Date: 27th May 2011
Persons 2
Agent Flight Center
Duration: 1 night Cairo + 4 nights in Sharm el sheikh
Airline: Egypt Airways
The holiday to Egypt was born out of an in-depth interest in the history and culture of Egypt. The country had been under intense political pressure with a protest to over throw the Egyptian government, capturing news headlines all over the world. The news of un-rest as well as Shark attacks in the red sea, meant that tourism on a whole was down in 2011 for Egypt.
Here is my recommendation for a holiday to Cairo and Sharm el sheikh.
Our holiday had been booked 6 months in advance in 20110, and we had no intention of cancelling any part of it. Prior to departure I seek advice from the Egyptian Embassy and also the FCO(http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/egypt), but both sources of information were very vague. In search of more information in anticipation for my holiday to Cairo, I decided to message people that were currently in Cairo using the social networking tool, Twitter. The advice I gained from Twitter users was insightful and extremely useful.
Cairo
On arrival to Cairo airport from London Heathrow, we were greeted by a local travel representative. Our luggage was loaded onto our 20 seater coach we had all to ourselves. The travel rep was polite and friendly and presented to us a variety of excursions. We chose only to accept one of he excursions which was a tour of the Pyramids of Egypt.
We stayed at the Mercure Le Sphinx Hotel (1 Alexandria Desert Road), which I would rate as 4 stars. Its in an amazing location right next to the Pyramids and is clean and quiet, with a lovely pool and surrounding gardens.
The tour was a full day, and included lunch along with a graduate of Egyptian history giving us a one-on-one explanation of all the sites, and its history. We visited all of the pyramids of Giza and the great Sphinx, along with a camel ride. For lunch we visited the Sakura Restaurant which is highly recommended. Had it not been for our tour guide we would never had known about the poor area of Sakura, but the outdoor restaurant here was amazing.
The tour costs a total of £60 Sterling, and was definitely well worth it.
On day two of our trip to Cairo we decided to visit the Egypt museum which is located beside Tahir square. The Egypt museum costs around £4 Sterling and includes the amazing Tutankhamun exhibition.
Before our departure of Cairo to Sharm el Sheikh we had a light lunch at FelFela Restaurant + takeaway Near Meridian Hotel in Giza opposite pyramids.
Sharm el sheikh
The weather was a lot hotter in Sharm than in Cairo, possibly around 35 degrees. Our transfer to the Falcon Naama Star, located within Naama Bay was around 30 mins drive in the evening. The Falcon Naama Star was in a decent location to the shops, but was away form the sea. The Falcon Naama Star should be rated as a 3 star hotel at best. For a young group of guys or girls the hotel is recommended, but for families and couples, I would advise on going elsewhere, possibly Sharks bay for the same money a 5 star all inclusive option is possible. If you do want to stay within Naama Bay then the Helnan Marina Hotel is in a good location in Sharm with its own Beach.
Activities – Ras Mohammed for Snorkelling. Trip will cost £44 Sterling p/p. Don’t forget to purchase a water camera!
-Trip includes, Coach, equipment(£5 to rent wet suit), and lunch buffet style.
The total holiday costs around £550p/p, and was money well spent on a holiday consisting of activities as well as relaxation.
Popularity: 33% [?]
