Hello Kim and to the forum I would say go A/I I know you say you both are not really drinkers but you will love the food ..I have been twice to Egypt and have booked again for july next year we love it there ...colleen

Hi Colleen, thanks for the welcome
Yes I do like the convenience of All Inc, and have never done anything other than that! But I am aware that alcohol is factored into the cost, and just wasnt sure if it would be worth it when he doesnt drink at all and I would certainly not be drinking any notable amount alone!!

I am really looking forward to it, though it will be the first time I have ever left my son (who is 3...but will be almost 4 by the time we go!) so I expect it will feel a little strange!

Kim

I have been many times to Egypt and if you're going to go AI I would steer clear of any hotels that are less than 3* plus. That way you can ensure that the food is great and of good quality. Hubby and I did a trip that entailed walking up Mount sinai of a night time, in readiness to see the sun rise. It was brilliant and breathtaking.

Wow Marlou that sounds amazing! Was it a hard walk? I have only been looking at 5* hotels to be honest, the price difference isnt huge but I would rather go somewhere that has been rated a little higher...though im guessing 5* in Egypt isnt the same as 5* Europe?? It seems very very cheap!!

Kim

I've never been to Egypt but did a bit of research recently as I was going to book for easter. All I can say is a lot of them look good in the brochures/websites, but Egypt is a place you must research thoroughly because it's a place where lots of people pick up bad tummy bugs. I'm not looking to put you off but am urging you to read the various reviews. Obviously we can't believe everything the reviews tell us but be on the look out for the comments about tummy bugs and if they keep popping up in lots of reviews for a particular hotel, then obviously there must be something wrong.

Have you seen any hotels you might consider yet?

Hi Kim and welcome to HT
We always go to Egypt for a week at Easter and the temps are just right . We have also been in March when easter was early and didnt notice a lot of difference to april temps which are around 30 and sun sun sun . The sun is up early and it goes down early around 4.30 -5pm but you start loosing the heat around 2.30 . It's not uncommon to see many peeps up, about and sunbathing and snorkeling early from around 6.30am. Egypt is actually a very chilled sort of place and early nights are on the agenda for many due to the reasons above.

Evening entertainment is not great in Egypt although most hotels try very hard .it's more normal to see peeps enjoying a drink, possibly with new found friends with maybe a shisha pipe or taking a trip by taxi or hotel courtesy bus into naama bay for a browse or for the young a visit to pacha or hardrock after midnight

Assuming you are looking at sharm el sheikh most hotels here are A/I anyway . The exception being Naama bay where you will find some B&B & HB options . The problem here is that hotels there come at a premium so you are likely to pay almost as much for a B&B/HB there as you are an A/I along the coast . Many people expect sharm to be a town . It is infact a stretch of coastline that continues for miles with NB town at it's centre and area's along the coast known by different names such as Nabq bay (furthest away from NB) Sharks bay , ras um sid (close to old sharm town)

It used to be the case that staying outside of NB would mean nothing but desert on one side of your hotel and the beautiful red sea on the other. Due to the high amount of development some areas you will now find a selection of bar's restaurants, entertainment . This is the case in Nabq bay where you will find almonst others the holiday village, coral sea resort, Grand azure etc.
then there is Sharks bay where we always stay that now has soho square with bars, restaurants , ice skaing bowling etc http://www.soho-sharm.com/ . As many of these complex style offerings are fairly new dont expect them to be packed out and have quite the same atmosphere to naama bay . however NB isnt for everyone (once was enough for us ) and if your boyfriend hasnt been abroad since an early age he may find the shop keeeprers , taxi drivers a tad intimidating .

Egypt though is a very warm & friendly destination and pick the right hotel and it will have everything you wish and to a high standard.Pick the wrong one and you could have the opposite experience with upset tummies being the most common . After a bad experience we now only return to the hilton at sharks bay where I know & trust . It' s a good standard , food good . ok not out of this world but nowhere is in Egypt, Very friendly and plenty of English .
(many A/l's in Egypt will have a high percentage of russian /Italian), not the best beach but the reef is excellent for Snorkeling and diving . There is an excellent on site dive centre and much can be done straight from the reef here .
Actually it has everything you want . Quad biking in the desert is another favourite excursion & you could do the overnight trip to cairo . The red sea does play a huge part in your holiday experience here .

Most importantly read the reviews and pick a hotel that is well established . Dont touch any where you read of frequent tummie upsets although a certain amount can be expected anywhere over the high season months of july /Aug . March should be fine .

If you check the stickies at the top of this forum you will find links to maps of the area . These will help you find various hotel positions along the coast .

Any more info you need and we will try and help the best we can . There is a huge number of hotels so for the time being try and narrow things down to a shortlist .I'm sure you will get plenty of help.

lyn

Thanks guys. that info is great
I have a number of hotels where the reviews say tummy bugs etc were a big problem, so will steer clear of those!

I have seen that Sharm is divided into different 'bays' - tiger bay/garden bay/sharks bay etc...are there hge differences in these? Are they a long way apart from each other? Ryan loves to explore and doesnt just want to stay in the place we are sleeping so to speak, so if we can go to other areas with relative ease that would be perfect!

