Sharm El Sheik Curfew

[smurfchops]

If Sharm is according to the Foreign Office, still a safe place to go, why is there a curfew between 1700 and 0600?

[boxtops]

To keep people safe - just in case? Most people don't go outside the hotel complexes in the evenings anyway.

[smurfchops]

Sharm is a large resort and full of restaurants. No one would want to sit in (and eat in) their hotel every night.

[boxtops]

They might have to, now the country's declared a national emergency.

[smurfchops]

Wouldn't it be a good idea if the FO agreed that, and not keep stating that the Red Sea region is still safe to travel to? Or perhaps they just want to keep making money out of tourists spending in hotels.

[jno]

the FO gets into trouble if it declares countries unsafe too readily - it usually means companies stop sending people there and those who've already paid for their hols can't get their money back.

[smurfchops]

If the FO says it isn't safe then surely people can then get their money back from the travel agent ?

[DJHawkes]

last night I posted on here about my son's advice from his travel agent, he's now logged onto a site that people from the same hotel he is going to are posting on saying they are all fine and noone should worry and so he's said all looks ok. still a worry but he's told me to stop fretting.

[Zacs-Master]

Yep, I'd find that a really relaxing holiday. Not.

[jno]

depends, smurfchops. The money may have already been paid to hoteliers etc. If you try to reclaim it on insurance there's often a clause saying acts of god and governments aren't covered.

[Canary42]

Way back in the Seventies I spent an enjoyable and safe holiday in Istanbul in spite of a curfew and martial law (declared a few days before I went).

[Octavius]

By and large you should be ok at the Red Sea, and thus far, fairly remote from the trouble in Cairo. You might have problems with your flights though if they land in curfew times - check with airline - and I would give evening trips to Nama Bay or Soho Square a miss (not that Nama bay is anything to miss, horrible place). Hotels will (or should) bend over themselves to protect the safety of their guests whilst in the compound. That said, things could change overnight so you'd need to be more aware and vigilant to the evacuation plans than you would normally.

[jno]

I don't know if you can see this

http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?c=setreg&region=2&m_id=s~_rvs~d~A&w_id=9212&news_id=2007746

it says many operators are cancelling excursions from Red Sea resorts.

[EDDIE51]

With Egypt only a step away from full scale civil war you would be mad to consider going there now. If a civil war does start as is looking increasingly likely any tourists will be left to fend for themselves. All travel insurance has clauses that void it in the event of war. A civil war is likely to involve closure of the airspace as a first response, in any case no airline will fly into a war zone as they would have no insurance either.

[smurfchops]

Octavo us those two words 'evacuation plans' make me shudder.

[jno]

now they're corralling UK tourists nearer to the central area

http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?c=setreg&region=2&m_id=s~_rvs~d~A&w_id=9222&news_id=2007783

About now I'd be thinking of switching to Benidorm.

[naomi24]

//Most people don't go outside the hotel complexes in the evenings anyway. //

They do in Sharm. It's a tourist town full of bustling restaurants. (The original old town is few miles away - not many tourists there).

[EDDIE51]

It is now getting worse just as I said it would on Friday. Looks like a full scale civil war is just days away. On TV yesterday it said supplies of food and drink are running low as the deliveries can't be made due to the curfew.
Evacuation plans are now in place, so to anyone thinking of going DO NOT DO IT.
Problem will be that until the 'state of emergency' is actually declared the travel agents do not have to give you a refund. But if you are daft enough to go you stand a good chance of being stuck there with no food waiting for an evacuation flight, which will have to be a military operation as no airline will fly into a 'war zone'.

[ChillDoubt]

I'm still perplexed as to why anyone would want to holiday in a Muslim country in the current political climate.

[wolf63]

My boss is there with his wife just now, just hoping all is okay.

[237SJ]

I`m just in the middle of a training course with an Egyptian colleague. He says there is no problem at all at Sharm. I wouldn`t be put off from going there at the moment - now is probably the right time to get a good deal :-) As far as Cairo is concerned, the airlines have changed their schedules to that they land outside of the curfew (purely so that passengers can get to and from the airport). If the airlines pull out, one is in trouble and if they don`t, then it`s probably all OK.