Отдых в Египте в январе. А почему бы и нет? Holidays in Egypt in January. Why not?

1. Yuri. I don't retell Wikipedia and I don't spread rumors. Only what he himself saw and touched. We flew charters back and forth. Minute by minute on schedule. The landing is wonderful. This is a plus. They didn't eat on the plane. And it's almost 4 hours. plus registration. Travel to the airport. Taking chicken and boiled eggs with you for half a day? This is a minus. At the airport, the first difficulties. The voucher states -visa 25 dollars. (if you entrust the travel agency with registration - 27. There are six signs at the airport - "visa $ 25". Three stands with signs of our agency - a huge queue. More than 400 people flew in. But it went quickly. They paste a visa and take $ 27. I ask why 27 , indicated 25 on the ticket. Answer of the representative of the travel agency ": Whoever promised you 25 - take it for 25". We have 27. An unpleasant divorce. Did the travel agency decide to "cut down" 4 dollars from me and my wife? there is a sign "Bank" at the wall! Visas for 25 are glued there without a queue. What my wife and I did. Transfer to the hotel is normal. We missed lunch, although we arrived on schedule and were hungry waiting for dinner. Which was also unpleasant. True, you could drink coffee , juices, water,
2. Settlement. The room was "standard". 4th floor. sea ​ ​ view. Safe, kettle, hair dryer, TV (3 Russian channels - ORT, 1 and TNT, 4 Ukrainian (TET and others, 1 Polish, 1 German, 1 English, 2 SPORT, and slave. The remote control worked. 2 telephones (one in the toilet ), air conditioning is working. I liked it. Those who write comments on the room, apparently used to living in hotels for 500 euros per day. In the room daily 2 bottles of water, sugar, coffee, tea.
3. Nutrition. For every taste. You can "collect" your breakfast on the buffet - European (continental) English, Oriental, Oatmeal, puddings, a lot of fruit, a lot of pastries (15-20 types of cakes and pastries), chopped fruit. VERY DELICIOUS bread. For lunch, two types of soup. I RECOMMEND - onion. I ate 3-4 cups (poured into cups). Delicious - potato, seafood, mushroom - these are all boiled opaque soups. A little salty. Chickens, beef. I won't list the menu. Choose to your taste. Breakfast from 7 to almost 10. Come in the morning - you will be the only one. Dishes are removed immediately. The kitchen staff, the waiters are well-trained, neat, fit. It's nice to go to the dining room. There are a lot of fruits in obda, including local ones. I will not enumerate. I ate dates, melons, and some strange stuff. My wife liked oranges and also incomprehensible fruits.

And I would rate the food very highly. WHAT IS UNPLEASANT. Many guests pick up full plates of food - they "try" everything, and eat only a third, the rest remains... Egypt is not a very rich country, and when Europeans, having bought a ticket for some $ 300, behave like millionaires (especially in their homeland , it is unlikely that they throw away so many products after dinner) - it looks very unpleasant and becomes ashamed of such a "cattle".
4. The territory of the hotel is amazing. Who saw the photo - the same in reality. Palm trees, flowers. . . Gardeners quietly work tirelessly. You can just relax in the area. There is a mini zoo for children. - a rabbit, a pelican, a bird similar to our heron, two huge turtles - 30 kg each, eat cucumbers in a funny way, three monkeys, one small, tame, climbs through the bars and plays with visitors, budgerigars, a peacock. One pool was heated, and the rest tried to swim (January)
5. Sea and beach. The beach is well-maintained. Umbrellas, sun loungers, mattresses on them (oilcloth, soft), give out towels. Everything is free. The boundaries of the beach are guarded. On the beach - coffee machines, juice machines. A strong wind - therefore, there are portable reed "gates" near the sunbeds - protection from the wind. Few were swimming in the sea. But at Christmas the weather was amazing and my wife and I bought up twice and it was not cold. 200 meters knee-deep, then deeper. The water is clear, the bottom is sandy, go carefully so as not to get hurt on the stones. Despite January, the first line of sunbeds is usually occupied.
6. Excursions. We went to Egypt for history. "All living things are afraid of time and only time is afraid of the pyramids. " Departure was at 2.30 am. They gave me dry rations. We drove in a small bus for about 6 hours. I couldn't stretch my legs. Were in the Cairo Museum. An amazing sight. But not enough. Pyramids cannot be described. The Nile trip was cancelled. But they were brought to a perfume factory (by the way, all excursions include perfume factories). Excursion -75 USD. includes lunch, walk along the Nile, Cairo Museum. Photos in the museum are paid - $ 3 each. Toilets 2-5 pounds in the dollar 17 pounds, there is a machine in the hotel (so you need to have a small amount of small money), a toilet, coffee, souvenirs.

