Category: Egypt Reviews

A couple friends of mine went to Hurghada, Egypt last year for holidays. I was a little skeptical when they were planning their trip and had asked them that why would they want to travel to a far away, totally different country when we have tons of beach resorts and destinations inside the United States? Their reply was that it was going to different and they wanted to experience that. When they came back, I visited them for dinner so that we could catch up on the two weeks. Oh my God! Did they have some wonderful stories to tell or what? The resort, the beaches, and the food were all superb. They did tons of exciting stuff like snorkeling and scuba diving, visited many market places and best of all, saw two of the oldest monasteries in the world. The night life was simply amazing and they even had the good fortune of going desert jeep safari. The entire experience was very removed from a typical American beach holiday. Also, the different and spicy cuisine experience and the culture change was quite a pleasant experience. Of course, language sometimes proved to be a bit of a bother, but a majority of the Egyptians do understand and converse in English. They also ate at a shabby little tent restaurant run by Bedouins in the middle of the desert. The food was delicious and the hospitality was exemplary! They bought me a beautiful wall hanging for my house which had camels embroidered on it in earth color threads. It was really a piece of art.

Lunch and snacks For a snack in town you have a choice of Nile-side restaurants along the lower Corniche, a few restaurants around the market and a group of restaurants behind the temple. If you want a Nile-side meal on the East Bank we have a marginal preference for El Kebabgy, opposite the Old Winter Palace, but none of them is particularly good or good value. For a better value, low cost, snack on the East Bank, but without the Nile-side views, Hamees and Sindbad are next to each other, behind Luxor Temple, not far from McDonalds. If you are in the market, the relocated Jamboree offers an interesting view of the hassle below but from a safe distance, although the food is not particularly good. We think it is worth crossing the Nile and trying a restaurant on the West Bank, such as the roof of Nile Valley hotel or, if you are happy with a rough and ready small restaurant with unbeatable views, for a drink and light snack, go to the Nile View or Tut-ankh-amon restaurants along the edge of the Nile. Fast food McDonalds is behind Luxor Temple in the centre of town. We used to prefer Snacktime, almost next door, because it offers more variety, excellent prices and terrific views, but the quality there has not kept up so McDonald's can be a safer bet these days. At the other end of town, KFC is by the roundabout just beyond the Isis hotel. There are plenty of local pizza restaurants, especially along Television Street Evening meal For a special occasion go to the 1886 restaurant in the Old Winter Palace. Smart dress is essential, although they are not currently insisting on tie and jacket. Food and service are not faultless (to be frank they can