hi heather

just read your post in the concorde thread.

when we first went to sharm we took our 13 year old daughter....she has a fairly dark complexion.....we also went with our friends who had two blonde girls...13 and 11.

my daughter looked a lot older than 13 and did get a little bit of attention...but certainly nothing that i was the least bit worried about.

as for the two blonde girls they got no attention at all!!

i felt quite happy for them to walk around the hotel complex and visit the hotel shops on their own....ps..we weren't at the concorde though.

i wouldn't recommend your daughter going into naama bay on her own...but thats purely because of all the haggling and you cant really shop without getting hassled so i would imagine if you were only 13 it could be pretty scarey.

Last year my daughter was 13 when we went to Sharm. We were perfectly happy to let her have the run of the Crowne Plaza hotel complex, it seemed safe enough although she was nearly always with her 11 year old brother.

They would go off for a few hours to a different pool from us or to the hotel shops, or down to the sun terraces by the sea.

When we went into Namma Bay, we kept them with us. People did offer camels for her etc but I am sure they just say it for a laugh. There isn't really anywhere to go in Sharm apart from your hotel complex, NB or Old Sharm (didnt make it there). There aren't places to walk about outside most hotels, unless you are actually based in NB.

Thank you both for your replies. We certainly would'nt let her go into Namma on her own, or with kids of a similar age. Your posts have put my mind at rest. Probably as she is my baby i am a bit over protective!

You will be fine, my daughter loved it there and we are going back in 2 weeks time.

Most of the staff in the hotels are young Egyptian males, but I think the way hotels operate they are quite strict with their staff. I would imagine working in a hotel is a good job in Egypt as it is quite a poor country and I do not think they would do anything to put their employment in jeopardy.(think I have spelt that wrong). Most of the staff seemed very nice and couldn't do enough for you.

agree with the others. Mine are 13 and 16 and had agreat holiday last year and going back again next week! They had lost of 'nice' attention as teenagers but didn't feel threatened at all and can't wait to go back.

We returned last night from sharm and we had a 15 year old girl in our party, she was my cousins niece. I must admit she did look older than her years and is quite mature in build and I must say the attention she got was very worrying and made her quite scared. When we went into naam she was like a magnet the males couldnt take their eyes of her I have never seen anything like it not even in turkey. Even in the shop in our hotel the man who ran it kept asking her to stay in the shop etc to the point were we had to have a word with him. All I would say if your taking older ones with you don't let them go far on their own.

Diane.

Yes same as what di39 says BE VERY CAREFUL they love to chat and watch.... women/girls.
As shes only 13 she should be ok as they are good once they know how young she is......BUT if she looks/acts older be wary of any egyptian man/boy.
I reckon you'll have a great time with no trouble...just keep a eye out...
And be prepared for constant staring
I've been there 3 times since oct '06 I've seen it all too often....
And to top it off i have been told by Egyptian men they actually prefer blue eyed foreign women/girls...So i honestly say it does not matter what colouring she has, ANY FEMALE WILL GET ALOT OF ATTENTION

When we were in egypt, the men never left my daughter alone...
/even the manager of the hotel tried to get her to a party, and she was 15..
we had to tell him very politely to go away. he asked her while we were sunbathing, and there was me and husband all sitting next to each other...
he totally blanked us...
so she tired wearing jeans because of hte attention she was getting, but she got to hot.. and resorted to wearing wraps all the time...
even the aninacion team were a bit forward. so watch them too.
and alway 's make sure your door is locked..
my mum was ill, and i asked for some rice to make her feel a bit better..
they said they would sort it, and i wanted to take it back to her..
i asked if they could let me know when its ready..
next thing, my mum is being woken up in her bed by a man standing over her with a tray of food for her
Also dont leave knickers or clothes on the floor especially the kids..
my daughter had her stuff arranged on her bed top with bra placed on it then jeans and knickers then shoes..we thought this wierd!!!!
and i didnt tell hubby as he would of gone mental...

some are lovely and really go out of their way to help you...
daughter bought a gold ring to make it look like she was married to stop the hastle..

but have a loively time, the sights and sounds are awsome..i will never forget egypt...

Crikey choc, what hotel were you staying at?

I really appreciate everyones replies to my post. I will definately bear in mind what you have all said and heed everyones warnings. I have been told by friends that have been not to leave any undies around.

Hotel sofitel in karnak..

lovely hotel...but some of the house man, were wierd....

Sorry to bother everyone again.Friends just back from Sharm, actually their son is a "a" celebrity, so very good hotel. Their 10 year old mixed race daughter had a very distressing time, she is a big girl for her age. The family have done Marmaris for years, wanted a change and are now saying never again, back to Barbados, once a year for them! We are now considering cancelling our holiday.

We went to Sharm in January with two teenage daughters (16 + 19). They were constantly hassled and a few crude comments were made while in the Old Town. They never went anywhere on there own not even in the hotel.One of the staff accosted my 16 year old and pestered her to go to a disco. He stopped her leaving his shop. She was extremely upset as she's quite young for her age. There was also an incident by the hotel pool with one of the gardners. We wont be going back!!

I visited Sharm in 2002 and my daugter who was then 12 was approached by a hotel worker. He barged his way past her in the room and told her he wanted sex, she forced him back out the door and called for help. She was very very scared and refused to be left alone for the rest of the holiday. The hotel staff refused to do anything about it and the Eclipse rep was also worse than useless. this didnt put us off Sharm, just that particular hotel....Sharming Inn. we asked around and apparently he had also made offensive comments to other guests

well sorry, but have just returned from second holiday with my daughters ager 13 and 16 and we have had little hassle.Yes, the girls have had lots of attention but none of it has been in any way offensive and they love going to Egypt. Yes ,people like to stop and chat, but that is the way they are..no worries about going back, love egypt and love the people, just teach your daughters to be confident in themselves and it is no different to anywhere else in the World!