whats it like, thinkin of going

hi

hoping to go Feb 07
can anyone advise best hotel to stay in ?and how does sofitel rate - as we have a good price, does it have kids club ?
How is snorkelling ? viewing fish from pontoon ? are fish as good as sharm ?
and how much for a taxi from airport to resort
many thanks

i'm sorry if these have been asked a 1000 times ! do we need a visa ?
what currency should we take ? are there any atms ? can we pay for things on cards ? where should we buy snacks water and booze ? and how long is a day trip to petra and would you take an almost 6 year old ? is there lots of walking for her ?
is a trip to eilat worthwhile ? any other trips worthwhile ?

many thanks !

Have just recently been to Taba. the visa is done at the airport. When you come through customs they will ask you whether you want just Sinaii only or whether you intend to go to main egypt such as Cairo. ( it is quicker to get the sinaii only).

You can take a visa if you want to.

The egyptians take most forms of money. When we were there just before xmas, £1 was worth 11 egyptian £'s. A euro was worth 7 egyptian £'s. Don't know about dollars. Most hotels have a cash machine and also a bureau de change. Drinks can be pricey in the hotels so i would buy from the supermarket at Downtown where we got 6 litre bottles of water for the equivalent of 90p. Best if you buy your booze at the airport in England as it is very pricey in Taba ( £3.50 for half a lager, £4 for a shot of voddy, £4.60 for a glass of wine etc)

i didn't do the trip to Petra but i did to the trip to jerusalem and that included eilat. It would be a long day for your daughter if she is only 6. There is a lot of walking involved and getting across the border is very time consuming and frustrating. (took us 2 hours). Eilat is very Americanised and very touristy. I would probably recommend the trip more if your daughter was older..but i am basing that answer on what my kids were like at that age..you know your daughter's capabilities and tolerance levels better than we do.. the trip to Jerusalem was well worthwhile but it is an adult thing. There are trips to Dahab etc available too. I think your daughter would like to go on a camel..and the snorkelling is just out of this world....we stayed at Hyatt regency but the other hotels looked pretty good too, we visited them all!

Enjoy your holiday..

Hi,

My son and his girlfriend want to stay at the Hyatt Regency for two weeks from 14th July 2007. They are both 24. My son is a good diver as well.

I have been looking around for info on the hotel and the resort. Seems the hotels stitch you up on the cost of drinks etc because they have a captive audience, so to speak.

They want to go on a half board basis. If I was going with my wife I think I would only spend 7 days at the Hotel. What do you guys think?

Cheers

Imported alcohol is expensive wherever you go in Egypt as it is indeed in most other places in the world. Of course, the further up the level of hotels you go, the more expensive it becomes. One would not expect to drink cheaply in any 5star hotel.

Many users of this forum who visit some of the "luxury" Taba hotels find it good to take "duty free" spririts and even wine boxes, with them.

As far as how long to spend at the hotel goes, my personal opinion is that a week is never enough and I would always opt for two. It is a gorgeous place to visit and there is plenty to keep you occupied. If you can drag yourself off the beach and away from the wonderful Red Sea.

I agree with Carrot, take wine boxes with you if you enjoy a glass of wine, as the wine in Egypt is AWFUL! As for spirits, I took a hip flask every time when visiting Egypt and just bought coke, and added a wee dram to it! I am always worried wherever I go on holiday re the measures of alcohol, and hate having a hangover, so if I pour I know what I have consumed!!! Luxor, Sharm and El GOuna I would say was a bit cheaper than home for local beer, and was absolutely fine. Cigarettes are around 50p per packet in the supermarkets, so better buying there than duty free.

hi all, off to taba 2 march and hope to go over to petra, do i need to get a visa at the airport as we will be leaving egypt or will there be no trouble getting back in to the country .kev

*Edit as you have posted the same question in the forum and have an anwser I have deleted this one to avoid duplication in the forum please CLICK HERE

Briar

hi all, just got back friday p.m taba is lovely quiet with good beaches and plenty of sunshine, we had sun every day and the temp was high 20`s so we came back with a decent tan , the sea is still cold but you soon get used to it when you start swimming the snorkling was very good with brightly coloured fish all round the reefs. We went to petra for day it is worth doing but a little pricey if you go ask your hotel to do a breakfast/lunch box to take with you then you wont go hungry. we also had a day shopping at dahab which was quite nice but the shop keepers were a bit of a pain trying to get you in shops all the time most of them had learn there english from only fools and horses as the main words used is lovely jubbly ,but it was nice to have a day off the beach and see somewhere else. at the moment there is building work at back of sofitel which could be noisey as they making another hotel . also the golf course is now open and costs 35 euro for 9 holes in winter,32 euros in summer,
18 holes cost 68 euro winter & 60 euro summer and all include buggy hire club are for hire at 5 euros for 9 holes and 10 euro for 18 holes .all in all we had a great holiday and will be returning

Has anyone been there recently?

There are loads of reviews for Sharm etc but hardly anything for Taba?

I would like to know what it is like for trips etc and how much they cost etc.
I would also like to know more about the hotel the Three corners.

I understand its a chiiling resort which is what I would like anyway with beautiful scenary

So if anyone has been there recently I would appreciate some feedback

Thanks

Anyone been recently?

hi all we`re off to the The Three Corners El Wekala Golf Resort this august can anyone give me details of trips and local tour operators please

There is some info about trips that you can take on the tabaheights.com website but alas no prices. Am going in March so will try to remember to bring the booking form back!

hi aliflower thanks for that info

Trips and pricing for Longwwod holidays appear on their website.
Other travel companies, and even local tour organisers tend to be similar - they are certainly a very useful guide to prices.

I'm off to Taba on Tuesday for 2 weeks. I'll make sure I report back on my return