samtraveler

My family would really love to go to Egpyt for spring break this year. After reading countless articles on travel to Egypt I'm not so sure. Every article I read says to pretty much count on getting sick even if you're really careful with food and water consumption. With small kids I worry about this even more since they're constantly putting hand to mouth. My kids would be 2, 6 and 9 at the age of travel. Are we crazy to consider Egpyt? We haven't gotten very far in planning yet, but the basic idea we had in mind would be to see the sights around Cairo and then head to Sharm or down to Luxor for the balance of the trip. We're thinking 10 April through 18 or 19 April. Thanks!

P_M

I don't think everyone who ever visits Egypt will get sick, regardless of how careful you are. You are correct that tap water s/b avoided, as well as any foods washed in tap. Another important thing is to make sure everyone washes their hands often, and keep hand sanitizer with you at all times.

If anyone does get sick meds are readily available and they are really cheap. Check the CDC's web page regarding health recommendations for vaccinations.

This might sound silly but since your kids already put their hands in their mouths all the time, perhaps they have a better tolerance for germs than adults? ;-)

No, you're not crazy to consider Egypt. It's a great desitination and it will be a fabulous learning experience for your kids.

samtraveler

If we do decide to take this trip, do you advise we book some kind of escorted tour, or go it alone? While we routinely travel through Europe independently, somehow navigating my way through Egypt with small children without profession help concerns me.

I really want to do this, but I am still nervous about the health issues. I don't know.

P_M

I went with a tour group but it can be done independently. I don't know how easy that would be with kids, though.

A guide who comes highly recommended from this board is Casual Cairo. You might want to google her web site and send her an email describing your needs. She is an American lady who has lived in Egypt for many years and everyone says she's a great guide.

baracuda2

I traveled all through Egypt with my husband and son and daughter in law. None of us got sick. Several weeks after our return, several of our friends went. None of them got sick. Shortly thereafter, another group of friends went. None of them got sick. That said, I'm not sure this is the best trip for small children. You will be the best to make that decision. However, I can tell you travel in Egypt is not easy. It is a wonderful country with great people but travel is difficult. There are always delays, traffic is frustratingly slow, at some of the ancient sites there are very long walks, steep stairs that I'm not sure a 2 year old can negotiate. If the kids have short attention spans or tire easily you may want to rethink this. I do love Egypt and hope to return, I'm just concerned that little ones may not have the patience to deal with the difficulties Egyptian travel may present.

Diane60030

Can you do it? Yes But will you enjoy it? I think you are inviting a lot of stress.

While not everyone gets sick, most people who don't stick to the boil it or peel it rule at some point regret it, if only for the worry that they might get sick because they did eat something.

You might also want to take into account that most of the food will be unfamilar. If your children are picky eaters it may not be as much fun. (Although there are McDonalds and Pizza Huts, but not readily at the monument sites)

I'll also second baracuda on the travel. It is very unpredictable. Everything is late, or the one time you are, it departs on time.

You will want a driver and most likely a guide while you are there. Cairo's traffic is some thing you have to experience to believe. And trust me the rules of the road are a suggestion so crossing the street is an adventure. Actually crossing the street with a 2 yr old is giving me the shivers.

If I might make a suggestion. Wait about 4-5 years. Everyone will be more self sufficient (luggage, bathroom trip, eating weird food). The youngest will be able to remember the trip. You'll probably have a much more enojyable time.

samtraveler

Diane and baracuda, I am inclined to agree with you both on many things. We really want to do this, and we'd love to make this trip now while we're living relatively close (we live in London), but on the other hand the timing isn't so great with a toddler. I think if he were four or five we wouldn't hesitate. My kids are well-traveled and have longer attention spans than most kids in the same age groups, but I think this trip might test their limits.

It's still difficult to turn my back on, because traveling to Egypt is something we all want to do (my oldest son was especially excited). Would we experience much of the same in Morocco? This is another place we considered for this trip. Otherwise we'll probably do something else in Europe again. Thanks to all for the helpful input!

sandi

It is certainly doable.
However, the 2/yr old will never remember any of it. The older ones will be fine and love it, especially the 9/yr old. Think grandparents for the little one. If you must take the 2/yr old, even though some of the grounds at sites are uneven, one of those umbrella-type light weight strollers is good, if not he/she might have to hoisted on someone's shoulders. And, ask about car seats for tour vehicle while in Cairo; if not available you might have to bring your own. Also, seat belts for these vehicles for the other kids.

Yes, Egypt is hectic, but only once were we delayed in traffic - Mubarak's motorcade stopped us for about 15/min. Even when we took taxis on our own, no problem with traffic.

You can arrange a set itinerary, a private guide/driver while in Cairo, scheduling all activities to your timeframe. Debbie Senters at Casual Cairo Detours, would be a great resource, so do contact her at [email protected].

When we traveled, on our Nile Cruise there were two families, one with a 4/yr boy; the other with both a 4/yr and 6/yr old and the kids were having the best time. Even went out on tours with our English speaking group of about 12/people.

As to mummy tummy - none of us got ill, whether from meals at hotels, Cairo restaurants or on our cruise. And, with the small number of passengers on our cruise, not a one of them got or was ill anytime during their entire stay.

Gather information, ask questions and then decide.

traveljunkie28

sandi, what cruise line did you use? great advice everyone!

