Hurghada, Egypt

[AjiAji]

Hi all, we are considering a 4 week stay. There is a big difference in cost between renting an apartment and a 5 star hotel. Besides we both have special diets so it will really need to be an apartment.

Can anyone advise on apartment safety/ security? Also, if

• access to hotel beeches/gyms are possible - I am guessing most of the beeches will be private and belong to hotels.
• What is availability of supermarkets and the quality of food?
• The availability/price/ security of taxis, both locally and for the important airport trips
• is it warm enough in January to swim in the sea or is a wet suit required - if so should we buy here or there?

please provide as much info as possible. I did a trip to Cairo years ago but first trip to Hurghada

thankyou☺️

There really isn't a lot to do there for 4 weeks.

Other than as a base for the Valley of the Kings I really wouldn't recommend it. It's not a particularly nice place.

I would look at somewhere like Cyprus (southern not the Turkish side) for winter sun self catering. I don’t think Egypt is safe self catering if you don’t know the country well (the two time is went, we had armed guards who patrolled the perimeter of our hotel 24 hours for perspective).

it will likely be more expensive than Egypt, but is much safer and if you have food allergies etc - you will find it easier to cater to your diets with familiar shops like aldi etc

We went in February and it was warm enough to swim without a wetsuit.

Can't comment on the other stuff but the hotels all have security perimeters and men with machine guns patrolling them.

Also you could rent a car in Cyprus, do it over there not before you leave, they drive on the left and have basically the same road rules as the uk

It’s cheap as chips for a reason

Couldn't pay me enough to go to Egypt. Cyprus is another matter, love the place.

? The Valley of the KIngs??? Isn't Luxor a tad closer???? Like... next door???

Some people here obviously hate Egypt.

OP it all depends on what you want and why you are going. If you want a few ideas for trips etc, I can help there, but on what you asked:

The Red Sea coast isn't spectacular scenery, but there are both public beaches - generally fine in my experience (single older female) and private ones (for which you can often buy a day pass). Gyms, there are plenty - no different in many ways than anywhere else. Supermarkets - LOADS. Plus every imaginable shop and market. Fresh food of every sort, plus many of the staples you'd see internationally. Really cheap. You can live a great lifestyle with great food for very little. Taxi prices cheap (I regularly have hired a car and driver for a full day for less than £50) - stick to the reputable companies and you get at least as good as in the UK - with the possible exception of them ALWAYS turning up on time and being polite and helpful. Sea swimming - I do in February and I can't imagine they do wet suits in my size! Again - your day pass if you go to a hotel will also include the pool.

I have never felt unsafe, never been hassled. Yes, Egyptians are louder and hagglers - but you don't have to be intimidated, they mean nothing by it. The typical Egyptian friendly conversation can often be measured in decibels.

Hotels do have security - of course they do. Many hotels these days do. And there are armed police - as there are in many countries now - but that really only feels uncomfotable to the British eye because we aren't used to it.

Personally I would have no worries. If you are the kind of people who can go with the flow and aren't fazed by difference, it's a warm and welcoming area.

Is there a particular reason you want to stay there for 4 weeks? That seems a very long time unless it’s for job or family reasons.

Are you sure you'd want to swim in the sea there? There have been a few fatal shark attacks in the Red Sea in recent years (compared to zero at resort beaches in Turkey for comparison purposes). Not to mention the safety concerns others have already mentioned.

We only left the hotel once and had cars driving past shouting at us, so didn't go out again. Also all 5 of us were very sick, I didn't recover properly for months. Apparantly it's very very common to become unwell in Egypt. I would never go back.

I stayed there a few years ago just for four days at the end of a two week tour that included a Nile cruise, Luxor and overnight train to Aswan, oh and Cairo.

I thought after all that travelling that I would just flop and eat in order to recover! Look, the hotel although stated to be "5" star was anything but, however it was OK, did the job but everyone apart from me got some sort of food poisoning. The demon drink, high temps and dodgy food hygiene I suppose. I stuck to pastries, bread rolls and peelable fruit + bottled water for the duration and was fine though. Unless you're into water sports there's not much to do really. I enjoyed the rest but that was all. I wouldn't go back there voluntarily, too far to travel for fly and flop and far too hot!

Just my experience obv.

Many thanks - that was very helpful and kind of you