Egypt Questions
 

I have 2 Egypt questions, please:

1) I will be taking an OAT tour of Egypt, but it does not go to the Red Sea area. I would love to go to St. Catherine's Monestary, Sharm El Sheik for snorkeling, and possibly Mt. Sinai. I am thinking about adding this portion onto my trip as a solo traveler. Is it safe for a female solo traveler to do this? And, if so, what is the best form of transportation to take, and how many days should I allow? Or, should I try to find a local tour company to do this?

2)How far is Damietta from Cairo, and how would I get there? I have read that Damietta is a great place for birdwatching and I would love to be able to spend at least a few hours there.

I'll look forward to reading your suggestions.

Hi happy,

How do you plan to add that trip? OAT does not allow breakaway travel (adding time on the beginning or the end of the tour) on the Egypt trip. Airfare is included with OAT and you have to go and return on the dates they ticket. I inquired about staying on and they said something about it's not allowed because of "airline restrictions."

If you're determined, maybe you could just not show up for your return flight, but it might be pretty expensive to buy a one-way return to the states ticket. That would cancel out the OAT "good value" aspect.

There have been lots of OAT travelers on Fodors. I wonder if anyone has stayed on their own.

I haven't called yet, but I hope that I'll be able to manage it with OAT. Maybe I can just return on the next flight with the next OAT tour. Then they'd already have room on that flight. We'll see.

Anyway, I didn't even want to contact OAT until I knbew if traveling alone to Sharm El Sheik would be safe. If anyone has the answer to that question, I would love to hear it. Also, I'd like to know the best mode of transport.

Thanks again.

One of the couples in our group went to Sharm El Sheik at the end of the tour. The guide helped them arrange transportation to the airport. I believe that they did much of their own planning. I can also say that I asked OAT to help us with planning a tour that we could work around our DD wedding in Italy this summer. They offered no assistance--this would have been my 5th OAT trip. I was shocked that even airport transfers could not be arranged. We would have arrived at the airport at the same time as the other tour members and were willing to pay extra. Of course--we won't be traveling with OAT this summer!

<<One of the couples in our group went to Sharm El Sheik at the end of the tour. The guide helped them arrange transportation to the airport.>>

What group were you with on this tour? I asked OAT if I could stay on after Egypt and they said no.

Yes--we were with OAT 2005.

Thanks kp. I wonder how they worked it out. I got a definite "no" from OAT. Below is from a post by a Fodors Editor. Maybe happy2travel will have better luck than I did.

Author: Doug_Stallings
Date: 07/20/2006, 11:53 am
I went to Egypt with OAT last year, and I had a very nice time, but I think the experience people have is clouded by one very important thing. OAT is extraordinarily inflexible. You either take their trip---and their flights---or not. They make it particularly difficult to add days before and after their trips if you aren't going on their own pre- and post-trips.

Thanks to everyone for their input about OAT. That really is unfortunate since every other company I have worked with at least TRIES for air deviation. I think that one of the reasons they offer air incl. is that get very cheap contact fares that are probably non-negotiable with the airlines. However, I would have given it a try anyway if I knew that traveling alone, as a single woman, wouldn't be a problem.

Soooooo, does anyone have answers to that questions- as to whether it would be safe to travel myself to Sharm El Sheik, and will IO bothered once I get there?

TYhanks again.

Yes it's safe to travel to and be in Sharm. It's used to an international clientele so you can show your shoulders & wear bikinis.

Thanks Sunshine.....that's what I needed to know. I thought I'd probably be okay once I got there, but I wasn't sure about the transportation.

Any suggestions for not-tp miss activities or restaurants once I get there? Also, can you recommend a good hotel? I was thinking about the Hyatt, although I usually enjoy much smaller hotels. I was thinking about the Hyatt because I read that the snorkeling is good right off the property.

Sorry, I forgot to ask a few questions.

What is the best mode of transportation from Cairo to Sharm?

What will the climate in Sharm most likely be like during th beginning of June?

Are the mosquitos really bad?

Thanks again.

You should be fine in Sharm by yourself - I just advise staying in a good hotel. Most of the hotels have snorkling facitilies on site - where you can rent equipment and snorkle right off their beaches. Also most of the hotels can arrange trips to Mt. Sinai/St. Catherine's (same place).

June is definitely HOT (altho not as bad as August), but I really can't say about mosquitos. I don't remember them as being a problem except in the early evening.

From Cairo, the best best is to fly to Sharm. It's a quick flight.

I'm a single woman in my mid-50's. Had no problems anywhere.

The answer to your question "What's a good hotel?" depends a lot on what you want.

Do you want to be in the middle of the action so that all you have to do is walk out the door & there are people & things to do? If so, someone else will have to help you.

