I have been to Hurghada many times and have sometimes been directed into a queue, sometimes not. I have also sometimes taken the initiative to go to an empty booth! Last time I was on a Thomas Cook flight but travelling with Red Sea holidays and their rep took us to a separate booth away from the masses (this did not happen travelling the 3 previous occasions with Red Sea Holidays when on a Monarch flight). Very convenient as there were only a handful of others using that tour operator. The couple in front of us tried to pay with US dollars which the clerk was refusing to accept - I advised the couple to stand their ground as the visa clearly shows $15 but don't know how they fared!

I don't think there is a difference in price according to which queue you are put in. Sometimes there are Russian, German and Dutch flights arriving simultaneously so it may be easier for them to allocate certain booths to certain flights to make it easier for the clerks with respect to both language and currency.

Regarding the loos, I make sure I carry plenty of tissue with me and, like you, do not tip the attendants there. There are signs on the wall saying no tipping! On the return leg of the journey I tend to check bags in then if there is plenty of time before the flight (there isn't always!) use the coffee bar on the baggage side of passport control. Much more civilised and less frenetic than airside of passport control and the loos are SOoooo much cleaner.

This seems to be an ongoing problem at Hurghada. First time we travelled to Hurghada we got our visa's from the TC desk as we were unaware of the other kiosks at the time. Second time, we booked our own transfer and the company we booked with arranged our visa's on our behalf. We walked straight into the arrival halls to be met by our driver, whom we handed our passsports to, and he returned within 1 min with our visa's, then straight through passport control. Would certainally use this service again, saves all the hassle.

Regards,
Pat

I believe that the Thomson/First Choice/Thomas Cook reps get commision from the Visa's they sell at the airport which is why they are so keen to herd you to their own desks and why they are more expensive. Not been to Hurghada but last couple of times to Sharm if they get funny I let myself get herded to long queue and when they aren't looking I go across to the Bank kiosk and pay the £10. Its not only the extra cost I don't like when buying from the reps but also that they take your tickets off you and give you them back on the coach that makes me very uneasy so I try to avoid at all costs.

I called into the TC shop I booked with and told them what was going on.
They said to write a letter and they would forward it but I am ringing TC in the morning and asking which department I need to send it to.
Its only £3 each but as there are 7 TC flights a week from next May someone is making a profit.
I will be prepared next year when I return.

The same thing seems to happen at Sharm doesnt it . Last year we flew with TC , flight only and not a package I might add and they wouldnt even allow us to go directly to passport control for our "sinai only " stamp. Said we all had to join this queue which was a seperate desk set up for TC . I believe the same desk then changes to Thomson etc on their flight arrivals. My family thought I was making a big fuss over nothing and although they didnt try and persuede us to buy a visa I found the way the TC guy (Egyptian I believe) insisted we join his queue rather arrogant and off putting .

As caro says I dont think there was a difference in price . It had been converted to English and from what I remember about £12 or £13 but there must be some financial gain going on here for them to be so pushy.. Maybe a reward gained on the exchange rate . that's the normal way of making money in Egypt

Hi Lyn,I have never experienced any bother at Sharm as we just went to the Sinai only queue.
I must admit I was in no mood for any bother by the time we got to Hurghada as we had travelled 300 miles in blizzards form our house to our daughters and then to be told by TC we had to check in at 6.30am on day of departure at Gatwick or loose or holiday and money,despite the airport being closed.
We decided to try and get to the airport the day before departure as there was no way we would have managed to get to Gatwick for 6.30am.(they dont grit the roads where my daughter lives)
After finding that no trains,buses or taxis were operating to Gatwick we started to dig my daughters car out of the snow.
Lucky for us a car pulled up next door waiting for a fare and we asked him if he would take us to Gatwick.He came back after dropping the fare off and got us to Gatwick safely.He had just put snow tyres on his car(a Mercedes) and it cost £60 for 19miles
It was worth every penny as we wouldnt lose our holiday or money.
We spent the night at the airport and we were looked after by the incredible staff there.
They gave us water and blankets and even a hot meal in the staff canteen.
The airport opened and we took off only 4 hours late as one man and his brush removed the snow from the plane.
By the time we arrived we hadnt slept for 2 nights so were not in the best of moods so when this jobs worth started shouting at us I was furious.
Every single other person we met in Hurghada was lovely and we ended up having a great holiday.
I have just been on TC website and delighted that they are flying from our local airport from next May.
I will wait 2 weeks before departure before booking to see if I can get the same incredible deal that we got this year.

Hi, on one of my visits to Sharm a rep tried to herd me into the visa queue but I just insisted on going through passport control off with 'sinai only' written on my disembarkation card. I would imagine that if one joined the queue a visa would be put in the passport and monies requested before one could prevent it!

