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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.
| 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.
| Flying
after Diving |
|
A minimum of 12 hours is required to be reasonably
assured you remain symptom free from decompression sickness upon ascent
to altitude in a commercial airliner (altitude up to 2400m/ 8000 feet
cabin pressure).
If you plan to make daily, multiple dives for several days or make
a dive requiring decompression stops, you should take special precautions
and wait for an extended surface interval beyond 12 hours before flight.
The greater the duration before flight, the less likely decompression
sickness will occur (PADI recommendation).
| 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.
| 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.
| 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. |
- 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.
| 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
| 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.
A few useful Arabic words that will
help you get around.
They are written as they are said so don't mind the spelling |
| |
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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. |
- 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
- 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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