How chav is Sharm el Sheikh?

[sorry4]

We are looking for some winter sun. Looking at Sharm el Sheikh for a week all inclusive. We’ve never done a mass scale tourism hotel before.

Usually we stay in small family run hotels or rent a villa or apartment. Rent a car. Go to restaurants and explore an area.

However we are looking for somewhere very relaxing and an AI 5* seems very attractive.

In house entertainment is our idea of hell - but we could simply not participate.

I’m sorry for the question, but how “Brits Abroad” or “Chav” is Sharm el Sheikh? It’s just not our vibe.

*NOT really a base for touring.

You won't get any good advice on here about Egypt it seems to have a very negative anconatation.

Best thing is narrow your hotels down and follow the Facebook groups. What are you wanting OP? I've not done Egypt but because I booked and changed my mind I decided to go back to Turkey which I love.

Coral sea water world in Egypt looks great and so do some of the Jaz hotels.

5 star is more like the three star we are used to in the west. I stayed at Hilton Sharks Bay on a two week diving holiday and enjoyed it. I went into Sharm once in that two weeks and it's a man made town for tourists, nothing to see or do, so 100 pc chavvy in my opinion.

I second the recommendation for Dahab. Much nicer than Sharm which is filled with Russia’s version of chavs.

Dahab is much more laid back, large diver community, still has a bit of the hippy vibe from years ago. It also has a few AI hotels now but also lovely old school meze restaurants along the beach.

This will out me as I tell everyone this but I would never set foot in Sharm again. Went the end of November in 2019 I picked up crypto and it lasted 3 weeks ruined Christmas for me that year.

Not a fan of Sharm and I've been several times.

First time we stayed in Naama bay at the Novotel, the hotel was quite nice but I got a terrible stomach bug, probably from the food or handling the Egyptian money.

Second time I did enjoy slightly more as we stayed in the Savoy which was a nice hotel.

Just not a place I'd ever go back to. I'd personally head to the canaries or Barbados for winter sun.

Im interested in going there, would you mind sharing where you stayed?

There are a lot of very rude and drunk Russians in Sharm. Also if you leave your hotel without a man with you there will be a lot of unpleasant harassment.

Beach and pools is what this resort is about really. Health and safety isn't big in Egypt and I also think it's generally not very safe in that part of the world in terms of terrorism threat.

The whole place is artificial and manufactured purely for tourists. The staff are pretty much all male and live in Cairo. They are bussed in for a month at a time and live in dorms in Sharm.

Good place for a diving holiday though.

I’ve been travelling to Egypt for over 25 years, as a single woman, as a family, on my own with DC, and I’ve only ever had positive experiences. The Egyptians I’ve met have always been warm and welcoming, and vendors have always taken my “no, thank you” with good grace and I’ve never felt hassled.
On the flip side I do always get an upset stomach - but it’s never put me off!

Depends what you are looking for really. I stopped at the Pickelalbatross Laguna Vista last year in January. I wanted an all inclusive resort on the beach. It was very good. The food was good (by AI standards), the staff were nice and the surroundings good. As I had anticipated there is not much off-resort and we went out once on a very nice snorkelling trip. So if you purely want winter sun, read a book paddle/swim in the sea drink and eat well and chill down its ideal. Not much to see otherwise though. For the money though overall we were pleased. Be aware that it is a big destination for Russians which is now unusual in Europe. In Egypt it is also usual to provide a small tip up front before receiving service. Which we learned and worked well. So lounger on the beach. Small tip, new drink every hour or so while I read a book. Very good.

I shall rephrase that 😂 Ain el Sukhna is close enough to Cairo for a day trip and there is a Movenpick resort there. I guess OP is looking for a package holiday so wouldn’t want to stay overnight unless there is a 2 centre option.

Are you going for the weather or the diving/sports, OP? What about Jordan as an alternative?

There’s a reason Sharm is so cheap. It’s notorious for terrorist related activity nearby and protests 🪧 and it also has sharks in its waters which makes it not ideal for swimming

That said Sharm is my least favourite of the tourist towns. I prefer Hurghada, and love Marsa Alam. But we will still go to Sharm from time to time for the diving, as there are some fabulous sites.

