AIBU to rain on dh's parade about taking 4 dc 's to Egypt for half term ?

[FOURBOYSUNDER6]

Dh made Last minute decision to book Hilton sharks bay resort in sharm el sheikh. Has anyone been recently? We have young boys is it ok for younger ones etc? Dc's aged 6, 5, 3 and 7 mths.... He is mega excited and wants to book but i am not sure .... Can't really afford it, I have irrational fears about dc 's getting shot, trafficked , food poisoned , too long travelling from uk..... I would love a holiday in the sun and we need one as it is long long overdue... But AIBU to just want to chill at a villa in south if France or Spain in summer where it feels so much more sensible with young children or am I being ignorant and unreasonable ? He fancies Hilton sharks bay. Budget can't stretch to mark Warner !!!! Has anyone been to Hilton and is it good or poor mans Egypt ... Why am I posting this at this time instead of sleeping !

[Kungfutea]

I think many posters posting haven't a clue about the dangers and threats in Sinai. It's a completely different kettle of fish to what's happening in Egypt proper and far more of a threat to the average tourist to whats going on in Cairo.

There is a reason why Israelis, who used to flock en-masse to Sinai, have completely stopped coming. It's not safe - and this is in comparison to Israel, not England.

[JoanByers]

Surely Israel is safer than England?

[ScaredySquirrel]

we had one bad experience in Egypt when we were there last October. We walked to the railway station in Cairo late on Friday afternoon and there were some very rowdy young men out. Nothing happened, but we felt threatened and my 12 yo dd felt scared. However, she had refused to take my advice about covering up and was wearing a skimpy sundress. I would go to Cairo again actually even now, but would just avoid tahrir square and be a bit more cautious on Fridays. I don't think the FCO website advises to stay away from Egypt.

I have been to Egypt several times. It is definitely more conservative now than it was in the past. You have to cover up. But I don't think these concerns apply to Sharm. I've been to Dahab and would also prefer that to Sharm. I do think you would be fine going to that resort with your children - they are young and would enjoy it much more than the pyramids etc anyway. The family I met with 5 young boys (I often wonder if she is on here!) had gone to the 4 Seasons and had a fantastic time.

[ubik]

It's interesting about Dahab

Dp and I backpacked around Egypt nearly 20 years ago and at that time Dahab was full of junkies, i mean proper addicts. It was a very strange place, like some sort of wild west frontier. We also went to a place called Tarabin which was much nicer.

When we got to Sharm el Sheik, to cross to Israel, It was this enormous building site, with miles of beaches and huge empty hotels. It was weird.

[PureQuintessence]

I had stones thrown at me in Egypt.

My husband was arrested on the border coming by local ferry from Jordan, and they would not let me see him, they would not let me get my passport from him, or any money. (He had our passports and money) They threatened to deport him and send him back to Poland. After 4 hours they were able to understand that he was a British Resident, and they let him go.

I lost count of all the times I had my arse pinched, my arms stroked, my neck touched, a hand up my back inside my blouse.

I wore long linen trousers, long sleeved blouses, and a lose (out of africa style) scarf covering my hair. And I was still treated like a piece of dirt.

But, I still want to go back when the kids are older, and the region more peaceful.

I loved camping in Egypt. Seeing the sun set, and raise over the dessert was a sight to behold. And running around at night looking for cover to sneak a shower with water bottles was quite an experience.

[AnnIonicIsoTronic]

The politics of the place would really put me off.

[ubik]

Sunrise in the desert is truly magical. I loved the way the stray dogs would it together to watch the sun come up. It is an amazing place but Cairo is not for the faint hearted.

It's a shame - look at film of Cairo in the 1970s and none of the women have their heads covered and it looks like a Mediterranean city. Now all women appear to have at least their heads covered and attitudes have changed.

[fedupwithdeployment]

We went there on holiday (Hurghada and Luxor) a long time ago pre-kids. I quite enjoyed it, and we might have gone back, only other places are more appealing...usually France but considering a long haul at the moment, Egypt isn't on the list.

The water at Easter was cold. Pool was freezing (and that was with wet suits on), and the weather on the coast was not perfect (warm in land).

6 months after we went, there was a massacre at the Temple of Hepshetsut (sp?) near Luxor. We'd visited it, and it had seemed perfectly safe. I guess that the 60 odd people who died had thought the same thing.

I do appreciate that most of the troubles seem to be in Cairo, but I wouldn't want to go to Egypt at the moment given how women are treated and given the recent actions of some members of the police.

OP - I would second others, and wait for the summer. France of Spain would be great later in the year.

[BegoniaBampot]

People say it is safe, the problem I have us that they were actually targeting tourists, it wasn't just people unlucky to be caught up in an internal conflict. Know the past government tried to really clamp down on that but not sure how successful it was and what the new government's take on it is.

As someone else said many Muslim countries are becoming much more hard line now than they were in the past. The fundamentalists seem to be gaining more power and control. I have Turkish and Malaysian friends who are worried about the changes they have seen in their countries in the past few years.

[LongWayRound]

Just watching this video, and finding it hard to square with the generalisation that "Egyptians [read: Egyptian men] have respect for women" - presumably only as long as they stay indoors. On the other hand, it gives me great respect for the Egyptian women with the courage to speak out against abuse which is so deeply engrained.

As a tourist in a package holiday resort, you won't be confronted with this, but it's worth bearing in mind.