Any tips on going to Egypt?

Expect to pay a lot of tips. so if you have any friends who've been who still have some small currency, see if you can scrounge it off them.

Cheers for that, I was reading on trip advisor they like sterling? would that be ok, I am just a bit worried of the dodgy tums! I do have a rock hard tummy normally, but alot of reviews were saying about upset tums, any advice?

My tummy was fine, just one day i had a slightly squiffy time but nothing compared to other places i've been. and as you're going to sharm it'll be largely european food anyway i guess.

so just like any other hot country, make sure you drink lots of water so you don't dehydrate

we did give the odd tip in sterling, but for people like loo attendants and similar, they may not really get the chance to change it. but the staff at hotels probably will so its not the end of the world if you dont have egyptian money

you don't have to tip a huge amount...a loo attendent would get about 50c (half an egyptian pound) which is about 40p i think...

the money was dead hard to work out ?

edited to add...just checked in my diary and i think an egyptian pound is about 14p. so 50c is half this...

i think

so if you tip a porter, say, 10 egyptian pounds its about £1.40...

i think ?

Thats good to hear, I should ban myself from trip advisor really!! I research before I go, book it, then bad reviews seem to rear their ugly head!!!?

Excessive air con, alcohol and handling money are the biggest causes of tummy bugs. We carried around a small bottle of anti-bac hand gel and used it as often as poss.

They love £1 coins as tips.

The airport at Sharm is a nightmare - if you are not going out of the region, you do not need to queue for a visa stamp (make sure you are in the correct queue!) - just write 'Sinai only' on the back of your entry form.

C-L

If you do get a tummy bug dont bother with english stuff, get the egyption stuff, a lot stonger, works a lot faster! My OH was ill, so i went in to chemist and said he had a poorly tummy and they gave me 3 different things, which cost about £2 total! I was expecting a lot more! x

Bear in mind, though, that the Egyptian stuff they give you for a dodgy tummy will be hardcore antibiotics (ciprofloxacin or similar, most famous for being an anti-anthrax drug) - not suitable for everyone and can stop your pill working if you are on the pill (though so can a dodgy tum of course)!

Been to Egypt but not Sharm (I went to Cairo, Alexandria and some places on the Nile). Kieren's tipping guide sounds about right - 5 egyptian pounds for loo attendant, 10 for porter etc. They will often demand more than that but that is quite fair/generous.