I have seen different things about the visa requirements, we plan on going on trips outside of sharm to Cairo for example and if so the current cost of the visa and what currency is best to pay in?

If you were only staying in Sinai then you wouldn't need a visa. For the Cairo visit you can easily buy the visa before you travel at Sharm Airport or in Cairo Airport when you arrive.

And finally ive read some scary reports on another holiday review website about tourists being harrassed in shops and how one toursit was actualy locked in the shop by the shop owner with his wife and young daughter until he agreed to buy some perfume from him.

Some shop owners can be over bearing at times but a firm and polite 'No Thank you' or 'La Shokran' usually does the trick. If as your name suggests you are a shopaholic then remember that you can haggle to your heart's content.

Also about not getting into a particular colour taxi and that you are constantly harrassed?!

In Cairo you have your normal black and white cabs which are cheap (but not metered) so I strongly advice you to ALWAYS agree a price before riding a cab. Your other option in the city is the new 'Cairo Cab' service. These are New York style yellow cabs that were really designed for tourists. The cabs are more expensive but they are metered, the drivers speak English and they have a/c (a must if you're there in August).