usually half it then take off a little bit more for bartering)

And go to Petra too, long day (5am till 7pm) but wow.... and the Jordanians are so helpfull (and not pushy like the Egyptians.)

Yup Sharks Bay is amazing for diving!

I was going to bok the hilton for this Xmas but changed my mind and booked the Sultan gardens. The sultan gardens is coming up as the 4th best hotel in sharm and the Hilton is down to about 12th :D

We stayed at the Hilton in Sharks Bay, which was good for diving, and a wonderful hotel, but was badly let down by all inclusive option. Hardly any daytime activities and no snacks. Narma Bay is a must, especially at night time, when it comes to life (more life there at 11 at night than there is on a Saturday afternoon in Happifax) Watch out for the taxi drivers, they are insane, ask about price before your journey, and only use the blue and white ones (similar to a police car) they do not use lights at night and are known as mohammed shumakker's of the road.

I was just looking at booking a hol there too in December :)

Just booked a fortnight for late June next year, gonna be hot hot hot :cuckoo: :luxhello:
Check out these map guides to see where the hotels are based, as some are miles away from the action (literally in the middle of nowhere!) and i personally didnt fancy having to get taxis every night even tho they are cheap, so am staying close to the night life, on a bed and breakfast basis (as food is MEGA cheap when eating out) also all inclusive beer+wine is apparently sh1111te :nono: as my best mates found out last month :D
No brand names, all locally brewed/sourced stuff :freak3: that is only available at certain times, so look into it if you do fancy all inclusive;)
Rather save on the all inclusive, and drink what i like when i get there TBH :thumb:
But each to there own like :)

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So staying in Naama bay is the most central?

How easy/available are the trips to Petra and the Pyramids?

:)

I think so? Might be wrong tho, but it seems the place to go in Egypt at the minute, i know loads of people that have been/are going, it seems to really be taking off!

Not sure about Petra, but i have been told you can fly to Cairo for around £110 which has to be a must, even if it is packed with tourists :D
You can take the coach which is cheaper, but takes ages :freak3:

Hoff, check out trip advisor for real reviews, but bear in mind some people p1ss and moan about the smallest of things, so take any feedback with a pinch of salt ;)
Still, it helps build up a view of where, and where not to stay :thumb:

Just type in the name of the hotel, and get looking at the reviews :)

Reviews of holidays, hotels, resorts, holiday and travel packages - TripAdvisor

Some cracking stuff on there regarding days out too, well worth a good ganders to see what tickles your fancy :thumb:

On the whole, hotel food seems to be OK at best (judging by loads of reviews regardless of star rating!) so keep an open mind as to the whole 'all inclusive' means i can drink whatever i want, whenever i want type thing, as in most instances, this isnt the case :(

Na'ama Bay is the local town that the Sharm resort is built next to,

It's like a strip of green in the desert..:)

Petra and Cairo trips are organised by your hotel (usually 1 or 2 Cairo trips per week (by plane, and 1 Petra "City of the Dead" trip (by coach to Tabba Heights then boat to Jordan)

i would eat my own ****e before going to egypt, i have several as customers and wouldnt trust them, so i certainly wouldnt go on holiday there,

I never felt totally at ease when I was there , it wasn't long after a bombing which killed some people , and that reflected on the amount of tourists there , we stayed at the holtel complex most of the time ,we went to Narma Bay twice , had a walk around the first time but got pestered so much didn't do it again , the locals are a real pain in the a-rse ! one local in a shop asked me why I looked so angry , I told him it was because you feckers wont leave me alone. ( but not so polite ) in the end we went into the hard rock cafe and enjoyed that , the second time we went we just went straight into there , from there got a taxi back to the holtel.

I would have loved to see the Pyramids and valley of the kings ect, but it put us right off when we were told we would have an armed guard with a machine gun with us all the time , not the way to spend a holiday.

It was a cracking hotel we stayed in , and the weather was boiling , but I wouldn't go back
Cheers Ian

The armed guards just sit on the coach with you to "discourage bandits" lol... and they're quite funny to spot... a coach load of holiday makers in shorts and hats etc..and one guy in a suit and a bulging poket lol....

The Pyramids are crying out for something less shambolic to be honest... there is no visitor centre, no official guides... just beggers and tourism police (who are useless).

Petra was a trillion times better, with a great guide, a proper tourist style centre, and truely unique attraction.

The Egyptians are like the Yanks... the ones you see in this country are usually the rude rich ones... the waiters around the hotel were very funny guys once they realised you didn;t think they were a piece of dirt..