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.........

It's further away from Cairo than Newcastle is from London

We went to Egypt in May. We flew to Cairo, spent a few days there and then flew to hurghada for five days. We flew home from Cairo so took a few flights in total.
Airport security in hurghada was the most thorough I have seen anywhere in the world.

We mainly stayed in the resort but did go out to the Marina once. We felt totally safe at all times.

Cairo was wonderful but quite sad as there are no tourists. The Egyptian museum and the pyramids were very very quiet.

Oh, and I’ve been to Cairo three times, Sharm once, and hurghada once and never been ill. My youngest got the runs in hurghada but was better within the same day. Five other family members were totally fine every time.

@heckythump01
I haven't read the thread in full so apologise if the following has been mentioned.

I spoke to my Egyptian friend yesterday who is from Cairo and has lots of family there. Apparently the threat is at the airport and nothing to do the city itself. The 'threat to aviation' is due to 4,000 football supporters (mainly Algerian) who are camped out in the airport as they neglected to book flights home.

As many have said. They are hundreds of miles apart. Go and enjoy your holiday!

@IndieTara we went AI only money we handled was brand new american dollar notes we got from UK we used for tipping out there..

the FCO caution re terrorism ... seems fairly subdued compared with that for France!

Maybe, but if the worst should happen in France you'll usually get a high standard of treatment in a hygienic hospital with advanced facilities. Should the Egyptian "security guards" fail to protect you - even with rifles held together by sticky tape - the above isn't necessarily a given

Dear OP I haven’t read the whole thread so apologise if I’m repeating what someone else has said but I wanted to reassure you. I’m Egyptian and can tell you that most of the people holidaying in Hurghada at the moment are Egyptians rather than foreigners. It’s so insanely hot at this time of year that it’s considered low season for foreign tourists. Egyptians are faced with months of school summer holidays and places like Hurghada and Sharm are to Egyptians like Cornwall and Devon are to Brits. Generally, terrorists aren’t that bothered about harming locals, it’s foreigners that get them the international headlines they’re after so strategically it’s probably the safest time to go. If I could stand the heat I’d be there now!

I wouldn't go again if you paid me. Huge big all inclusive Iberostar. All 3 of us really ill on day 3 which lasted the whole 9 days. With one bathroom and a 10 year old it wasn't fun. When we get back were told by A&e we all tested positive for amoebic dysentery and yet we were very very careful. Didn't like barbed wire fences everywhere, guards and hassle from hawkers and a lot of people being ill on airport loos too. . Can I also say have been to Marrakech which we enjoyed a lot and also Istanbul. I appreciate not everyone gets Sick and yes the sea and beaches are nice, but it totally put us off. I honestly much prefer the Balearics or Greece!

My mother lives in Hurghada. I always check with her when I hear alerts about Egypt.
She and her Egyptian husband always insist the Red Sea resorts are well removed from the trouble and protected as they are so far from the big cities like Cairo.
I highly recommend Hurghada, it's a beautiful place. I wouldn't worry about the flights being cancelled.
As a precaution, add the number of the British Embassy into your phone!

Egypt in .July and with reported terrorist threats against foreigners!!

Why would you?

Annie, it’s good that the kiosks have been removed!

re, Egypt and visas, I've only ever been once and it was booked via a specialist diving travel agent and they pre arranged our visas. It cost slightly more than 'on the day' (£30 instead of $25 as I understand) but it was worth it to not have to join the massive queue on arrival.

I don't know if UK package holiday operators do the same thing but it would be sensible when they have coaches waiting to transport people to their hotels.

The thing that annoyed me about Hurghada airport on the way back was that, at one of the security checks, there was a mens queue and a womens queues as it was a pat down check and the womens queue moved much more slowly and was about three times longer than the mens.

They did have equal numbers of male and female security officers, but it did give me time to think about the injustice of it all and what the solution might be. I was in a group of adults but I did notice that for families, the women did seem to have the lion's share of DCs and baggage so maybe that was what was causing the delay.

Well we got here last night, I had my first Mojito by 1100, and cannot wait to explore today!

Our flight out was excellent. No hassles at either airport, security in Hurghada no more cautious than before. The pilot mentioned the trouble in Cairo, and joked, asking if there were any football fans onboard - I assume that was the issue in Cairo.

Today will be a pool and Waterpark day I think

@puppy23 ooh which hotel is that, we'd love to go back to Turkey but were priced out this year?

I wouldn’t want to go either, claim on your travel insurance

Travel insurance doesn’t cover changing your mind!

Some of the best holidays I’ve had have been in Egypt, however they were before I had DD. I just wouldn’t take the risk with DD. It’s also ridiculously hot in August and doesn’t really cool down much at night. There are safer and more suitable places to go with your kids. How old is your DD?

The pilot mentioned the trouble in Cairo, and joked, asking if there were any football fans onboard - I assume that was the issue in Cairo.

That's what my DH said that it was because of the football. Cairo airport must have been INCREDIBLY busy and a bit of a mess on Wed an Thu when BA staff did the checks. Senegal v Algeria was playing there on Fri.

Hi OP
I wouldn't worry about it. My mum and partner booked a holiday to egypt just before the terrorist attack brought down the russian plane in sharm el sheikh. The company she booked with had to offer an alternative holiday whcih they did wih no issue. If there is even a whiff that going there will be highly dangerous you will be offered an alternative as they will not let you fly there xxx

Also to add on to my previous message, my mum and bro went to egypt a few years prior to this amd loved it xxx

1. governments almost never stop flights they simply advise against flying to certain areas: that decision lies with tour operators.

2. there have been concerns over Egypt for the last 2 years and if you look on the government travel site it will clearly state areas to avoid: I decided against Egypt for this reason, there are too many issues and targeted attacks on tourists at the moment for my taste and I'm not easily scared off.

3. discuss with your tour operator: most will allow you to change your destination for a fee. I did that earlier this year due to the ongoing riots in Paris and moved my holiday to Austria.

For Hurghada holidaymakers current and imminent, be aware that there is a serious E. coli infection rampant there at the moment which is causing haemolytic uraemic syndrome in those more vulnerable (young children and the elderly) which in rare cases can be fatal. Several people have returned to the UK from Hurghada in recent days with E. coli and HUS, in sufficient numbers that the government agency responsible for dealing with such things has issued advice - a lot of which are the common sense precautions various people have mentioned upthread, but it is important to be extra thorough with food and water hygiene.