Ramada El Sokhna Resort

Resorts

by cancon

There are several resorts in the area offering luxury accommodation, water sports and in some cases, golf. A popular choice is the Palmera Beach Resort (tel: (062) 341-0816/24). Egyptians and foreign residents can expect to pay about LE 350 for a double room, including breakfast and dinner. The upscale Stella di Mare incorporates two hotels, the Plan Hotel (tel: (062) 325-0200), where a double room with half board is in the range of LE 610; and the Swiss Inn (tel: (062) 325-0100). At the Swiss Inn, where Egyptian and resident rates for a garden view room with breakfast and dinner are about LE 590 per night, you can enjoy the Thalasso Spa, which offers various treatments and massages for face and body. The Swiss Inn also has an enormous and magnificently landscaped pool sure to thrill the under-12 crowd.

If you’re taking the entire family, consider renting a four-bedroom villa at the Ramada Ain Sokhna (tel: (062) 329-0510) for LE 265 per person per night, half board. Dining options are limited mostly to the hotels. If you’re staying in one of the resorts, you will probably want to remain in the relaxing compounds, anyway. Try to steer clear of Sham El-Nessim and Eid holidays, which many families now spend every year in Ain Sokhna.

Advice: Currency

by aliante1981

If you have no plastic card (either a debit, or a credit one) and do not wish to be bothered with travelers cheques (where commission charges tend to be quite high) you will be better off taking with you determinate currency.

At present, these currencies are clearly Euros (#1, offering the best exchange rate) and US Dollars (as widely accepted but somewhat marked down by the Exchange Bureaus & banks due to the recent slide).

Some other currencies are accepted, but they are heavily marked down.

Fighting the Heat - Part I

by aliante1981

Travels to places like Tunisia involves a lot of fighting the heat, especially if you, like me (I am still surprised as to why I did that), go there right in the middle of the summer. Here’s a list of useful items to take:

- Hats and other covering: Large brimmed hats that provide head covering and some shade. For women, they are also a proof of modesty, welcomed when visiting old churches and mosques. Scarves and the like covering shoulders and arms can keep the sun off during treks. A cloth hat or scarf can be soaked to help keep the head cool.

- "Squeeze Breeze": this is a water bottle with a sprayer and a battery-operated fan attached. The beach toy to take with you!

- Sun block: While sun blocks may be purchased in Tunisia, people tend to prefer sticking with their own favourite brand (the skin, too, ‘gets used’ to it), and there’s not guarantee you’ll find it on the spot. So take your own, if you have preferences!

SUEZ AND SINAI OF EGYPT...start of my travel hobby

by VikingHarald

"Hot enough"

Those days year 1975 when we was with UN employed near Suez town in desert we had of course our "Saunas" with us.

Back side you ll see container and pipeline to our "shower place" where near was our Sauna. With the most hottest time in summer when in shadows was +44 Celsius and in the evening we warm up our saunas and we had there in with hot steam and after that was great feelings .

Inside Sauna had been abr +60-80 Celsius warm.
Ones in week lorry supply water from town Suez to our container in desert.

I would say from those days that...... HERE WAS HOT ENOUGH.

"Judo training in the Sinai desert"

Quite near was also our training "carpet" (Tatami). Here in the desert on sand was done "falling technique trainings ( ukemi-waza).
After perspiring training was nice to get "sauna and shower".

"Sinai-the Spring of Moses"

Ayum Musa /The Spring of Moses

# abr. 30 kilometers from town Suez to east sand desert aside the road to Ras Sudar and Sharm El Sheikh

Ships in the Desert

by MikeAtSea

"The Suez Canal"

2004 was my third time I was able to pass the Suez Canal by ship. And each time it is simply amazing if one sees this canal and the lenght of it.
The canal is somewhat more than 160 km long. Proceeding South from Port Said, it runs in an almost undeviating straight line to Lake Timsah. From there a cutting leads to the Bitter Lakes; this is the area one has to wait for the opposite convoy to pass, and a final cutting then reaches the Gulf of Suez. The canal has no locks and can accommodate all but the largest ships. For our size ship really not a problem!
The modern canal was planned by the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps, who also supervised construction (1859-69). Great Britain, which had opposed the construction of the canal, became the largest shareholder in 1875 by purchasing the interest of the Egyptian khedive. The Convention of Constantinople signed in 1888 by all major European powers of the time declared the canal neutral and guaranteed free passage to all in time of peace and war. Great Britain was the guarantor of the neutrality of the canal; management was placed in the hands of the Suez Canal Company.
Today however the Egyptian gouvernement controls the canal and it is an important revenue creator. Suez the town on the South of the Canal is today living mainly of the canal, the workers it employs and shipping companies that provide agents to the passing ships.