Does it have to be Naama bay or would you consider going to Hurghada?

I am afraid the hassle in Naama bay is part and parcel...but it is not really that bad...if you say No, they leave you alone, or if you ignore them and walk past with your hand up they leave you alone.

Will you be doing a drop and flop holiday or will you be wanting to try trips and activities as this will increase your amount of spends required?

You have to try Diving at least once!!!!!!!!!!

I prefered Bulgaria to Sharm but like Hurghada as the hassle is not so bad.
The first week of July in Bulgaria should be hot as we went in June and the weather was lovely.
As its a shorter flight time you will get a better hotel for the same money it costs for Sharm.

It will be abit of both, we want to relax and use pools/sunbathe at beach etc but would also like to go on at least one excursion, would have liked to wander about abit and visit the shops/supermarkets etc but dont think Egypt is for that isit??

I wouldnt go diving but snorkelling I would probabley try out-nothing major though as I'd be scared a shark would eat me ahah!!!

How much would you suggest taking money wise? I know visiting the pyramids etc would be expensive so would leave the more expensive excursions to another time..

Jay Trip-What Is Bulgaria like for wandering and going to shops etc?

Sarah

visit the shops/supermarkets etc but dont think Egypt is for that isit??

Like everywhere else - holidays are what you personally make of them.
If you wish, you can go to Sharm and stay on the beach on AI, and never venture out.
Elsewise:-
You MUST try snorkelling - you will see things just a few feet from the shore which will astound you.
Or just walk into town, cough up about £35, and take the one day bus excursion up to Cairo and see the Pyramids etc. It takes the longest 8 hours of your life to get there - but it's well worth it.
Or set off at midnight for the excursion to climb the mountain to see the sunrise. Knockout!
Or take the bus/ferry excursion to Jordan to "Indiana Jones's Temple" at Petra. Amazing sights, but it's an expensive trip.
Or go quad biking at sunset into the desert and take tea in a tent with the Bedouins.
Or just go to the shops in Sharm and have fun haggling.
Learn the Arabic "La Shokran" (no thankyou) before you go.
The folk there try hard to sell - if they don't sell they don't eat, which is some motivation. But in the main they are fun and friendly, and basically honest, people trying to live in a difficult world.

To be honest if you get a decent hotel maybe up in the Nabq Bay area of Sharm fronting the beach, once you have paid for your hotel you will have minimal other costs.

You could look at the Tropicana Grand Azure, The Laguna Vista Beach, The Holiday Village (although thats very family orientated), the Coral Sea Resort, The Jaz Mirabel Beach Resort. They are all AI, on the beach and have multipule pools and restaurants. Some have spas and treatment's.

Not been to Bulgaria but unless you stay in Namma Bay there arent that many places to wander too in Sharm, it's more of a hotel based chill out holiday. Bulgaria sounds like it would be a more resort based holiday, so more to do maybe.

There are a couple of malls up in Nabq and as a previous poster says if you get bored you can do quads or a bedouin trip, star gazing in the dessert, trip to the water park. There are also organised snorkelling trips to Tiran Island and Ras Mohamed, half day ones and full day ones.

Going to Cairo and Luxor from Sharm is too much for me, but some say it's worth the effort.

Doe

We stayed in Nessebar about 4 miles south of Sunny Beach.
Its a beautiful old town and is an UNESCO heritage site.
The older part is over the causeway where all the old buildings are.There are lots of lovely shops and walking around,especially at night is just like being on a film set.
Just google Nessebar and look at the lovely photos or look on Google earth as it gives you an idea of the town.
We stayed at the Marina Palace hotel which was in the newer part of Nessebar but overlooked the causeway and the old town.
Sunny beach is very different from Nessebar and has a beautiful long sandy beach,loads of shops and lots of reasonable restaurants and bars.There are lots of copy clothes and handbags similar to the Turkish copies as well as nice shops Its quite busy and seems to cater for all ages.We walked here from Nessebar along the beach and it took about 1 hour.
The buses run regular and I cant remember exactly how much it cost but it was something like half a Lev(25p)
We have just come back from a Riu hotel in Tunisia and notice there are a few in Sunny Beach.
When we first went to Naama bay 6 years ago and we got out of the taxi as we walked down the main road I thought it was very like the main area of Sunny Beach.
They still use the LEV and your pound goes a very long way.
My friend has an apartment on the other side of Sunny Beach in St Vilas and she paid £9 for a meal for 2 with a few drinks.
I am going to Rhodes on Wednesday and I would love go back in to Nessebar in June if I can get a deal.

