hi mark + tracey
yes i agree young children and the nile cruise ships dont realy mix...
shame realy as the nile cruise is the best way of sightseing..
although if you want beach sharm or hurgana it has to be..
as for the military airport i hate to say it but so is luxor,but dont let that put you off as you hardly see any guns etc...
its quite safe and the egyptians look after the tourists very well.
p.s dont go in the summer as you will melt

What about El Gouna... we discovered this last year and returning next week - its a hassle free Egyptian resort about 15 mins from Hurghada, lovely to walk about in the evening if you want to stretch your legs. you have the choice of around three beaches, everywhere is 1.50 by taxi and you dont need to haggle for this either!!!! Not sure which hotels actually have kids clubs, we were at the Arena Inn last year which definately didnt. I wouldnt hesitate it taking small children there, although mine are a lot older now and enjoyed it all the same even though it is quiet.. all round a nice up market resort, man made yes but very well done and is set among lagoons - personally cant wait to return.

El Ghuano sounds great as not really drawn to Sharm at all.

Has anyone ever been to Luxor without the Nile cruise thats where we wanted to go but the travel agent told us not to go there as there is nothing there.

I really want to see the real Egypt whilst I am out there

Hi Mark and Tracy,
Yes we've stayed in luxor several times, we even spent our honeymoon there! If a travel agent told you there is nothing in Luxor then my advice to you is , get another travel agent! Someone who knows what they are talking about preferably because whoever told you that is guilty of gross deception! Luxor holds some of the most beautiful remnants of the Ancient Egyptian empire, many of which should be seen sooner rather than later, as time is taking its toll on all of them. If you are the slightest bit interested in Egyptian history you will find that a two week holiday is nowhere near enough time to see everything properly. Luxor has a great selection of hotels from budget up to 5 star, to suit everybody. Certainly dont write it off on the advice of a "numpty" travel agent!

Been looking at hotels in Luxor and they dont cater for kids aswell as in Sharm or Taba

So have found a site called travel libray which does trips to Cairo and Luxor etc and may have to do it this way.

Egypt is such a minefield when you dont know. I have spent 2 weeks looking trying to get in our budget etc and looking for decent resorts

Quite tempted to forget it all and go back to Tunisia LOL

Not sure what age your kids are, but from reading your posts it sounds like for your first visit you would be better off going to Sharm.

I think the key for you will be getting the right hotel as you say you don't wish to go out much at night.

Most of the Bed & Breakfast hotels are near Namma Bay which is where folk go of an evening for their meal, a stroll round the shops and a drink.

The AI hotels stretch all the way up the coast. Sharm is about a 20 kms development top to bottom I think (but could stand corrected on this). Mainly 4* & 5* hotels

The two family AI's that get the best reports from Brits are the HIlton Sharks Bay and the Coral Sea Resort. I would imagine if you went to one of these there would be more chance of you meeting people to socialise with in the evening. Not been to Tunisa (yet) but dont give up on Egypt.

You mention your budget, if you let people know what it is and which 2 weeks you want to travel we might be able to help more? Have you tried Portland or Eclipse (both direct sell) or Longwoods sometimes have good deals.

Good Luck, Doe

Hi Doe

Thanks for your reply
Our budget is around £1800 - £2000 for a family of 4 as we really want to do the Cairo trip.
We are going May next year and so far the cheapest travel companies I have found so far are freedomdirect and onthe beach and travel republic.
They seem to be pushing the three corners hotels which out of two of them seem great for kids.

I have been pricing up going independent but there doesnt seem to be much difference in prices.

Last year wehn we booked for Tunisia we booked about 4 months before we left and got it for £1100 AI .
Am I better booking nearer the time.

Sorry for all the questions but this is only my second holiday abroad so really am a holiday dunce

Thanks

Hi again

Prices in May tend to vary. If you go begining or middle it's OKish, but if you incorporate the half-term it pushs the price up.

