Unrest? Really?!?

[Lingfield]

It is all very well for the Red Sea dive industry to distance itself from happenings in Cairo, Alexandria etc and say "business as usual" . I'm sure it is as UK nationals who have already booked hols won't get a refund as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office say it is OK to go to the Red Sea. However it will be interesting to see the effect on future bookings.

The UK travel industry reckons future bookings to Egypt are down by 66% or more. Useful tip was that booking a package of flight to Sharm plus acco is now cheaper than booking the flight independently.

 

[Steve A]

Really wanted to go back to Sharm, but this is really worrying. We were there in March and had such a good time we recommended it to family and we were all going to book last week in Sept first week of October but we are now sitting tight and watching what happens. We are considering alternative places but I keep looking back at Sharm.

 

[Crowley]

Steve - Don't worry mate - I'm still in touch with the folks back in Sharm and they are not troubled for their safety, only for the future of the country. There is potential for the situation to deteriorate, but it's been there for two years now. Whatever the media might be saying; the biggest world superpowers- by which I mean China, Russia and the USA - have far too much invested in the country both politically, financially and militarily to allow the country to degenerate into full scale civil war. What's happening in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria and Suez is horrific, but as I keep saying, the resorts might as well be on a different planet, and the people who work there may have their political and religious opinions, but they're more interested in keeping themselves and their families solvent, as are the 79.5 million other Egyptians who are NOT rioting in the streets of Cairo.

There is a risk, there is always a risk, but for the average tourist, many of whom are still returning, pretty much all of them unmolested any further than their pockets by "creatively minded businessmen". As always, book with reputable companies, make sure you have appropriate insurance covering cancellation and refunds and redirection. Stay in the resorts, don't travel off the beaten path, don't worry.

If anything changes, I will hear from my friends and post as soon as I am able. Otherwise, from what I hear, the drop in tourism has led to some of the best diving the Red Sea has seen for YEARS.

Enjoy it.

C.

 

[supergaijin]

I've also heard that it's led to some of the worst fishing at Sharm el Sheik's Ras Mo' in years.

 

[lamarpaulski]

I have no on-the-ground information BUT the Egyptian military is gunning down the Muslim Brotherhood. Doubt there won't be retaliation and a cycle of violence. An American was knifed last month:www.nytimes.com/.../american-killed-in-egypt-taught-english-to-children.h...
Jun 29, 2013 - Andrew Pochter was killed in Alexandria during antigovernment protests, and was working there this summer as an intern at a nonprofit ...

And as other posters mention...a solo American female is at greater risk of sexual attack...you are seen as alien and whorish traveling without a husband or brother or family by some portions of the already stressed-out population. This kind of threat and stress aren't what great vacations are made of. Hell no I wouldn't go.

 

[Crowley]

I've also heard that it's led to some of the worst fishing at Sharm el Sheik's Ras Mo' in years.

Yes it has.

Lamarpaulski... again - this is misinformation. The death of any citizen of any country is abhorrent, but that person was killed during an anti-government protest in Alexandria. Alexandria is not Sharm El Sheikh or Dahab or Hurghada or El Gouna or Marsa Alam or any other tourist resort. I would ask that people who are not there, or who have no on-the ground information (which I do, even though I'm not there), refrain from giving their opinion as to whether or not it's safe to travel to the tourist resorts in Egypt.

If you are concerned about personal safety and do not wish to go there, this is fine. I also appreciate that I tend to divert into political opinion but this is because I have a vested interest in the country, many of my friends are still there, and I will defend the existence and safety of the tourist resorts until the tanks start rolling down Peace Road in Sharm. Even as a solo american female traveller, you are less likely to be attacked or molested or raped in the Egyptian tourist resorts than you would be in the streets of New York or London. There is a right-wing hardline contingent of fanatics who believe that western women in their bikinis are whorish, and there are hardline right wingers from other religions who believe that women who have abortions and the doctors who perform them are also rightfully murdered in the name of some almighty being.

I am telling you guys and girls, on my honour, that it is safe to travel to, and dive in, the tourist resorts of Egypt. If you're not there, and you have no friends there, and you're basing your opinion on what is presented in the media, then you have no right to tell anybody it's dangerous to go. If, as a concerned human being, you wish to change your holiday destination, then I completely accept and agree with that decision, but again, I reiterate, the resorts are not involved in the current crisis, there is no violence on the streets of Sharm, and it really is just business as usual. You can disagree all you like, if you wish, but I'm telling you that this is the case, because it's the truth, because I know it to be so.

I'm not trying to get anybody's hackles up, but please understand that I have a lot more information to hand than what is presented in far away newspapers.

Cheers

Crowley

 

[deeper thoughts]

Four friends of ours just cancelled their trip to Egypt. Even the travel agent agreed with them.

 

[supergaijin]

Radical morons are definitely not civilised- alas you will find them in every country on earth... Israel included.

I do agree with Crowley in that the touristic areas are pretty safe. Every so often something happens, rare still a bomb. I feel for the hardcore faithful that have stuck it out in Egypt- they're really crying out for tourist dollars. Prices are going up and it's tough to get by.

Unfortunately getting rid of Mubarak seems to have opened up Pandora's box. I really hope the Egyptian population doesn't get 'coup-happy'. Reform takes years, actual change to daily life takes longer still. It's not as if it was PADI and 'Neutral Buoyancy'- we're talking about an entire country.

 

[redacted]

Yes it has.

Lamarpaulski... again - this is misinformation. The death of any citizen of any country is abhorrent, but that person was killed during an anti-government protest in Alexandria. Alexandria is not Sharm El Sheikh or Dahab or Hurghada or El Gouna or Marsa Alam or any other tourist resort. I would ask that people who are not there, or who have no on-the ground information (which I do, even though I'm not there), refrain from giving their opinion as to whether or not it's safe to travel to the tourist resorts in Egypt.

If you are concerned about personal safety and do not wish to go there, this is fine. I also appreciate that I tend to divert into political opinion but this is because I have a vested interest in the country, many of my friends are still there, and I will defend the existence and safety of the tourist resorts until the tanks start rolling down Peace Road in Sharm. Even as a solo american female traveller, you are less likely to be attacked or molested or raped in the Egyptian tourist resorts than you would be in the streets of New York or London. There is a right-wing hardline contingent of fanatics who believe that western women in their bikinis are whorish, and there are hardline right wingers from other religions who believe that women who have abortions and the doctors who perform them are also rightfully murdered in the name of some almighty being.

I am telling you guys and girls, on my honour, that it is safe to travel to, and dive in, the tourist resorts of Egypt. If you're not there, and you have no friends there, and you're basing your opinion on what is presented in the media, then you have no right to tell anybody it's dangerous to go. If, as a concerned human being, you wish to change your holiday destination, then I completely accept and agree with that decision, but again, I reiterate, the resorts are not involved in the current crisis, there is no violence on the streets of Sharm, and it really is just business as usual. You can disagree all you like, if you wish, but I'm telling you that this is the case, because it's the truth, because I know it to be so.

I'm not trying to get anybody's hackles up, but please understand that I have a lot more information to hand than what is presented in far away newspapers.

Cheers

Crowley

And you are willing to bet their life on it??? Who to believe?: Egypt

 

[drbill]

I've been considering a trip to the Red Sea (probably Hurghada) for the last year. I spoke with an Egyptian friend recently who had been back in the country. He said that the western news reports are (as always) saewnsationalized and that I should have no trouble diving in the Red Sea as long as I fly direct (via Europe for example) and don't go through Cairo. Of course I am not a single female.