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Travel tips
Getting
around |
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Airport arrival
Most
international airports in Egypt are equipped with baggage
trolleys available free of charge. You will be asked for
"bakschisch", don't give more than 2 LE. Duty
Free shops are available at the airport as well as in
town. You can only purchase duty free articles within
24 hours after arrival.
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Safety
Crime
in Egypt in general is not common and violence is rare. In tourism
areas pickpockets and petty thieves may exist, so be careful
and watch your bags in crowded areas. Wanted items are sunglasses
and mobile phones.
South Sinai is an anti-military zone since the early 70ties
and Sharm El Sheikh is the meeting place for a lot of peace
talks about the Middle East Crisis. Traffic jams in Sharm El
Sheikh are a sign of the presence of Egyptian president Mubarak.
Avoid walking on the coral and wear shoes whenever you enter
the water to protect your feet. This will protect you from stinging
fish like the Stone fish and Scorpion fish (perfectly adapted
to their environment, they both look stony in appearance and
are hard to distinguish from underwater rocks). Also the Zebra-striped
Lionfish should be watched from distance as its dorsal fin carries
poison.
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Health & Medical Services
No
matter what your precautions, a change in weather and diet can
result in diarrhoea and nausea. Drink only bottled water and plenty
of it. Eat in the hotel restaurants and always protect yourself
from the sun.
With growing tourism along the Red Sea coastline, medical facilities
have developed as well. Nowadays all major hotels have medical
facilities and some have a doctor on call. For more serious matters
a governmental hospital and a private medical centre are available
in Sharm El Sheikh.
For diving related accidents two Recompression chambers are available
in Sharm El Sheikh. Both centres manage, and provide definitive
treatment for victims of diving accidents and barotraumas.
Hyperbaric Medical Centre
Centre's director: Dr. Adel Taher
This chamber was donated by USAID and is still the most popular
one. The chamber is kept "state-of-the-art". A lot of
dive operations, including the Red Sea Diving College, are supporting
the chamber through asking their divers to donate US$ 1 per day.
It is not obligatory and as a guest you can refuse payment if
you wish. Dr. Adel Taher received his training in Europe and in
the U.S.A and speaks fluent English and German.
Recompression Chamber at the Pyramid hospital
Ministry of Health
Evacuation plans in case of diving accidents are prepared by our
professional staff. Ask at the counter if you are interested.
All medical treatment needs to be paid locally. Foreign medical
insurance plans cannot be used. A treatment in the chamber costs
about US$ 750 per hour, so a proper diving insurance is highly
recommended.
Pharmacies are available and are usually open from 10am to 10pm.
Medication is subsidized by the government and is inexpensive.
Prices of medication are usually written on the packing. |
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Money
Egyptian
currency ranges from 25 Piasters up to 1000 pound notes. Most
of it is paper money, coins are rare. The Egyptian Pound (LE)
is linked closely to the US Dollar, with an exchange rate of 4.5
LE = US$ 1.
Check out our
Currency Converter
for actual exchange rates.
U.S. currency, traveller checks and credit cards (especially VISA
- and MASTERCARD) are widely accepted. |
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Transportation
All
big hotel resorts are well equipped with indoor facilities. You
will find different restaurants, souvenir and clothing shops.
In case you still wish to take a look around the area you have
the following transportation possibilities:
- Hotel
shuttle bus
| Please
check with your hotel reception; most hotels offer a shuttle
bus service to central points. |
- Taxis
| Taxis
have an identification number attached to the dashboard
and are available at anytime and at any place. Usually they
line up in front of the hotels or restaurants. You can also
stop empty taxis on the street by waving your arm. It is
a good idea to be informed about prices before actually
entering the taxi. |
- Pick-ups
| You
will find these trucks in Sharm El Sheikh, cruising around
offering to give you a lift. They try to work the same as
taxis, but are not licensed to carry any guests. |
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Mini-bus
| These
shuttle between Sharm El Sheikh and Naama Bay and are only
allowed to go along the main road. As the main transportation
for locals they are very cheap 1-2 LE, but are not licensed
to carry foreigners. |
- Car
rental
There
are numerous companies offering car rental. Check with
your hotel reception.