Thanks for you replies!

What sort of weather did you have in Bulgaria, I want to go somewhere I know I dont have to worry much about what the weather'll be like, you know? That is another reason I fancied Egypt I know Id have no problem with a tan there!

Sarah

We went in June and it was lovely and sunny every day.Sometimes it got too hot for me around midday so I just stayed in the shade.
Even Sharm in December is hot enough for me.

Hi,

Been to Sharm 3 times (4th come August) and Makadi Bay, Hurghada twice. Personally, my favourite area in Sharm is Nabq Bay ........... Laguna Vista Beach Resort twice (beautiful resort) Dreams Beach Resort in Um El Sid (wasn't for me) and in this August Royal Grand Azure in Nabq Bay. Both resorts in Nabq Bay are situated directly on the beach, but snorkelling is via a jetty into deep water. There are a couple of shopping Malls in Nabq Bay and a few restaurants and bars. Should you wish to venture into Naama Bay (20 mins away) taxis are readily available and are cheap.

Regards,
Pat

Thank you, so Nabq bay seems like the place to go then if Im going to Egypt. What sort of weather would you expect for July?

Sarah x

hot. hot. very hot. ........and hot.

Yes i agree well over a hundred, and if like me you go to Cairo in open top sandels, they melt you can fry eggs on the pavements. When we went a couple of years ago to Sharm the thermonitor reached 55 degrees and shattered !

you cant even go bare foot on the sand coz it burns the bottom of your feet...so take some of them little beach shoes that you are not bothered about getting ruined in the sea....

the hottest I have ever picked up was at Sharm about 2 or 3 years ago when we did a couple of shore dives at Sharks bay...my dive computer registered 48 degrees...and I had to stay in the sea to cool down!

Now that is hot!!! We wont have a huge amount of money and will need to buy some clothes for holidays but if we do go to Egypt I cant see us wearing an awful lot of clothes in that weather, just mainly by the beach/pool! of course if we did venture off resort to Namma bay then will cover up abit more!

In Nabq Bay what sort of restaurants etc are nearby, or isit completely out of the way? Can you walk to anything/anywhere?

Sarahx

we've never stayed in Nabq bay but my friend has been a few times and loves it, she says from her hotel you could walk all around the resort. We stayed in Ras um sid and were very isolated and we couldn't walk outside the hotel without several dozen(honestly!) taxis pulling up besides us when we just wanted a quiet walk. Naama Bay was a nightmare, you are hassled from the minute you arrive by taxi drivers, restaurant workers, shop keepers and anyone else in general especially if you have a pretty teenage daughter...I know this is normal and if you say no they leave you alone but we found it annoying. Also the temperature will be scorching , we went in June and it was more than 50 degrees, i can sunbathe with the best of them but i couldn't lay in it here, in fact i got a better tan in Majorca in May. In Egypts defence the hotel staff were wonderful and so were the water parks but our children were bored at night because they missed the family bars we are used to in Cyprus and the chart music and playing pool etc because at our hotel you had to be 16 to play. I had reservations about going but my OH wanted to try somewhere different and to be honest I didn't enjoy it at all and as it was our main holiday i felt disappointed.....
I think Egypts a place that you love or hate, like Florida, which by the way i don't like either...perhaps i'm just weird..

my partner was a benidorm die hard until i eventually talked her into going to sharm she loves the place and will never go back to benidorm. i always say its your hotel what makes your holiday if you get a bad hotel you wont go back. talk your partner into going you wont know until you try.

Egypt is like marmite, you either love it or hate it. I have been 17 times in the last seven years. My husband has been once!

Caro

Ps. We both like Tunisia so if we holiday together we go there!

Whats Tunisia like?

Sarah

Hi Sarah

There are similarities between the two countries because they are obviously both Arab, Muslim countries.

Main differences for tourists are:

Shorter flight time to Tunisia
Holidays to Tunisia cheaper
Tunisian beaches have soft white sand, beaches on Red Sea have coarse coral sand unless replaced by hotel
Egypt offers fabulous snorkling/diving opportunities because of coral reefs.
Guaranteed sunshine in Egypt, rain is an exception
Tunisia has more rain - less arid and barren with pretty, lush vegetation
Egypt is hotter and less humid than Tunisia in summer
Cultural sightseeing, Ancient Egyptian versus Roman ruins in Tunisia
Tunisia still retains its French influence.

Hope this helps but there is a Tunisian forum on HT which will answer any dedicated questions.

Regards,
Caro