Police escort in egypt?

[makealist]

Hi, can any one help me with this? We are booked to go to Sharm el Sheik at Easter. A friend has told me that she was told that you have police escorts from the airport and on any coach excusions that you go on! I don't understand why this would be or where to find any info on this. Does anyone know if this is correct?
thanks

Tis bollocks

lol that is what I thought, but she insists that the travel agent told her this along with some other people she knows who have also been there!

I have been to Sharm several times in the last few years and it is one of the safest destinations. Unless there is a new alert, then I think it will be fine to travel. A few years ago there were warnings in Cairo but that is miles away.

If you go on the trip advisor sharm el sheik forum you can ask people who are there or have been there in the last few weeks directly.

Foreign Office travel advice for Egypt is here . As well as registering your presence there via Locate you should make sure you get decent travel insurance.

Have a great holiday.

Any organised excursions will have an armed guard on the coach, at least they did when I went 4 yrs ago.

There is a security point entering the resort and I can remember going to an outdoor concert and there were armed guards keeping watch in the sand dunes.

I didn't feel safe there tbh, but I suppose it's better safe than sorry. I think the threat from terrorism targetting tourists is lower that it was when I went. It's fine in the enclosed hotels grounds and hotel beaches. We did go to Cairo and it's very worthwhile doing but don't make eye contact with the souvenier sellers who are complete pests.

A friend on a cruise ship did a day excursion from Port Said to see the pyramids one year and they had an armed guide for their coach.

It sounds as though they are more common than we think over there.

We did a day trip from Hurghada to Luxor a few years ago, across the desert. Loads of coaches in convoy, armed police escort front and back. Not on the individual coaches though.

But like I say, this was a few years ago and may have changed now.

We go to Taba Heights every year and the coaches there are not allowed to leave the confines of the airport without police escort.

We did a trip to Cairo by bus, which also involved picking up an armed guard to travel on the bus with us. The two armed guards just fell asleep for the whole journey though, after leaving their guns in addis bags in the aisle of the bus 'in case we needed them'

Seriously though... I read that recently the security has been tightened due to various bombs going off targeting Christians.

Yes, I apologise for my flippancy. Seems there was a bomb a couple of days ago in Alexandria and that the alert is high there. Shouldn't really affect Sharm though.

Just back from Sharm and no security on coaches to from airport. They may be if you go to Cairo but not around the Sharm area.

Yes there will be armed security on the coaches, but they are plain clothes and the weapons are hidden.

If you go on a long trip you may find yourself waiting on a main road for a convoy of vehicles. An plain clothes policeman or armed guard will sit in the front and back vehicles throughout the journey.

If you go into the desert on a trip there will always be armed guards aboard.

Nearly all hotels have a gate, armed guard and metal detector.

They are just basic safety precautions, there have been numerous attacks on tourists in Egypt in the last 10 years, and the country relies heavily on tourism. They don't want to close off monuments and sites of interest as a lot of people rely heavily on the industry as a way of life so this is the alternative.

They aren't in your face about it - you probably won't notice unless you actively look for the guards.

Would this be something that worried you? Or is it the terrorist threat?

If you are asking why this would be, don't want to alarm you but you need to know the country you are going to:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Khan_el-Khalili_bombing

This is why there is a need for security. I have been 11 times now, as my husband is a dive instructor, and I have to say I don't really think about the threat or the armed guards, I feel quite secure.

I was more frightened by the shark attacks to be honest, bearing in mind his chosen profession.