To book a holiday to Egypt (Cairo)

[Naturenurture]

Just that really… govt advisory’s are mixed for different countries. Travelling with 10 and 7 year olds. Would you go?

After reading the recent story of a 9 year old who had to be put on dialysis after catching nasty E-coli from hotel buffet food in Egypt then no way. It’s a regular occurrence and not worth the risk, especially with a travel advisory already on the country.

Nope. Too risky.

No way, definitely not with children. Too risky and read too many bad experiences with food poisoning, getting badly ill and generally feeling unsafe (people offering camels for you!). You can find somewhere lovely that is much safer!

Yes!
we’re going in September, we love it there

I'd go if you stay on a resort, it's not a place I'd wonder about on my own but we went and had a lovely time.

I love Egypt. I travel to Cairo for work on occasion. I don't feel unsafe. What are you planning on doing? There's some brilliant tours in Cairo.

No - not with kids.

Cairo isn’t so bad but I found in places like Luxor that as a woman I was constantly getting hassled - if it wasn’t the pervs, it’s very aggressive hawkers who think western women want to buy cheap tat for 10000% mark up.

And I’m a pretty adventurous traveller with my kids.

As people say, nice hotels will be safe enough but what’s the point?

Food hygiene is abyssmal and who wants to risk food poisoning with kids?

what about somewhere like Morocco if you want kids to have experience of a different culture?

I have heard quite negative stories from people so its not somewhere we would be in a hurry to visit.

I would not stay in Cairo. We went for a day trip to see the pyramids and museum, it was very dirty and unpleasant.

However, I would have no issues taking my family to Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh as long as we were staying in a five star resort. That is what we did when we went to Egypt. That way you avoid being hassled or any food related issues.

I would probably risk it as an all adult group (my aunt and uncle went recently and obviously were fine) but not with kids.

Edit - They are 60 ish, not elderly

Oh, we also went on Trip Advisor and read all of the reviews for each hotel we considered. We only shortlisted the five star resorts that had no mentions of food poisoning / bed bugs etc!!

We've been twice - Cairo, Luxor, Nile & Aswan cruises.
Never a problem, nor anyone else in the small groups we've been in.

I think the problem is the water, rather than the food.
People don't seem to realise you should clean your teeth with bottled water - that's why there are bottles in the bathrooms as well as the bedrooms.

We had a brilliant holiday in Cairo and Luxor a few years back (our dc were 4 and 6 at the time). When we went, there wasn't any government advise against going to Cairo, there was a map about which regions to avoid, has that changed?

We did hire a driver and guide some days as the roads were quite wild.

There were security checks everywhere (airport style scanners) which was a faff but meant we felt pretty safe in our hotel and the tourist sites we went to.

We're off to Sharm in August for 10 days

Obviously it's up to you, OP, but please do take the time to read this before you book: https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/egypt/

Saw it described as the armpit of the world. Having been there I concur.

If you enjoy non stop grim sexual harassment pollution and crowds you will
love it.

To be fair the Egyptian museum was good. That’s the only positive.

@MaloneMeadow our son lost 10lbs in a week and me and H not far off- hotel buffet food at 5 star ( lol) hotel

Not a chance in hell. The travel advisories are in place for a reason.

I'm another 'not with children' vote

No way in a million years would I step foot in Egypt ever again. Have you ever been before OP?

I has no problems travelling round Cairo, obviously hassled a lot. We walked mostly and I felt very safe. We ate in local restaurants, floating cafes, food off street stalls etc and no food poisioning.

My husband thought it was be a nice relaxing break to go to Sharm El Sheikh after travelling round Egypt...that's when the food poisioning hit us. In the hotel resort places.

Your children’s health and safety are far more important than a cheap holiday OP

It's the only place I've been to that I wouldn't go back. I preferred Morocco, Jordan and Turkey a thousand times over. We were only there a few days and got the most god awful food poisoning even though we only ate at our hotel and tourist restaurants, I've never been so ill. The hassle is really depressing too.

Crikey I'm really surprised to hear the consensus on this thread, it sounds like Egypt has really gone downhill since we visited ten years ago, sadly.

We have been to Sharm three times including a day trip to Cairo and the pyramids. We loved it, neither of us had upset stomachs (and I even brushed my teeth with the tap water unknowingly) and the people were mostly friendly and helpful. We did get some hassle from shopkeepers in Sharm town but nothing that made us feel threatened.

What a shame, it's a fascinating country to visit.