POST DOSTĘPNY TAKŻE PO POLSKU
DISPONIBLE TAMBIÉN EN ESPAÑOL
DISPONÍVEL TAMBÉM EM PORTUGUÊS
Egypt is a country visited by several millions of Poles. Of course most of them go with travel agencies to Sharm El-Shekh or Hurghada. This is not my pair of shoes – lying on the beach and complaining about the heat. On the other hand – Egypt is one of the cradles of civilization and it has been always on my list. In 2012 I grew up to this trip. I wouldn’t have been myself if I hadn’t combined an organized holiday with visiting on my own, although I wasn’t at all sure how it would turn out because of the inflamed political situation in Egypt.
Worth knowing
Egypt is a large country, with 1 mn square kms, so it’s more than three times bigger than Poland. Most part is covered by a desert, thus cities, especially Cairo, are overpopulated. Country’s population is about 82 mn, from which one fourth lives in the agglomeration of Cairo.
Visa (as regards Poles), or rather entry fee, costs $15, can be bought it at the airport.
*Polish Embassy in Cairo, Al-Aziz Usman St. 5, Zamalek, tel. +20 2/3417456, 3409583.
*Banks: open 8.30-14.30, longer in bigger cities and touristic places.
*Stores: depending on the touristic traffic. In Cairo center some shops are closed on Sunday. Grocery stores are often open 24/7.
*Money: Egyptian pound (LE or EGP;) in December 2012 one dollar was equal to 6 LE.
*Telephone: three biggest mobile operators are Mobinil, Vodafone and Etisalat. I used Vodafone. It’s better to buy and activate a starter pack in the store because it’s necessary to call or send an SMS, and the message returns in Arabic. It’s best to do this in company showroom because in small shop they often cheat tourists demanding higher prices. Vodafone starter pack: with SIM card, number and 2 GBs to surf the Internet costs 35 LE.
Route
This holiday was a combination of convenience and a want to see all the most interesting things in Egypt. Moreover it’s cheaper to buy a package at a travel agency, even if you spend some of the time outside a hotel. Return plane ticket from Poland to Cairo costs approx. 1600 PLN (approx. $480), while a week in All Inclusive option – 1500. That’s why, along with my friends, I decided to buy two weeks package in “AI” (1800 PLN). We could leave our hotel without regrets for a few days because it was still cheaper than a self-organized trip.
We bought a package at Alfa Star. Departure: 6 December from Katowice at 11.45, arrival to Hurghada at 16.45 (local time, a watch set from 15.45). Return: 20 December, departure at 7.30, arrival at 10.45 (local time in Poland).
After the experiences from our previous travels we decide not to try to visit all the places in two weeks but we choose the most interesting things for us:
- Hurghada – sea and sun;
- Luxor – excursion bought at an agency, visiting temples and tombs;
- Cairo – visiting the city and pyramids in Giza, self-organized trip.
Hurghada
Former fishing village is today a lively resort. According to Wikipedia, in 2006 the number of its inhabitants reached 160.000, but according to other sources it’s rather below 100.000. Every year several million tourists come here, mostly from Poland and Russia, but also from other countries.
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| Panorama of the city |
We consciously choose Dahar quarter to get to know more „locals”, not to stay only among other tourists. We love to learn about new cultures and customs and apart from that I’ve been learning Arabic for several months so this would be a perfect opportunity to practice.
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| Courtyard of the Triton Empire Hotel |
We choose Triton Empire Hotel. Opinions in online forums vary but they are rather positive. When we get here we are positively surprised. I don’t know if those who complain expected luxury apartments like the ones they watched in „Pretty Woman”, but truly speaking there’s nothing to complain about. It was OK as for 3 star hotel and as the place was built some years ago you shouldn’t expect that everything will be brand new. The rooms are spacious, cleaned daily – or we were lucky to have a hard-working houseboy. Abundance of food, drinks too – perhaps too much…
We have meals in a restaurant in our hotel and in Triton Empire Beach that belongs to the same chain; our beach is there too. There are about 200 m to get there. In addition you can take a free hotel bus to get there. We took it once as we were afraid that a Beach wouldn’t be very close. We waited to depart for 5 minutes, and the course has lasted for about 15 seconds… Later we used to go on foot.
It’s worth noting that in Hurghada there are no public beaches, all of them belong to one of the hotels or resorts. If somebody decides to go there on their own (what for?) and wants to swim in the sea they will have to go to Gouna which is about 30 kms from there.
Despite our fears we didn’t experience so called Pharaoh’s revenge, although we were eating everything as it goes – in our hotel. I think they care much about hygiene because if many tourists had problems it would result in bad opinions. If someone had problems local people advise to take „Antimal”.