Looking at http://www.eclipsedirect.co.uk for 8/5/08, 14 nights, family of 4 (2 kids age 12 or under) in a family room on AI basis :-

Coral Sea Resort - 1950 pounds
LTI Grand Azure - 1946 pounds

on 29/5/08

Coral Sea Resort - 2392 pounds
LTI Grand Azure - 2229 pounds

Prices include inflight meals & transfers, Ex Gatwick.
I picked these hotels as they are on a beach and that's on your wish list.

Many hotels in Sharm don't have beaches, because of the need to protect the coral (we must not tread on it as it needs to be preserved). They have jettys to enter the sea & young kids can find this difficult. Plus no sand to play with.

The trouble with going independantly is the flights to Red Sea are always expensive due to it being 5.5 hours away.

You also need to check that OTbeach, freedom direct, travel republic include transfers in their prices.

Tunisia always seems cheaper than the Red Sea, as only 3 hour flight not 5 hour so less time in the air, aircraft fuel etc.

Don't worry about all the questions most people on here are helpful.

Doe

Luxor is a great place to visit with lots to do and see, but I would say not for children. There are some nice hotels with pools but no beaches just the Nile. It is much more of a destination for a cultural and historical holiday. I can't believe your travel agent told you there is nothing there, unless he/she meant nothing for young children.
Save Luxor until the children are older or you are on your own but certainly visit at some time.

Personally, I would say a visit to Egypt (Luxor and/or Cairo) is probably not a great idea.

We took my stepson just as he had finished doing ancient Egypt during history lessons. We booked 2 weeks in Luxor, did a daytrip to Dendera temple and an overnight trip to Cairo by seated train, staying in a hotel near the Pyramids.

He absolutely loved it (he was 11yrs old) and now is 18yrs and planning his university degree - in Egyptian Archeology

If your children are only young - they probably won't be so interested in the history but climbing in and out of tombs may be enjoyable for a short period. However, if it is hot (and the average brochured temps from June to August are around 107f), they will not love you for it....

May be best to stick to a beach holiday and save Luxor/Cairo for when they are a little older. Thomson used to do free or half price child places to Luxor up to age 12

Cyprus100

hi chris

sorry to interupt this post, but im too still thinking about going to egypt for new year week, now ive found some reasonable priced flights to sharm for a week, its for hubby my 7 yr old and myself. we dont want to be stuck out to far away from everywhere, i like to do a small amount of shopping and want to be near a beach, as we have got lots of holidays booked i dont want to spend megga amount so would an all inc be best and which one. ive had a look on findmeaccom, quickrooms,travelrepublic,online travel any others to try, thanks

karen

Hi Karen

Don't know if I'm going to be much help to you, the first year I went on a package with Portland and the second year with Panorama, also both times I went Bed & Breakfast, from what you are saying I think you might be better off AI.

You could try going on thomsons site and doing a room/hotel only booking, and lookng at OTBeach.com. There is also a company called jetline travel that people on here use. They might do hotel only bookings. They have a web-site but I understand if you phone they normally beat their own price.

Be careful though as Sharm is about a 30 kilometre stretch along the coast so find out the location. You will have to go in to Namma Bay for a wander about.

You could try the hotel Lyn uses, the Hilton Sharks Bay, you can book direct on the hilton web-site and sometimes they have offers.

Let us know if you have any luck?

Chris

chris i had already tried thomson and otbeach both were dearer than other companies i had tried, just tried jet line for accommodation only thats dear too lol. portland no good, the cheapest package i can find is with eclipse, but i know i can beat the package price as flights not too bad ive got some all inc from 205 to 360 for 3 of us, the only 1 coming in around naama bay area seems to be kirosiez 3 corners,which has gone up £65 since this morning how annoying is that. what do you think a good price would be for a week for 2 adults and 1 child, 1st jan inc flights, as i only know turkish holiday prices and ive got 4 of those booked at the mo oops hope hubby doesnt see this lol, so no idea if i have a good price or not

Karen

I'm not sure about the going rate for a family of 3 in Jan. Might be worth you starting a seperate thread or asking in the DIY forum.

