Hi to all,

Decided to post the latest version (I keep tweeking / adding to it) so it's easy for people to find; either in my history & forum pages or by putting the title into the search engine. Will get round to sorting out inside pages, but not for about another 2 weeks as so much to do atmo, especially this week; anyway, here goes:

JABS - None is compulsory but the following are advisable, up to date tetanus, diphtheria, polio, typhoid & hep A; some people have hep B. If you put "jabs" into the search engine on this forum, it will show recent replies to queries re: jabs.

TOPLESS SUNBATHING - is not advisable as it's a Muslim country. Recently, poster Tim H from Lincs UK said, “according the Lonely Planet Guide it is illegal to bath topless in Egypt. I also remember reading a notice in front of the beach at the Sofitel end of Na'ama Bay saying the same thing”. Hotel staff are all male & there are notices around several of the hotel’s pools requesting that you don’t sunbathe topless.

Be careful if you go out of resort on trips to wear 3/4 length trousers or jeans & make sure that if the top is strappy that it's not too low cut. You’ll attract cat-calls from the women in Cairo, let alone the men if you’re skimpily dressed by their standards!

You'll attract plenty of male attention, especially if you're blonde; most of the time it's just a laugh & they don't cross the line. Be polite but firm. They have a great sense of humour & like the Brits.

VISAS - Get your visa when you land at Sharm – usually £10 - £12. You won't be holding everyone up - most people do it this way. Join the queue on the left, not the Thomson queue - it's a pound or so cheaper & change is given in local currency. You'll only need a visa if you intend to leave Sinai during your stay in Sharm – ie if you intend to visit Cairo, Luxor, Petra & Ras Mohamed by boat. No visa req’d for Mount Sinai & St. Catherine’s monastery, Tiran Island boat trip, quads or seascope trips. If not intending to leave Sinai, write “Sinai only” on the back of the landing card & proceed to passport control.

SHOPPING - The vendors can be a bit pushy - again, you must be prepared to haggle hard & try to look out for the "entrapment" ploys such as "Can I ask you a question?" "We've just opened a new shop & have a sale on, come & look". "Will you sign my guest book for other customers to read?" It's all harmless but you can get caught up for some time!

They'll want to offer you drinks like mint tea in many of the shops if you seem genuinely interested, or go back for a 2nd look.

The restaurants will also hassle you for their custom as competition between all shops & bars is strong due to the similarity of many. Some people cope with this better than others but fore-warned is fore-armed.

Bargain for everything, haggle hard, including taxis - even to the point of pretending to walk away.

TAXIS – They have a reputation for trying to rip off the tourists. They do have tariffs fixed by the government & the appropriate sticker on the windscreen, depending on if they’re white bonnet, blue bonnet, minibus etc. Poster MrSmall said, 18.6.07, that they apparently swap these around to gain the higher tariff of the blue bonnet taxis. The mini bus sticker should green, white bonnet taxi should be blue & the blue bonnet taxi one is red. Check on the forum for the correct prices before you go, so you have an idea before traveling of what you should be paying for trips into Na’ama / Old Town etc. Be aware, also that you should agree a price before you get in & ensure you know what currency you’ll be paying! Stress that you’ll be paying in Egyptian money. If you can’t agree, walk away; there are plenty more crying out for your custom.

AIRPORT TRANSFER – If you’re not part of a tour package, your hotel will be able to arrange a taxi transfer for you, usually in a nicer quality taxi, with aircon, which they will call a limo.

SAFETY - It's really a very safe place to be & you'll feel safe too, in resort. There are some tourist police around, but they're not intimidating & very approachable. They & the government are well aware that Egypt relies on tourism heavily, so please report anything untoward to them & / or take advice from your rep or hotel management.

We spent Xmas / New Years ’04, ’05 & ’06 there - that is me, hubby & 2 sons. We'd not take our sons anywhere we perceived as unsafe. We feel totally at ease - more so than wandering about our home town, at times. Our sons (21 & 18) go off, out of resort, day or eve to Ghibli Raceway. They haggle for their own taxi & we really don’t worry about them. We worry far more about them going into our own city centre – day or night!

TRIPS - available are things like day trips to Cairo, Luxor, Petra (in Jordan; obtain visa for Jordan when you land at their airport; it’s around £12 - £15) These day trips are all long but brilliant.

