Sharm El Sheikh '09 (Sharm el Sheikh)

Member Name: stace12344

Product:	Sharm el Sheikh
Date:	17/10/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful location

Disadvantages: Bad Stomachs

I went to Sharm El Sheikh 27/08/2009 - 10/09/2009.
We booked this holiday a year in advance as Thomas Cook was promoting a special "egyptian week". £650 per person for two weeks in a 4* holiday (incl breakfast).

This has definately been one of my most favourite holiday locations.

- Egypt

Egypt is a very hot country. We visited in late August when it was supposed to start cooling (apparently). It was 40 degrees ++ & evenings were often 30-34. Stepping off the plane I nearly fainted! At the airport prepare to queue, you have to fill in medical forms and also at the time we had to declare any symptoms relating to Swine Flu. You may need to purchase a visa for approx £13 if you are going to visit the pyramids or St. Catherines.

Once you leave the airport you are not allowed to re-enter so ensure that you have all your luggage with you. We were located to our coach and a man was ready to start loading our luggage. The man demanded that we pay him for putting our bag on the coach. Many of us didn't realize this was wrong until another man came running over shouting at the man to stop charging us. So Beaware of this!!

The coach was air conditioned which was definately a relief! Immediately it was possible to ses how beautiful Egypt actually is. We stayed in Novotel Beach which is a ten minute walk away from Naama Bay, the main town. This hotel was beautiful with its own private beach.

Egypt is very very clean, not once did I see litter or mess on the streets. It is made up of small markets, hotels, shops and in Naama bay a long stretch of restaraunts and Shisha bars. Every night we made the ten minute walk to Naama Bay. We had two options on how to get there howevever, leaving from the front of the hotel and along the main roads was not a very pleasant experience, taxis kept pulling over and shouting over to us, the pavements were not very safe and the kerbs were very high. However, our second route from the back of our holiday was lovely, a short stroll along a well lited street.

Naama Bay is full of choice for evening meals. Well known restaraunts such as TGI Fridays, Hard Rock Cafe & McDonalds. In particular I would recommened: Onions, Taj Mahal & The Mexican Bar. Food in Egypt is very good value for money. For three adults to have a starter, a main meal and a few drinks it costed us on average £27. The food portions in Egypt are fairly large. Drinks can work out more costly. Cans of pop cost £1.50 in restaurants and the hotel. Local shops charge just 50p which is quite a difference. Large bottles of water can be bought for just 30p so my advice is to stock up from your local shop.

-Locals
We never really had a problem with the locals. Walking past shops/stalls can be a little off putting at first as they are determined to get you into there shops . We just usually said "no thanks" and kept on walking. Chances are they will call after you but my advice is just to ignore it. They can be fairly cheeky in name calling, my 13 year old cousin was called a "cheeky donkey". LOL. Security is high in Egypt, by our hotel there was security and along the main streets guards were present. I never felt unsafe walking on my own in Egypt.

Locals do come up and make comments to younger girls. This can be a bit off putting but its best just to laugh it off and ignore it. Most locals are very friendly and want to help you enjoy your time in Egypt.

- Trips
There are many trips available in Egypt. In particular the trips to visit include the Pyramids. Five members of our party went to see the pyramids (not including myself) and they all thoroughly enjoyed it. Two went by plane (45 mins) and three went on the long coach trip (not recommened with the bumpy roads). I visited Tiran Island, Ras Mohammed and Bedouin Nights, all of which were excellent.

** Don't bother buying trips through your rep or the hotel as they organise the trips through the same company that charges a lot less money. Our hotel quoted £45 per person for a boat trip to Ras Mohammed, we went on exactly the same trip but for £14 as we directly booked with the locals.

-Bedouin Nights....
Ever fancied camel riding in the dessert? I didn't particularly but I must say what an amazing experience. An air conditioned bus picked us up and took us to the Sinai dessert. We were then guided over to camels suitable for us, ie our height and weight. The tour guide was very friendly and helped me get on/off the camel and laughed at our faces as the camel stood up. Warning** Hold on for deal life when the camel stands up and sits down if not you may end up falling straight over the camels head!

After a 20 minute ride on the camel we were then directed to a large group of sofas/cushions on the floor. We were introduced to some of the locals who live in the dessert. Bedouir tea was handed around which is supposed to be healing and good for stomach complaints. People were randomly selected to help make bread with the locals and a real effort was made to ensure we were all enjoying ourselves. As it got dark the mountain was lit and dinner was ready. Entertainment was provided for a further 2 hours and then we went back onto our bus and was taken back to the hotel. A lovely evening which was enjoyed by all :)

- Ras Mohammed
We used the same company that organised the bedouin nights trip. This trip was also excellent. We visited Ras Mohammed via boat. We were picked up by bus and taken to the dock. The guide was very friendly, talking to us on the bus and making jokes. We had to queue and have our bags checked by security before we could board the boat. That said the search was more a "quick glance". We stopped three times during the trip to go snorkelling or if we wished to stay on the boat. Snorkelling was amazing there was a large amount of fish all sizes and colours. We stopped for an hour to have some lunch which was very nice and also included in the price (£14). We arrived back a 4pm after leaving at 9am. Brilliant day, just remember the sun tan lotion!! One day on the boat is apparently equivalent to three days out in the sun. I'd advise that you at least have a base tan before considering a boat trip as you may return rather burnt!

Overall Egypt in general was an excellent experience. There is however, one major issue that stops me rating it 5* and that is the stomach bugs. 8/10 of our party become ill at some point during our holiday, sufffering with diarhhea & stomach pains. We were all very careful to use hand santitizer, drink bottled water, no ice, ice cream yet it appears that the dreaded illness still managed to get the majority of us. Due to the heat and sickness I would not recommend Egypt for Very young children. The pharmacists in Egypt were excellent, they asked us to describe symptoms and prescriped medication that worked immediately Luckily!

Definately a holiday I would recommend to those who enjoy the heat and a relaxing holiday. :)

Summary: Excellent holiday!!!!!!