Trip to Sharm scheduled for feb 27 - march 4th. Are we crazy to still be considering?

Hi all-

My fiancé, myself and a group of friends (8 of us total) have a dive trip planned for Feb 28 - Mar 4 to Sharm. We're scheduled to travlel via Cairo and were wondering if anyone had any insight into whether we should still be considering this as an option, or if we should do what we can to cut our losses.

I've followed the events pretty closely over the last few weeks and I understand how fluid the situation is. That said, I would really like to hear what the experience has been for the people on the ground in Sharm. Is diving still happening? Has there been any violence in Sharm (from what I've heard, there hasn't). What are the prospects of Americans traveling safely to Sharm within the next 3-4 weeks.

I appreciate everyone's feedback and am hopeful that a government of the people will be realized in Egypt

Hmmm, ppl on the ground can better advise but is there any way that you could re-route not to fly via Cairo?

e.g. if you fly to London you can go direct to Sharm.

I'm sure it won't be a problem either way but the destinations on the Red Sea aren't impacted by the problems in the major cities. And no, you're not mad. I would definitely advise going. You will know in the next week whether the situation escalates. In my opinion it will not but we will have to wait and see.

Also remember - from what the guides on this board are saying, there hasn't been this good a time to dive in sharm for probably 20 years!!! An opportunity NOT to be missed!

J

Hi there....

I think we have reached a stalemate in Cairo for the moment. The protesters didn't march, the army didn't open fire, the incumbent government aren't moving.

Diving continues in Sharm, and today we even had one diver! Woo! One of the biggest centres in Na'ama Bay and we had a single, solitary diver, and one working guide.... If you do come here, you might find that you get to be part of a small dive group on an empty reef - there are advantages to shark attacks and coups d'état!

There has been no violence in Sharm, apart from some heated discussion amongst the natives, and as I've mentioned in other posts, the eastern coast of Sinai exists in its own little bubble. Mainland locations such as Hurghada, El Gouna and Marsa Alam are miles away from Cairo and I haven't heard of any fallout there.

Some of our staff have left, although the number is small (3 so far) and they have secondary concerns, mostly with nervous families back home. The rest of us - as far as I know, I haven't seen many of my colleagues recently due to a lack of work - are sticking around to see what happens.

Things to check:
- some airlines and tour operators have stopped flying. I have been told that Danish and Swedish tour companies have cancelled completely, TUI Holland is not flying, and today I heard that German companies are also ceasing flights as of the 11th. I have to admit I have not actually checked and in the case of the Germans, this is due to financial rather than political concerns; flying a plane with 5 passengers is not exactly sound economics. My ops manager just got back from the boat show in Germany and there were 13 people on the plane, 7 got off in Hurghada... British operators are still flying in, and there seem to be quite a few brits around at the moment. As for America - no idea. I am going to pop down to the centre tomorrow and find out which companies are cancelling what - so forgive me if this information is inaccurate.

- with all due respect to RedSeaShadow and Solly and other Egyptian contributors, the authorities here are ridiculously unpredictable and they may on a whim decide to ban this that and the other, but they have to eventually realise what a huge impact the loss of tourism will have on the country.

- I would strongly recommend you book with your chosen centre in advance, or at least make contact and keep in touch with them just to make sure. I will of course be posting as best I can with updated information but the truth is, nobody has a clue what will happen.

- it might be worth looking at alternative routes so that you bypass Cairo on the way to Sharm - more for convenience than anything else. If there's a protest when you decide to land, you may find that you are delayed for an indefinite period of time.

Hope that helps

Cheers

C.

UK is still happily flying out to egypt, only recommending that cairo , suez etc should be avoided if you can (our typical understated style, bit of a disagreement going on in cairo, might want to try sharm for some quiet etc)

We're flying from UK to El Gouna on friday - I'm personally looking forward to being one of only 4 people on the reef )

Wrecks to ourselves!!

Other than that - the serious bit:

Hope it sorts itself out for the best soon with out any further violence.

I was in Cairo covering the riots (left friday). The airport area is safe. As long as your fly through does not include a stopover, you should be good.

However, while I agree that South Sinai is in its own bubble, things very bad now in the areas close to Gaza. This coul, potentially, affect the whole pennisula.

About safety, I think it should not be a problem, however the flights from cairo airport are still in a mess so if you can head directly to sharm it would be better.