A standard car will cost approx. US$50 per day with 100km
free mileage included. |
Warning:
Be aware, driving habits are special. |
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Telephone
There
are possibilities to call abroad from either hotels or public
phones that work with phone cards (available at any souvenir shop
or kiosk).
Mobile phones are becoming popular in Egypt.
Some networks are offering roaming facilities now. |
Business hours
Banks:
08:30am to 2pm daily, closed Friday, Saturday and national holidays.
Shops: 10:00am to midnight or later |
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Language
Arabic
is the official language and most of the Egyptian people working
in tourism speak at least some English.
Big hotel chains have staff speaking the language according to
their origin. So you will find German/ Swiss speaking staff at
the Mövenpick hotel and staff at the Sofitel hotels speak
French.
Some Egyptian vocabulary (a little different from original Arabic)
may still be useful for getting around and understanding the culture. |
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A
few useful Arabic words that will help you get around. They are
written as they are said so don't mind the spelling |
| yes |
eye-waa
|
| no |
la |
| thank
you |
shock-ran |
| please |
min-fad-lack |
| can
I have |
mumm-kin |
| here |
henna |
| there |
hennak |
| wait |
stan-a |
| right |
yer-mean |
| left |
sher-mel |
| money |
felous |
| hotel |
fondoo
|
| tomorrow |
bock-ra |
| today |
enarda |
| yesterday |
em-berra |
| restaurant |
mat-am |
| airport |
mat-ar |
| how
much? |
kem
|
| pound
(LE) |
guinea |
| 1/100th
LE |
pee-aster |
| tip |
back-sheesh |
| god
willing |
in-shahla |
| never
mind |
ma-lesh |
|
| one |
wha-hit |
| two |
it-neen |
| three |
ta-letta |
| four |
are-ba |
| five |
ham-sa |
| six |
set-a |
| seven |
sab-a |
| eight
|
ta-man-ya
|
| nine
|
tessa |
| ten |
ash-ra
|
| twenty |
ash-reen
|
| thirty
|
tell-a-teen
|
| forty |
are-bar-een
|
| fifty
|
ham-seen
|
| sixty
|
set-een
|
| seventy |
saba-een |
| eighty |
taman-een |
| ninety
|
tess-een |
| hundred |
meer |
| thousand
|
alf |
| million |
mill-yon |
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Food and Drink
Sharm
El Sheikh is a holiday resort, prepared to cater for pleasure.
So there are plenty of restaurants serving all culinary desires.
All hotels have their standard restaurant for breakfast, lunch
and dinner, but specialized restaurants can be found inside the
resort as well as downtown.
Taxi drivers are familiar with most of the places as well.
Egyptian
| Most
hotels organize an oriental buffet during the week. The most
popular independent restaurant is Tam-Tam,
located at the Ghazala hotel directly on the beach promenade.
Enjoy oriental atmosphere while smoking a water pipe (Shisha)
outside the restaurant. |
Italian
There
are quite a few Italian restaurants around, but the
Al Fanar restaurant situated beside the lighthouse
at Ras Um Sid is definitely a unique place to visit. At the
edge of the cliff - covered by a big tent - excellent Italian
cuisine is served with imported Italian wine for reasonable
prices.
The carpaccio and vongolee sauté are worth a try!
Newly opened and already well known for its refined Italian
kitchen is Rusticella.
Ten minutes walk from Naama Bay. Instead of a written menu
a black board is carried around. Ask the chef for the days
special! |
French
| You
can eat "A la Carte" at the French restaurants of
the Mövenpick chain
(Mövenpick Jolie Ville & Mövenpick Golf Hotel).
