Flying from Brum? Tell us where you're going

[Ant29]

I took this one of G-OZBE in June.

What was Hurghada like? We're thinking of taking the kids for their first holiday abroad next year and Egypt is a possibility.

Great catch! I went on the 20th June

Hurghada is really nice! The views are absolutely stunning, and the people are so friendly there, they are all so welcoming, such as every new person you would meet who were from Egypt, they would say "Welcome to Egypt my friend". We stayed in the AMC Royal Hotel, which is kind of out of the way of Hurghada, but it's about a 15 minute drive which is not to bad. There are plenty of hotels in Hurghada, but I'd suggest one closer to the town :good: . The only problem we came across, which wasn't about the country, or the hotel, but it was the other tourists. There was a handful of nationalities such as Russian (mostly) Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, but not many English. Even local shop owners asked why there wasn't many English people, I just replied saying the airline Monarch just started flying here with fair prices, as other airlines like Thomson and Thomas Cook are quite expensive to fly to Hurghada. But the other guests who were staying at our hotel, they were really rude. They had no manners, and were just generally rude, like they would push into a queues. Other than that, I would go back to Egypt, even Hurghada, but next year were looking at Sharm el Sheikh as we always like to try somewhere different :good:

 

[Ant29]

Many thanks for the reply, I've found a nice place in Sharm-el-Sheikh which could be a possibility but we'll see. You're not the first person I've heard mention Russian tourists and their lack of manners, a small price to pay I guess.

Sorry to go off topic once again, (apologies), but it's incredibly hot in Egypt, one of the hottest countries I've ever been to, and I've been to Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, as well as Morocco and Egypt. Just be very careful in the sun and put lots of sun cream on regularly because on the welcome pack in the hotel, it said the sun is strong almost 3x than you would normally be used to :s_yes :good:

 

[Ray Finkle]

The heat is one of the two things putting me off Egypt, the other being the flying time. With a two year old it might be a bit much. Thanks for the info though :good:

 

[Aviador]

If I'm honest Egypt doesn't appeal to me either. Except through the winter months, it's too hot. There's nothing to do away from the coastline and there's plenty of sharks in the sea there too. Most people go to Egypt for the marine life though which is supposed to be spectacular.

 

[Ant29]

The heat is one of the two things putting me off Egypt, the other being the flying time. With a two year old it might be a bit much. Thanks for the info though :good:

If you're looking somewhere where the weather is bearable, it's similar to Egypt, it would be Tunisia. It's cheap to go there to what I've found, weather is warm, and the flight time from BHX is 2 Hours 55 Minutes with Thomson, and 3 hours 10 with Thomas Cook.

Also I agree the flight time to Egypt is off putting, I think I'd rather fly with Thomas Cook who still do inflight entertainment, the legroom on Monarch is really cramped, but nonetheless it gets you from A to B cheaper than the other airlines! :good:

 

[Aviador]

That's a good point. I've never been to Tunisia but I prefer the idea of that to Sharm el Sheikh. On top of the long-ish flight is Egypt two ours ahead of BST?

 

[Ray Finkle]

I've heard conflicting reports on Tunisia, I know people who have been and hated the place and wanted to come home early, yet I know others who love it there with one colleague of mine going three times this year. We're keeping all options open at the moment although I have found a lovely place in Ibiza, great for the kids, only 2 hours or so away and somewhere I've never been before

 

[Aviador]

My auntie never had a good word to say for Tunisia when she was alive but I thought the place had moved on since then, or maybe not after all the troubles over recent years. To be honest, you can't go wrong with the likes of Spain and Greece and you have the added protection of the medical card the E111 (EHIC) should anything go wrong. Once you leave the comforts of the EEC love it or hate it, things can soon become somewhat complicated if you're not careful.

 

[justplanecrazy]

Hi all has anyone been to the maldives? Me and the mrs to be are thinking of going there for our honeymoon and would love to hear people's thoughts.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I've never been to the Maldives but my wife and I did go to Tunisia for a week about 12 years ago. We flew into Monastir (these days most charter flights seem to go to Enfidha) and stayed at the Sahara Beach Hotel at Skanes, just a few miles from Monastir Airport.

The hotel was actually three towers inter-linked and we had an all-in tariff.