Do you want to be out of the action in a top of the line hotel and take taxis into town? I was this type of person in Sharm. I stayed at the RitZ Carlton which was pretty quiet, but that's what I wanted. There were some darling young British children there on spring break who were appropriately noisy, but not obnoxious. I'm told that the Four Seasons also is very nice.

Once you go into town you can find snorkeling (I don't snorkel, but I took a half day snorkeling boat trip, scuba diving, glass bottom boats, lots of people from all over the world, drinking, restaurants, etc. There are day trips to Mt. Sinai, St. Catherine's Monastery (someone I met says that going to St. Catherine's rekindled her faith), the Copper Canyon (River? Mountain? Copper something) for hiking. Day trips to Taba or Naweiba which are far more laid back that Sharm with some killer diving.

It's great fun.

Most beach-front hotels have their own house reefs. The nicest reefs are in Ras Umm Cid. Nabq Bay is good too but it's close to the airport with quite a bit of noise from the air traffic. Nabq Bay is a fairly recent development with nothing to see but large hotels. The Magic Life Imperial is of very good quality (Austrian chain).
Check out the street map on http://www.goredsea.com/en_sharm-el-sheikh.aspx - Ras Um Cid is in the bottom left, Nabq Bay is on top of the map. Click on the area of your interest. The green dots you will then see are the various beach-front hotels.

The Colored Canyon is a nice excursion. Make sure to wear sturdy shoes. This applies for St. Catherine's Monastery and Mt. Sinai too, in case you do the hike.

Forgot to add that you can easily fly Cairo-Sharm on EgyptAir. It's one hour.
http://www.egyptair.com
I think there are still bus convoys that do that route. It takes at least 6 hours.

Myriam, thanks for the great links. As of now, a R/T ticket Cairo-Sharm is under 50US. I definitely can't beat that!

I also appreciate the Go Red Sea site- it has lots of great info. I was originally thinking about the Hyatt because they have snorkeling right there and because it is right in the thick of things. Usually I like a bit more quiet but, being alone, I thought that it would be easier not to have to worry about transportation. But, according to the map, perhaps the Hilton Sharm Waterfall, which is right in Ras Um Cid would be a better choice. What do you think? I am primarily interested in snorkeling, and then taking a few day excursions.

Speaking about day excursions, do you think that it will be too hot to go to the Colored Canyon and St. Catherine's at the beginning of June? I can't believe that I'm going to Egypt from mid May into June, but it's the only time I can go. I hopr that the heat will be bearable.

Sunshine, I did look at the Ritz and Four Seasons- you can't beat them for service and relaxation, but they are a bit expensive for this trip.

I think you'll be okay at the Hyatt. Anyway, I checked the reviews on a Dutch/Belgian and on a German website and the Hyatt Regency gets far better reviews than the Hilton Waterfalls. The reef at the Hyatt should be nice too.

It will be unbearably hot in June in the desert (over 40°C). We did the excursion to the Colored Canyon in December and it was still hot in the canyon around noon. It's a dry heat, though, if this can put your mind at ease. ;-)

Thanks for doing the rsearch Myriam. So, Hyatt it is. Of course, the more research one does, the more opportunity to change one's mind. The Baron Palms seems to get good reviews on TripAdvisor. Actually, the three Hilton resoerts do as weel. AQnd, I was just going to look into the Sofitel. But, the Hyatt is usually a good choice, where ever I go. The problem is that they are usually so large and impersonal, and the service seems to suffer. Traveling solo, it's usually enjoyable to stay at a smaller resort because the staff gets to know you, and the experience becomes much more personal. Soooooo, I am still open to suggestions. I will be finding out if OAT was able to get the air change for me by Wednesday, the latest, and I want to make hotel reservations as soon as I find out.

Myriam, may I as for your assistance again? The fact that the snorkeling is better farther south has peaked my interest. Could you tell me what the travel forums you checked earlier have to say regarding the Iberotel Club Fanara & Residence? And, would you say that this is a better location for snorkeling than that of the Hyatt?

Thanks again. I look forward to your input.

The Iberotel Club Fanara gets excellent reviews and I know from experience that they are often fully booked. Two years in a row we have tried to book a room there and both times it was fully booked. We also prefer a smaller resort, that's the reason we had wanted to stay at Club Fanara. I think the snorkeling is better there, indeed. Last time we stayed right next to Club Fanara (Reef Oasis - not recommended 'cause too big) and the snorkeling/scuba diving was the best we've ever had at the Red Sea.
One bit of warning, though. The hotels in the Ras Umm Cid area are all high on a cliff which means that getting to the beach and back involves a lot of stairs! So, this area is not recommended for bad walkers.