I had a fantastic time there about 25 years ago. Shame its changed. Everyone was really friendly and the diving was amazing.

Yes, me too

We have been to AI resorts many times and as long as you choose carefully you can easily avoid the less salubrious places with guests intent on drinking themselves into oblivion.

Avoid any place which says it's famous for a "party vibe", or "close to the bars and nightlife" or similar. Avoid destinations known for loud, group holidays. Last year we went to the most lovely AI in Menorca, not an island known for raucous holidays and it was very relaxing. As for the entertainment, that was things like yoga in the morning, in the evening they had local musicians set up outside playing background music.

I daresay in the winter the Med isn't going to be hot, but look for hotels with a similar vibe on Lanzarote/Fuerteventura.

We went to Sharm a few years ago and both DH I say it was the best holiday we've ever been on. We stayed a little bit out of the centre of Sharm at Rosa Beach spa hotel and it was wonderful. 5* AL. Food was top notch and loads of variety at each meal and the staff were really nice. There were a lot of cashed up Russians when we went, who were really rude to the staff.
We caught a bus into Sharm centre one evening and it was tacky and quite chavy. We wondered around for a couple of hours and went back to the hotel for dinner 😄 There isn't a whole lot to do there if getting out and about is your thing but we went on a tour into the desert and spent the rest of the time unwinding in the complex.

I hated Sharm, thought it was an absolute shithole. And I grew up in Saudi so not unused to shitholes.

There’s a million other places I’d rather go, and many without the risk of gastrointestinal upset, harassment and drunken aggressive Russians.

Not done Sharm but have done Nile tour from Cairo down to Aswan. I would not ever even consider driving in Egypt, it's bad enough being driven by a native in a fancy chauffeur-driven car. There must be videos available, I've never seen anything like it and I've travelled pretty widely. I would personally only ever do Egypt as part of a group tour because of the men and the relentless pestering. It definitely does not feel safe to just wander about on your own, although Sharm may be different. The way they treat animals is also terribly upsetting, I wouldn't want to return to Luxor for that reason personally - the place is full of weak, horrifically skinny horses harnessed to carriages and being whipped and beaten, and forced to stand in the burning sun all day. For the tourists, who apparently aren't aware you shouldn't be able to play xylophone on a horse's ribs... Stray dogs absolutely everywhere too, and elderly or disabled beggars, mostly female. Have been to other Islamic countries and never found them to be anything like Egypt. Obviously incredible sightseeing and the food was amazing, but the culture is very unpalatable to a western mindset; if you're not even going to be seeing the sights and just want sun and swim I would say pretty much anywhere would be a better bet.

Sharm el Sheikh isn't very nice. Don't go. You can have an okay time in a decent AI hotel with nice weather and if that's literally all you want then fine. Although you will still get hassled by men coming in from outside to try and sell you organised trips etc, which annoys me because I don't think private hotels with private beaches should be letting them in.

If a week of All Inclusive R&R in winter is all you need I'd rather go to Oman or Dubai. At least you can feel safe and enjoy leaving the resort.

Sharm is dirty, seedy and menacing, with horrible, pushy, grabby people. All they want to do is rip you off, leer at you and hassle you to spend your money or if you are a woman, hassle you with unwanted sexual attention. I wouldn't set foot there again if it were the last holiday destination on earth.

Good tip to avoid Eid, but Eid can be absolutely any time of year. It's constantly moving by about 10 days each year. The year you went it was November, but another year it could be June or February!

The Russians are not much better. It really was a horrible experience, from the locals right down to many of the other guests in the hotel. The only lovely thing about it was the beautiful, gentle Chinese lady who worked in the spa, who looked after me when I had the worst upset stomach of my life.

Friends of mine lived in Egypt, after years of living (and driving) in the middle east, so they were used to terrible, dangerous driving but even they were advised not to try driving in Egypt. The company gave them a full time personal driver as part of their package. And they rarely left their huge compound, which was like a country club, because there was nothing worth leaving for. Everything outside was just so fucking awful.

In 100% agreement as someone who lived in the ME also.

It's horrible. I wouldn't go back if it was free and I was paid to go.