Sharm El-Sheikh

[r055]

going in mid-august...

anyone here been?
recommendations?

TIA
Ross

[Ron]

I've flown in there 3 times but always stay in Dahab which is 1 hour north. Much smaller, friendlier, less developed, more dramatic scenery and a better beach. Not much in the way of nightlife however.

Sharm is fast becoming another white trash mecca however there is good diving and i'm sure the hotels are fine. It will be propper hot in August!

Ron

[Scotty C]

I went a couple of years ago, I stayed a few miles out of town and only went into Sharm a couple of night's. Could not be done with the hastle and haggling sh17e. We were only there for a week to chill out and the hotel was all inc, so not worth going out.

The diving is some of the best in the world, we were lucky to have great snorkeling from the hotel jetty.

We also went Quad biking at Dusk, but i wouldn't be rushing back (they don't let you rip it across the dessert )

I will be going back as the weather was great and the beer was cold.

[r055]

we're only away for a week as we're doing it 5-star. I also dont think I'll be able to cope more than 7 days in the August heat!!!
our resort has a diving centre or something (really need to read the details)

hoping to get an internal flight over to Luxor for a day.

R

[Brian J]

Ross, Which hotel? We've been twice to the Hyatt which was fine - no need to go out, as full facilities and, as Scotty says, excellent snorkelling off the jetty.

[a4drk]

Ross,
The only thing which i cannot recommend enough, is to take lots of Hand sanitiser gel.

The amount of people that get ill over there is very high.
They say its because the money is that old & filthy - loads of bacteria on it.
and people touching food with dirty hands (At the school dinner buffets)

I was there 3 years ago - scuba diving - which is amazing. - snorkelling really good too.

however food in the hotel was either a hit or a miss.
The restaurants that you could pay in (in the hotel) & downtown were really good.

just keep washing your hands & you'll be fine
Cheers
david

[a4drk]

The diving is some of the best in the world, we were lucky to have great snorkeling from the hotel jetty.

Scotty
This sounds like the Hotel I was in - The Kirosez 3 Corners.

Jetty is fantastic

David

[gorrie]

Wife, kids & me went for 2 weeks all-inc at Christmas just past.
Weather was 30 degrees up to 37degrees some days (according to the guage at the pool bar) so August will be toastie.

We stayed in the LTI Grand Azure @ Nabq Bay... just a 15min drive from Namma Bay.
We went in to Namma Bay for an evening... & thank F*** we weren't having to put up with that every night. They DID NOT understand 'no thank you'... they just heard the 'thank you' part. Also try to drag you in to shops under false pretences ... or try to give you 'free gifts'. It kinda ruined the experience of going to Namma Bay as you just couldn't have a look around, or even dare look in a shop window.
Having said that, the staff that work in the hotels & bars are very easy to get on with. They said that the tourism was way down over X-mas/New Year due to thousands of Russians cancelling (apparantly they do not pay until they have completed their stay)... which is probably why the people that were there had been hassled so much.

We did a family snorkle excursion... lots of nice fish to see. The immediate coastline at our hotel was coral, water only knee deep, for about a mile out (no joke). Ther was a jetty if you wanted to walk all the way out and get in the deeper stuff.

All Inclusive wasn't as good as what we've had in Mexico. I realise that may be hotel sensitive though... but in Mexico i could get Jack Daniels... in Egypt, they wouldn't even give me a Vodka & fresh orange because "Fresh Orange is extra".

Agree with the Gel Hand Sanitizer (we took some... no illness for us). Tried to minimise contact with local currency. Hotel tips were done with pound coins (took a bagful of them & got waiter service at the pool all day long without even having to request drinks... from coffee's in morning brought to our sunbeds, to the bizarre cocktails as the day progressed).

Overall... 2 weeks was too long I think. 1 week would be fine, especially if it's a chill out stay within your hotel.

PS... heard a few people on the flight back complaining about the Hilton. From what I saw, it was split in 2... part on 1 side of the main road (over towards beach... part on the other). From what I could make out, 1 side was well dodgy.

[a4drk]

Ross,
Heres a picture from snorkeling in 2 feet of water !!
It was a coral reef & at the end there was a 30M drop




David

[tut]

Also interested on the feedback from here.

Clare and Jamies 21st birthday presents from us were their open water diving courses, and Sharm El-Sheikh was one of the all in packages.

tut

[a4drk]

Tut,
They will love it.
Only problem will be - is that anywhere else they dive will be a disapointment - unless its Great Barrier Reef, Caribbean, Indian Ocean etc.
The Med is crap - apart from Malta.

David

[tut]

Cheers David. Oman was pretty fantastic too, spent half my life underwater there when they were not making me fly, though we did do a fair amount of spear fishing, but only to BBQ on the beach in the evening.

I also used to get the Crayfish for the Officers Mess, short air compressed spear gun to get them through the head where they gathered under overhanging coral, but there were thousands of them so made no difference to the population.

tut

[r055]

thanks for all the comments guys...
The hotel is the Savoy Sharm...
http://www.savoy-sharm.com/savoy/index.htm

[Brian J]

Ross, Looks as if the Savoy has the same jetty arrangement for snorkelling and there is a reef marked opposite it - so that should be fine. The water is so clear in the Red Sea that unless you're doing at least intermediate level dives you'll see just about the same snorkelling.

Agree that if your hotel is OK, there is little incentive to go outside and in August heat, doubt if you'll want to! Also agree on hygiene - if in doubt don't eat salads or any uncooked food. That said, we've had two separate weeks without any problems including trusting the hotel ice in drinks.

There is a great karting track (Ghibli) just outside the Hyatt on the main road but it's rarely in operation - I got a shot on my own just once!

[Scotty C]

i stayed at the reef oasis. It was cheap £500 all inc.

if you click on the photo's i think pic 5 shows the reef

http://www.hotels4u.com/HotelInfo.aspx? ... dvisor_IMG