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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Anyone enjoyed Egypt and not been ill?

59 replies

Muchtoomuchtodo · 25/08/2026 20:55

DH and I are looking for a relaxing, warm holiday but we can’t go until the end of November, and only for a week

Travel agent has suggested Egypt but I’m a bit worried about going out of the hotel as a woman, and also the chance of getting an upset stomach as several friends have suffered from.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

OP posts:

Kalioko · 27/08/2026 19:39

Been to Sharm. Didn't get sick although lots of other hotel guests did. Lovely hotel. Great diving. But wouldn't go back because of the harassment whenever you left the hotel. It was intimidating and horrible to experience.

notantordec · 28/08/2026 14:44

I went in Nov had over 20 mozzy bites in one night and then had food poisoning that last 10 days after I got home

HorseandHeron · 28/08/2026 14:52

Growlybear83 · 25/08/2026 22:21

We’ve been to Egypt six or seven times and have never been ill. we were told before our first visit that the vast majority of stomach issues is caused by germs transmitted from bank notes, and that you should use hand sanitiser whenever you handle money - once you’ve seen Egyptian bank notes you will understand why! We have followed this advice religiously and have used sanitiser every single time we’ve touched bank notes, and always again before eating. We've also always avoided the obvious things like salad, ice etc., and checking the seal of any bottles of water outside major hotels.

Egypt is one of the most wonderful countries Ive ever visited, and is full of amazing places to visit, especially Luxor. It’s very easy to travel around by train and internal flights and I would definitely recommend thst you make your own arrangements rather than go on guided trips through a tour rep. We’ve travelled by train to Aswan a couple of times and taken internal flights to Abu Simbel and Cairo amd it was so easy . I’ve always found that Egypt feels very very safe and Im comfortable walking around on my own late at night which is something I would never dream of doing in my area of London. You do get hassled in the centre of Luxor and around the pyramids, but things are much better then they were a few years ago, and if you tell vendors, caleche drivers etc firmly and politely that you’re not interested, they will leave you alone eventually. Make sure that you dress modestly and don’t leave your hotel in skimpy clothing.

I think Egyptian food is hugely under rated, and we’ve had some wonderful meals. I would never book AI because it would be a great shame to miss out on some of the excellent local restaurants.

if I was able to travel at the moment, it would be my first choice of destination.

Where on earth in London do you live to feel less safe at night than as a lone woman in Egypt?

HorseandHeron · 28/08/2026 14:55

TheOttey · 26/08/2026 15:51

I wouldn't go anywhere where you've got to take precautions against being ill because of local hygeine standards.

But then you miss out on so many gorgeous places. We visited Sri Lanka. Always brushed teeth in bottled water, and at first avoided fruit and salads, but after two weeks, we were eating salad every day in a small local cafe, with no problems. Your stomach has to acclimatise a bit to local microbes.

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 28/08/2026 15:08

We had a great holiday in Egypt. Cairo, Luxor and a place just outside Hurghada. It was fascinating and well worth a visit.

Went with DH and teen DD. None of us were sick. We are vegetarian though, and we're always careful about water when travelling.

It was very hot when we went.

Growlybear83 · 28/08/2026 16:21

HorseandHeron · 28/08/2026 14:52

Where on earth in London do you live to feel less safe at night than as a lone woman in Egypt?

Show quote history

Until very recently I lived on the borders of Forest Hill and East Dulwich.

BG2015 · 28/08/2026 16:55

I've been twice and didn't get ill at all.

Flomingho · Today 02:17

Yes, did quite a bit of travelling around. Luxor and Cairo and didn't get ill . However, took probiotic tablets before and during my holiday. DD was also fine. DH on the other hand got a nasty kidney infection once we were home and tested positive for e-coli. We think this was caused by handling money though rather than the water or anything he had eaten.

Badbadbunny · Today 05:23

We went on a Nile cruise for a week followed by a week in Hurghada with a couple of days in Cairo. Didn’t get Ill, but we avoided the potentially risky food such as salads and anything that looked undercooked, and kept it simple from buffets etc (as we always do) and took food from underneath/lower layers etc as there were always flies about. We also avoided ice in drinks and only drank bottled water. Take a few general precautions and you’ll probably be fine. Our Nile cruise was a group of 10 of us and I can’t remember anyone coming down with anything.

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