Holiday to Hurghada booked! Don't want to go now.....

[heckythump01]

I have booked a girly holiday with my daughter next month to Hurghada! The reason I picked this destination as it was affordable and has a huge water park which she we love.....I saw last night that British airways have cancelled flights to Cairo and i am now panicking about going! Am I just being a worry head? Sods law I only booked it on Thursday.........

Both DS and myself got food poisoning while at Taba Heights. In fact I found out I had Hpylori soon after coming back and I’m convinced I got it from there.

I wouldn’t travel to Egypt and I live in London and am very aware of terrorist threats. I’ve travelled around countries like Syria in the past but wouldn’t go to Egypt now.

Thanks all! Were staying all inclusive and i wont be leaving the complex.......there's loads to do there! As some posters have picked up, its not hurghada its self its the aviation aspect that has been playing on my mind................!

Tourist resorts are generally safe and the foreign office warn against most African and Middle Eastern travel so i wouldn't worry.

Go, have fun and make some special memories! Obviously just be sensible and maybe liaise with the hotel to organise excursions if you want to branch out from the resort.

Also HAGGLE everything in markets otherwise you will get ripped off!!

@dullportraits

The first time we went I was ill - 24 hours with a bad stomach sorted with Kaolin. We didn't follow any of the precautions above as we didn't know.

The second time it was DH. He had D&V for 24 hours and we discovered Antinal which sorted him out.

Nothing for the next 5 years.

Last year DD and I both got ill. But both fine after 24-36 hours. Not sure what caused it but not going to slate a whole country over it.

We've also holidayed and been ill in Kos (DD), DomRep (Me), Majorca (DD horrifically ill) and Wales (DH and me)! Luck of the draw.

YABU alone for going to Egypt in August.
Oh and I’ll add myself to the list of people who’d never go there....I hate to say it but it’s a terrorist attack waiting to happen (but I feel the same about Turkey too at the moment).

Oh and with the money, Egypt have the worlds dirtest money (men stick it in their pants not to be stolen) so carry anti bac ay all times! I got so sick in Sharm when i went and then had to travel to Cairo the same day on a coach for 10 hours which I can tell you now WAS NOT FUN

And don't drink the tap water, water sometimes comes out brown so let it run a bit before you brush teeth or have a shower xx

Yes it will be as hot as hell OP. I’ve been in March and May and May was the temp was late 90s.

@PineappleSeahorse

why do you avoid ice during the day but have ice in the evening? Isn't ice in the evening just as risky?

The ice itself isn't risky, it's made from bottled water. After talking to locals (DH always makes friends!) they agreed that ice cold drinks are a bad idea when the temp is in the 40s as it's too much of a change. In the evenings it's cooler and breezier (30s) so not so much of a shock. DD and I drink tepid water during the day (DH sticks to beer!) and save ice for our evening cocktails.

Use bottled water to brush your teeth. If it isn't safe for drinking it isn't safe to brush your teeth with either.

Thank you for the explanation. People are usually advised to avoid ice so I wondered if that was why.

Flights to Sharm el Sheikh (which was a bigger tourist resort than hurghada) have been banned for about four years now, so banning flights to Egyptian destinations is not a new thing. I went to Sharm el Sheikh many times before the ban but wouldn't have gone to Hurghada after it. It's just not worth the risk.

People seem to be focusing on the safety of Cairo itself. As I understand it, BA is responding specifically to threats against aviation.

Exactly and that is what would would worry me. We have been to Egypt, the first time was just after Arab Spring and it was like a ghost town. Last time was just before the Russian flight was brought down at Sharm el Sheikh and the security on the ground was immense. We had a gun boat alongside our dive boat at one point. At no point did we feel unsafe. However security at the airport was dreadful, particularly in Luxor. We would love to go back as the diving is amongst the best in the world but due to the current situation and tense situation in the gulf we won't be going anytime soon.

Am a bit surprised at all the people saying Hurghada is completely safe given what's happened there in the last few years.

But OP it's only BA who have cancelled flights to Europe - all other operators are still flying their. That being said the current government advice is not to travel to Sharm El Sheikh at all, and that's much closer than Cairo so I'd be taking that into account.

Also, do you realise how hot it will be in August I went to Sharm in April one year and it was so hot I felt sick... high 30s every day, and the mosquito bites were immense I looked like I had chicken pox. It's so hot there's no way you can enjoy it. And as others have said, be careful of the water and the food. I had mummy's curse for about three weeks after my April trip.

Lufthansa also suspended flights briefly due to heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. Someone must have intel.

I wouldn’t go there. Not necessarily because of the terrorism threat (although that does worry me) but because of the food safety and hygiene issues. Everyone I know who has been there has had dodgy stomachs even when being ultra careful (bottled water for teeth brushing, rewashing fruit in bottled water, no ice etc etc). The hospitals are dreadful - one of my friends little ones got a urine infection and they had to go to the nearest large hospital and the whole experience was so dreadful they came home early and then went on another holiday to Disneyland when the little one had recovered to make up for it as the hospital treatment and conditions traumatised them so much!

chocolatebumby l've been to Egypt twice, years ago, and there were armed guards then. Loved it, and l'd go back tomorrow.
To be fair, if you go to the States, you see armed security there. We went thirty years ago and l was astonished to see a security guard with a very large gun in a car park!
To my way of thinking, at least if there's armed security, you're protected to a degree. Purely my personal view, though.

Would people go to Nice, or the German markets, Barcelona, London, Barcelona. All those have had serious recent terror attacks and Hurgarada has had none.

alarm British government warning is: “Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt”.

Like people say, there’s a reason why it’s cheap.

I went to sharm years ago and it ranks of one of the worst holidays ever - the level of sexual harassment from hotel staff was off the scale. Fucking scum bags.

Didn’t feel safe leaving the hotel, got super hassled and followed when we went to just the local (tourist!) shops.

Diving was great but crowded sites. A live aboard would have been a better trio.

Oh yeah, and we both got D&V. That was fun.

I went to Marsa Alam with my daughter few years back. That is more remote but was absolutely fine. We also went to Morocco that was fine too. Let's face it there are troubles everywhere you can let that rule your life.

I'm a worrier, were going to hurghada end of August though. SILs husband lives in Egypt and she goes out often to stay for months at a time with young children. She says she feels very safe. My friend also travels to hurghada alone every year and says she feels fine there. We went to Turkey this year and airport security was so tight. 3 separate lots of security plus a bag search and random searches just before boarding, I was very pleased about this. Fuertaventura security was abysmal and I accidentally went through security with deodorant, lighter and scissors in my hand luggage, that was a tense flight. Paris is still visited frequently as is london. Trust the security measures, they care as much as we do as if they lose tourism to a major incident itll destroy their economy. That's what I'm thinking anyway.

We went to Hurghada last year, loved it, never haf any issues. Went on multiple excursions too and again we never had any issues. We loved it and plan to go back sometime soon with the rest of the family

If you like or love horses and donkeys (or even have the merest regard for their well being ) then be prepared for the most gut wrenching sights .
Those adverts on the TV with the over laden collapsing donkeys ?

They are real

Vile horrible place

Brooke Animal Hospital does sterling work to treat and educate the owners but the animals are a work-staple and they work them literally till they drop.