Red Sea Trips

[pitman]

Hi everyone,

can you recomend any trips on the Red Sea Magic

my wife and i join Celibration on March 18 2010

are there any trips we could do ourselves?

 

many thanks

malcolm

 

:o:o

[Smee]

I find taking organised tours much better, they may cost a little more but you always get an English speaking guide which is very useful because you may miss something of interest. Also its worth remembering that we ( British people ) are not as welcome in some parts of the world as we once were and organised tours do give more security.

[davecttr]

It appears that self organised excursions on this cruises are not recommended and indeed in two of the ports you can't even get a taxi because they are not allowed into the port.

 

For my upcoming cruise I have decided on the 'big four'.

 

Day 1 in Aqaba - 4x4 trip to Wadi Rum where they filmed Lawrence of Arabis so amazing scenery, 5 hours

Day 2 in Aqaba - Petra is THE best option, unless you fancy floating about in a dirty Dead Sea, 11 hours

Day 3 at sea - recover

Day 4 in Port Sokhna - One of the Cairo trips, pyramids, sphinx etc, 12 hours

Day 5 in Safaga - Luxor and Thebes etc, 15 hours!

Day 6 in Safaga - recover, maybe a trip to the beach

 

Lots of alternatives on the Thomson site.

[Smee]

For us it will be

 

Christmas day.............Rest

 

Boxing day ....... Petra

 

Also we will do Luxur and the Pyramids

:D:D:D

[barnowl1950]

For us it will be

 

Christmas day.............Rest

 

Boxing day ....... Petra

 

Also we will do Luxur and the Pyramids

:D:D:D

 

 

For us it will be my 60th birthday Fri.26th Feb....rest.....or maybe Wadi Rum

 

Sat.....Petra

 

Mon..... Cairo Pyramids and museum :D:D Hope you have your tickets now Smee :)

[Smee]

No tickets yet but we still have the turkey and now we have bought a christmas pudding too...Just in case..............:(:(

[Smee]

Looking on the bright side.....:)....We could be flying BA..........:eek:

[barnowl1950]

Looking on the bright side.....:)....We could be flying BA..........:eek:

 

Oh crikey,yes!! Anyway back to the turkey and pudding you won't be needing them yet, why not have them for Easter. Let us know when the

tickets arrive.

 

Carole.

[Debnjit]

Hi guys

 

We are going on this trip on the 18th February. I would like to do Petra one day and Dead Sea the next. However, I have noticed that we don't seem to get to Aqaba til 11am, so is it still possible on your first day in Aqaba to do and 11/12 hour trip? Or would we have to settle for a short trip on the first day?

 

Also, we have done it the other way round, cruise first, then stay in Sharm afterwards to rest. Anyone else done this? :D

[mrshole]

It appears that self organised excursions on this cruises are not recommended and indeed in two of the ports you can't even get a taxi because they are not allowed into the port.

 

For my upcoming cruise I have decided on the 'big four'.

 

Day 1 in Aqaba - 4x4 trip to Wadi Rum where they filmed Lawrence of Arabis so amazing scenery, 5 hours

Day 2 in Aqaba - Petra is THE best option, unless you fancy floating about in a dirty Dead Sea, 11 hours

Day 3 at sea - recover

Day 4 in Port Sokhna - One of the Cairo trips, pyramids, sphinx etc, 12 hours

Day 5 in Safaga - Luxor and Thebes etc, 15 hours!

Day 6 in Safaga - recover, maybe a trip to the beach

 

Lots of alternatives on the Thomson site.

 

Hi

We have just got back and did all of the above and we need a holiday now to recover. The trips have early starts eg 6:30am and finish late eg 9:30pm... quick shower then dash to watch the shows.... hope you booked the week after your cruise to recover :D We wouldnt change a thing tho:D Very tired but very content....except for this english weather!:eek::(:mad: Enjoy :)

[davecttr]

Hi

We have just got back and did all of the above and we need a holiday now to recover. The trips have early starts eg 6:30am and finish late eg 9:30pm... quick shower then dash to watch the shows.... hope you booked the week after your cruise to recover :D We wouldnt change a thing tho:D Very tired but very content....except for this english weather!:eek::(:mad: Enjoy :)

 

I have decided to leave the Luxor trip for another cruise as my little legs will probably still be recovering from the Petra trip. It seems miles to walk there and a pity that there is no transport for the exhausted.

[Oozewood]

Hi

We have just got back and did all of the above and we need a holiday now to recover. The trips have early starts eg 6:30am and finish late eg 9:30pm... quick shower then dash to watch the shows.... hope you booked the week after your cruise to recover :D We wouldnt change a thing tho:D Very tired but very content....except for this english weather!:eek::(:mad: Enjoy :)

 

Hi

Could you give me an idea of the prices charged for these trips...

thanks

[davecttr]

Hi

Could you give me an idea of the prices charged for these trips...

thanks

From my ticket booklet.

