SURPRISE!

In February for my 28th Birthday, Alejandro took me on a surprise weekend getaway. It’s usually very difficult to surprise me and Alejandro generally can’t hold water for shit. So needless to say, I was surprised we made it all the way into the airport before the destination was spoiled.

If only the “security” agent could read, I could have probably made it all the way on the plane without knowing where we were headed. When Alejandro tried to sneakily show him the boarding pass the man took one glance at the phone and asked where are you going. Alejandro whispers the answer and the man says WHAT. Alejandro whispers again and the man says WHAT SHARM EL SHEIKH. Hahaha as much I tried to pretend I hadn’t heard him, I’m pretty sure people in America heard him, he was so damn loud.

At The Airport

You may be wondering why security is in quotation marks up there. Well, that is kind of a joke here in Egypt. We didn’t have to throw away liquids. We didn’t have to take out electronics and we didn’t have to take off our shoes. In reality, the person manning the X-ray machine wasn’t even really looking at the screen. We went through security in a record-breaking 2 minutes where most of the hold up was due to the man not being able to read the boarding pass.

Since the man yelled out Sharm El Sheikh, I figured we were probably going to Sharm El Sheikh. Either way, I was still surprised by the destination. This wasn’t even an option in my mind since this is a summer destination we were hitting up in the dead of winter. And by the dead of winter I mean, it is a freezing 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit out.

Since we came straight from school to the airport we were pretty early. Like literally no one but us and the cleaners were at the airport. For hours. I’ve never seen an active airport terminal so inactive.

Upon boarding the flight to Sharm, you go through a second security checkpoint. This one was more legit. You actually had to take off your shoes and give up those liquids you can’t explain. Good thing the lady in front of us could explain why she desperately needed her Victoria Secret 18 ounce perfume lol.

And We’re Off

Once we were actually on the aircraft we had the entire row to ourselves. It’s always nice to have extra space but if you have ever flown EgyptAir domestically you know how much it is needed. They probably have the least amount of leg room out of any airline I’ve ever been on. We fly a lot of low-cost carriers so that’s really saying something. With our knees in our chest and the many babies screaming all around we were off to Sharm, only 30 minutes delayed.

Arriving in Sharm

45 minutes later we landed at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport. Sharm is located on the Sinai Peninsula, which means it is in the Asian part of Egypt. The airport itself was pretty tiny. Getting from the plane to outside of the terminal took maybe 5 minutes and we had to ride a bus. If you’re ever flying into this airport I would make sure you have a ride secured prior to landing. It is easy to see how unsuspecting tourists could get easily taken advantage of here since there isn’t a lot of options for rides. Lucky I have a smart husband, so he had a car waiting for us when we landed. Fancy white sign and all.

From the airport to our hotel was a 10-minute drive. We stayed at the All-Inclusive Jolie Ville Royal Peninsula Hotel & Resort. Although we arrived at night I could tell this property was well taken care of. When we arrived the kitchen was closing soon so we rushed across the property to the buffet restaurant.

The Resort

After dinner, we went to our room. Alejandro wanted the weekend to be special so he booked the biggest room they had. The Executive Suite. *FANCY* Lucky for us we were nice to the staff at the front desk so they gave us a nicely located room. From our room, the pool and the restaurants we were in walking distance. The layout of the resort seemed like an apartment complex rather than just rooms. Each room had a “porch” with seating out front and even a doorbell.

The massive size of the suite really surprised us so much we didn’t even take photos. You could easily fit our first apartment inside of there! It had a living room area that could seat 7 with a coffee table, a smaller seating area for two near the windows and a desk and chair for when you would rather do work than enjoy your vacation. The bathroom was huge as well with an enormous tub, shower, and toilet area.

You could tell that this resort caters to bigger families as our suite connected with the two other suites on either side. All I could imagine is how fun it would have been if my family had gone on multi-household vacations growing up. Running through each room would have been so much fun. After exploring we retired for the night in our king size bed and promptly fell asleep.

Rise and Shine

We woke up leisurely the next day around 9 AM, which is a decent hour for us considering that we wake up every day around 5:45 AM. Now that it was the day time we could properly see the resort. The place seemed to be tucked between the mountains and with all the flowers and grass it seemed like a hidden oasis in the middle of the desert. We got the buffet breakfast at the main restaurant. It was decent and had a mix of traditional Egyptian breakfast items and that of Western countries. 

On the way out of breakfast, we came across the tourist info booth. We knew we didn’t have much time in Sharm but we also didn’t really want to rush around doing 100 things. Our options were pretty limited since we only had this one day and we did not wake up early enough to go on any real tours. We had a choice between doing a Desert Safari, which we had already done in Dubai, or go ATV/4 Wheeling through the desert. We chose the dirt biking, but the tour wasn’t leaving until 2:30 PM, which was actually good as it gave us the morning to do something else.

Sharm borders the Red Sea so of course, the one thing I said we must do is to swim in it. Not exactly on the bucket list but who comes to the Red Sea and decides not to take a swim? Sharm is, for the most part, a resort town. If you do not stay at the resort we chose, I would make sure that your resort/hotel has access to a beach. While the beach was not located directly on the property they had a van that takes you from the property to the beach every 30 minutes.

The Beach

By 11 AM we found ourselves on a bus to the beach. I wasn’t really sure what to expect as far as the beach goes but I can guarantee this wasn’t it. When you first emerge through the entrance, on to the boardwalk way above the water, the first thing you notice is the endless glittering blue sea in front of you. From the almost clear turquoise to nearly black waters, you can see the calm, barely moving waves for what looks like miles. The beauty and vastness of it momentarily stunned me.

