Hurghada + Nile cruise
Hurghada Coral beach + Nile Cruise
After returning from Hurghada, I decided to write a trip report, so that in the future, everyone who reads to take note of useful tips.
We went to Hurghada with my wife and son from 04.11 to 15.11 2006 plus a cruise on the Nile. To be honest, we only went because of the cruise, since it is better to go to Sharm to visit the Red Sea. However, everything is in order.
Having searched all the hotels on the coast, the criterion was the presence of the best beach with a coral reef, we found "Coral beach", but the company that offered cruises could not book it and offered "Royal Azur" as an alternative. Knowing this chain of hotels, we agreed, signed the contract and made an advance payment. Not even a day later they called me back and said that our hotel was at a standstill, it was impossible to do anything and they began to vtyuhivat anything, but not what I wanted, there was a conflict.
Note, there is a little point in the contract, they say the operator reserves the right to change the hotel in the same star rating or higher.
As a result, our negotiations reached an impasse, and my advice is not found in other partners or operators. So the tickets are booked, they cannot refuse them, fines, if you want, look for it yourself or take what they give.
But we are not out of the timid and not out of such situations. There was another week ahead, calling all the reliable and trusted, they found what I wanted Coral beach for 11 days, and cheaper, plus calling their friends in Egypt, they made me a cruise for $ 375 for the family.
And so on 04.11 we flew to Hurghada. Upon arrival at the airport, I realized that we could hang out here a lot. Imagine a village with about 10 flights and 1.500 people in the terminal at the same time queuing for visas and passport control. We were met by the host of ANEXTOUR, who quickly pasted an $18 stamp into our passport, and took us through control without any problems. This event made us very happy, since it would be possible to hang there for at least 3 hours.
The organization of the meeting they have established and rightly so.
Now a few words about the hotel. Hotel 4 *, has four zones 1.2, 3.4 bungalow numbers start respectively. Knowing in advance that I needed zone 2 or 3, I invested $ 10 in my passport and received number 3415. I will say right away that zone 1 is a ghetto for ours. The rooms there are old instead of a bathroom, a miserable shower and ants, they will not accommodate Italians and Germans there, so you can demand a replacement of the room in a hard version or through a small baksheesh. We were not particularly interested in the infrastructure of the hotel, so we quickly changed clothes and went to the beach. Of course it's not Charm, but the beach and reef is the best thing about this hotel. For children, there is a small sandy lagoon where you can safely and safely swim.
The next day at 5 am we drove to Luxor, where the cruise started from. Moreover, we did not release the number, as it would be if we bought a tour package in Kyiv.
It involves checking in for 1 night, after which you carry all your luggage with you or, at best, leave it in a storage room at the hotel, and after the cruise, you are re-checked in for the remaining days.
The cruise lasts 4 days Luxor-Edfu-Kom Ombo - Aswan. It was possible to add Cairo with Alexandria, but we decided to leave it for the next time. Some say moving by local railways is painfully tiring.
Now the most important thing about the ship. There are a lot of them on the Nile and their classiness is also contradictory 5 * and 5 * deluxe are very different. Our ship was called MISS Egypt 5 * deluxe, we really liked it and settled us where we need to settle. Tip, it is better to take a cabin on the 3rd or 4th deck in front of the ship if you don’t want to smell the fumes of fuel oil with the windows open (they are all on fuel oil, it’s cheaper that way). On the upper deck there is a bar, sun loungers and an ice water pool for walruses. In addition to our Russian-speaking group, there were Englishmen, Italians and several couples from South Africa on the ship.
I must say we were lucky with the group, I did not observe the redneck on the part of the Russians, about which there is so much to talk about, apparently this cattigoria of people has not yet reached here.
About the cruise itself. In addition to all the monuments that you will see on the way to Aswan, you will enjoy incomparable landscapes and amazing sunsets. In a word, the color of the hinterland will surprise you. If you consider yourself an aristocrat, this is for you. Another tip, in Aswan you can go by boat along the rapids of the Nile with a visit to a Nubian village or to a very famous temple, named. I don’t remember. , We chose the first one and did not regret it. The water in Aswan is clean, all the industry downstream is here and there are more fish. It’s a pity I didn’t take a spinning rod with me, the guide says that they catch the Nile perch here. The last time a tourist was left for 2 hours on the island, he weighed 3 kg. caught perch. It was also possible to swim, there were signs “no crocodiles” standing everywhere, but we did not dare, and it was cool.
In conclusion, I will say that the company that organized the New City cruise for us appreciates its tourists. The organization of the tour is just excellent. Places were booked in advance on deck 3, there were no problems with the settlement at all. Running ahead at the airport, we met people who went on the same cruise through the company that threw us. Their group was put on a ship along the way, on which there were empty seats, such was in Aswan, and they had to go there. As a result, they did not see even half of what we saw.
The remaining 7 days were enough for us to enjoy the sun and swimming in the sea. Let me tell you about the sea. that sailed a little further than 100 meters there is a beautiful reef. There, if you're lucky, you can see a stingray, a very dangerous lionfish and moray eels. On the last day I swam behind the left scythe and almost became a dinner for a 1.5 meter barracuda, this was my first meeting with her and I did not know how to behave, since we parted peacefully.
I will add that excursions to the islands should be taken on the beach from them and are cheaper and there are fewer people, motor safari can also be taken at the hotel, ATVs are new. In general, we went for such a vacation. So a few tips:
1. You need to go for 11 days. 4 days cruise and 7 days at sea. 2 The cruise can be booked separately from the package, this makes it possible to choose the right company. 3. Take a cabin in front on the 3rd or 4th deck. 4. Be sure to ask about the name of the ship and its class. You can always find reviews on the Internet.
The company that threw "Ukrainian Tourist Center" UA Turist and their cruise partner "Rest Travel"
The agency that helped Sigel