Go prepared - take a store of tissues and handwipes and - best hint of all - wear a longish skirt rather than trousers - much easier to manage a wee in difficult circumstances with a skirt. Some are reasonably clean but tend to have horrible accidents on the floor, possibly plumbing-related; most have very weak flush - nobody tells you but tissue is not flushed but binned (looks like a little sani bin) - but cos they don't tell you then the loos tend to be blocked . There will always be a mum and child handing you tissue - just give them a little tip, would you want to do that afor a living.....they aren't actually asking you for money for tissue but rather being polite and handing you some. The whole soap / hand towels thing is as varied as in UK

The ones in the hotel lobbies are lovely....well they were at our hotel anyway! Nice than you'd find in the UK!

However in Naama Bay they left alot to be desired.....still you usual type of toilet (not hole in the ground) but they didn't feel very clean, and NEVER had any loo roll - so make sure take some with you. We would use the ones if passing in KFC and no one ever said anything about us using them even though we weren't eating there.

But if deeper into Naama Bay or eating in a restaurant on the beach, the closest toilets really weren't too nice - not the worse I've even seen but not the most comfortable experience. I'd buy some hand sanitiser : http://www.ifsogo.com/acatalog/at_your_destination.html as I think a slight stomach bug we got MAY have been down to some of the loos we used in Cairo.

Hope this helps.

LisaMJ x

Soz, forgot to mention - they tend to be situpons rather than holes in the ground - and on the trains if you do the Cairo / Luxor run, it is an amzing thing like a cross between a washing machine and the clutch on a lorry. All in stainful steel.

Sorry I forgot to mention as well that I am interested in the ones around Giza & the temples at Luxor. Some of the other threads I have read it might be handy to take a face mask as well. LOL !!

Hi Sue,

Now theres a question!! I'm assuming you might be referring to the day trips to Cairo /Luxor.

On our trip to Cairo, the itinerary included the Citadel, Egyptian Museum and Pyramids.

We needed the loo at the Citadel, and the guide actually warned us about them ! They were FOUL! Most disgusting toilets I've visited and the kind where you don't want to touch anything....even the door to close to the loo (hence my recommendation of the hand sanitser in my post above).

The loos at the Egyptian Museum were modern, but busy and a not particularly clean (but then there was alot of traffic going through them). The one I went in had no door!!! But it was round a corner where no one could see, so the loo attendant said 'Don't worry I;ll make sure no one comes in'. That was an experience.

Lastly, the toilets as we excited the Pyramids site weren't too bad at all. We paid 10 Egyptian Pounds (about 10p) to the girl there, and they were the cleanest we used all day.

So if you need the loo at the Citadel, wait till you get to the Egyptian Museum!

Hi Sue, all of the above about sums it up, toilets in V.O.K are all like large porta-loos on a trailer. The wife tells me they were not too bad. Cairo museum she decribes as 'clean enough'. Smelly is a good decription of most of the ones I have been in but 'servicable' My tip is to always have a half used and flattened loo roll in your bag at all times. Hotels are all OK and in the main are beutifully kept.
Tez

hi sue, the toilets at the valley of the kings, is a bucket with a toilet seat on, and a man who stands by with water to wash it down, take your own toilet paper, the there are no hand washing failities in there either so take some baby wipes aswell, good luck. but the tombs will out weigh the sanitary problem. do enjoy. choc.

First time to Egypt, going to Hotel Sharm Sol. Can anyone tell me if the toilets can flush toilet paper or do you have to put the paper in a bin?

Hi George,
Your 4* hotel will have no problems coping with toilet paper in the loo. Dont worry!

better forget about public toilettes, there isn't any anyway.. you can use hotel or restaurant toilettes and they are clean

Talking of loos

Reguarding SHARM and Naama bay.....

Do not pay the guys in the Mall, they are the most disgusting toilets i have ever seen, they want you to pay for the toilet paper, and charge you a couple of pound to go.

If you need the toilet whilst in the restaurant (chinese) on the top of the mall, they havent got toilet facilities they send you to these ones the guys want money for!!!! Actually i find this incredible that restaurants do not have normal toilet facilities.

If i am busting, i go to my friend that owns the t.shirt shop on the ground floor, he takes me and shouts at the guys for charging.

Normally i go to Mcdonalds, Spaghettismo restaurant, and my fav restaurant the Pomadero. No one minds you going. The loos are a lot cleaner in the restaurants. You can now buy hand steriliser from boots, savers etc to take with you.

Michelle x

I too was sceptical when visiting Egypt for the first time. Our first visit was to the Sheraton in Luxor and the pool toilets were the cleanest I have EVER seen! It was the only place in the hotel that I actually saw women working! THey seem to nip in and out everytime someone had 'been', fresh flowers in there every day. You know how pool toilets are pretty wet places, what with folk going straight from the pool, well it was brilliant! Shame we never actually 'saw' them in there [just caught sightings of them from the poolside, lol] to give them a tip, cause if a tip was ever deserved was in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I dont go anywhere uk included without my alchohol hand gel its fab and you dont have to touch a sink either if you use that, you can get it from the chemist in handy handbag size, even if the toilets are ok i use it on us and the kids