I was going to mention the Kirosez, as I have noticed that it seems to be one of the cheaper AI's that still gets good reports. Is it pretty close to Naama Bay? Taxis are really cheap anyway (bit dangerous driving though ) 205 to 360 seems OK to me if thats for 3 people AI.

I though you weren't going to have lots of holds this year LOL

Chris

i know we werent but ive come into a bit of money so decided to treat us again lol, going to turkey next week and oct and got 2 turkey hols for next year booked and fancied going away somewhere for new year week, flights are dear before new year but not too bad day or 2 after, so i can get flights and all inc for 3 of us from around 725 to 900 + trans depending on hotel which i wasnt sure if thats good or not as it will be first time to egypt since 1982 when this area was just desert lol, so im sure i will see a huge change

Karen and markandtracey . The red sea is very popular over the chritstmas/new year time so prices may not be as cheap as you hope . If it was me ( and i know your not frightened of booking a DIY) and you are sure you want to go there and that the flights are cheap enough that you feel you can beat a package price i would book those flights and then worry about your accomodation as DIY to Egypt is easy peesy . the long stretch of coast that is known as "sharm" is no more than 15 mins transfer in a taxi. If you want to be near the action as close as you can get to Naarm bay or the ras um sid area where Chris stayed this year which is maybe within walking distance to old sharm town.although most of the accomodation within walking distance of Naarm bay will be either b+b or half board . there are a couple of A/Is but reviews for these seem rather mixed. maybe the club fanara in the ras um sid area or you can do as many do and investigate the ever expanding choice of good quality A/Is along the coast most of them being around 10/15 taxi or courtesy bus to naarm bay .Personally I find when pricing them is that you can get an A/I with the inconveneince of not being in Naarm bay for the same price as you can get a B+B at the some might say better location of Naarm bay.

We love hilton sharks bay but check carefully as whilst many have superb facilities and grounds evening entertainment is not a big thing yet there and many may not be so suitable for families. The hilton at sharks bay attracts quite a few families, mostly english and whilst their evening entertainment is not fabulous it is better than many. We are happy with their food, its very clean , the A/I package is v.good and the staff are great and there is generally a very happy atmosphere We booked DIY easter just gone and got a good price from http://www.hilton.co.uk for £67 per room per night A/I . that room would take 2 adults + 1 child. The coral sea resort is another good one but I believe that is owned by first choice so may not be a good DIY option. You need to do plenty of research and bare in mind that many of those that are offering the best prices are fairly new and not as well established as some.

good luck . this map might also help http://sharm-el-sheikh.ovh.org/mapa_lewa_engl.html and here http://www.sharm-el-sheikh.ovh.org/mapa_prawa.html

hi lyn

thanks for all that. do you think first week of jan the weather will be ok, thats another thing im concerned about. the flights ive found that are reasonable are leaving on the 1st jan which is fine. the all inc ive found that seem a good price and reviews not bad are amar sina, sol sharm, melia sinai, kirosiez 3 corners,calimere royal,domina coral bay,3 corners st george,mirabel club,3 corners palmyra, any ideas which would be the best option.

karen

Hi Karen .

I think the weather should be pretty good at that time . Never been at that time but I would expect it to be sunny (they dont really get rain), temp early 20,s ,chilly at night.

for now there is a little from snorklebabe here about the melia sinai http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=100977&start=0 and mirabel club is that the new extension of mirabel beach beach/park complex that I believe was new last year ??? there is also the jaz mirabel so not sure which of those are part of the same complex . maybe a look on that map should tell you .
dont know if i can be of any help on the others but will have a look later when I come back home.

happy research in the meantime

i cant find that review for melia sinai. we want to have hotel with a heated pool incase weather is cool , near the beach and not too far from the main town and i think all inc will possibly save us some money