Hurgada Egypt

[Wendalicious]

I know that there have been a few issues with Egypt of late but what do we all think about Hurgada for winter sun? Thank you x

I'm going over soon with DH and kids. Was looking for a bit of hot weather and waterslides for the kids so seemed ideal. We r all really looking forward to it.

Enjoy

It's nice if you don't get food poisoning or get mixed up in terrorism or civil unrest. Health and safety not great either. And don't bring any of the prescription drugs that are illegal in Egypt.

I've lived in Egypt for 10 years, Luxor to be precise. We go to Hurghada a couple of times a year as it is only a 3 hour drive away. We usually stay at the Titanic Palace/Beach as the water park is great and lovely beach. I lived here during the 2011 Arab spring and despite what you see on the news in Cairo the rest of the country was business as usual. Enjoy x

PS - Prescription drugs are fine, my elderly Mum comes over with a whole bag of them for her RA. The difference is that she has a list of her medications and none of them are illegal in this country. The other poster is referring to a case where a woman brought in an illegal substance, tramadol which is an opoid. She also tried to conceal it in paracetamol packets,had several hundred of them and had got them illegally from a friend (Tramadol is controlled in the UK as well as highly addictive)

We had a great Xmas in Hurghada a couple of years ago, we went to Makadi Bay that time, but Hurghada central is great too. I'd recommend Jaz Aquaviva, Jaz Aquamarine, Fort Arabesque and Sunrise Royal Makadi. We've also loved the Jungle Aqua Park, but think it's a little 'tired' now.

We’ve been loads. Always have a great time. Also recommend sunrise makadi bay, lovely hotel.

@peaky2018 is there any restrictions on vitamins being brought into the country?
A friend of a friend has asked me to bring her a years supply of some vitamin for hair and nails. Along with a whole load of shampoos and other beauty products.

Don't want to get caught out at the airport.

Have you read the foreign office advice on travel to Egypt?

Hi, there are no restriction on Vitamins but keep them in their original packing. I bring loads over with me as I go back to the UK every summer, no probs with shampoo or beauty products. There are no travel restriction listed with the FCO for Hurghada by the way x

I'll second exLtEveDallas. We loved Jungle Aqua Park, went there last year brilliant slides and the food was really good. We went to Sunrise Makadi bay in 2012 and was nice, wasn't so keen on the beach though. We usually go to Titanic Beach because it is one of the cheapest with an Aqua park and thing the cost/quality ratio is spot on. Jungle and Sunrise are quite a bit more expensive and we try to squeeze in as many trips as we can.
Don't be worried about people scaremongering about Egypt When we travel to Hurghada we go through Luxor, Qena, Qus, Qift, through the desert road to Safaga and onto Hurghada so well off the beaten track. We stop for coffee on the way, wee stops and never had any problems and we've done it loads of time. You are only flying into Hurghada and then straight to the hotel.

Thanks @peaky2018 for the quick reply.

Travelling out tomorrow. Have been keeping an eye on the weather and seems to be high 20s. Which I can just about manage.

Will also be heading to Cairo for a few days. So hoping it will be safe.

I know that the only area which travel is not advised to is Sharm but I know plenty of people do travel there indirectly as u cannot fly directly from the UK.

I've worked near Hurghada, and my advice would be that the resort may be nice, but everywhere else was filthy. Plastic bags and assorted rubbish strewn everywhere. I'd not take my family anywhere the locals so obviously don't care about.

Egypt is a developing country and outside of the resorts there is a lot of poverty and yes it can be dirty as mentioned by nornironrock.You will see this in Cairo. I guess it depends on whether people want to see what the 'real' world is like or a sanitised version that suits our sensibilities. I live amongst the locals in a farming community and I can say that there are some of the kindest people I've ever met who face their challenge stoically. Somewhat different from the aggressive salespeople you meet in the tourist areas. I certainly admire them for their resilience. Have a great time noenergy and treat Cairo with an open mind. It will make you count your blessings for sure, no bad thing x

Peaky - your life sounds amazing.

I travelled a fair bit in Egypt in the early 2000's. I'd love to go back with my children but the foreign office advice puts me off.

My children are 7 and 11 and go to school here and it is fine here. It's funny as when we go to the UK in the summer we are always worried about going into London. I think my children are getting quite a good life experience that is for sure. We live in a nice home but obviously, there is a lot of poverty around. They never turn their noses up at anyone or anything so I reckon that is one good thing. Life is never boring that is for sure! x

I was really shocked by the rubbish everywhere too, including a lot in the sea. If you do you, try and book with somewhere that has good environmental policies, and if you go diving, go with a company that abides by the local scheme to not trash the local reefs with anchors any further (there are dedicated anchors points to tie into rather than dragging anchors on the reefs).

Where we live there are no rubbish collectors (no council tax either though). We have to take all of our rubbish to a central bin collection that isn't empty regularly and is overflowing. There are never rubbish bins in the streets. It's the government fault, not the peoples they're happy to take the money from tourism but don't invest the money back into the infrasctructure - corruption, big time.. I'm sure the UK would be full of rubbish if there were no bin collections etc. Fly tipping is bad enough.