The boardwalk starts from the top of a cliff and has stairs that take you in all different directions to reach the water. I’m not sure about you guys but most of the beaches I’ve ever been to are usually just walk out from the sand directly into the water. As it turns out that was not the case at this beach. Some genius (I do not mean that in a sarcastic way) decided to build a man-made beach off of a rocks cliff. They have really attempted to make this look like a real beach with sand and 20-foot tall palm trees. Each resort had its own section and once we found ours we hung out there for a couple of hours.

It was warm enough to sit out on beach chairs in the sun but in reality, it was not warm enough to swim in the water. BUT like I said before we could not come all the way to the Red Sea and not at least put our body into the water.

Swimming In The Red Sea

Since this beach jutted off of a cliff there were a lot of rocks near the water’s edge. I assume to prevent anyone from getting hurt you had to get into the water off of docks. This was a foreign concept to me and I honestly didn’t enjoy it. Your two options to enter the water were to either jump off the dock or walk down a set of steps. Alejandro decided to plunge right in and jump off the dock.

I on the other hand like to gradually let myself into the water. With this set up that was basically impossible. While the beach was nowhere near crowded there was only 1 way out of the water which made the steps semi-crowded and not a place you could stand for very long. I had no opportunity to acclimate to the water temperature. I was forced into the frigid waters before I was truly ready and it was FREEZING! I’m cold now just thinking about it. The plus side of being in the water is that it is really buoyant. We were just floating there without even trying. Usually, you warm up after being in the water for a bit but that simply wasn’t the case. We stayed in for about 5 minutes and retreated back to the beach. After we dried off we headed back to the resort. 

We made it just in time for lunch. Not the greatest food in the world but also not the worst. I have to assume they were catering to the taste buds of their mostly European clientele, so it wasn’t really my favorite. After lunch, we took showers and headed out to meet the driver for the 4 Wheeling.

Riding Dirty

It took us about 30 minutes to reach the desert we would be 4 Wheeling in. On the drive, you could see where beautiful red mountains met the perfectly clear blue sky. The many different terrains of Egypt will always impress me.

When we reached the camp to start our dirt biking tour they gave us a scarf to wear around our faces. Between the wind and the sand, you for sure need this. I don’t think I would even bother riding without both a scarf and sunglasses. After everyone in our group was suited up we were off.

A cameraman rides along next to you if you don’t feel like pulling out your phone. If you know you are going to be one of the people to purchase this make sure you let the guy know ahead of time so he can focus the camera on you. Even though we never said we would purchase the camera guys were obsessed with me. hahaha it could have been that I had a low cut shirt and tight jeans but hey it worked in my favor. haha

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We rode the 4 Wheelers between the valleys of these huge mountains. Everywhere you looked they were looming above us, seemly all connected. We even saw some wild camels roaming. When we crossed into the Saint Catherine Protectorate we stopped to have a mini photo shoot.

The guides also showed us how the mountains will sing back to us if we speak to them. The echo from them were surprisingly loud given how far away we were standing from them. We then rode to a small Bedouin camp and given tea and water for free. Camels were also available if someone wanted to ride them. All in all, this little excursion was actually pretty cheap we only paid 250Le ($14USD) per person for this adventure and $5USD for pictures and videos.

Naama Bay

Following the excursion, we headed back to the hotel and took a little nap. After we got some rest we decided to go out on the town for dinner. Naama Bay is the main area to hang out. 

Although the hotel provided a bus that drops people off there, it was full so we caught the local bus. We never take the buses (more like small vans) because we don’t fully understand how to take them and don’t speak enough Arabic to ask. Since it’s a touristy area and it was a straight shot we figured it’d be fine. When we got on we told the guy where we were going and just sat down.

We have learned that the less you say the better. Since Alejandro passes for an Egyptian (honestly he’s a chameleon so he fits in just about everywhere) we often get discounts on stuff and pay local prices. When we arrived at the place and we asked the driver how much. He said a price but because we’re not that secure in the Arabic numbers we realized we got played out of a couple of extra pounds.  

Coming in the dead of winter meant the street was pretty dead. It’s similar to the walking streets in Thailand but less wild. The street had a bunch of shops to buy souvenirs and a mix of restaurants. Since we are Americans who don’t live in America we do try to have American food whenever we can find it. We were in luck and found a Hardrock Cafe at the end of the strip. The food was delicious and the drinks were super strong. We got all dressed up to enjoy the night but since there weren’t many people out we just headed back to the hotel around midnight.

Heading Back to Cairo

Our flight leaving back to Cairo left somewhere around 9 so we were able to sleep in a bit. When we arrived at the airport the security was essentially the same as in Cairo. Security took 5 minutes. The only reason it took that long is because the security guards decided to rescreen my bags. They only wanted to rescreen my bags so they could ask me personal questions about my life. Where are you from? America. Where do you live? Cairo. Are you married? Yes (points to Alejandro). Oh you are so beautiful. He is a very lucky man… Umm thank you.

Lol I should be used to this by now as the men here are very forward. I swear have never received as many compliments in my life as I have in these last few months. Every time it catches me off guard and I just stand there and laugh awkwardly.

After only a 40 minute delay we took off. The views taking off from Sharm was incredible. Lucky for us our window faced the Red Sea upon departure and the North as we continued flying. As mentioned before I love to see the many different terrains of this vast country.

Overall we had a great weekend and I would love to return to Sharm when its warmer.

Cost Breakdown

In all honesty, we are nowhere near budget travelers.

But this is a quick weekend get away from Cairo. We ended up paying more than the average because we booked it at the last minute and had upgraded amenities. If you plan properly you could easily spend less than half of what we did.

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