Aqaba -

Petra £82

Wadi Rum £34

Dead Sea £54

Hotel & beach £22

 

Port Sokhna -

Cairo £50 to £75

beach transfer £28

 

Safaga -

Luxor £82

Luxor overnight £135

Seascope sub and Hurgada £38

beach transfer £18

paradise island £52

quad biking £42

Hurgada shoppng and show £28

Hurgada transfer £16

 

sharm el Sheikh -

glass bottom boat £24

Ras Mohamed snorkle £32

quad bikes £30

 

Apparently at Petra there are horse buggies to drag you back to the visitor centre so my little legs will be OK.

[wldt]

Not possible to do trips on your own. Thomson trips are not too expensive.

Done this cruise twice.

Day 1 in Aqaba - 4x4 trip to Wadi Rum where they filmed Lawrence of Arabis so amazing scenery, 5 hours - excellent

Day 2 in Aqaba - Petra - excellent

Day 4 in Port Sokhna - Cairo trip, pyramids, sphinx etc, 12 hours - excellent

Day 5 in Safaga - Luxor too far to travel - wait until next year and do Nile cruise - excellent

 

Did the Dead Sea trip on our second cruise but could not recommend this - long drive and not a lot at the end of it.

[gosport11]

hi all this might seem silly,when they say beach transfer is that to hotel on the beach or just to the sea front and pay for your own chairs etc :):)

[merciaman]

I believe beach transfer is to a hotel with a privete beach and includes a cold drink on arrival. We are going on the 11th feb.

[kruzseeka]

Not possible to do trips on your own. Thomson trips are not too expensive.

Done this cruise twice.

Day 1 in Aqaba - 4x4 trip to Wadi Rum where they filmed Lawrence of Arabis so amazing scenery, 5 hours - excellent

Day 2 in Aqaba - Petra - excellent

Day 4 in Port Sokhna - Cairo trip, pyramids, sphinx etc, 12 hours - excellent

Day 5 in Safaga - Luxor too far to travel - wait until next year and do Nile cruise - excellent

 

Did the Dead Sea trip on our second cruise but could not recommend this - long drive and not a lot at the end of it.

 

Very useful summary - thanks. We haven't done this area yet and are considering this trip with perhaps a separate Nile cruise at another time in which case Luxor is clearly much better to 'do' from the Nile. If you were not doing the Luxor trip, is there anything else you woud recommend at Safaga?

 

Thanks to everyone for the input on this cruise and trip suggestions - it's really helpful to those who haven't been to this area before especially, if like me, you're trying to weigh up all the options before making a decision. :)

[jenny wren]

On one of our stops in Safaga (in 2004) we did a trip to a beach resort which was to a hotel resort on the beach (used by Portland) with use of pools, sunbeds and umbrella on the beach, with a buffet lunch in the hotel included...and there were water sports available for those who wanted. this was a while ago so don't know whether it is still an option.

 

Another time we went to Hurghada..first to the modern part and then to the old town for some souvenir shopping....we loved this as we like a bargain and there was a 'department store' near to the drop off point with a supermarket on the ground floor and 3 or 4 floors above with jewellery, clothing, and furniture. We got some amazing bargains in the clothes department....some lovely chiffon shawls less than two english pounds each!!! all things were price marked....and some t-shirts for around the same price. Very good for presents to take home for the kids!!

 

We love the Middle East and the type of places there but it is not for everybody...I remember a chap standing next to me on deck one day saying 'I much prefer the Caribbean' ....well it is not the Caribbean and it is not anything like the Caribbean...even the heat is different...not humid!! In fact over the dozen or so visits to several middle eastern countries it has never rained!!! yet on our two visits to the Caribbean it has rained frequently both times!!

[ciderboy]

Hi Jenny

Me again.......I was interested to read on one of your replies about the stop at Safaga where you went to the shops in Hurghada.....did you pay for the thompson transfer(£16) or can you get a Taxi as there are 4 of us

[davecttr]

Hi Jenny

Me again.......I was interested to read on one of your replies about the stop at Safaga where you went to the shops in Hurghada.....did you pay for the thompson transfer(£16) or can you get a Taxi as there are 4 of us

There are ports on this cruise where you can't get a taxi because the ship berths in a industrial port where taxis are not allowed. Safaga may be one of these.

[jenny wren]

We did all ships excursions....as Dave says the ports are industrial and its not the norm to get a taxi...though saying that Safaga is a ferry port so perhaps taxis are allowed....but I don't remember seeing any...certainly not taking any cruise ship passengers anyway!!

 

It was also quite a walk to the port gate and then you don't have a guarantee of getting a taxi when you get there, or of what they would charge you!!!!

[Oozewood]

Many thanks

 

Jim