Sandstorms in Egypt
 

I've just booked a trip to Egypt - Cairo, Luxor then Sharm El Sheikh for the end of March/beginning of April not realising that this is a bad time for sandstorms. What can I expect ? Will this be a constant problem or do they come and go ? Any advice and information would be appreciated.



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Asked and answered.

Have a bandana or scarf to cover your face and ziplock bags to protect your camera equipment. Just be prepared. You might have sandstorms, then you might not.

Sandstorms like any other storm, come and go. If one comes while you are there, forget about doing anything outside. It will make for fun stories, I landed right at the end of one once. Don't know that I would care to do it again.

thank you Sandi for taking the time to offer useful advice (as always).As to the other response of "asked and answered" this is not exactly true. In doing a search for "sandstorms" there is not much info other than the fact that they do occur in March and April. I'm sure when Gaynor asked "What can I expect?" he is more interested in how it will impact him if they occur. As westerners we have no concept of what a sandstorm is like, are they like a bad snowstorm that brings all traffic to a halt or are they simply a small annoyance. Do they last for hours or minutes? Surely people have experienced them that could provide an answer as to how they may impact ones trip.

rfb you must have been typing same time as me. Thanks to you as well for
providing a polite and informative response.

We were caught in a sandstorm in Aswan while on a felucca trip. It blew up quickly and steadily and caused a fair bit of disruption on the river! We ended up in a reedbed and had to be "rescued" by a motor launch as our captain struggled to get his sails down.
We were never in any danger, and it added an unexpected experience, but it did put paid to the day's planned excursion.
It gets everywhere so we were quite glad to get back to the hotel and into the shower.
As someone else said the worse that happens is that there's not much point in being out in it! In our case the day next day was bright and calm and everything went back to normal. This was mid April but I think they can blow up anytime.

I've never been to Egypt, but I've experienced sandstorms in Namibia. Obviously one stays put as much as one can in a sandstorm, as everyone already has indicated. If one has to walk outdoors for even a few metres, the blowing sand stings bare skin, e.g., one's arms and legs if one is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

The strategies that help one to cope with the desert's warm to hot days and cool nights also help with a sandstorm.

Long sleeves can be rolled up in hot, calm weather and rolled down during cool or windy weather. Alternatively, one can wear a short-sleeved shirt, but carry a windbreaker in a day pack.

Pants with zip-on / zip-off legs offer versatility too.

Sandi's advice about bandana and ziplock bags is spot on.

I would have gotten through sandstorms a whole lot more easily if I had had the short hairstyle that I have now. A sandstorm gives a whole new meaning to bad hair day. A sandstorm also gives one a new appreciation of showers, as Phil16 indicated.

Also, corny as this may sound, it may be an idea to travel with a deck of cards or some other small item that could help to pass the time if the group was forced to hunker down somewhere for a few hours.

Judy, your comment regarding hair made me recall a funny incident.

I was caught in a mild sandstorm in Algeria.

My next shower was two days later. After showering, there was so much sand remaining on the floor, I had to literally vacuum out the bathtub. Apparently the sand was hidden in my hair....and it is barely shoulder length.

Thats how pervasive the sand can be!