I won’t elaborate about a hotel and a stay. I will only mention that we had a wonderful company thanks to whom we didn’t get bored. But I must admit that generally an organized holiday in one place is not my pair of shoes. I prefer more adrenaline, visiting places and staying among „locals”.
We tried to go out to locals. It was much easier in Cairo. It’s a totally different thing to drink a coffee in a hotel lobby than to spend some time in a local “café” drinking coffee or smoking apple flavored shisha (only 5 LE).
General info
You can easily find plenty of information about Hurghada in the net so I won’t write much here. The city is divided into three parts:
- Dahar – the oldest part, there are bus stations, post office, Aquarium, Coptic church, mosques, the biggest bazaar here. It’s the place to stay if you want to know original Arabic life.
- Sakkala – newer part, the main road is Sheraton Road; there are lots of hotels, restaurants, banks and stores here; Arousa square with a mermaid in the middle, a street to sea leads to the renewed marina.
- Village Road (Promenade, el-Memsha) – the newest part of the city, also full of restaurants, hotels and stores; in this part there’s a duty-free shop where tourists can buy e.g. alcohol up to 48 hours after arrival.
Airport
After arrival you have to buy visa (cf. above) and go through passport control (you can fill in an arrival card in the plane). We had no problems with getting to the city (generally there are only taxis), because agency’s bus took us to our hotel.
It’s worth to know that as for Egypt the prices are very high. A coffee in a restaurant next to the check-in may cost even 40 LE! Once you pass security gates – you pay half this price. Don’t let boys cheat you to pay for a toilet – they’re free. The signs in English and French inform about that but they don’t care and reach out their hands demanding payment from the ones who don’t know any of the above languages.
Attractions
The city doesn’t have much to offer:
*St. Mary Church, Coptic rite, in Dahar center, beautifully renewed.
*Red Sea Aquarium – Corniche 6, north from the hospital in Dahar; daily 9-22/23; entry: 5 LE.
*Trips with a boat with a glass bottom or a submarine to watch underwater fauna and flora; about 2 hours; price: $30-50 depending on a kind of boat and agency.
*In the vicinity there are ones of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world – all the agencies offer excursions, local ones have lower prices. The most popular are trips to Giftuna island, combined with sunbathing and snorkeling; price: $19-35 depending on an agency. We choose LM Egypt (more in the post about Luxor). All my friends told me that it’s worth to see the reefs. Indeed, without exaggeration, I must admit that it’s one of the best things I’ve ever experienced.
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| Snorkeling and admiring coral reef is an unforgettable experience |
*Agencies offer various trips, e.g. to Cairo (at the time we’ve been to Egypt they were suspended because of the political situation), Luxor, and even to Jerusalem, excursions to Sahara combined with quad biking or camel riding, visits to Aquarium or dolphinarium and many others.
Transportation
*The cheapest means are mini-buses. They run several routes in the city. Depending on the distance the price is 1-2 LE.
*Taxi: orange cars; short distances in Dahar: up to 10 LE, from Dahar to Sakkala: up to 20 LE, longer routes within the city (e.g. to Senzo Mall) up to 30 LE.
*Long-distance routes – buses to near-by towns and villages, e.g. to Gouna (30 LE) depart from the square near the Coptic church; long-distance buses terminal is located a bit further; many companies have their offices here. Prices vary depending on an operator and vehicle standard.
Shopping
In Hurghada, like in many other tourist places, you can go shopping at any hour. Of course as in every Arabic country it’s highly advisable to bargain. I wouldn’t like to offend anyone but that what locals do I wouldn’t call a trading but cheating. In my opinion bargaining means moving within 20-30% of the price. Demanding three times more money from a tourist than from a local I call cheating.
On the other hand, tourists themselves let locals do this paying much higher prices and being happy from every pound they can bargain. No! Act hard: they want 100 pounds, offer 20!
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| Vendors presenting their goods in the souk in Dahar |
Good advice: learn numerals and basic sentences (like: that’s very expensive!) in Arabic. In such a case a vendor doesn’t know if you learned them by heart or if you’re here for tenth time and you know a local market so well that they won’t cheat on you easily.
In our case both strategies were successful. But, no boasting, we gained experience in souks of Marrakesh and in markets of Mumbai and Bangkok. Moreover I know the language to such extent that I had no problems bargaining – that’s what I call satisfaction!
(Be careful as to prices not only while shopping. They can ask 10 LE for a coffee while it costs 2. We experienced that at the bus station in Cairo, but then we thought that at the stations they usually charge more for food and drinks than in other places.)