Have you been to Egypt?

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Moonrise

i completely agree with Rainbow Girl.
every word she says is true .
bring your children and enjoy yourselves .

oldpepy

I feel the same as you about it, would love to go in this life because of having links with past lives!

Liv

So my parents are both Egyptian but I was born and raised here so I'm not used to the culture there. I've been there quite a few times, most recently this past summer. I'll tell you from two prespectives: one from a local's perspective and one from a tourist's perspective.

Local: You see all the dirty streets and the most impoverished of the world. Places like "old Cairo," Alexandria, southern Egypt, places tourists don't usually go, is where you don't wanna be.

Tourist: Sharm El-Sheikh, Luxor and Aswan (we took the cruise on the nile from Luxor to Aswan --> best time ever! We were the ONLY egyptians on that cruise. The only problem was that it was disgustingly hot when you got off the boat to tour the cities, seeing as it was mid-August. DO NOT go in August, especially if you have kids! Tourists are not used to the blazing heat! But the tours of the Valley of the Kings, and all the other amazing sites in both Luxor and Aswan, on boats, camelback, and on foot, are so worth it!)
And Sharm El-Sheikh, no matter when you go, is so nice! All the hotels are on this long strip and each hotel is located on a private part of the Red Sea, and the kids can enjoy snorkeling ANY time of the day! We went all day, everyday and never got tired of swimming with all the fish! There is also jet skiing and banana-boating in most hotels. The hotel I recomend is the Hyatt - GORGEOUS and mainly tourists stay there, because of the pricey rooms (for locals, that is). And the service is great, and there are 4 pools, one including a lazy river, and 2 body slides for the kids. I really enjoyed myself there. But don't stay more than 7 days in sharm, the kids will get bored eventually.

Cairo - If you want to see the capital, stay in "Masr El Gideeda" meaning "New Egpyt. This is the classier and higher-priced apartments of Egypt but I won't lie to you: you guys will probably get bothered at one point or another by the locals.
So, you probably want to see the pyramids. Try to stay at one of the hotels near the pyramids, in El Giza, and you'll be okay, seeing as only tourists stay there. And if you do go in the summer, make sure to get out into the desert and start your sight-seeing well before 6am. The weather gets DEATHLY hot and I gaurantee if you are there at 11am, your kids will complain from the heat. And try to see the pyramids and the sphinx on camelback, you will enjoy it so much more! You can also go into the pyramids, but it's EXTREMELY stuffy inside and VERY dark. So be careful if someone has asthma or can't take extreme heat.

And since you have kids, do FLY everywhere, DO NOT take the buses or the trains. You will NOT enjoy yourselves and your kids will probably complain of long hours in small spaces. The flights inside Egypt are not pricey at all. Last summer, I believe we took a total of 7 flights, inside Egypt alone! And the farthest place away from Cairo was Luxor, and it was only a 2 hour plane ride! The turbulance can be a bit much sometimes, but it's a LOT better than the 12 hour bus ride or the 10 hour train ride!

So, especially since you have kids, go to Sharm El-Sheikh for a week and take the Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan (or vice-versa). You won't regret it, I promise!

And let me know how the vacation goes! : )

Reggie

going next year my Friends are just back and were with there kids had a great time at Sharm El Sheik and really there was lots for all treated like kings and queens and the hotels are out of this world great education for all go for it and enjoy

saraowh :$

yes,bring ur childern with u and come u will enjoy it.pyramids-sharm al shiekh-alexandria-hurgada-luxor-aswan all nice places.

Rainbow Girl

I went to Egypt a few weeks ago, was fantastic!
I saw the Pyramids, Sphinx etc in Cairo and then went down to Luxor, saw Luxor temple etc and did a hot air balloon trip there. There were families with children and they seemed to love it! Def do this, amazing experience! Costs about Â£30 per person for an hours trip. You will find hotels offering this.
Me and my boyfriend took the overnight train down to Luxor, takes about 9 hours. Was ok for us, depends how your children sleep, quite a rocky journey.
http://www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm

I reckon if you can afford it, get a boat trip down the Nile and try and get to Aswan and Abu Simbel, we didnt get to go but will be going back!

Absolutely amazing place, would def recommend it!
Be prepared to haggle for cabs and in shops buying souvenirs. Recommend you try and learn a few arabic words before you go. My boyfriend is Jordanian so fluent in arabic, so wasnt a problem.

Go for 4 or 5 star hotels, very reasonable prices can be found. www.asiarooms.com
Get one with a nice pool, u and the kids will want some time to chill after sightseeing all day!

Have an amazing trip!