As far as I know, easyjet has direct flight to Sharm, Air Berlin also and generally you should consider by passing Cairo. I was stranded in Cairo airport for two days and lots of flights to and out of Cairo were cancelled. So if you can make it to Sharm without passing the capital,it would have been more wisely. Moreover, give a call at your embassy to ask for directions. It is a good thing to have information from them,since you cannot rely on natives. I speak of personal experience trust me. And yes Sharm is pretty empty nowadays...you will find plenty of hotels to stay and you can find good prices in diving centers too. Good luck into going there.

tacky:

However, while I agree that South Sinai is in its own bubble, things very bad now in the areas close to Gaza. This could, potentially, affect the whole pennisula.

Click to expand...

There are always problems in Gaza - and it is possible they could affect Sinai but highly unlikely, even given the instability in the region. I posted a bit about this before, but when I speak about Sharm being in its own little bubble - it's true. The whole Eastern coast of Sinai is in the same bubble as the result of the Camp David Accords of 1979. Any Egyptian military presence here would need to be authorised by Israel and the US, and probably the MFO (Multinational Forces and Observers), otherwise it could be perceived as tantamount to a declaration of war against Israel.

There is no unrest in Sharm or Dahab - I don't know anybody in Nuweiba or Taba (further north) but they are in the same bubble also. There is always the remote possibility of opportunistic attacks by terrorists but security has been beefed up rather substantially since the 2005 bombings and nobody here is worried about random attacks from suicide bombers - if it's going to happen, it will happen regardless of the political climate in Egypt, and let's not forget that there is a distinct possibility the Muslim Brotherhood might put themselves forwards as candidates for government; they are closely tied to Hamas, and any activity that might be perceived as "Islamist extremism" would be counter-productive to the Brotherhood's agenda.

Safety is not an issue in Sharm - but if people don't come to Egypt, there will be nobody left to take you diving, because we'll all have gone home due to lack of income!!

Cheers

C.

It's not clear where you're coming from, location-wise, which is an important factor.

Two things to consider:
1. Flights only seem to be coming from Europe with any regularity.
2. If your govt issues a travel warning about the place you're going to, and you still travel, your insurance will be almost certainly be void.

The US gov has issued a blanket country-wide travel warning:
Egypt
That means US-purchased DAN travelguard will not honour any claims if you go during a travel warning period. Judging by Tunisia, the State Dept will downgrade tfrom Warning to Alert two weeks after calm returns and they let embassy non-essentials return, and then downgrade the alert no less than two weeks after that.

The UK foreign office has issued a travel warning to certain parts of Egypt, but not the Red Sea resorts. So UK-purchased insurance should be valid if you go there.
Egypt travel advice

As you can tell from the other posters, things seem pretty mellow on the Red Sea. But you'd be foolish to risk diving uninsured, or travelling in any volatile situation uninsured. Both chamber treatments and repatriation can be expensive. That's why I recently cancelled a boat charter - none of us from the US would have had insurance. (Credit to Emperor for being responsive, informed and unquestioningly honouring the terms and conditions). I'm not saying you'll need to go to the chamber or need to be evacuated, but as responsible divers we always make sure we're covered, right?

If you can go, your flight's ok and your insurance is valid... why not? You'll get a peaceful vacation with uncrowded reefs, imagine how quiet Ras Mohammed must be right now? All the staff will lavish attention on you and you can be sure you're helping an area that needs support right now.

So at this stage make sure you check insurance, flights and monitor the situation. If possible, get direct flights to Sharm.

If it helps, a friend just returned from Sharm. A non-diver, she said it was quiet and a nice break from the english winter.

That US travel warning sucks - and the OP does say he's American.

Friends in Hurghada, Marsa Alam and Dahab have reported nothing, just like here in Sharm. If you turned off the TV here, you'd never know it had even happened, apart from the strange absence of - well - everybody.

It's possible that this will drag on for several months so I hope the warning is lifted soon - the vast majority of tourists here are of course from Europe and Russia so a drop in American visitors won't hurt us, but if other countries start playing copycat then we are royally screwed.

I hope you're able to make it over here cos the diving really is awesome at the moment. In recent weeks I've had Shark & Yolanda and Jackson reef all to myself. With one diver.

Cheers

C.