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Advantages: nice views by the sea, and diving experts Disadvantages: nightlife is poor
I was in Egypt last year in march, I stayed in the hotel in marsaalam, I was on holiday on my own, and i really love Egypt, I thought the area was very nice, the hotel i stayed in was ran by German people, and there was losts of german people i stayed with, and they were very nice, i went into the red sea, the red sea is a very beautiful part of the world under the sea. My hotel was basically in the middle of the desert. about 50miles away from the nearest town each way. overall i thought it was very good staying there but the night life need to be improved more, to attrach more people to the hotel, because i was there half board and the entertainment was very little. ...
Advantages: Weather, diving, underdeveloped - get away from the crowds Disadvantages: Not if you want nightlife, or don't snorkel/dive
We went to MarsaAlam direct from Gatwick (unfortunately with Excel - read my other review!), which was a half hour transfer from where we were staying. The weather was a hot 33 degrees celsius, cooling down to needing sleeves in the evenings, and underwater was between 26-28 degrees.
We stayed at an all inclusive, basic diving resort, with a beautiful reef right in front of our doorstop. It cost £650, which included flights, transfers, accommodation, food, drinks (except beer - 2 euros) and unlimited diving for 5 days.
The surrounding area is vastly under-developed so there were no shops / restaurants / discos / pubs and it was ABSOLUTE heaven to get away from it all. You could go on Bedouin desert trips or quad biking for something different to do, but it's all sand-related!
Our accomodation was the middle option - own room ...
MarsaAlam is a 4 hour ride from Hurghada but, don't worry, the new airport opens in November - at least this is what the locals say! Quite who will use the airport is uncertain as there are only 2 or 3 hotels in the area.Shams Alam looks great in the foyer and the rooms are quite good, however, the food is almost inedible so prepare to lose weight.The dive centre is really good and boays set off daily at 8.30 returning at 5 pm. There are dolphins all over as well as turtles and eagle rays. If you don't like the sea then don't go as there is nothing else! Guests are mostly German and I saw no other nationalities. It is also windy even in summer.Snorkelling from the beach is quite poor because of sand in the water. ...
