Woman alone--Sharm or MarsaAlam?

[WreckWriter]

nt

 

[crispos]

Hi,

The 1st week of March I'm going either to Sharm or Marsa Alam, alone. I'm 31 and female and like travelling backpacker style, low cost, nothing fancy, hanging out with groups of single travellers.

Obviously I'm looking for good diving and think I can find this in either place so my question relates more to the atmosphere I will find on land. I know Sharm is a big touristy place and Marsa less so, but,

if I want to hang out with backpacker types, and single travellers who also like to party a bit, which place is better?

My nightmare is going somewhere where it's all couples and I'll be eating alone, no one to hang out with without feeling like the proverbial 3rd wheel...

Thanks for any advice!

Dahab rules! Like the Greek islands, when the Greek islands, were really like the Greek islands!! Was about $3 US for a nice clean room two years ago! Good chicken or fish dinner for about $4. Get off the beaten track, and find where the locals eat, in town. Lots of shopping, remember to bargain always.

Very safe place, but caution rules always. Men sometimes don't notice what women notice. However, I assume punishment very extreme for any crime in Egypt. Egyptians were great, friendly, eager to please. LOTS of dive "shops" more like storefronts and shore diving right off the North End of town (must have a local DM with you). I think I was paying about $25 US for 2 tank including pickup truck drive to site. If it is too windy for diving, go windsurfing, Dahab has it. Good cold Egyptian beer. Dahab was putting in a cobblestone walkway, hope it didn't make the place look too touristy!!

There are dogs, camels, horses, goats and Bedouin kids hanging out everywhere. Little girls selling necklaces to you. Rent a camel and take a ride in the desert (negotiate the price first!) Have a nice quiet siesta and get slowly woken up by the prayer hour blaring across town 4 times/day!

Great Bedouin style sit-on-cushions outdoor restaurants, watch out for the quicker than silver hungry cats stealing your dinner! One guy threw a cat in the ocean to get him off his table!! Try the yummy fried banana ice cream sundae surprise (forgot the name of the place)....smoke a Hubabuba pipe and chill out.....no hard liquor in Dahab, don't need it. Place is a trip. You don't heven have to go into Sharm. At the airport, get a cab and go North instead of South. Takes about 45 minutes. You can't help but meet great people in Dahab!!! Sabah ilhir!! Wish i was there right now (big blizzard in Toronto)...

 

[Belushi]

Being American has very little to do with it. It is a matter of common sense. The Sinai is a very unforgiving place. It is hot, very dry and can be very windy. So people cannot be bothered with who you are. they have their own life to live and that does not involve seeking out the one-and-only American who is "brave" enough to come to Dahab or Sinai.

Here is an extract from my story about life in Egypt, full edition is here
http://www.dunx.net/Stories/Civilization.htm

In 1997, whilst holidaying in Luxor, in the Nile Valley 60 European holidaymakers were killed. They were not just shot by the Islamic Fundamentalists, they were butchered. Their heads were cut off and their torsos and bodies were mutilated. The police took over two hours to arrive and when they did arrive all the terrorists had escaped into the mountains. The police followed but most of the fundamentalists had hidden.

This quite rightly caused uproar in the international diplomatic circles. The Egyptian police were berated very badly in the international press. So much so that now on every street corner is a four-wheel drive vehicle with four soldiers inside. All armed with Kalashnikov automatic rifles and wearing body armour, some of them actually have ammunition in the weapons! On some of the desert roads, there is a police roadblock almost every 10 kilometres. Since this time there have been no more attacks on the tourists. But not because of the police. When the news about Luxor got out, the scuba diving centres in Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh emptied. The number of tourists coming to the region dropped to an all time low. This enraged the local people. The local Egyptians helped the police to find the fundamentalists. Then the fundamentalists, realising popular opinion was against them, declared that any action that they would undertake would be directed at the government and not the money-giving tourists. Since then the numbers of tourists have steadily risen back to pre-1997 levels. Egypt generally has once again become a very safe place to stay.

So you see, the Egyptians would not allow any terrorists to bomb you. the locals would string them up.

Polpessa - Neither of these places are dangerous. Do not listen to scaremongers and narrow minded people who dont have a clue about what they are talking about.

I cannot comment on the exact suitability of Dahab, because I have never been there. But if it is like Marsa Alam (in the south) - new diving town, mainly locals, few dive shops, loads of places to chill, then you will enjoy it.
If you want to meet people, then, for sure, Sharm will be a good place.

