Hurghada

[mania]

It's a pity you haven't red some of the other threads that concerns Red Sea and this region.
The way to avoid stomach problems is not to eat anything fresh - neither fruits nor vegetables. For the fruture trips - buy in the nearest pharmacy in Egypt Antinal - this medicine is the best one for stomach problems.
As the minibuses and dirt - well that's how this region of the world looks. And I myself love it. Not that i love the dirt and dust but I got used to it.
Mania

 

[MonkSeal]

It's a pity you haven't red some of the other threads that concerns Red Sea and this region.
The way to avoid stomach problems is not to eat anything fresh - neither fruits nor vegetables. For the fruture trips - buy in the nearest pharmacy in Egypt Antinal - this medicine is the best one for stomach problems.
As the minibuses and dirt - well that's how this region of the world looks. And I myself love it. Not that i love the dirt and dust but I got used to it.
Mania

You're back. Where's the report ?

 

[Wreck]

I just got back from Hurghada. I dived with Diver's Lodge, who, IMHO, are THE best in the resort. But the place itself is an absolute crap-hole which is filthy and full of homicidal taxi drivers, street hawkers and other undesirables. I also missed 4 dives due to food poisoning after eating breakfast at the hotel for the first time.

I was just there last month - Your impressions are a tad different than mine, but I can see how you might feel that way.

My friends and I shopped around several dive shops to find one they were comfortable with (equipment/experience mainly). There are at least 50 outfits in town doing dives, and many of them just contract out a boat to do the dive which may not be a very good boat to go out on. It pays to ask questions. Egyptians are nice and friendly, but they will hoodwink you financially if they can. You MUST ask all the questions that you would usually take for granted, because you will often be disappointed with what you get, no matter what the price happens to be. One shop had dive trips that only costed US$30 a day but the equipment was WELL worn - reg/console hoses had cracks in them. Some hoses I could actually see the internal webbing showing! One of the hotel dive shops we visited had no SPGs in their consoles! That was a turn-off for my friends. I was toting my own reg/computer so it's didn't matter to me. We ended up with Emperor Divers (at the Hilton?) and enjoyed several days of diving, with halfway decent gear, although one friend's SPG didn't work. That was rather ironic since that's the very reason we didn't go with that other company I mentioned that didn't have SPGs in their consoles.

Many hotels in middle of Hurghada are cheaper/older and the hotel food is very much Egyptian - most there cannot cook western style foods! I'm not sure about the more expensive hotels so far as food goes - we just ate at restaurants (cheap enough). The hotel I stayed in cost me US$10 a night, which seemed about average. It's what I would have expected to pay per night at a hostel. The water pressure goes to zero on the upper floors sometimes, so watch out. Even though Hurghada is essentially a tourist resort, you still have to watch what you eat. It's a boom town and the workforce is a vacuum filled with with lots of ignorant countryfolk who have no concept of proper/reasonable culinary hygeine. We stayed away from raw greens and ate only cooked stuff, - especially after getting the runs from the one salad I took a chance on. The town is dirty because it's in the the middle of the desert and dust is always blowing in. I wouldn't say it looks trashy though - especially at the southern end where there's nothing but half-finished high rise resorts getting built. The Egyptian hospitality industry has a long ways to go before they can understand the level of qulity/convenience that Westerners expect of even a cheap facility. Competition will teach a lot of them the hard way. Still, Hurghada is a cheap place to spend a nice dive vacation, so long as you don't go too far out for accomadations.

I'd go back again, now that I know how things work over there.

 

[mania]

You're back. Where's the report ?

As I promised I wrote it immediately after coming back and here it is:
http://www.scubaboard.com/t55246.html
:11ztongue
Mania

 

[mania]

My friends and I shopped around several dive shops to find one they were comfortable with (equipment/experience mainly). There are at least 50 outfits in town doing dives, and many of them just contract out a boat to do the dive which may not be a very good boat to go out on

In fact there are more than 300 diving shops in Hurghada with - that's true - different quality. If somebody asks me for advice I would recommend Coloda Divers - this is Scandinavian company and my (I dive with them for years)diving center which is Canadian - Egyptian - Blue Sea.

Many hotels in middle of Hurghada are cheaper/older and the hotel food is very much Egyptian - most there cannot cook western style foods! (...) Even though Hurghada is essentially a tourist resort, you still have to watch what you eat. It's a boom town and the workforce is a vacuum filled with with lots of ignorant countryfolk who have no concept of proper/reasonable culinary hygiene.

In fact all the stomach problems that Western people have there are not caused by the lack of hygiene but by the different bacterias that exist in this region and our stomachs are not used to. After several visits your body "implements" these bacterias and all the problems are gone. This is also why it's reccomended to use their medicine instead of those brought from home. Their pills are attacking their bacterias. This rule in fact apply to all tropical/desert regions in the world.