Momliz

I would be careful bringing a little one - not because of the health factor, but the over tired/bored factor. My at the time 11 year olds got sick of day after day tours, to temples and all sorts of fabulous sites. We loved it, they had had enough, even though our guides worked extra hard to make it fun and interesting. They begged off more than 1 tour, and stayed on the ship during the cruise, and just played. I would strongly advise you, if you do bring the two younger kids, to make sure there is down time every day, for the kids to nap, play and chill.

Going to Sharm, which didn't interest me at all, sounds like a great idea with younger kids.

sandi

We were on the Movenpick boat. Guess now with the Movenpick II, we were on I. And, there might already be a III. It's even possible the I has been refurbished.

There were two small tour groups, one with about 25-30/pax, the other with maybe 8-10/pax. Then there were individual travelers of - couples, single gals/guys; the few families, one from Italy, the other from the UK. A pretty good mix from US, UK, Italy, France, Switz.; good mix of ages also. Believe about 80/pax total.

Grcxx3

As an alternative to Sharm (admittedly NOT my favorite place unless you are a big snorkeler/diver)..... I would suggest the Movenpick resort in El Gouna.

It is VERY kid friendly, with lots of wide open spaces. My kids always took their scooters and went all over the property. I know that would be hard for you (we always drove)...but I do think there are bikes and scooters for rent.

The nice thing about El Gouna is that there is more of a real "beach" than in Sharm. Plus, the Movenpick has a bunch of lagoons that the kids can go in, and my kids used to love renting paddle boats and stuff to go around the lagoons.

Here is a link -
http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/...a/overview.cfm

samtraveler

Grcxx3, this looks fabulous! The idea we had was to see the sights in Cairo just for a couple of days, then hit a resort to relax. We're not completely crazy and know we can't just go from sight to sight on this (or any) trip with our young kids. There always has to be a balance! Do you know how long it takes to get to this area from Cairo? Just when I think I've decided against the idea, I'm back to reconsidering! We just don't know how long we'll be in the UK, and this is something that will be so much more difficult once we've moved back to the US. Thanks for all the feedback!

Grcxx3

samtraveler - You will need to fly form Cairo to Hurghada, then have the hotel arrange transportation for your from the Hurghada airport.

I suppose you could hire a driver and car and drive (about 4-5 hours, depending on traffic and road conditions) but I really don't recommend that. Flying would be much easier.

From London - you may be able to get some direct flights in to Hurghada....not sure.

samtraveler

Thank you, even if we decide againsnt Egypt this go around, I'm filing this for later!

BKP

Go! We just got back from 8 days in Egypt with our 3 year old son and we loved every minute it of it.

We spent a week in El Gouna and it was one of our best family vacations ever. It was completely relaxing but still really fun. We rented a villa because staying in hotels isn't always pleasant with a toddler. We like the extra room to move and play, plus we loved our own private pool! The Egyptians loved our son. Lots of petting and touching, high fives and extra treats. My son didn't get sick but my husband did. We think it was from a too rare steak but either way -- we got some medicine and he was fine.

After a week in El Gouna we flew back up to Cairo and spent a day and a night there. We also used Debbie -- and would recommend her to anyone -- for a guide to the Pyramids. It was a long day but we survived -- and loved it!

I can relate to feeling "close" to everything and wanting to see it all. It is frustrating trying to balance that with the needs of small children. But, in the end, we decided to just go and are so very glad we did.

If you're interested, I'll go through my notes and try to find other rental villas in El Gouna.

Casual_Cairo

BKP - Glad you enjoyed your day with Sherif!

Thanks for the nice comments.

samtraveler

BKP thanks for sharing your experience! Still undecided at the moment, but would love the details on the villa you stayed in. Sounds so ideal for a family. Thanks for your input.

BKP

sam -- no problem! It's Villa Blue Savannah on www.holidaylettings.co.uk. I would just post a link but I never do the tiny url correctly! It had 4 bathrooms, 3 of which were ensuite. The pool was lovely, sort of L shape with part of it being shallow enough for my son to walk. It had an outdoor lounge area, BBQ, outdoor shower and loungers. People came and serviced the pool and the gardens daily. It backed right up to one of the lagoons and across the lagoon is the golf course. A week there was honestly the most relaxing week we've ever spent.

There are so many villas for rent in El Gouna!
magicpropertrentals.com has many option as well.

tripadvisor has a pretty active el gouna forum too, if you want to check it out.

I do realize our mistake in going in October though -- we should have gone after a long, grey, cold UK winter -- not before!

dmlove

I'm not certain you know what it is you're looking for -- several days of the "sights around Cairo" and then head to Sharm (which is hardly "Egypt") to me seems like a trip you could take to anywhere. The sights around Cairo are by far not the best sights Egypt has to offer (would you really want to spend hours in the unairconditioned Egyptian Museum iwth 3 young children?). The best "antiquities" are around Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel, where I personally think the 2 and 6 year old would pretty much die of boredom.

I also have to agree with those who say that traveling in Egypt just isn't easy. The flights don't fly every day of the week, the ferries don't sail every day of the week, when you drive, you have to do so in a military convoy (which isn't a problem, just that it has to be scheduled). Seriously, just crossing the street in Cairo is a huge challenge. Someone on here said you should cross the street with the nearest old person -- not because the drivers will be more respectful of an old person, but because "they didn't get old by being stupid". There are hardly any stoplights in Cairo, everyone of the 20 million people who lives there seems to drive, and if you think drivers in Paris or Rome are crazy, just wait until you get to Cairo.

All in all, I personally can think of 10 places I'd go with kids that age before Egypt.

FWIW, we were in Egypt (including Sharm) this summer - 2 50-somethings and 4 20-somethings.