Havent seen anything I would consider just yet, still in the planning stage of which area I think would be best for us to go!

Kim

I would say each bay is no more than 15/20 minutes from central NB point by taxi which is cheap and easy . Nabq maybe a little further but none of this will stop you doing any of the normal excursions etc it's just a reference point for NB. there are plenty of boat trips available too from most hotels

The only thing re exploring is that you can do any excursion from any bay/hotel but you can't normally go on to other hotel's beaches, as they all have their own sunbeds, specific towels etc

This makes it a bit different from lots of other places and catchs a few folk out.

For example if you stay at Hilton Sharks Bay they have a bit of beach in front of their hotel, the same for Red Sea Holiday Village, Jaz Mirabel Beach Hotel etc

Also all the hotels on the other side of Peace Road (ie not the sea side) will be allocated a beach normally at their sister hotel.

ie. if you stay in the Laguna Vista Gardens Hotel you will get to use the beach at the Laguna Vista Beach Hotel.

Hope this is making sense, perhaps someone can explain it better.

It makes exploring in terms of going to other beaches a bit difficult. There is a pay-beach down by the lighthouse if you fancy a change of scenery.

Just didnt want you to think it was like Spain or the UK where you can go on any public beach.

We've only stayed at Hurghada for one night (spent most of the day by the beach and the pool and the next day was a full day on the sea snorkelling and visiting Giftun Island).

We have travelled by road there during a 2nd weeks stay in Luxor a few years ago. The first week, we took the overnight train to Cairo and spent a night there too.

I thought I would give you some other ideas below too rather than just a Red Sea location....

We've returned just recently (24 Sept) from one week in Luxor staying at the Sofitel Winter Pavillion hotel and I've put a review up on HolidayTruths here: http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/

The hotel is in a fantastic location, within walking distance to the Luxor Temple and the local ferry (LE 1 per person) for visiting the West Bank (Thebes) and the Valley of the Kings etc. The breakfast was a bit "iffy" based on previous experiences in hotels of the same or even lower standard but it was still perfectly edbile - just not what we expected from what was advertised as 5 star. This time we paid a visit to Howard Carter's House (it's FREE) and it was excellent. You can find it close to the temple of Hatshepsut. I'm positive that as soon as they've finished the Coffee Shop area, they will start charging

All the hotels have swimming pools in Luxor and you can do as little or as much as you want - but, no beaches

We also took a balloon flight over the West Bank on 20th September and it was awesome. We've been going to Egypt for many years and even now, we still haven't seen all there is to see. You can sail by felucca on the Nile to watch the sunset, shop (local style), take a trip around the town by horse and carriage (a caleche) and find lots of British restaurants on the street at the side of the St Joseph hotel if that's your "thing." If you visit local (Egyptian) owned restaurants such as Sofra (near the railway station and Television Street), you will find that most do not serve alcohol.

Six of us travelled together and main courses without alcohol were at less than LE300 for all of us (approx 40 Euros) and with alcohol - anything from LE350 to LE500 (most expensive meal was at Puddleducks with Stella local served by the glass at around LE12) but 3 of us did have a dessert as we couldn't resist the thought of lemon cheesecake!

I've put some images together as a photoshow if anyone wants to have a look: http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00a2-acc6-69a1?lm

For something a little different, you could combine a hotel stay with a 3 night cruise starting in Luxor and ending in Aswan then transfer back to Luxor by train or road. That way you can do your sightseeing at a more leisurely pace with all your meals being provided on board so no need to worry about where to eat in the evening.

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

Hi Kimmi, welcome to HT.

I don't know how bothered you are about a megga night life..but if you want 5* AI and are not bothered about downing loads of alcohol..then Taba might be a good place for you to try. it is right on the border with Israel..and hotels there offer trips into Israel, Jordan, down to Mount Sinaii and St Catherine's Monastary (as mentioned by Marlou) not to mention excursions into the desert mountains for bedouin nights under the stars.

The resort of Taba Heights is relatively quiet but there are activities available like Diving and Parasailing etc..both available from the dive college there (Red Sea Waterworld).

There are 5 good hotels to choose from in the purpose built resort, all 4* and above but not all are AI....( i am sure there is a thread somewhere) but the cost of living is actually quite cheap in comparison to here.

the diving and snorkelling is out of this world!!!

Thanks guys
Have been into town today and got a few brochures for ideas and... I do like the sound of Na'ama Bay in Sharm El-Sheikh

BUT I have seen a lot of reviews saying its tackier than anywhere else and the locals are very pushy - is it really as bad as these reviews?

Kim

Welcome to HT Kim

BUT I have seen a lot of reviews saying its tackier than anywhere else and the locals are very pushy - is it really as bad as these reviews?

Naama Bay is busier and a more built up tourist area than some of the other bays and locations, I don't think it is actually particularly tacky, as for the locals being pushy that is just their particular culture and as long as you are aware that you will get some hassle to 'come in for a look' and 'cheaper than ASDA price' along with some occasional pulling of an arm you will be fine.

You have a good choice of places to eat and drink in Naama along with plenty of Cafes, the beaches in Naama are not always the best so if that is important choose carefully.