If I remember correctly the Tompson information stated that visas were compulsory (wrong). It is in their interest for their clients to have a visa so that they can be sold trips to the Pyramids, Luxor etc.

No they didnt in my experience caro. I stated to the guy very firmly there was no need for us to join his queue as we were sinai only and didnt require visa . His reply (even firmer) was that we still needed to join that queue anyway . The guys at the desk were asking everyone "if they intended to visit cairo " . Now I'm sure there would of been a lot that dithered in that confusing , rushed state of mind and ended up with the visa anyway . I said "no -sinai only" and he just stamped mine in the normal way.

They dont tend to pull that " compulsary " trick any more caro but tend to just say something along the lines of "if you want to visit caro visa will be required at immigration. Personally I still think they have it sewn up with the arrivals hall there. Everything happens so fast those that have never been before dont get a chance to think .

Same has happened to me before Lyn. Still gone to visa queue and I have bellowed sinai only at them over the din. They actually had a rubber stamp that they used that said sinai only on it and bonked it on all 4 cards. Other times I have scribbled it on there myself They dont say its compulsory as such you just kind of have to know what you are doing, which leaves the potential for folk that dont need a visa getting one. Never been with thomas cook, only Thomson and First Choice, I think. You are supposed to go to the desk to get the official sinai only stamp put on from what I can gather.

Sounds like your journey was a nightmare Jean, good job the holiday was good.

Doe

I meant to say Jean , Do write that letter. something is definately going on at our expense and it's about time we pulled the big boys up on it . Even if it's just to let them know we didnt come down with the last rain shower.

I phoned Thomas Cooks head office this morning and was told to take the letter to the agent I booked with as they didnt have an address for the Overseas operations department.
I took it to the branch I booked with and it was the manager who took the letter from me.
She agreed it needed sorting and hopefully something would be done.
It was only tonight I found the Passport ,Health and visa requirements for Egypt that was included in my documents that states that the visa is $15 or equivalent,which if we had took dollars would have worked out slightly less than £10.
What annoyed me was the way he started shouting at us when we walked away from his queue,he also started arguing with the man who was showing us where the bank was.
In Sharm I just write "Sinai only" on the form but in Hurghada the visa is compulsory.
It certainly hasnt put me off returning and will definitely next year.

Hmm. It does sound a bit suspicious I am sure they must be making a small rake of on each one somewhere along the line, otherwise I cant see why they would be so over the top about it, shouting at people etc

Yeh they definately are Chris. My guess is the exchange rate between the true cost in dollars and what they are charging in English . If they make £1 out of every visa sold that's an awlful lot of money . The T/Os probably have a nice little money making racket going on with the airports there . They probably divy it up betwen them .

The thing is its probably a local thing rather than a Thomas Cook endorsed thing. Not sure how TC in the UK can deal with it, even if we know its unethical. They wont let any other nationality other than their own into the airports, so its not like its UK Thomas Cook reps that are getting anything out of it, maybe its something that has been going on for years ? I know that doesn't make it right, but I dont see how UK authorities could control whats going on in Egyptian airports that are all under Egyptian Military control anyway, the local reps probably see it as perks of the job . I agree its only a quid but that must mount up the amount of folk that go through Hurghada airport. Wonder if it happens to the Russians, Italians and Scandanavians ?

I agree ,I dont suppose TC in the UK have any idea . I would hope that if enough brought it to their atttention they would at least request an investigation but I suppose that would be about as much use as an Ashtray on a motorbike .

Would be interesting to see what reply you get Jean .

A couple of days before we went my hubby called into TC to ask what the rate of exchange was for the dollar.
It was 1.59.
Why he didnt get $30 is beyond me as it would have saved us a lot of hassle and about £6.20!
The rate today is 1.54 so if anyone is going to Hurghada soon I would advise they take dollars to pay for their visa.
Someone told me the reps get commission on the amount of visas they sell.
When I asked the English rep on the transfer bus and in the hotel if this was how the visas were sold they sheepishly replied yes
Someone is certainly gaining by this as from May there will be 7 flights a week arriving from the UK.
When the manager in TC told me it may be a while for them to reply I told her I was still waiting for a suitable outcome from my May holiday.

Hi Spurry

We have a dedicated topic for questions regarding Visa's covering Hurghada and Sharm, I have moved your question and reply in to the dedicated topic - HERE

Can I ask that specific questions regarding Visa's are kept in the dedicated forums as it makes it easier for others to find the information

CAIRO/LUXOR/HURGHADA VISA NOT relevant for Sharm&Sinai - HERE

VISA FOR SHARM & SINAI ONLY - HERE

Thanks
Graham

If you specifically wish to discuss Thomas Cook's tactics please continue to do so on this thread.