The town is dirty because it's in the the middle of the desert and dust is always blowing in. I wouldn't say it looks trashy though - especially at the southern end where there's nothing but half-finished high rise resorts getting built. The Egyptian hospitality industry has a long ways to go before they can understand the level of quality/convenience that Westerners expect of even a cheap facility. Competition will teach a lot of them the hard way. Still, Hurghada is a cheap place to spend a nice dive vacation, so long as you don't go too far out for accomadations.

To be honest neither Hurghada nor any other tourist and diving place there would ever look like the Western resorts. Mainly because going to Egypt you are going the the Middle East. This is a different part of the world and - I do hope for that - it would never be like other parts. Going there you have to remember some basic things - it's different culture, different style of living, different values. So I don't expect to have everything as I have at home or French Riviera or Spanish Costa Brava. (to be honest the last is a nightmare).

As the prices - I have no idea how much it costs to go there from the US - I think it is rather expensive. But from Poland the costs of a plane plus at least 4 stars hotel is not more than 400 - 500 US$.
The average price for diving (10 dives - 5 days) is around 150 US $ (that includes lunch on the boat and soft drinks).
Mania

 

[Wreck]

In fact all the stomach problems that Western people have there are not caused by the lack of hygiene but by the different bacterias that exist in this region and our stomachs are not used to. After several visits your body "implements" these bacterias and all the problems are gone. Mania

This is true, but there have to be some guests that think twice about the area if they know they might be spending "several visits" not feeling well at all. This takes a lot of enjoyment out of a vacation, unless the cheaper cost of it or location makes you feel better. I'm excluding diving here - because we don't have any choice if we want to dive the Red Sea in these locations.

To be honest neither Hurghada nor any other tourist and diving place there would ever look like the Western resorts. Mainly because going to Egypt you are going the the Middle East.

The nicer hotels' interriors sure looked like something we'd see at home here. The exteriors have a twist of middle eastern design, and outside of the accents of those manning the desks, I wouldn't know that I wasn't somewhere in our own country. All the customary services, cleanliness, accoutrements were what I'd expect back home. In contrast, these were missing from the more budget hotels. I've stayed in many hostels that had higher standards (for the same price) than some of the budget hotels we checked out. I suppose there will always be a market for them though.

Going there you have to remember some basic things - it's different culture, different style of living, different values. So I don't expect to have everything as I have at home or French Riviera or Spanish Costa Brava. (to be honest the last is a nightmare).

I did find the people there friendly and inquisitive, and that was great. I also appreciate the Islamic conservativeness and apparent practice of its virtues and I hope that never goes away. However, Hurghada is not what I would call an area established with culture, but rather a tourist boomtown where the big business will mainly dictate what sort of "culture" becomes established. After all, in marketing yourself, you have to cater to your customer base. I hate capitalism for that aspect -selling your soul to make as much money as possible! Hurghada seems to me it started as a little town in the desert. It sort of reminds me of what happened to Myrtle Beach here on the east coast.

I was rather embarrassed to see the skimpy apparel (common in Western countries) worn without any apparent consideration that they were in an predominantly Islamic country. The residents and shopkeepers just stare and gawk when they're not trying to invite customers into their shops. I feel sorry for the assault of accepted western cultural norms on their conservative cultural sensibilities. It just seems like an injustice. However, conservatism is not enforced for some reason - I guess it's because they want to cater to customers, right?

In Hurghada as in so many other tourist-heavy areas, if people tend to be overly friendly (and you're not part of a tour group) I've found the motivation is more from a potential business standpoint 95% of the time. Egypt depends a lot on tourist dollars (according to the Lonely Planet guide, FWIW), and Egyptian resorts will fall prey to that vicious cycle of making foreigners feel right at home in order to keep them coming back and bringing more in. To do this, you have to make your establishment attract them, make them feel like something back home, etc. I give credit to those who resist this, but if they want to bring in higher-paying tourists, there's not much choice but to sell-out their cultural soul (somewhat) and cater to their likings as much as possible.

As the prices - I have no idea how much it costs to go there from the US - I think it is rather expensive. But from Poland the costs of a plane plus at least 4 stars hotel is not more than 400 - 500 US$.

I noticed a LOT of menus and advertisements written in Polish while there. Next to them, I think Germans make up the majority of the tourist population. From the eastern coast of America, Egypt tends to be rather expensive. It's generally much cheaper to visit European or the Carribean countries, even from the West Coast. The air fares to Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, & Amsterdam were about 1/2-1/3 the fare all the way to Cairo, and The Cairo leg is almost half the time it takes to cross the Atlantic. I attribute that to less market competition at this point. The 4-5 star hotels are still relatively reasonably priced compared to what you would have to pay for at home. This is about the only reason to draw people from this far away to Hurghada, aside from diving.

I'm not trying to knock Hurghada here, just the businessmen who will learn that if they want to attract more business, they're going to have to cater to a wider customer base. Many have a shocking long way to go to achieve that from th looks of it.