Some people choose to book thru their tour operator, at the Welcome meeting, for peace of mind, should anything go wrong, others book thru the hotel, on arrival, or there are plenty of tour operators in Sharm. The latter 2 alternatives are cheaper, but it's entirely up to you.

The same applies to the trips like quad biking at sunset, in the desert, or quad biking by day, incl. BBQ (buy a Bedouin scarf at the local supermarket to wrap round your mouth - very very dusty!) Wear older clothes for these trips. They’ll sell you goggles at the venue. They’ll do a DVD of the trip, which you can buy after – ours (sunset trip) was excellent. Again, great trips. I'd never ridden a quad before. Thomson charge about £30 per person; posters on here, who've booked locally, have paid £6-£12 per person. Thomson have an age limit of 16 but local vendors / hotels will allow younger children on board, alone or behind a parent.

There's stargazing in the desert - looking at stars thru proper equipment, have a meal & listen to the local guide explain about the constellations. If you’re going in slightly cooler months, wrap up for that trip, or sunset quad trip as the desert gets v cool!!!

There's seascope - half day trip in a boat which has a lower deck under water, & the walls are all see-thru', so you can see everything, close at hand.

There’s a jeep safari – not done it, so can’t comment on it, except that, as with quads, ladies are advised to wear a sports bra!

There's a long but good day trip to Mount Sinai, St Catherine's monastery (see the burning bush & cow carved in the rock, dating back to Moses's time) You’ll visit Dahab on the way back. This is also a diving resort & not as commercialized or large as Na’ama Bay. Be prepared to witness the poverty of the Bedouins. Children will beg for chocolate, pens, chewing gum & sweets in general.

There are boat trips to Ras Mohamed National park (visa req'd) & you can either soak up the sun or snorkel at the 3 stops.

They also offer camel rides & you can do horse riding on the beach from Sofitel or from local vendors.

CLEOPARK / WATERPARK - There is a waterpark - about 5mins from the centre of Na'ama, towards airport. Newish, so don't know much about it. Website is: www.cleoparkegypt.com. & http://www.cleoparkegypt.com/Aquamap.html

KARTING - There is Ghibli karting track, between airport & Na'ama - they have a junior track, pro-karts & competition night is Friday eves. My sons (18 & 21) feel that this one is safer than the one between Old Sharm & Na'ama. Safety talk given beforehand. Elder son races nationally, so I respect his opinion. There are various packages available; they often have 2 x 15min sessions. Competition night is Fridays; prizes they’ve enjoyed are a meal for 2 in the restaurant / bar there & a free go in a pro-kart. There is also quad track at the KTM Enduro centre which is up a side road near the entrance road to Cleopark.

There's a bowling alley in Sharm - get there at 7pm & you won't have to wait.

GOLF – We stay at Jolie Ville Resort & Casino; course is at the sister hotel of ours – Jolie Ville Golf & Resort, so hubby & elder son enjoy a discounted round at about £30 (Dec ’06) & pay an extra $11 on Wednesdays to enter the competition. We always take 2 sets of golf clubs with us; they need booking separately on your flight about 3m beforehand. Most airlines will charge for that now. We leave the clubs at the hotel golf club for the duration of the hols, after the 1st visit. Contact details of JV Golf Hotel:

Telephone: +20-69-3600635

Fax: +20-69-3603225

E-mail: golfclub@golf-joliemoven.com

Internet: moevenpick-hotels.com/hotels/…golf_new3.htm

UPSET TUM - Take wipes or antibacterial handwash & carry them with you as the money is truly filthy. Some bugs are picked up from things / food when others haven’t washed their hands (enough said!)

There are many chemists in Sharm. The ones we've used seem very knowledgeable & helpful. We've never had a touch of the Pharaoh’s Revenge during our 3 visits but advice on this forum strongly suggests that at the 1st sign of the Cairo Quickstep, Sharm Shuffle, Luxor Limbo, Aswan Sand-dance, or any type of tummy trouble, go straight to the chemist - UK products are ineffective! Ask for Antinal at about 50p a packet. Antinal suspension is available for kids. (Web info says it’s also known as Ambatrol (nifuroxazide) & Nifuroxazide Ercefuryl, but it’s Antinal in Egypt).

Local peppermint tea also helps with the digestion. One tip from our uk chemist was to take Motilium pills with us, as they aid digestion & prevent anything lying heavily in the gut. It’s not a laxative but if you have something dodgy, it helps it to go thru (without making you rush to the loo.) Maybe take rehydration sachets with you like Dioralyte.