 

[mania]

As far as I remember the attakcs on tourists are quite a common thing in Florida. So guys - don't go to Florida - it's unsafe for us - Europeans. Poor WreckWriter - how does he survive this?????
Seriously - I do hope this is a good example of how you can be influenced by media without using your own reasons to judge the situation. I go to Egypt every 2 months, and I'm a woman and I go there on my own - single. I was there just a week after 9/11 and during the GW II. Poles - as Americans - were the few of the nations that took part in this war so I had theoreticly all the reasons to be afraid. And never and nowhere I feel that safe as I do there. Niether in Florida (which I know quite well) nor in Mexico (where in fact I lived for almost a year so I do know how dangerous it can be). WreckWriter maybe simply you should try and go to Egypt now and check for yourself?
BTW - did you know that in case of any really serious troubles in Iraq American, British and Polish troops would be withdrawn from Iraq via Egypt? Did you know that all evacuations plans are prepared together with Egyptian government and the Sinai is a part of the plan? And - during the GW II (April 2003) I met US Marines in Sharm - yes, in Sharm!!!! - who were training diving with rebreathers (our boats were "parked" together in the Temple). A boat full of American soldiers in the middle of war with Egyptian staff. They were not scared, they were having great fun - I saw them later on (after all bunch of Americans soldiers are not the most quiet people ) in Naama Bay.
Honestly I couldn't believe what I red and I agree with Belushi that it was a lot of crap.
WreckWriter - just try it!!!! You will not regret it and as most of us you would fall in love with this place.
Mania

 

[DutchDown]

I felt perfectly safe. Never gave it a thought. I'm an American, too, but I've spent most of my adult life living in other countries. If someone decides to target citizens of any country, those citizens will not be safe even in their own homes. I went to Bali last year and observed the anti-American demonstrations but never felt threatened.
I won't allow my life to be limited because people don't like the country I was born and raised in. I will travel anywhere and anytime, as long as I am allowed entry to a country. That said, I understand that given events of the past few years Americans might be reluctant to travel to particular regions. I would not encourage them to go to those regions because very likely they would not enjoy the trip due to being worried about their safety. That's a vacation-killer. I would only offer the viewpoint that the experience might be worth the effort necessary to overcome the fear. It's an individual thing. My girlfriend is afraid of diving and I would not want her to dive just for my benefit. But she doesn't try to prevent me from diving.
This has turned out to be long-winded and I apologize if it's been boring. I've found that my life is fuller because of travel and new experiences. I figure that I will die someday, but I won't live a small life while waiting for the end.

Phil

 

[DutchDown]

By the way, Belushi and Mania are both correct: no one cared that I am American. The subject occasionally came up because of my accent. On those occasions we simple discussed where I grew up, not my political views. And I certainly felt safer than the years I spent living in Washington, D.C.
Wreckwriter, don't let the fear-mongers dictate where you dive. They win if they can keep you caged.

Phil

 

[Polpessa]

Wow!! Interesting how a question one posts can totally diverge from the original poster's intent...

Perhaps I didn't make it clear that in posting I wasn't and AM NOT worried about safety issues in Egypt, as a woman or as a westerner--I've travelled alone in Mexico, Guatamala, Honduras, Belize, India and the US, all for extended periods of time. This doesn't mean I'm immune to danger but but it does mean I'm familiar with the ropes.

The reason I posted is I wanted to know where I'd find like-minded people to party with when I'm not diving!!! My only "fear" is getting stuck hanging out with couples!!! Or with people who don't share my general interests in independent, cheap travel, laid-back partying (no "kegger" type frat parties or massive techno parties!!!), different cultures, languages, music etc.

However: I'm very grateful to all of you who took the time to post, it's really interesting to read your thoughts and experiences.

CRISPOS--hi there from a fellow Torontonian!!!

So far from what everyone's said it sounds like Dahab tends to attract people like how I describe myself. But what about Marsa Alam? What types tend to go there in terms of average age, nationality, marital status, income etc?

 

[Conor]

Hi

We did get a little of track didn't we ?

I haven't been to MA, but from what I've heard of it from friends there are two types of holidays available, one is the big hotels chains in which case it is like sharm, the other is the eco-lodges like Marsa Shagra etc where you would find the kind of people etc that you want but maybe not the partying (I believe they are a little remote). but I'll be as interested as you to find out....its pretty high on my list of destinations.

I would say try Dahab, try it soon before it grows too much

Have fun whatever you choose

Conor

 

[mania]

[BSo far from what everyone's said it sounds like Dahab tends to attract people like how I describe myself. But what about Marsa Alam? What types tend to go there in terms of average age, nationality, marital status, income etc?

You may also consider Safaga which similar to Dahab and even a bit more rural than Dahab. But Dahab is great ( I love Sharm but everytime I'm there I also go to Dahab) so just go there!!!! You will meet your type of poeple there so you should enjoy it.
Have fun
Mania
PS. the whole topic shifted from your general question because of safety issue raised. But I agree it was interesting to watch it

 

[DutchDown]

Sorry for getting off track. As I get older I tend to ramble and forget the subject. While I was in Sharm, I encountered, on seperate occasions, two women traveling alone and enjoying it immensely. Both women in their 20's, I think. One Dutch and the other British. Don't know if they were married or otherwise attached. They both just joined the boats traveling to the spots they wanted to dive and found buddies for that particular trip. But Sharm is very touristy, at least in my opinion. We made a day trip to Dahab and it's as the others say: much calmer. The Canyon was my favorite dive of the trip. The people I met on the day trip appeared to be couple who traveled there in groups, but admittedly I was discussing diving with them rather than 'extraneous' issues. My best guess is that regardless of where you choose you'll be able to find or avoid whatever situations you choose. I think I would choose Sharm again because I enjoyed the boat diving and make a side trip to Dahab, or split my trip between the two places.
You'll have a lot of fun.

Phil