 

[Amy B]

I went to Hurghada at the end of November/beginning of December last year. It was FANTASTIC. We stayed at the Safir Hotel, and the service there was excellent, all the staff (such as Mohammed and Sherif) were very friendly - even making us special cocktails and meals outside by the pool! - and the rooms very really nice too. The hotel was clean and the meals were also really good. Basically, in the restaurant (in the hotel) you choose what you want and help yourself froma very large selection of food. Personally, I'm quite picky about what I eat, and even I loved it. You can also buy 2litre bottles of water (so no worries about that) for about 10 Egyption pounds - thats £1 GBP!! Excellent to take on the boat with you during the day.

We dived with 'Diving World' on a boat called 'Prince Taha' - the dive guides (Shabaan and Aussi) were brilliant, very good at pointing out things we'd otherwise probably have missed (like LOTS of stonefish, hiding in the sand!). The food on the boat was also excellent. We all had our own dive kit, except for cylinders and weight belts, which were provided by Diving World. Except for a couple of dodgy O-rings on the cylinders (quickly and easily sorted) these were fine. The dive briefings included pictures of the sites we would be diving, maximum depth, expected bottom time, likely marine life, etc etc... No problems there either.

I would highly recommend both the Safir Hotel and Diving World. It was the first time I'd been to Egypt (or indeed, abroad!) and the hospitality was excellent.

As for Hurghada itself... Yes, the taxi drivers DO drive like maniacs! But you can get a taxi for 7 people for 1 eygptian pound... That's 10pence british money... Although of course we always tipped!

The prices over there are amazingly cheap, and the nightlife is pretty hood. I can't believe no has mentioned the 'Papas' bars yet, or 'Papas Beach' nightclub! BTW, if you buy a metre of beer (11 glasses in a rack) at Papas, you get a free t-shirt. I think we ended up with about 8... :S

As someone has mentioned already, they don't force tourists to be conservative with the way they dress, though it's always best to respect other people's culture and way of life and dress and act appropriately. I didn't have any hassles (except for a few guys in the bar occasionally, which my male friends quickly acted upon!) and would certainly love to go back there. In fact, I wish I was there right now!

We dived sites around Giftun Island (including drift dives), Tirta el Fanus, Eruk Gigi, Eruk Diana, a couple of wrecks... Also, on the last day (as we were not allowed to dive the day before our flight home) we went quadbiking and camel riding in the desert. That was amazing! So much fun. There is quite a lot to do in Hurghada other than just diving. But you couldn't go there and not dive - the diving is absolutely incredible! Totally different to here in the UK... average vis. of 30m+, as oppsed to 1-5m (if you're lucky!).

I've attached some pics; hopefully they will work (never tried this before). I have hundeds of them from the holiday!

 

[ScubaBaby]

I met my fiance while out in Hurghada and found it an enjoyable place to dive but as a young girl of 17 as I was when I visited I felt very intimidated a lot of the time.

I only left the complex of the Hilton to cross the street to the dive centre or with my parents, simply as I didn't feel safe. A few have mentioned there cultures but when I'm on holiday in a contained complex I shouldn't feel I need to cover up my bikini & shorts but I did - the staring is scary (esp. when from the tourist police carrying large guns!).

A waiter offered to take me out 1 evening & as my folks agreed I didn't see the harm till after the bus ride, he got out & I was locked in! This was just after I'd been told about girls being taken into the desert by taxi drivers, raped & killed!!! Great start!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my holiday and I found my partner out there but after being stared at, locked in a bus alone, getting food poisoning from the hotel food & the Egypt doctor prescribing me pills that looked too big for a horse let alone me.....I can think of places I'd rather go!!

 

[MonkSeal]

A waiter offered to take me out 1 evening & as my folks agreed I didn't see the harm till after the bus ride, he got out & I was locked in! This was just after I'd been told about girls being taken into the desert by taxi drivers, raped & killed!!! Great start!

This was your (and your parents') mistake. To let a 17 year old girl out alone with stranger ... I wouldn't do that in any town in any part of the world.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my holiday and I found my partner out there but after being stared at, locked in a bus alone, getting food poisoning from the hotel food & the Egypt doctor prescribing me pills that looked too big for a horse let alone me.....I can think of places I'd rather go!!

Food poisoning (well, technically it's not a food poisoning, food is OK) is something you can expect in Middle East, India or UK or wherever your organism is not used to deal with bacteria in fresh fruit or vegetables or water.

The same issue was raised here several times. Probably there's a dozen better places for you to go then Egypt. But you'll always face the same things if you want to see anything that is different then your home. We can't be the same, we have different habits, different cultural background, different financial potential etc. There are lots of things that we are not used to but we have to accept it or we don't have to travel.

 

[mania]

This was just after I'd been told about girls being taken into the desert by taxi drivers, raped & killed!!!

I don't know who told this story but I've never heard such crap. when I was a small girl there was a story about black Volga (the cars used by soviet officials) going through Polish cities and kidnapping and raping girls. Both stories are equally stupid.

And if you check it - there are no crimes committed by local people on tourists. The only ones - such as stealing - is done by other tourists.
Egyptian live off tourists. It's their best interest to make sure that everybody feel safe there. This is also why you have so many police there.
And I do feel safer there than in the middle of the day in NYC, at least in some parts of NYC.
Mania