Tips for 1st Timers

[Sekhmet]

You're welcome : )
There is an atm machine in the hotel grounds, near Seagulls restaurant. You can slip the pool attendant a tip to keep you a particular sunbed if it's hard to obtain your favourite place. We tip the pool bar staff (we tend to eat there most lunch times) a little as we go along & we get great service.
Beach towel exchange is in the beach or at the hotel excursion office, near the pool on the main complex.
If you haven't already secured a room on the main complex, in preferred front palms / beachside, I would strongly advise that you do. The main complex is a long rectangle. As you stand facing reception, which is in the bottom right hand corner of short side of the rectangle, so that the beach extends along the opo short side of the rectangle, we pick 2 interconnecting rooms (2 sons with us) down the left long side of the rectangle, as the main shopping street is the other right side of the rectangle - really hope you're getting this : 0
Anyway, if you ask for a room with a number like 13, 15, 17, 19, 21(ours), 23, 25, 27 you will be where I'm describing & it's the quieter side. It's also about half way between reception & the pool area where all the restaurants are & the pool is moments away from the private stretch beach. We always request room 21 at the time of booking & altho it's not absolutely guaranteed, we got it again last time, no problem. It is more expensive to stay on the main complex than over the busy dual carriageway, on the sports side complex, altho golf buggies will ferry you over there too.
You can also use the shuttle bus to use the facilities at the sister hotel, Jolie Vill Golf; hubby & son play golf there at a heavily discounted rate.
Once inside the grounds of Jolie Ville Resort, all th ehustle & bustle of Na'ama Bay is left behind & you feel quiet & private.

[ghostlady]

Thanks again for this - I have (because I am stupid) just realised that the pyramids and spinx are near Cario not Luxor! Do you know if there is a company who will let us stay in Cario for a couple of days then move on the the JV? If not do you have any other suggestions? I really want to see the 'touristy' things. If nothing else this shows before one books a holiday, research, research, research!

Thanks.

[Sekhmet]

Have done the day trip from Sharm to show my younger lad (did the Nile cruise a few years ago) as it's only about a 45 min flight. I also flew to Luxor with both lads; again, about 45mins flight on a 50 seater. These are the itineraries thru Thomson:
CAIRO � Visit mosque. Giza plateau, pay extra to go inside a pyramid & / or see the preserved wooden solar barque of Khufu, sphinx, museum, pay extra for the mummy room. Then go on to a papyrus factory & perfume factory. When I say "pay extra", it's not that much & for all 3 things I'd pay again. You only have a couple of hours in the museum. Visit the Old Bazaar for haggling / shopping. Some trips include a short boat rideon the Nile.
I know someone organised a trip by taxi, from Sharm, at a reasonable rate & found this beneficial; (but it's about 6-7hr drive) you could probably dictate how much time you spent where, then.
The Giza Plateau opens at 0800 and closes at 1700.
Entrance to the site - 50LE
Entrance to the Solar Boat Museum � 40LE
Entrance to Khufu's Pyramid � 100LE
Entrance to Khafre's Pyramid � 20LE
LUXOR - Colossi of Memmnon, Queen Hatshepsut Temple in the Valley of Queens, Valley of the Kings - we saw Tut, who's still in situ, nobles tombs, Karnak & Luxor temples (latter is said to be the Temple of Ascension) They rotate which tombs are open, so you can't guarantee what you see, but I believe Tut is usually available.
Alabaster factory.
Just to confuse you more, Petra, Jordan is absolutely brilliant too. If you return to Sharm, maybe you might consider that trip, despite it being another long day. (Jordanian visa req'd when you land there)
You do see an awful lot in the day. Some people organise it independantly, but we have never been that adventurous, preferring the security of Thomson, should anything go wrong, even tho we don't really want to be dragged to papyrus factories anymore!
I'm not sure about arranging to go to Cairo 1st. I know some posters mention booking with Egyptair (from Sharm to Cairo) for the day trips as they get it more cheaply than a Thomson flight. Some choose to wait till they get to Sharm & use the hotel's excursion prog, or one of the many local tour ops in Na'ama itself. Any of those may well organise an overnight stop so that folk can stop to see the eve sound & light show or they may offer a much later flight back than Thomson does. Egyptair will have a website.
Two local tour ops I've heard mention in a favourable way are: Konouz Travel-on the main street in Naama opposite shops and restaurants & Fayed Travel, next to the Thomas Cook exchange office on the main street in Na'ama, which is 2 mins away from the side entrance of JV, leading out under the hotel's Italian restaurant. Thomas Cook is up a tiny alley, about 5 shops down on the left side of the street.
It might start to get "fiddly" if you tried to book Cairo 1st cos you'd still need an internal flight over to Sharm from Cairo.

