Advice For Hurgarda , End Of April.

[chillyinCanada]

Gotcha Crowley, thanks.

Canadian advisory also recommends against non-essential travel. Now I'm wondering how my insurance will view it. If I have a trip booked to red sea liveaboard, would it be considered essential travel?

I know, I know, I need to check with my policy holders.

 

[Crowley]

No worries - but as mentioned - it's only the airport in Sharm that is advised against by the UK. I don't know about Canada of course, but Sharm itself, along with Hurghada and all of the mainland red sea coast down to Marsa Alam are not included in the UK advisory, so insurance is invalidated only at Sharm airport.

You can fly into Hurghada no worries - assuming you arrive in Egypt via Cairo you can get a flight to Hurghada with Egyptair no problem.

There are definitely insurance companies out there who will still cover you - my friend sent me a link to http://www.divinginsuranceuk.com - I assume they won't cover non-british citizens but it might be a starting point. I need to check with DAN what they're doing...

Cheers

C.

 

[dbulmer]

Crowley,
Nice to see you back on SB.

 

[Crowley]

Cheers mate! I should probably moderate that out as being off topic! Haha! Happy to be back and posting in the Red Sea forum (see how I did that!?) The plight of the resorts has become a big thing for me as both a former resident and friend of people who are still there trying to tough it out.

 

[scubadada]

Cheers mate! I should probably moderate that out as being off topic! Haha! Happy to be back and posting in the Red Sea forum (see how I did that!?) The plight of the resorts has become a big thing for me as both a former resident and friend of people who are still there trying to tough it out.

It's very sad how the events of 2011, 2013, and 2015 have devastated the Egyptian tourist economy. My wife and I spent 2 weeks in Egypt in early February, some time in Cairo and the rest on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan. It was absolutely dazzling visiting the sites, nearly alone, without the hordes of other visitors. The Egyptian people were generally warm and friendly.

So, now I'm going back for 2 weeks of liveaboard at the end of April. I expect this will also be relatively uncrowded. Most any place in the world may be dangerous, for example, Paris and Brussels... One can become paralyzed and not do anything, or one can take reasonable risks and continue to live life. Of course, there are places I would not go, but I think this is really a pretty good time to visit Egypt. Who knows, conditions may improve, or, they may deteriorate. For me, it was visit now or perhaps lose the opportunity forever. I'm glad I made the 1st visit and am looking forward to my second

 

[Crowley]

It's heartbreaking - the centre I used to work for, one of the biggest in Sharm, has suspended operations for the timebeing. I get why people don't want to go but it's been devastating.

Keep us posted with your liveaboard - one of the things Egypt needs right now is people to report back and spread the word....

Cheers

C.

 

[Finn_Diver]

Hello friends of Red Sea,

just got back from one week liveaboard safari Simply the Best. Very quiet in Egypt. One other boat at Brothers and the same one again at Daedalus, so extremely pleasant diving at both places.

Hurghada is a ghost town at the moment. Virtually no western tourists anywhere. The shop keepers are quiet desperate. All the dive shops in Sakala area are gone. Business is dead.

I spend two days in Hurghada/Marsa Alam and had no troubles or witnessed anything like that. Very peaceful everywhere, so don't hesitate to visit Hurghada/Marsa Alam.

 

[chillyinCanada]

So unfortunate that idiot had to hijack the plane yesterday. Almost turned me off but no. Will finally see Red Sea and Hurghada/Marsa Alam and more later in the year. So excited

 

[Crowley]

Yes my heart sank when I saw the news yesterday morning but I followed it through to the end and although it must have been horrifying for the passengers, the end result was good, if completely bizarre. Needless to say, the media is reporting on lax security at Egyptian airports however looking at the photos of the "bomb", I think it's fair to say that it would have been almost impossible to detect because there was - er - no bomb. Tourism to Egypt just took another massive hit, if it hadn't been hit hard enough already.

Looking forward to your trip report chilly!,

C.

 

[Neilwood]

Yes my heart sank when I saw the news yesterday morning but I followed it through to the end and although it must have been horrifying for the passengers, the end result was good, if completely bizarre. Needless to say, the media is reporting on lax security at Egyptian airports however looking at the photos of the "bomb", I think it's fair to say that it would have been almost impossible to detect because there was - er - no bomb. Tourism to Egypt just took another massive hit, if it hadn't been hit hard enough already.

Looking forward to your trip report chilly!,

C.

Agreed - how you can tell there was a "bomb" when one doesn't exist I really don't know.

Hoping some form of diving resort still exists by the time I get there in October this year