Blogs from Sharm el-Sheikh, Red Sea, Egypt, Africa

Here we are, I'm at my 90 days in South Africa so it's time to hit the road. So the choices are getting more and more limited if you are coming from SA...and I have no intention to go to Europe with so many restrictions. So here I am in Egypt. Trip was fun as I had to be sure my bags where not left somewhere...on the way. Trip was Durban-Doha-Istanbul-Sharm. Little tricky point, I could only transfer airside in those places...and I was on two tickets...so didn't want to have issues tracking my bag in Istanbul...or getting lockdown in quarantine for 14 days. Yes, I went with only carry-on...with my full diving gears! Interesting experience. Job done and arriving in Sharm at 2am. The hotel has a shuttle...decent price for a single...take a taxi if ... read more

Sharm el Sheikh I do not understand why we sailed past this point on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula coming from Aqaba and went down to Safaga first before sailing back across the Red Sea to here. We docked early this morning and watched the hordes of folks get off to see the sights—mostly going to the sandy beaches and looking at marine life and coral reefs from boats fitted with glass bottoms out of Na’ama Bay. That is what we planned to do here, but we were pooped from the long day, heat, and exertion from the previous day, and stayed on board to nap and read and recover. As you can see from the photo, Na’ama Bay is close enough to walk to if you were willing to walk a mile in over ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Egypt! Country number 68, and to be honest I’m surprised I’ve left it so long, being so near to Europe and so many things of wonder to see. But alas, I have made it now, so no complaints there, and the next 2 weeks and a bit I plan to cover quite a bit of the place. First up, the Sinai Peninsula, where I am right now. This amazing piece of bottom-up triangular-shaped land forms the bridge not only between the African and Asian continents, but also the link between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and beyond these, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans respectively. A major crossroads throughout the last few thousand years, and steeped in historical and military importance as empires and armies trekked along the north Sinai coast towards North ... read more

After seemingly spending all of December and January (so far) in the rain and chill we decided to head off for some sun; this time in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.We flew from Birmingham after a 6.15am departure from Cardiff. The flight took 5 hours and we arrived at Sharm el Sheikh at 6pm local time. Our hotel, the Savoy, is located only 6 kms from the airport so we were checked-in by 7pm local time and then went out for a meal at one of the restaurants in the pedestrian mall outside the front entrance of the hotel. All very easy though the temperature was rather cooler than we had expected. Friday 13th January: After a leisurely breakfast we looked round our hotel, the Savoy, which is very nice consisting of sprawling low rise accommodation with ... read more

In December 2011 Shark Attacks hit the news. Sharks were attacking tourists in Sharm el Sheikh and people fled in fear. Beaches were closed, boats lined up in the bay's stopping people going deeper than there ankles. It was chaos. Then the revolution hit in January of this year and Egypt's well built up, distinguished tourist industry came crashing down around Mubaraks ears. Divers stopped visiting, sight see-er's stopping visiting. And a huge majority of Egypt's workers lost their livelihoods. But the country remained strong. Its people didn't give up, they fought for their rights and they are still fighting today. In Sharm in a little dive centre called Oonas 4 guys came up with an idea to get people back. Make an underwater video featuring four grown men, acting like prats infront of the camera ... read more