Better to see once
Going on a trip, I re-read a lot of necessary and not very information, visited all conceivable sites, spent a month choosing a tour. And, as the trip showed, not in vain. There were four of us: my husband and I and two children - 15 and 6 years old. We have never been to Egypt, so for a long time we could not decide which resort to choose. We stopped at Hurghada and very well, why, I will write later.
Tours booked through Tez Tour. The guys are just great, very nice, courteous, literate girls. Long and patiently answered my phone calls and emails. Came on a special offer. The full cost for all four turned out to be 2 times lower than usual - $ 1189 for the all-inclusive system, Sunrise Le Jardin 5 * hotel.
We flew from Moscow, from our native Orenburg everything came out for 20.000 rubles. expensive.
The I-Fly plane, as promised, took off without delay, though at the airport we were almost stripped completely. We went through customs for a very long time, a long queue and everything was very slow.
By the way, most of my experiences were connected with the fact that we were going to Moscow without any travel documents. Payment was made through the bank and everything. Of course, I was worried that when I arrived at the airport at 5 in the morning, some kind of incident would happen. No, Tez Tour turned out to have everything very quickly and conveniently - they approached the counter, received a package of documents (without any errors).
The plane flew without problems, fed very well - a full hot lunch to choose from - meat, fish, chicken. Changed in the restroom prior to arrival. Egyptian customs passed in 3 minutes, paid $ 16 each for a visa.
Again, praise to Tez Tour - the organization of the meeting is simply flawless. If we had any worries about how we would find the way, they immediately stopped as soon as we saw guides in yellow shirts standing every 20 meters. Having reached our bus with their help and waiting for 5 more tourists, we went to the hotel. On the way there, of course, the view from the window is terrible - the desert and heaps of stones, but we didn’t react to this at all, we didn’t travel like savages with a tent.
We arrived, one guide handed us over to another (by the way, all the guides speak excellent Russian, they even quote KVN, they talk and joke a lot). We were received very warmly at the reception at the hotel. I must say that my husband learned a few phrases in Arabic before the trip, which saved us a huge amount of money, because wherever he began to speak their native language, we were overjoyed and made good discounts. By the way, they really do not pay attention to a woman with a man, so there is no need to be afraid of this and a woman should not get into negotiations there.
Having invested 10 dollars in the passport, thus consolidating the success caused by the knowledge of the Arabic language, we got a beautiful room with a beautiful side view of the sea, pool and garden. It's just a fairy tale. You know such a state when the spirit is breathtaking with delight. So, going out onto the balcony and seeing such beauty, we experienced just that. The room is good, spacious, we were given two extra full beds. Everything worked, we did not experience any insects, odors or other inconveniences.
Unpacked, had lunch and immediately went to swim in the pools. Everything is just great.
About food. There are many of them, but they are no better and no worse than ours, they are just different. For example, on the second day I collapsed with terrible poisoning (although my husband said that I was just acclimatizing). The husband and children for all the time had no ailments. By the way, I also forgot about all my migraines, runny noses and osteochondrosis there. The climate, especially in February, is amazing. We were incredibly lucky, for 8 days there was not a single cold day, there were no winds typical for this time of year.
So, about food. Yes, it is somewhat monotonous, some sauces, waterings, salads, we did not understand at all from what and for what, there is not a very large assortment for breakfast, but for sure - no one will remain hungry, especially since you can go somewhere and something to eat (all inclusive). We really liked the beer and red wine, we took cognac with us.
In the evening, very interesting dishes are prepared on the terrace - pita bread with various fillings, barbecue, something like barbecue, etc.
The pools are beautiful, the water is very good, the sea was also warm and clean. The children didn't get out of the water. True, despite the numerous lubrication with creams, they were badly burned.
As for the animators, I can say they are really very mediocre, I didn’t see any of their special work, but I simply didn’t find children’s animators. But, I must say that this did not upset us in any way, since there was simply no time or energy for them.
Of the 8 days spent in Egypt, 4 were spent on excursions, and the last day was generally due to departure.
Taking into account the presence of children, we took from the excursions "Paradise Island", "White Sun of the Desert", a sightseeing tour and "Singing Fountains".
