Sharm el sheikh and visas ?

[blaupunkt]

Hi, i am going to Sharm in the beginning of march, and i am wondering if i will need a visa or not, i was told by the company i booked with that i would need one but i have read a couple of things stating that if we just stay in the sharm region to do a bit of sun bathing and snorkelling then we will not as you only need them for any trips.

seeing as we are only going for 1 week and do not dive (yet) i am not sure what the best trip would be to do, obviously i would like to go see the pyramids etc but that will have to be on another trip to egypt.

so far the only trip i have seen that might be worth doing is the coloured canyon one but i am not sure if i would need a visa for this, does anyone know ? :) seeing as we are only there for 1 week and will probably only do 1 possibly 2 trips can anyone recommend any and state if a visa would be required :)

[Buenchico]

Quote (from the website of the Egyptian consulate):
"Nationals from UK , EU and USA travelling to Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba resorts ONLY, for a maximum of 14 DAYS, do not require a visa prior to travelling as a free entry permission stamp will be granted upon arrival. If you intend to travel outside of the above mentioned areas you MUST obtain a Visa"

If in doubt, get a visa. A single trip visa costs £15 but a multiple trip visa costs just £3 more, at £18. Full details are here:
http://www.egyptianconsulate.co.uk/Visas.php

Chris

[dothawkes31]

There will probably be a quad bike excurson into the desert but doubt you'll need a visa. If you do that one wear long sleeves and long leg trousers or the sand tears you to shreads as you speed across the dunes, also, take a backpack of bottled water as they try to rip you off at the half way stop .

[missmuppet]

HI blaupunkt, if you think that you'll only do the coloured canyon, you won't need a visa. You generally need a visa if you are staying longer than 16 days or are going out of the Sinai region. The coloured canyon is fabulous but make sure you take some trainers with you.

[blaupunkt]

excellent, thanks for the replies!

[jno]

normal cost of getting a visa on arrival is a tenner (best have a clean note)

http://www.egyptianconsulate.co.uk/FAQ.php

But I don't think you need one unless you're going right away from the region.

[puzzfuzz]

You only need a visa if you are planing to travel outside of sharm for example Cairo or if you plan to dive outside of a particular region. Only experienced divers would dive outside of sharm. When you get to the airport the Egyptian authorities mislead you by making everyone queue up for a visa. It is up to yourself to clearly say 'no' and state that you are only staying in the sharm area therwise you will have to fork out £20 each I think it is.

[puzzfuzz]

If you are considering trips though I would get a visa as you may change your mind but if you are only staying a week it is a whole days coach trip to Cairo so it will be exhausting. I would save all the trips for another time when you are there for two weeks at least.