Hurghada vs Sharm El Sheikh
Hurghada vs Sharm El Sheikh
Contemplating the pre-New Year's excitement, every time I regret that I cannot join this jubilant lava of people attacking travel agencies in search of a New Year's summer. “Well, nothing, ” I say to myself, “we'll grow up a little, and next year ... ” Without considering myself a skiing enthusiast, I'm firmly convinced that Egypt will be mine again next winter. After all, what could be better than replacing your son's monthly dose of vitamin D with a real "living" sun?
For those who are going to celebrate the coming of the Year of the Cow in the warm waters of the Red Sea, under the canopy of holly palms instead of the traditional Christmas tree, but have not decided on a resort, I dedicate my mini-review. So, the main tourist pillars of the country: Hurghada vs Sharm el-Sheikh.
First, let me ask you some simple questions:
1. Are you traveling with a child?
2. Do you think that it is unacceptable to spend time near the pool in the Red Sea?
Would you like to visit Luxor without breaking your monthly budget?
4. Do you dream of plunging into the real life of the old Arab city, because the continuous beach holiday is not quite for you?
If you answered "yes" to at least three of the four questions, then you are in Hurghada. Hurghada is located 500 km southeast of Cairo and is an intensively developing primordially Arab town, where it is worth taking a step away from the tourist areas, as the reverse side of Egypt opens up in front of you - its non-showy life, which has nothing to do with the tourism industry.
These are Arab schools, around which strings of dark-skinned children scurry about, these are open-air cafe-parks, where entire families gather at plastic tables with rough floor hookahs placed in the shade of trees in the evenings over a cup of tonic hibiscus; these are arrays of five-story buildings, reminiscent of our Khrushchevs, interspersed with streets of workshops, butchers and bakeries selling fragrant pita bread and the absence of barkers; it's the goats on the patios and the sidelong glances of ordinary people living on the other side of the tourist curtain.
In Hurghada, the coast is strikingly different from the coral riches of Sharm el-Sheikh: the coast here in most hotels is gentle and more conducive to a beach holiday than to searching for underwater treasures. The daily ebb and flow of the tides often makes the sea even smaller, quite childish.
But having visited different parts of Egypt, for a vacation with a baby, I would recommend El Gouna, located 30 km north of Hurghada, a man-made archipelago with a wonderful sandy shore and many small canals-lakes that the little traveler will definitely like.
Well, the last argument in favor of Hurghada is the proximity of Luxor, located to the south. To travel to this city-monument of an ancient civilization from Sharm el-Sheikh, you will have to pay for airfare.
Of the hotels in that region, in terms of quality of service and food, the Azur chain left the best impressions, but for those who love the noisy nightlife of the resort, I can cite several hotels located in close proximity to the central part of the resort: this is Sultan Beach4 * (do not confuse with a small hotel SultanA Resort 3 *, from the rest in which I had very conflicting impressions), Princess Palace and Club 4 *, Hor Palace 3 *.
The coast there is unremarkable, but the nightlife is in full swing.
Holidays in Sharm el-Sheikh, located on the Sinai Peninsula, are strikingly different from holidays in Hurghada, which is primarily due to the original resort orientation of the city. Sharm consists of only hotels and only service personnel and tourists live in it. However, the true way of life can be observed in Cairo, where you will certainly go to see the Great Pyramids and visit the Egyptian Museum, which I wrote about earlier. In Sharm, almost every hotel has its own coral reef, which is almost as charming as the coastal corals of famous reserves. However, if you have a baby, you will most likely have to while away most of the time by the pool, since the entrance to the water is almost everywhere carried out from the pontoon, and taking into account the windy season (usually from November to March), the descent and ascent to the pontoon is not easy even for adults.
As for hotels, I don't have to blush for recommending Four Seasons 5*, Movenpick Golf & Resort 5* and our beloved Aloha Club Resort 4*.
In any case, do not rush to hot tours without studying the materiel: each region is unique, and all hotels in Egypt are original. Someone will be captivated by the novelty of the rooms, someone will be fascinated by food, and someone needs the most economical option exclusively for an overnight stay. The choice is yours, and I can only sigh for now, waiting for my right to choose when our son grows up to a more or less transportable age : )