Five star service and price. |
Chinese
Chinese
restaurants are present and the food is okay!
To spoil yourself you may want to try the Chinese restaurant
at the Mövenpick Golf hotel.
The food deserves the price. |
Japanese/Korean
The
KOKAI
restaurant at the Ghazala hotel offers Japanese and
Korean kitchen, presented with a knife twirling show while
the chef cooks in front of you.
Another five star Japanese can be found at the Marriott
hotel. It is definitely worth the money. |
Thai
| A
flexible Thai cook brightens up the little quiet place at
the Sharm Holiday Inn
at Naama Bay. Vegetarians will be surprised. The first class
Thai restaurant at the Hyatt Regency
Hotel is a beautiful place for special occasions.
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Indian
There
are two good Indian restaurants to visit.
One located at the Sofitel hotel
with a beautiful sea view, when you can get a place on
the terrace. Similar food, but less expensive is available
at the Camel hotel. Being
a dive centre courtyard during the day, the place changes
amazingly into a cozy place for the night. |
Sea
Food
For
casual atmosphere there are two famous seafood places in downtown
Sharm El Sheikh.
Sinai Star a garage place
with no menu and only non-alcoholic drinks. Served are plates
of fish filet, calamari or shrimp with rice and Egyptian salad.
You can bring your own alcohol if you wish. The food is basic,
but inexpensive and good. At Terrazina
beach, beside the Iberotel Palace hotel, seafood
from Alexandria is on the menu. Besides Fridays you can eat
as close to the water as you wish. Food is inexpensive, don't
expect first class service. |
Fast
Food
| With
McDonald's a lot of other
fast food chains moved to Sharm. Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried
Chicken, Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood give you
variety for a quick bite. Food tastes like everywhere else
in the world. |
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Night life
in Sharm El Sheikh
Pirate's
bar
| Located
at the Hilton Fayrouz Hotel in the middle of Naama Bay this
bar is the favourite meeting place for Sharm businessmen
during afternoon hours and dive guides and instructors after
work, just in time for the happy hour that lasts until 7:30pm.
Imported beer on draft is available. |
Chris's
place
| This
bar upstairs the Camel hotel is run by a South African ex-diving
instructor is popular with the divers. Life music is organized
on weekends and on the roof you can chill out on carpets. |
Bus
stop
| The
night club of the Sanafir hotel does not fill up until late
and goes on until the very early hours. On some Thursdays
big indoors parties are celebrated. Check for special events
once you are in Sharm El Sheikh. |
The
Ecco Temple
| A
huge desert stage with incredible sound system for concerts
and after hour celebrations. |
Hard
Rock Cafe
| Typical
Hard Rock atmosphere, hourly dancing waiters and good food. |
The
Alchemia
| Intimate
place with good music. Less divers, more locals. |
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Points
of Interest
South
Sinai has some beautiful sites to visit on land as well. Most
of them can be reached in a daily excursion. Ask at your hotel
reception!
St.
Catherine's Monastery & Mount Sinai
Visit the place, where
Moses received the Ten Commandments.
The monastery was built around the 4th century chapel, which
is believed to be the site of the burning bush. The fortress
that surrounds it was built around the 6th century and is
still an operating monastery. Overnight trips include climbing
the highest point of South Sinai - Mount Sinai - offering
a beautiful view during sunrise and a visit of the monastery.
Day excursions cover the St. Catherine's monastery only. |
Coloured
Canyon
| Hike the mountain
where nature has carved a rainbow through the rocks. |
National
Parks
| Spectacular flora
& fauna invite for a day trip. All nature resorts are
located at the waters edge, so snorkelling is a welcome refreshment.
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Salah Eldin Fortress
of Geziret Faraun
| Take a boat trip to
Pharaoh's Island, crowned by a Crusader fortress. This fortress
was begun in 1170 by Salah ad-Din, and has recently been restored. |
Oasis
| Explore oasis where
palm trees and water contrast with the desert surroundings.
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