Tipping is no worse in El Gouna than anywhere else - around 10% for a meal etc and a few LE as usual to porters etc.

Security wise IMHO the resort is extremely safe - there is only one main entrance in and out of El Gouna (from the Hurghada-Cairo Road) which has security barriers and cars/coaches leaving or entering are routinely searched . It is far more controlled than resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm.It's a lovely resort to wander around in without the hassle that you get elsewhere in Egypt (shopkeepers contracts preclude them from touting for trade on the street) - the marina area makes for a lovely relaxed evening - and a week-long "inclusive" ticket for travel on buses or boats around the resort is around £2 each (peanuts!!)

You DO need a visa (the only time you don't in Egypt is when staying in Sharm and not venturing out for trips) - these are purchased on arrival at Hurghada airport

There is plenty to do within the Resort from boat trips, desert safaris, trips into Hurghada and even further afield. We took the children on a one-day trip to Luxor (Valley of the Kings, Collosus of Memnon, Karnak etc) though it was a VERY long day. would recommend seriously considering a similar trip with an overnight stay if possible. Cairo is only feasible by air as approx 5 hours by road.

Have you checked out the http://www.elgouna.com website??

Family are out again in 5 weeks so will try to get some more current prices for food etc - unfortunatley the exchange rate has deteriorated in the last 12 months and things aren't as cheap as they were . There is a range of restaurants within the resort varying from a nice "English" Bar (Boxers) to up-market Italian resaturants (La Scala, Kikis). Personally have never paid more than £15 a head for an evening meal with drinks ("Upstairs" - most expensive restaurant in town) and you can get a pizza made to order in Tamr Henna (main square) for less than £2 - entertaining just watching the dough being prepared.I guess a reasonable average for a "good" evening meal would be under a tenner but there genuinely is plenty to suit all budgets. You have choices varying from greek to chinese to indian , seafood, lebanese and everything in between. In the past have also gone to one of the big hotels for a buffet meal just to ring the changes as well.

Let me know if you need any further info

HI john and Gillian,
My mum and dad went to el Gouna last year they are both in there 70`s they stayed at the Movenpick resort and had a fantastic holiday They are both well travelled and have been to both Sharm and Egypt cruise but they really loved el gouna.
You will have a fab time and dont worry about security what will be will be I am like many others and feel safer in Egypt than anywhere else.After all they are used to threats and deal with it well.
Sit back and look forward to a really lovely holiday in a fantastic location and dont forget to let us all know how you get on!!!
Mel

We were out in July and December last year, and saw a huge difference in December and was glad to be AI to be honest. We were getting 11LE to the £ in July and only 8LE at xmas. Drinks around the same price as here, there are a huge range of restaurants in El GOuna, which suits every pocket. A favourite of ours for value is La Scala, lasagne well £5 pp plus they lay on a nice wee starter whilst waiting for your food. Best lasagne we have ever tasted,and service is excellent. You will find La Scala pretty much the first few restaurants when entering the marina. We also liked Dunes downtown, service good here and food excellent. They also have a pool table here which is a big attraction for us!

we love el gouna and are off there ourselves in a few weeks, like the others said you need have no security worries, there is a main gate and we were told you were only allowed in if you either work or live there

there are lots of lovely lagoons to wander around and you can do to the beach and walk right out into the redsea, you can walk half a mile into the sea (probably more in places) and still have it only come to up to your thighs (so no swimming worries)

we always go AI even more so now the exchange rate has dropped but there are a couple of very good supermarkets there now so you could get things from there for lunches etc

we flew up to cairo for the day to see the pyramids and had the most fantastic day, long and tiring but something to remember forever

have a great time

I'm going there tomorrow morning with a friend to the three corners ocean view 4* AI.
She went there last year and recommended it to me.

Teenagers just back from El Gouna - and typically they haven't brought back all the info I asked for about latest restuarant prices etc however they report (reliably!) that
Pizzas at Maison Thomas in Marina (best pizzas IMHO) around 40LE

Boxers Bar http://www.boxersbar.net (Downtown) - 3 course Sunday Lunch 99LE,

Oriental Grill (Downtown - still THE family favorite, barbeque style food and easily best bread in town - don't miss it, it's hard to find alongside the canal but worth the hunting) - average 80LE including the amazing Meze starter

Also Moods (Marina, excellent location, good food) menu is online and available at Moods-elgouna.com/menu_item.htm as good indication of middle-of-the-road menu including bar prices.