Further tip from my friend who regularly travels to places like Tibet, India & Paraguay is to take Citricidal (Grape fruit seed extract) It’s available in Health Shops & there are several websites explaining that conventional antibiotics only kill bacteria. The grapefruit seed extract has been shown to inactivate viruses, yeasts, fungi, parasites and worms, as well as bacteria. It is therefore antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial. Recommended 1-3 tablets a day, with or without meals & it’s ideal for traveling to places where food or drink may be contaminated. Acidophilus pre-biotic tablets may also help line your stomach in preparation for unfamiliar bacteria potentially found in the food out there.

MOSQUITOES- Take Vit B pills just before going & during - you won't taste nice to the mozzies then. Be aware that prolonged use may upset your mineral balance. Some people say take yeast pills instead. Take Avon Skin so Soft / Woodland Fresh as it's a great repellent. (Some specifically recommend the Avon skin so soft dry oil spray "soft & fresh"; “you want the blue/green bottle as this variety has the citronella in it, it is not in the pink one "soft & sensual"” –(Flysun, on Rhodes forum.) Some say get DEET from Boots. Take a room plug in. If a real mozzie problem occurs in your room, ask reception to spray it when cleaning. You can also get wristbands from Mothercare against mozzies (approx £3 each). Aspivenin gadget from Boots (about £20) or online- pocket sized mini pump that will suck out the poison from mozzie bites etc

MONEY - Some hotels have holes in the wall in the grounds; there are several cash points around Na'ama.

Take sterling, or sterling travellers cheques & exchange there - better rate. Visa, Visa Electron, Plus Card, MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus are all acceptable in almost all ATM's in Egypt. In addition, all cards carrying "123" or "NAPS" ATM network logos are also acceptable.

Thomas Cook exchange at the Jolie Ville end of His Maj The King of Bahrain St (the main shopping street).

TIPPING - as you go (if service is good in hotel & at a restaurant) & they'll really look after you, even more. It’s ok to tip in pound coins – at least until you exchange some money – as they save them up & ask a tourist to swap them for a note. We tip 10% or 10% plus, depending on service & how many times we frequent the particular eateries / bar.

PLUGS - Voltage 220 & 2 pin, round plugs, European adapters.

MAP OF AREA - Here's a good map, where you can click onto various areas of Sharm & see where different bays & hotels are situated. If you put "Street map of Sharm" into google, it comes up about 3rd from the top. http://www.goredsea.com/en_streetmap+1-sharmelsheikh-destinationstreetmap.aspx.

MOBILES - Buy an Egyptian sim card there; they’re very reasonable to load up. Put “sim” into the search engine on the forum & you’ll connect to recent threads on this. The hotels will probably be able to tell you how to obtain one. Old cheap handsets are also available out there. Sim cards are available at Mobinil shop on the main drag down from the taxi rank - just behind one of the bedouin type seafood/steakhouse or upstairs at Vodafone place on the corner of the same street, also nr MacDonalds. Should cost around 40le

NIGHTLIFE - Pachas & Camel bar, on His Maj King of Bahrain St are popular, & Hard Rock nearby. Tavern Bar, fairly nr Hard Rock. http://www.thetavernbar.com. Little Buddha (more expensive) TGI’s turns into a club after midnight. “Fantasia”, (Alf Leila Wa Leila) towards Old Sharm – live shows incl English speaking nights. pickalbatros.com/sharm/alfleila/outlets.html

FOOD! - Loadsa different places to eat - Italian, Thai, Chinese, Steak houses, fish restaurants, Lebanese, Egyptian. Put restaurants into search engine, on the forum & you'll see comments. Old Sharm restaurants will be cheaper; Sinai Star is a popular one there. Lobster, at Spaghettissimo’s, our fave steak house in Na'ama is £9! (Price Dec ’06) This is at the Jolie Ville end of His Maj the King of Bahrain Street. They have a huge menu, incl pasta, snacks, fish, chicken dishes, steaks, veal etc. Brill cappuccinos & lattes, chocamochas, pancakes at Bianco's opo Camel Bar, about halfway down, on the same side as Spaghettissimo’s. Dragonerera Thai & Chinese on Sultan Qabas Street, off His Maj King of Bahrain Street is good. You can still go to Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds too.

La Fleur, at Jolie Ville Resort & Casino is a lovely one for a romantic, quiet night (won’t be cheap by comparison to others)

If I've missed anything, please ask! : )

Regards