[Strawberry84]

Hi
Great tips Sekhmet i have written them all down, i go to Sharm in 2 weeks and i'm so excited!!
Just wondered if anyone knew how easy it is to plan a day trip to Cairo and how much it is likely to cost. I've heard its better to fly, but is this not expensive??
Also, just reading some of the comments about unwanted attention, i am going to Sharm with one other girl, we are both 23 and i am blonde! should we worry about going out when it is dark?
Thanks xx

[Pretty Princess]

Hii
Im visiting Sharm in july 2008, i will be 18 by that time but i have herd you have to be 21 in egypt to be allowed alcohol ect, do you need to take your passport out of a night or do you genrally have to be 21?

[Sekhmet]

Will combine answers to both posts in one.
As I said before, I've never booked a day trip independently so have paid more than some folks who choose to book online thru Egyptair prior to going, or thru the hotel, or thru a local tour op in Sharm. I believe Thomson day trips are about �160 (a while since we went) but some folk have picked up real bargains for at least a third of that price, if not a quarter. I've read advice on posts (Tripadvisor forum) that if you book online with Egyptair, you have to click the Egyptian flag sign when booking to get the best bargain. I think this makes it look as tho you're booking from Egypt but I've never investigated that website, so can't explain further.
I wouldn't want to go by taxi or coach to Cairo as it's 6-7hrs each way but people do choose to do this & I think the coach trip is around �40, but again, am not totally sure.
Re: alcohol, my lads have never had a problem & haven't carried their passport around. They were 21 & 17 last Xmas & that was our 3rd time there. I s'pose you could take a photocopy of your passport before travel to slip in your handbag / pocket if it made you feel better?
Re: blondes & Egyptian males in general. The problems are that quite a few female tourists (any age, various nationalities) go there with the intention of finding a holiday romance (I'm being polite....you get what I mean) Whether they dress skimpily or modestly they are very obviously "looking for it". This makes it awkward for the ladies who just want to have fun with their friends / partner / hubby & be left alone. Many local men will flirt with most women in the hope of it leading to something, they are still fascinated by blonde or reddish hair; some are truly just being polite when they talk to you about it but you just need to be aware of how you will be viewed as a young tourist. Just be firm, polite, don't put yourselves in any strange situations. Nobody will tell you off for wearing strappy tops, short skirts etc but the less you wear, the more attention you may get & the less respect they will inwardly be thinking. I do wear shorts & strappy tops in resort, most ladies do, as it's exactly that, a resort, but if you go on trips, cover up a bit more.
Despite all I've just said, I would feel safer walking around Na'ama Bay alone, day or night, than I do in my UK town....day or night!
Crime is low & the only "disturbances" you're likely to see would be a drunken tourist. Tourists of all nations (in my opinion) need to take some responsibility for the way in which we are perceived.
Again, as I previously said, I spend a lot of time on another forum & reassured 4 young female students about similar questions to yours. They had an abfab time & want to return. They threw themselves into the quads, karting, Cairo trips etc, kept their wits about them & had no problems at all.

[Sekhmet]

P.S. EXTRA ACTIVITY I FORGOT TO MENTION:
Ice skating at the Concorde El Salam hotel; sorry, don't know costs.

[TiggerRoo]

Strawberry84

I'm looking into going to Cairo for a day too, I've spoken to lots of people about it and a travel agent told me that if you go to the airport and buy your flight tickets from egyptair on the day you arrive or the day you want to go to cairo then the tickets only cost about �9 maybe a little more depending! alternatively you can book them on the egyptair website now for about �60, this is for a return flight. I think that you will need to book a guide to take you to the pyramids as i also heard that they will not allow you to walk in on your own. you can book tours on the internet although i am going to ask around when i get there as we were looking for something a little more personal as we don't really want to be stuck in a group. Perhaps you could stand at the back of a group and pretend you are one of them. haha. and there are so many egyptian police everywhere at the plateau and they will make sure that you are safe.
I hope this helps, although this is all merely word of mouth but im going to give it a shot!

[Strawberry84]

Thats great, thanks to both of you for your tips!! xx

[TiggerRoo]

Sekhmet

are you Nephthys on trip advisor? If not someone stole your tips and called them theirs! lol!