Tips for all going to Egypt

[rgkv]

applied online and received my e-visa in 2 days

 

[sharkeie]

Yes, US citizens need a visa to enter Egypt.
The good news is that you can get a Visa on Arrival for 30 days at every airport (*).
It's a very smooth process: have 25 USD and your passport(**) at hand, in cash (no credit cards accepted until now), notes on good condition and head to the bank counter with the VISA sign. Even if there is a queue, you will be done before your luggage is on the belt.
There is another option to apply for the visa online and get it sent by email. The only official site is https://visa2egypt.gov.eg (as you found out). All other sites will charge more than 25 USD. The official site is quite clumpsy and there are a lot of reports from people getting their application rejected for unclear reasons. I would not recommend trying as it is not worth the time and the effort.
(*) Note that is you arrive at SSH and do not intend to leave the Sinai, you can get a "Sinai Only" visa which is free.
(**) Valid 6 more months from date of arrival

I read that for liveaboards, the Sinai only visa is no good. Can you confirm?

 

[Parlem]

I read that for liveaboards, the Sinai only visa is no good. Can you confirm?

Yes, unless you are going on a short "mini-safari" that only dives in Tiran and local sites, a paid visa will be necessary. Effectively, this applies to 99% of liveaboards cruising the Egyptian Red Sea.

 

[sharkeie]

Any recommendations for day trips in Hurghada? I've done a liveaboard already. Dolphin House was the highlight for me. Are day trips for Dolphin House more for snorkeling?

 

[Parlem]

I believe the Giftun islands are a popular day or half-day trip destination from Hurghada. I've dived a couple of sites there and they were nice (Police Station springs to mind), BUT it was very busy with snorkellers. So I'm not sure if that would be your thing.

 

[Deep Diving]

We just got back from two weeks at Makadi Bay, 30 km south of Hurghada.

I can pretty much confirm what Mania wrote (except the Arabic!!)

U.S. tourism, at least along the Red Sea, has just about disappeared since 9/11 and the Iraq War. And the local economy has really felt it. We didn't run into a single other American family while there, even in Luxor or the pyramids. And every single Egyptian whom we told we were Americans, was surprised and absolutely thrilled. "You're back!! We love America!! OK, we may not be so thrilled with Mr. Bush, but we love America..."

We felt absolutely welcome and safe everywhere. Security is extremely tight. Tourists travel from the Red Sea coast across the Eastern Desert to Luxor in 20-bus police-escorted convoys. (Mania -- tourism is apparently only the second-highest source of foreign income -- the Suez Canal is the first!)

Regarding ATMs for Americans... The machines at least belonging to one of the largest banks there, Commercial International Bank of Egypt, do take debit cards that are on the Plus and Cirrus networks. And at least the dive operation we used, Extra Divers, accepted cash $, Euros, and/or Egyptian pounds. Three percent surcharge for credit cards, but that apprently varies between operators. (Extra Divers is a large German operation; they're also in Sharm and several other places around the world.)

I did get Tutankhamun's Revenge while we were there, for about 24 hours. Came on after about five or six days. Kept me flat on my back in bed, except for when I, um, had to get up. :icoeek: The pharmacy there said Antinal wasnt available something about a supply problem. At first, they recommended capsules with lactobacillus acidophilus, the stuff sometimes added to milk. But I thought I needed something stronger, and they sold us Imodium... over the counter. Worked great.

No one else in the family (wife, son, daughter) had any stomach problems. We were at a five-star resort. We did only drink bottled water, even for brushing teeth; no ice; etc.

If you've got INT regulators, Mania's absolute right that they've got screw-in INT adapters for their 3,000psi/200bar DIN tanks. Just make sure they know when you're signing up, and during the divemaster's briefing. And be a little careful -- there seem to be two slightly-different types of the adapters, that can't be distinguished by casual inspection... the flange diameter is slightly different. At least with our Sherwood second stages, the regs wouldn't mate well with the smaller type. You could tell by feel when you attached the second stage; or at the latest when you turned on the air. Not necessarily a bad o-ring, just the wrong adapter. Check before the boat leaves the dock!!

The standard at Extra Divers was 12-liter steel tanks (don't know how many cubic feet that's equivalent to -- 64 or 72? They're short and fat). Aluminum tanks, and 15-liter tanks, were available upon request.

--Marek

we are going this December. any recommendations on where to stay in the Sharm area?

 

[divezonescuba]

We usually dive in Dahab, but stay in Sharm on the way in and the way back.

For a short stay, we think the best thing is to do a hotel in Shark Bay on the water, so you can also easily shore dive. Our preference is the Grand Rotana and Scorpion Divers. Mostafa the operations manager runs a top notch dive center. However, it is somewhat isolated.

The other option is for a long stay at a place in Naama Bay which is more centrally located to restaurants. You cannot shore dive, but it has better infrastructure. The Tropitel is ok. For a longer stay, Camel is nice, but they have never allowed us to make reservations because we don't generally stay a week long.

 

[Tony_Ri]

Earlier this year I completed OWD course with friend and added some more boat dives at Camel.

Egypt e-visa was easy but allow time for processing ( 4 days in our case). We applied for full visa to allow onward travel to Luxor and Cairo.

Camel booking process was efficient with excellent communication and response in timely manner. They were very accommodating to all our requests.

Upon arrival, the meet and greet at the airport was on time. A Camel representative was waiting for us before immigration. We had already applied for and received our E-visas online so we didn’t need assistance, but it was good to know that help was available if needed.

Hotel is centrally located in Naama Bay, surrounded by a variety of restaurants. The on-site restaurant and rooftop bar offered great options for quick meal on location. Breakfast must be pre-order night before by scanning the QR code and confirming your choice online (we forgot to do it once and they accommodated us even without it).

Room are ok, nothing special but AC is working, rooms are cleaned daily, hot water is available and water pressure is ok. On balcony, there is table with 2 chairs and hooks to dry stuff. Laundry is available on location for small fee.

 

[Stoo]

Another thing to remember: women should not wear shorts in public. A short sleeved shirt may be acceptable, but not bare legs. Also, women should remember that in Egypt you may not have much authority: some men simply do not acknowledge you if you are female.

We're going in November and have been advised than unmarried couples staying together are frowned upon, and that unmarried couples should pretend that they are.

My wife kept her maiden name, but the way she drags me around by my ear, it should be obvious that we're married. ;-)

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

We have been several times and have never been asked whether we are married or not, nor have we experienced any lack of respect.
All these years, there were no visible indication that we are married. Different names, no rings, …