Red sea have young family, any ideas ??

[TimUK]

Hi,

We our going to red sea ideally in Oct '04. I am looking for a base which will also be good for wife & kids ie, kid club safe beech et.

Any ideas ??

 

[TimIng]

Hi Tim,

have you looked at Nielson? Used them to go to Turkey last year and they were great - lots to do (inc the diving) and kids clubs all day every day.

They have a place in Dahab I think.

Try it out.

Cheers,

Tim

 

[DesertEagle]

I think the best place for a young family would be El Gouna, which is about 15km north of Hurghada. El Gouna is a purpose-built resort that caters to families. It is much more laid back than Sharm and would be much better for kids than Dahab. There are a variety of hotels ranging from efficiency-style apartments to the usual Sheraton and Moevenpick. As for the diving, I like Sharm better but from Hurghada you can do an all-day trip to dive at Elphinstone reef 3 hours away by car. The wrecks of Abu Nuhas would also be in easy reach.

www.elgouna.com

 

[deand]

I'm looking for exactly the same thing for half term Oct 04 - I've got a non-diving wife and 3 young kids.
So, I'm a making a bit of a recce early Jan to check out all the places with a friend - tough eh? In fact, I think we are going to go to Sharm and find the best place for kids there - seems more choice and more things for non divers to do round there.
I'll report back my findings mid Jan.

 

[deand]

Finally got round to posting my update post my trip in Jan. Most of the big hotels seem well set up with kids clubs. The big problem is if you have kids below the age of 4 (I do). Most kids clubs only start at age 4 and that sort of defeats the object if you want to go diving or have a total relax for a few hours. We have decided on the Hilton Fayrouz because they take kids from 3.
One thing also to bear in mind is that a quite a few of the hotels are a fair way out of Sharm itself. I looked at the Four Seasons (very posh and would hate to take my 3 destroyers there!) and the Hyatt Regency - but you would have to take either an expensive limo or very unsafe (no seatbelts, very fast driving in 1950s cars) local taxi to get into Sharm - not much fun with young kids with you. So, we decided to stay in downtown Sharm.
I would also recommend booking soon if you haven't, because flight availabilty already seems a problem. Hope this Helps.

 

[mania]

One thing also to bear in mind is that a quite a few of the hotels are a fair way out of Sharm itself.(...) So, we decided to stay in downtown Sharm.

For those of you who never been there - one small correction. Sharm is a city where the distance between one end to the other is around 50km. So even if you are in a hotel located 20 km from the centre you are still in Sharm. By the way Hilton Fayrouz is located in one of the centres - Naama Bay. There is also another centre, the so - called "Old Sharm". And it's generally difficult to point the exact "city centre" because Sharm is a very young city - first hotels were build there in the 80ties and from the very beggining it was created as a holiday city. Besides these two centres I mentioned there are also kind of a local "city centres" - on the back of the hospital, Hadaba etc.

Anyway most of the hotels are for families so travelling there with children is no problem. As driving is concerned - you can also rent a car there but i wouldn't advise. Local drivers are a bit (I would even say a lot) crazy but there are not so many car accidents as I would imagine seeing the way they drive.
But I saw a lot of people with enfants taking the local taxis.
Mania

 

[gehadoski]

For those of you who never been there - one small correction. Sharm is a city where the distance between one end to the other is around 50km. So even if you are in a hotel located 20 km from the centre you are still in Sharm. By the way Hilton Fayrouz is located in one of the centres - Naama Bay. There is also another centre, the so - called "Old Sharm". And it's generally difficult to point the exact "city centre" because Sharm is a very young city - first hotels were build there in the 80ties and from the very beggining it was created as a holiday city. Besides these two centres I mentioned there are also kind of a local "city centres" - on the back of the hospital, Hadaba etc.

Anyway most of the hotels are for families so travelling there with children is no problem. As driving is concerned - you can also rent a car there but i wouldn't advise. Local drivers are a bit (I would even say a lot) crazy but there are not so many car accidents as I would imagine seeing the way they drive.
But I saw a lot of people with enfants taking the local taxis.
Mania

Hi there

I can provide you with all information that you need. I am Egyptian and I am PADI Rescue Diver. I like diving in Red Sea Specially in Sharm El-Sheikh.

If you are going to stay in Hilton Fayrouz you will not need any Crazy Driver (Thats the way of driving here in Egypt )
cause it is too close to everything. For diving the diving center will provide for you the way of transportation.
Don't warry about the kids they will be safe and there are alot of things to do there. Sharm El-Shiekh is a family city.

Please if there is anything you want to know or you want any help with let me know. I can provide you with any information you need. I am trying to help you out, but I am doing my best with my english.