Planning a trip while considering the current situation in Cairo/Sharm

[Crowley]

Hehehehe!! Now I'm out of the closet again!

Thanks for remembering me divebunnie -

Cheers

C.

 

[Interceptor121]

I have just been to Sharm for 8 days in August and had to pleasure to dive with Divebunnie
My assessment of the situation is as follows:
from a tourist point of view everything is as before except camels are now allowed on the boardwalk in Naama (as it is less busy) and this produces some inconvenient when the camel crap themselves...
Diving wise I have spoken with a few operators and the hotels have waived or reduced rents in an attempt to make the dive centers survive right now all major operators work as normal and you can get some great deal
I stayed at the hilton fayrouz for 80 USD per room including breakfast, that makes 40 USD per day for a 5 (egyptian) stars facility so not bad at all
Talking to Egyptians everybody thinks things will get better if corruption reduces however this is a perspective in Sharm not sure what the situation is in Cairo in detail
I will post some footage of the beach dives we have done as in the water things seems to be in pretty good order

 

[kevinl4270]

Does anyone know the current visa situation for Sharm and Egypt as a whole? I want to come do some diving, but my wife is filipina. Sharm used to be one of the few places we could go, that she did not need a pre approved visa.
We may be able to fly direct to SSH from our home, but we may also have to fly through Cairo.
Thanks for any help.

 

[MikeBell]

Does anyone know the current visa situation for Sharm and Egypt as a whole? I want to come do some diving, but my wife is filipina. Sharm used to be one of the few places we could go, that she did not need a pre approved visa.
We may be able to fly direct to SSH from our home, but we may also have to fly through Cairo.
Thanks for any help.

I don't know for sure now though I haven't read anything bad. I can advise you after mid September as I will have to go through that process anyway.

Thanks Divebunnie and Crowley! The rates are not as cheap as I may have hoped but in terms of EU/US standards, I'm getting a pretty good deal! With a little luck, I'll leave with my Nitrox & Wreck Specialty.

Diving wise I have spoken with a few operators and the hotels have waived or reduced rents in an attempt to make the dive centers survive right now all major operators work as normal and you can get some great deal
I stayed at the hilton fayrouz for 80 USD per room including breakfast, that makes 40 USD per day for a 5 (egyptian) stars facility so not bad at all
I will post some footage of the beach dives we have done as in the water things seems to be in pretty good order

I have a booking for the Helnan Marina, looks like a decent place and it's a pretty decent rate - though not quite as good as yours. That'd be great to see the dives as well! Thanks!

 

[Crowley]

Apparently Philippine nationals do indeed require a pre-approved entry visa for Egypt - The free sharm visa applies to UK, EU and US nationals only, for a maximum of 14 days... I got this from a link at the Egyptian consulate website

Probably best to check with the embassy in advance, however, just to make sure.

Hope that helps,

C.

 

[<º))))><]

The reefs in Dahab are still in excellent condition. Yes, there has been more fishing and a definite lack of official enforcement (both pre- and post-revolution) but, as a whole, the Sinai still has some of the most fantastic coral formations in the world, not to mention the diversity of marine life that can be seen just metres from shore. You will love it!

 

[kevinl4270]

Visitors entering Egypt at the overland border post of Taba or at Sharm el Sheikh airport can be exempted from a visa and granted a free fourteen day residence permit to visit the Aqaba coast of the Sinai peninsula, including Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab and St. Catherine's Monastery.

I got that from the website all about Egypt.com. It used to be as long as we flew directly into SSH and we stayed on the Sinai penninsula, anyone could get a free 14 day visa. I have read that it has something to do with the Camp David accords. I hope the new government will adhere to that. I really want to come diving, but I will not if I can't bring my wife with me. We will go to the Maldives instead.

Any future updates will be greatly appreciated. And a special thanks to Crowley for all of his writings and updates on the current situation there.

 

[Crowley]

It is indeed a result of the camp david accords - the eastern side of Sinai as far south as Sharm is an exclusion zone of sorts, brought about by the fact that tourism first started to develop in these locations during the period of Israeli occupation, and free travel to these destinations was part of the deal along with a promise that there would be no Egyptian military presence in the zone without permission from the Israeli and American governments.

I actually thought it was free for all but I never really checked before until I got that link from the consulate. As far as I am aware, visa regulations have not changed, so if it wasn't a problem before it shouldn't be now - but this is Egypt, after all, and I would definitely contact the consulate just to make sure. It may well be that if you are married then your wife falls under the exemption. This would be similar to the regulations that were in place in Thailand - very difficult for a lot of Thai ladies to get visas to travel to Europe however if they were married to a European national then the process became much easier.

If I hear anything else I will be sure to let you know, unless somebody else can confirm 100%

Cheers

C.

 

[Solly]

check this:
Egypt Entry Visa, Visa To Egypt, Egyptian Diplomatic and Consular Missions abroad

seems Philippines are not permitted for a vis upon arrival, has to get it from a consulate before arriving to Egypt.

 

[MikeBell]

Thanks to everyone who helped! I had a great 14 dives with the Red Sea College! Unfortunately I didn't see any hammerheads - I guess that just means I have to come back!