I recommend the White Sun of the Desert to those with children. There was a lot of enthusiasm. True, the guide - a Russian girl - disappointed with her arrogance and imaginary omniscience. But in general, a very interesting, emotional trip. First, we arrived at a former military base, where everyone was given an ATV and for 40 minutes we rode them in the desert. Everyone liked it very much, take arafatki with you, they are sold in any shop for a couple of dollars. then they climbed mountains, went to the desert to the Bedouins, rode camels, watched a small zoo, rode buggies, in the evening there was dinner on the air, hookah, oriental dances (by the way - terrible).
Barely alive arrived at 10 pm at the hotel, and in the morning - Paradise Island. We thought we wouldn't get up. But in Egypt, he sleeps surprisingly well and gets up easily. At 6 in the morning you don’t feel like sleeping anymore, you get up, go to breakfast and go to the sunbed.
In the morning we went to Paradise Island. We really enjoyed. Warm sea, fish, corals, boat, beautiful sand, good lunch. in general, we were very satisfied.
The tour around the city is not bad, but nothing special. They didn’t take children with them, they wouldn’t like it, it’s tiring for them.
But the Singing Fountains are rare nonsense. Not like children, we ourselves fell down from fatigue. The tour ends at 23:30. All in all, I can't recommend this tour.
In terms of shopping: we did not set ourselves the goal of buying something, so we took only T-shirts, a towel, souvenirs, bought strawberries. She is not at all like ours: beautiful, large, but not sweet and not fragrant.
Yes, when we went on a city tour, we were at a tea factory, we collected oils and teas. Recommend.
Were then at the factory of essences. Too many scents. Nothing was taken there, now I regret it. We were given napkins to wipe our hands smeared with essences, one of the napkins remained in my bag, it still smells (a wonderful smell of dark musk). And it's been 2 months already.
The money spent was only 380 dollars and 1200 rubles (it was necessary to urgently exchange it, the guides have a rate of 40 rubles for 1 dollar).
The hotel area is simply incomparable, beauty, cleanliness all around, flowers, palm trees, everything is washed, cleaned, cleaned, trimmed from 6 in the morning. Just a fabulous place, if you do not go outside the hotel, but there is nothing to do.
the room was cleaned every day, once left a dollar, once a box of chocolates. There is no difference in cleaning, everything is so good.
During the holiday I had a birthday. This was already written into the voucher by Tez Tour staff. On this day, a cake was brought to the room. A trifle, but very nice.
We went to a fish restaurant. Rude and not tasty.
On the territory, no one pestered us, was not rude, everything was very decent. Only a daughter (she is 6 years old) was not missed by any Arab. Everyone winked at her, complimented her, waved their hands, made faces, called her to marry.
The restaurants are clean, there were no mosquitoes and flies anywhere, mice and other evil spirits too.
The people in the hotel were very decent, mostly Russians, Ukrainians, a few Germans, British, Poles, Koreans.
We took a lot of things, almost nothing was useful, if you go, take the minimum. Of the medicines, only a remedy for poisoning was useful to me and a cream for wounds to children (scratched on the steps at the entrance to the sea, be careful there). Mosquito repellant didn't work. Water was put in the refrigerator every day for 2 bottles.
Drinks in bars (non-alcoholic) are so-so, but you can drink.
In general, I can say that we all incredibly enjoyed our stay in Egypt, if we go again, then it is to this hotel. As they say, they don't look for good from good.
Special thanks to Tez Tour. For all the time there were no problems and unresolved issues. The organization of the holiday is excellent. We will not try another tour operator either.
The only stress happened on the way back. At first, they went through customs for an infinitely long time, as a result, they did not have time in duty free, but there, indeed, everything is many times cheaper than in the city. And then, during takeoff for about 15 minutes, the plane chatted so that everything fell down, the luggage doors opened, carts rolled, water dripped from the air conditioners. Some people were hysterical. The wings, which were directly in front of our porthole, dangled as if tied to strings. Then everything calmed down, people relaxed, some began to drink cognac, half an hour passed, and then the captain of the ship announced that we were flying into a turbulence zone and asked everyone to sit down and buckle up. That's where the horror was. I think: the plane will not withstand all this. But, either the captain turned to us belatedly, or we flew around this zone, but we were not shaken anywhere else.
In general, the trip was a success, thank God. We look forward to our next meeting with this country.
Have a good rest, good mood, soft landing and a lot of positive impressions.
If you have questions, write, if I can, I will answer.