The second excursion was to Luxor. Large comfortable bus. 4 hours. Departure at 4.20. Also an amazing tour. The capital of ancient FIV. Temple of Kparnassus 2 thousand. BC Dinner. For a walk along the Nile, we paid an extra 5 dollars, but we were treated to bananas.
7. Features of the Egyptian time. If a departure is scheduled (for an excursion, to the airport, say at 7.45, then “according to us”, these are fees from 7.45 and departure at 8. In Egyptian - at 7.40 sit on the bus and 7.42 - departure.
8. Features of trade. A. There is a contract of sale. Where are they traded. Let's say in the shop "Tea-coffee". where they brought us, on a kilogram of coffee - a label - $ 100. They explain to you. how lucky you are - today there are 50% discounts, and besides, the travel agency still pays 10% for you, therefore - only $ 40. Bargaining is appropriate everywhere. Near the hotel there is a fruit layout - a wonderful strawberry for 1 dollar. kg (strawberries are harvested three times a year). Out of decency, I bargained and got a 200 gr supplement. In principle, if you are guided by the cost of a thing (say, a bottle of water - $ 1), then it is fashionable to take it and not bother. But if they offer a statuette for 100 dollars. You just don't seem to value it. It is fashionable to bargain for 20, but it turns out that its price is 5 dollars.
B. The second kind of acquiring things is when you are "gifted" or given "free of charge. " In the understanding of the Egyptians - they really give you for free, but then they ask for "tea". This must be borne in mind. Like free cheese in a mousetrap.

9. Traditions. After long excursions, it is customary to "thank" the drivers - 1 dollar, 10 pounds, etc. The first time I got into an unpleasant situation, by mistake in the toilet instead of 200 piastres (2 pounds), I gave the caretaker 100 pounds (6-7 dollars), I did not understand why he thanked me for so long. And when I had to thank the driver, I had nothing but these piastres. Nobody forces you to do it. But think, you spent money on a ticket, a tour, do these 30 UAH (60 rubles) - half a cup of coffee in Egypt mean something to you. On the second excursion to Luxor, I prepared a dollar. After the tour, the drivers were "thanked" except for us, only two tourists (out of 40). This is probably bullshit, what do you think?
We arrived after nine, they organized a hot, full-fledged dinner for us.
10. Service. Reception, guides, Russian-speaking bar. Bartenders and waiters - get back a little understand. Top notch for service. There were problems with the air conditioner - after 10 minutes everything was eliminated. the bartender in the reception hall is a virtoise. Using the laws of physics - drinks are transferred by a "wheel" through the head without spilling a single drop.
11. Security. The hotel has a frame. The security guard is sitting. Security on the beach. I learned that the President of Egypt extended the state of emergency for two months (apparently in connection with the shooting of tourists in Cairo and the Jerusalem position of the USA and Israel) - but none of the staff heard about it. Tourism is a very important industry and security measures are extraordinary. At all significant intersections - the military. We drove to Luxor - along the Nile - about 25 not bridges, but bridges - all guards armed with a carbine or rifle, exiting the entrances to the city - roadblocks, on some armored personnel carriers. Documents are checked only by drivers. In Egypt, there is something like a tourist police that monitors trips. Attitude towards tourists is exceptionally benevolent = passing a checkpoint - seconds. In Cairo, at a checkpoint when passing through the Arabian Desert, they formed a convoy - 12-15 cars and buses. On the way to Luxor from the checkpoint, a plainclothes security guard armed with a submachine gun like the Port-Said brand sat down next to us. We drove through the desert, he hid the store, arrived in the city - attached the store. Very attentive customs officers. The wife twice fell under a selective continuous inspection of luggage. Maybe because she had a kerchief? Just be aware that travel insurance is a scam. I don't understand how you can get insurance. Read the contract. Not insured events - accidents, poisoning, bites, accidents, terrorist attacks, plane delays, bankruptcy of the tour operator, etc.

GENERAL CONCLUSION. In January, you can have a good rest in Egypt. Hotel Hawaii is a great hotel. Rooms, service, meals, excursions - we are satisfied. Recommended.