hantonpanella12345

For those planning to travel to Egypt

-Be aware of the protesters they are every where may be except in Sharm El-Sheik

-Be aware of the harassment especially for females egypt is the worst among Arab countries and one of the top worst 5 worldwide

-Be aware of the food and water there are increasing complain about this issue particularly Salmonella ,Typhoid and Paratyphoid

-Be aware of the police they killed over 7 tourists and arrest over 10 tourist and hundreds of those possess the foreign passport . I was there and saw the increase hate for Americans and British on the other hand we Germans don't have the same problem .

-Be aware of some places as Cairo , North Sinai , Alex and Luxur . The situation there is still bad but it get better also no one know when it will explode again .

-Do not believe the Egyptian government speakers just follow your own country roles and FCO

-There are increasing numbers in beggars they are pain in the ass .

- On other hand as a Journalist I follow the situation in Egypt from 2008 know is not the ideal time to visit this great nation it maybe better next summer but for those who are going any way and those who have to go . Just follow the advice above and you will be OK . I have written my own experience

- Have a good summer



This is the translation an German Journalist who travel every week to different country . I agree with all the points .

Casual_Cairo

And there are those of us that live here that disagree with this journalists "points".

All of the above can happen to you anywhere - even in the first world.
If you apply common sense, you should be fine.

Protesters are NOT everywhere. They probably are EVERYWHERE that a journalist might be if that journalist is doing his/her job because that journalist has to be where that sort of action is. A tourist does not need to be in the middle of it and as I've been here through the whole revolution, I hardly see any more of it than you all do on TV.

Female harassment does happen in Egypt. That is true, but if you travel in groups (big or small) and with a knowledgeable guide or friend that you trust to care about your best interests, you should not be too bothered by it. Also be sure you wear modest clothing and let your guide/friend deal with those that are impolite, if it happens. Again, not that difficult, as a tourist, to avoid and easier to ignore if you don't know the language.

With food and water, use common sense and you will be fine. Drink bottled water and LOTS of it, and eat from restaurants that at least have running water to wash hands and dishes in. There are LOADS of restaurant chains from America if you are very nervous about eating - you won't starve here at all. If you do get a tummy issue, pharmacies are everywhere and you can purchase most drugs without prescription. Remember ANTINAL for tummy issues. Tummy issues happen outside Egypt too.

Regarding police arresting 10 and "killing" 7 tourists, I would like to have a LOT more info on that. Many people are in Egypt on "tourist visas". That does not make them all "tourists". So, there is a big question about 1) when and where did this happen, 2) what nationality were these people, and 3) what were they here to do really? I am offended that the OP put this in this posting as it seems for shock value only with too little information.

Of the areas the OP listed as danger zones - North Sinai is the only one that is seriously dangerous. The others are fine for the average tourist.

Beggars are now and have always been a "pain in the ass" and they are not going away, but they are not as bad as they always were during Ramadan. They come out of the wood work for that month, so don't even go there now. The fact is that Morsy and his crew decimated tourism in Egypt with their crazy administration, and tourism was the fuel that fed this country. Everyone is more desperate than they were 4 years ago.

I do agree to follow your countries advice if that is what makes you most comfortable. There is a great big world out there to discover and if you have time to see other places now, maybe you do want to wait til after the elections and things get a bit more settled down here, but otherwise, it is fine.
However I don't see Egypt as an easy place to be a backpacker type tourist. Never was and is not now. Explore your options and if you want to come see Egypt there is a perfectly safe way to do it, even now.

Grcxx3

<<Just follow the advice above and you will be OK .>>

What a load of hogwash.

sandi

Grcxx3 -

Agree - hogwash or whatever other chosen words.
When first read I was so aghast, sent link to Debbie for a reply if her time allows. Hope though she's busy and only gets to it if she wishes.

cary999

From England's Prince Charles, 12/17/13 -
"I have for some time now been deeply troubled by the growing difficulties faced by Christian communities in various parts of the Middle East," he said. "It seems to me that we cannot ignore the fact that Christians in the Middle East are increasingly being deliberately targeted by fundamentalist Islamist militants."

That's putting most mildly. I will not visit any Muslim country that does such.

regards - tom

sandi

Believe it last week, CNN had a segment of what's happening to the Coptic Christians in Egypt, who were in Egypt before the Muslims. This was most heartbreaking.

1Caroline

I find the two versions of the state of affairs in Egypt interesting reading and appreciate the input. We were planning to go to Egypt 3 years ago as the troubles began escalating. Instead, we cancelled Egypt and went one year to Botswana and South Africa, one year to Russia and Poland and last year to Morocco and Spain, all of which were wonderful. We still want to go to Egypt, but we must put safety first. We know that nothing is 100% safe, even in our own country, but we also know that we must consider multiple sources. The travel industry obviously will tell you the prettiest picture of the situation, our government sometimes seems to give us the darkest scenario and on and on. So, we try to look at them all and see what we come out with. We are a senior couple, so we are not likely to take a high risk venture into an area that isn't safe. We do hope though that Egypt gets its problems straightened out enough to make it possible to go with a relative feeling of safety to visit their ancient sites.

Casual_Cairo

Elections are coming up real soon. With luck we will have a respectable, reasonable government in place soon that will restore security and tourism to this country.
To 1Caroline - FYI - I'm 61, my sister is 69 and I have plenty of other "senior" friends living here in Cairo. We are fine. Really! Of course we have to use good sense as we probably couldn't out run a gang of protesters coming our way, but fortunately, using good sense is pretty easy to do.

ahmedmohamed

Egypt is perfectly safe now.