Horse riding is available in Sharm and can usually be booked from your hotel or from one of the local excursion sellers in the resort.

Graham

It's sort of bright neon lights with shisha pipes .Egyptian style mixed with fast food chains. Behind the main prom along the front it's like a huge shopping centre . We've only been in the once and couldnt wait to get back to the hotel but many people love it . If you've been to Turkey the shop keepers are a step up a gear to what you get there . A no thank you should do the trick but they are a tad or make that 2 more aggresive & pushy . I never understand why they are so different from the staff that work the hotels who are always so lovely. My teenage lads do a couple of evening trips to pacha or hardrock with the hotel entertainment team who organise the transport , entry and drinks . The sea is not as nice along this stretch either . Not as colourful as some of the other areas. I suspect a lot of the fish get driven away by the hundreds of dive boats & their associated diesel fumes that line naama bay and chug off every day in the dive boat rally .

You do have the sonesta beach resort which is a/i and on the outskirts of NB so you can walk it . We have stayed there but that is where I was very ill so it would be a no go for me again . it does get very good reviews and I may of just been unlucky along with the many other guests at the time . . Generally reviews are good and we have our very own sonesta beach queen (derwentrocker ) on HT. I know she doesnt hold it against me that it wasnt for us

Nice to hear good things about Taba Val . We have been to Nuweiba and drove through on the way there . Quite fancy giving it a go .

kimmi wrote:

Wow Marlou that sounds amazing! Was it a hard walk?

A trip well worth doing kimmi. If I remember rightly it took us around 4 hours to walk up it. You can ride a camel most of the way if you want but I think that would take away the excitement of it personally. It's a leisurely walk, with regular stops at bedwin camps for drinks/chocolate bars e.t.c. I did it and I had a heart condition at the time (now rectified) so not too hard a climb. I wouldn't like to do it in the Midday heat mind The trip also included a trip to St Catherines, and to see the burning bush e.t.c. If you decide to do it, make sure you wear tidy footwear and take loo roll with you. There are toilets (disgusting little huts with holes in the floor) by the bedwin camps. You have to pay to use them and there's no loo roll. I didn't pee for the whole time The climb down was a heck of a lot quicker! We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would well recommend it!

Nice to hear good things about Taba Val . We have been to Nuweiba and drove through on the way there . Quite fancy giving it a go

Dave and the lads would like it for the diving...far more chilled than the daily boat battle at Naama Bay....there is no wreck diving (uness you go on a specially arranged trip to the Thistlegorm but it is almost a 4 hour steam to get there) but the reefs are wonderful and you get many dives in international waters..in fact, there was one place where there were 4 mountains in a line, one was in Egypt, one was in Israel, one was in Jordan and the last was in Saudi. I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my life and the water was just so crystal clear....

Dont know if your lads would cope with the quietness though...they might have to go into Taba itself for a little more excitement rather than Taba Heights..

Yes they enjoyed diving in Nuweiba val and we are stll considering going back there next year . I don't think they are particular bothered about too much nightlife as long as they can get a drink and meet like minded lads & lasses . Dont think the older 2 lads will be coming next easter though . Easter is very late and Jacks holiday dates are different from the school ones. He is asking today if they can be swopped but we are doubtful .If he cant come son no. 2 wont come either . If it's just the 3 of us we may go back to nuweiba or possibly try Taba & go back to sharks bay later in the year . I think you would enjoy Nuweiba too. The diving is mostly done by heading off in jeeps to remote locations . We are talking no toilet facilities , a rusty can of coke , camels & a packed lunch provided by the Coral Hilton.

Problem is the Flights for Taba .I'm just waiting on Ej flights to load for london at this very moment and going to book them to sharm . Nuweiba transfer I know will be fine but Taba will be much further on I think and we would need taba flights which obviously are much fewer. I think I might price some Taba packages up now and see what we get.

One thing for sure when picking your hotel is please do not be put off by people being ill with the tummy bug, having been to sharm 8 times we got this every time in summer months. It is nowt to do with the majority of hotels, its either pot luck or like my stomach not cast iron. I would like you to read our section on :-
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=23153

This will help you with that particular problem should it arise. But to be perfectly honest since going in the winter/spring months, i have been fine, so easter is a great time to go as long as the heat isnt to intense. Should you be unlucky, either visit your doctor on campus like we do and get money back from insurers, so do not pay anything or get pills from pharmacys out there. It then goes.

All the information the others give you is priceless also, we all have our favourite hotels, and the hotel i always go to is no exception, but others will need some i am switching but in another thread .........

If in Naama Bay i recommend, Sonesta beach resort as i am permanant fixture every year for 9 times its not right in the centre, but a lovely walk along the prom is lovely at night. Other hotels along the way are the Marriott, Ghazala (sp?), Jolieville right on the corner of NB and the Hilton. Some of these hotels are a bit stuffy in the way the staff do not speak very much to you and seem abit blunt.

Whatever hotel you do choose whether in NB, sharks bay, Nabq bay etc, it is easily assessible by bus or cab for a small amount of money.

Michelle
Sonesta beach resort queen