Some questions

15 October 2016 Travel time: with 19 September 2016 on 29 September 2016
Reputation: +42.5
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  • Previously, when traveling on vacation, I did not experience irritation from the service from tour operators. Once there was a case in Turkey when they forgot to warn us about a flight delay and sat for a long time in the hotel lobby on suitcases instead of continuing to sunbathe and swim. A trip to Egypt this year… The Join Up operator seems to be new on the Ukrainian tourism market. It seems that their guides are experienced comrades, but! . . The meeting at the Hurghada airport went according to the standard scenario. The bus filled up quickly, we got to the hotel quickly. The information received from the meeting guide was standard, but useful for those who first came to this country. And, who has already been, it was useful to update in memory. The meeting with the hotel guide was scheduled for the next day. The agenda was standard. But for the first time I was surprised that the proposed excursions were aimed only at entertainment. No attention was paid to the most beautiful, most ancient monuments of a great civilization (usually guides talk excitedly about this), for which it is worth going to Egypt. It is somehow strange. . . To come several thousand kilometers away to ride a quad bike or on a yacht and not visit the Karnak temple and the Valley of the Kings? Two hours of an incomprehensible presentation and hardly had time for lunch... Since we had already visited everywhere, we simply signed up for a shopping tour, since Makadi is located 30 minutes from the city and there is a little problem to get there, as it seemed to us at the beginning, and the guide didn’t tell us that a free shuttle goes to the shopping streets of Hurghada twice a day from the hotel. The day came when we went with a guide to shopping centers. Having collected an almost full minibus of shoppers, the driver confidently directed his car in the other direction from Hurghada, and the passengers began to “enjoy” the monotonous desert landscape and become nervous and indignant. It turned out that we were going to Safaga to pick up another Tourist! Over an hour of precious wasted leisure time! Was it really impossible to pick up one person and pick up everyone along the way, and not roll everyone across the desert in the opposite direction after one person? Where is the logic? On the way, the guide told anything, except for local traditions, customs, historical facts, i. e. everything that concerns this ancient country and civilization. Somehow strange... Then it was more interesting... They brought me to one of the several "leather" Turkish centers, where the sellers followed on the heels and very intrusively offered to buy something. Out of the whole group, one lady bought a bag and that's it... go for a smoke... The next point is the textile center. Prices are much higher than in Ukraine. The range is weak. Why were we brought there? - unclear. But further in general...
  • There are several reputable shops in Hurghada - dealers of tea and cosmetic oils, where you will be met by nice girls in white coats and will help you make the right choice. That's why we went (we always buy Egyptian tea). It was getting dark. . . It got dark. . . Bus briskly turned onto a dirt road outside the city and rushed off into the darkness along some industrial zone. It became quiet on the bus... A few turns and we stopped in an incomprehensible place. Around darkness. A pair of lamps illuminates two two-story buildings opposite each other. Several Arabs are sitting on a bench and about five large males from them headed towards us. A woman came out, who looked like a potato seller in the market, and called to get acquainted with the production site. Tourists began to refuse and expressed a desire to immediately go to the trading floor. The answer shocked everyone: “If you have arrived, then be patient! ”. This rudeness simply became the "icing on the cake" of our shopping! Nevertheless, we were led to the sound of babbling into a "trading hall" similar to Sirko's shop from the movie "Chasing Two Hares". A couple of minutes were enough for our group to inspect the store and return to the bus without purchases, with a spoiled mood due to lost time, because of the unpleasant aftertaste that we still owe someone else. Not the first time in Egypt, but such an organization of shopping is out of the ordinary. One out of ten precious evenings is ruined. Who designed, who organized this tour? ! Only the one who hates tourists! . . "Thank you", Join Up!

  • In the future, we used the hotel shuttle a couple of times and went to the city a couple of times and enjoyed shopping. It is better to sign up for a leather clothing center with a promoter on the beach and you will be personally taken to the center at any convenient time. We did not see any more hotel guides after the meeting. The Egyptian guide dictated his phone number and said that if there is something, call . Previously, in other hotels at certain times you could always find your guide, but here....“call to”… The information board for tourists in the lobby of the Makadi Palace hotel also deserves special attention… The information sheet about departures is located 7 cm from the floor. Question - get on your knees? And do not believe especially promotional articles on sites. Read more reviews of tourists, draw your own conclusions and you will not have any surprises. Will I go next time through ? I don’t feel like it... Maybe I’ll move away from impressions? . . But you, who read this, can take into account my experience and be prepared for “surprises”... Have a nice holiday...

    Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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