Sara

I'm Egyptian so obviously i'm biased, but I think Egypt is a wonderful place for a holiday, especially for children! There is so much history, which they will probably be learning about in school, so what's better than seeing it up close with their own eyes? They can see the pyramids, tombs and even see real mummies in the museum! Also, Egyptians are VERY family orientated so it will be suitable for families visiting.

Food is delicious and cheap, the weather is perfect and there are millions of things for you to do..

Yes, there is poverty in Egypt (like many other places in the world) but that does not detract from the millions of other wonderful things that you will not find anywhere else. People will try to sell you things in tourist resorts but this is hardly exclusive to Egypt... I've been to Turkey, Spain and Greece and people tried to sell me things there as well... It's all part of tourism! Just ignore it and enjoy your holiday! Millions of people go to Egypt every year and love every minute of it.

Have fun!

Purple Princess

Its a daunting place to go the kids beg the local hastle you and con and at times its a bit scary when your enticed into a place and they lock you in until they see your money
Its hot sticky and the pyramids are very small it has been ruined by commercalsing areas for tourists.

Luxor or cairo are a better option if you do go but you could opt for a family holiday to Cyprus as there are many trips from there to see the history your interested in
E.g http://cruisecyprus.co.uk/

In books it look magical but its not like the books im not saying the historic side of its not stunning as it is but its not really kids stuff unless u sit round the pool or beach and why go to egypt to do that?

I always had an obsession with Egypt and sadly the life of the locals and the commercalisation ruined my childhood illusions.

Tkg001

i have been to Egypt 3 times, once to sharm, nice beaches and very warm water, also good for snorkeling with lots of fish to see, once to taba, very quiet, and a Nile cruise, fantastic, from luxor to Aswan, all temples and tombs are great would highly recommend the cruise if you are interested in Egyptian history, in all we have enjoyed all 3 trips to Egypt, the people are so friendly, they will try to do anything to keep you happy. children seem to have a good time, i don't have any so not to sure

Pinceautoile

Yes I went two times in Egypt and I return soon. I especially appreciated the magic of Luxor. Yes, there is hassle but there, no need to take your handbag under your arm. Nobody will try to stole your handbag like in Europe. Egyptian people is poor but rich inside. In Luxor, I recommand caleche for an example to go to Karnak. It's great for children and not very expensive (don't forget one egyptian pound is nothing for us but for them it's very much). Go and enjoy your time. You will come back with stars in your eyes and the children would be fascinated.

lilbitch

Yes i went to Egypt last year. I stayed in luxor great place to visit but i wouldn't take kids to luxor the people very pushie and won't take no as an answer. The camel ride was great and so was he visit to the valley of the kings and the day trip on the Nile. Would go back again and perhaps try a different area. Shalm a sheik if i was to take the kids.

jaffa_cake_mmmm

I have been to Sharm el Shiekh before.
How old are your children? If they are very young, I would not suggest it.
I went with my family in January 2006, then again with my boyfriend in September 2007. If you are a woman and have blonde hair, they are very fascinated with you. Walking past shops they entice you into their shops; when we went into one...they shut the door behind us and locked it. It was quite scary but wouldn't recommend for young children.
I still loved the sites and would go back again.

Sarahhh :)

Dear Karen !
pleasee trust me when i tell you that egypt is all of the above things you stated and even more. its mystical, beautiful, magical, loving, amazing, filled with love and compassion ! egyptians are the warmest people in the world felt with care and friendliness. every corber of egypt is filled with a surprise but is beautiful in every different and possible way ! i can go on forever telling you of all the beauty of egypt ! but i don't want you to get bored lol :P but if u ever get around to visiting egypt i suggest you visit Alexandria or Sharm El Sheikh ! and yess i have been to egypt many times i actually lived there for a small period until i was eight ! and it is defintely suitable for all ages !

I'm just me

I was born and raised there until I was 11. I loved being there because I have a lot of family over there but the downside of it all is the racism issue they have towards christians over there. Would I ever consider living there again? NOPE! would I even consider visiting? NO WAY! The U.S. provided me the security and the respect as a christian that I needed and for that I'm very thankful!

It is NOT suitable for children, anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. They kidnap and rape children all the time, there has been 1000s of reported cases, abviously the people who do it are so ignorant that they never think about tourism. I'd rather go anywhere else in the world but Egypt for a vacation.

keith e

sorry no but people say it's a nice place.

democratz

No, not a great place to go. Tourists are followed everywhere by soldiers, too many thieves and people trying to sell you things.

The weather is good but other than that, its not really worthwhile

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