Tunisia is not the sort of place we would normally go to. We aren't keen on beach/pool holidays and largely gave them up when our kids grew up (they are now well into their 40s). On this occasion we went with our son, his wife, his wife's parents and our sons's two kids (then barely school age) and spent most of the time on the sandy beach and in the hotel pools. The hotel food was fine and none of us suffered any stomach or other ailments.

There were lots of things for kids to do: a small onsite zoo; the usual beach entertainment; camel and pony rides; boat trips and one day we hired a four-wheeled bike and cycled into the nearby town - it was very down at heel. Overall, we had an enjoyable time but then grandparents usually do with their young grandchildren wherever they might be.

We went in September and it was still very warm although we had one or two spectacular thunder storms.

I emphasise this was about 12 years ago before the well publicised Tunisian 'troubles'.

 

[Ant29]

I have to admit, Tunisia has got to be one of the best holiday's I've personally had. I stayed in the Club Omar Khayam in Hammamet. The year I went (2013) it had been refurbished just not long before I had got there. I booked through Thomson for around £400 a person for a week All Inclusive in June. I think June is the best time to go for me, others may be different with kids and all, but because I finish college in June it's perfect. It's cheap, you still get the weather and you are in Season. When you go in July/August, you pay over the odds. I tend to stay away from the bigger tour operators now, and go for the smaller ABTA and ATOL protected. Icelolly is a good comparing site, aswell as holidaydiscountcentre. Icelolly is where I booked my holiday this year, paying £1167 for 3 of us a week All Inclusive,5* hotel at the AMC Royal Hotel. Best bargain I've ever had If I'm honest :good:

 

[Ant29]

Oo forgot to add, if you go out of Europe, you would definitely get more for your money, because the currency exchange rate is really good! Also if you are flying within Europe, you'll realise that you won't be able to buy duty free prices anymore :s_no

 

[Ray Finkle]

Hi all has anyone been to the maldives? Me and the mrs to be are thinking of going there for our honeymoon and would love to hear people's thoughts.

I've not been to the Maldives myself but have a colleague at work who has, also on his honeymoon. He says it is a stunningly beautiful place with some spectacular marine life and definitely a place to go for total relaxation, he also said it is a very quiet place with the evenings being very low key and mainly centered around the hotel bar/restaurant. I guess it comes down to what type of honeymoon you are after.

Congrats on the wedding :drinks:

 

[Ray Finkle]

I think June is the best time to go for me, others may be different with kids and all, but because I finish college in June it's perfect. It's cheap, you still get the weather and you are in Season. When you go in July/August, you pay over the odds.

My oldest is of school age and my youngest will be starting in a couple of years so unfortunately we have no option than to pay the high prices demanded at these times. If having two children of school age isn't enough Mrs Finkle is a teacher, so even when the kids are older we'll still be stuck paying over the odds

 

[Brum X]

Off to LPA (Gran Canaria) on Monday 1st September, cant wait.

Flying with Monarch (Should be on a A321) Take off 15.15pm.


Will take pics at both BHX and LPA and share them when i get back.


:whiteflag: :whiteflag: :whiteflag:

 

[Ant29]

I think June is the best time to go for me, others may be different with kids and all, but because I finish college in June it's perfect. It's cheap, you still get the weather and you are in Season. When you go in July/August, you pay over the odds.

My oldest is of school age and my youngest will be starting in a couple of years so unfortunately we have no option than to pay the high prices demanded at these times. If having two children of school age isn't enough Mrs Finkle is a teacher, so even when the kids are older we'll still be stuck paying over the odds

Understandable, I know recently in the news parents were saying they charge too much when the kids aren't in school. But when you do your searches, do try Icelolly and Holidaydiscountcentre. The prices you see are only just flight + hotel, but depending on how much hand luggage the airline allows, it might be worth just buying 1 suitcase to fit all your liquids like sun cream and everything like that. Monarch allows 10kg hand luggage, so all 3 of us had hand luggage, and we had 1 hold luggage for the liquids and extra clothing. It also doesn't include transfers, but they are normally dirt cheap :good:

 

[Ray Finkle]

My daughter is in a very good school and the head always had a policy that as long as their attendance was above 95% he would authorise two weeks each year (so long as it wasn't in a crucial stage of the term) as, and these were his words, 'I believe travel is educational'. Unfortunately it is now an offence to remove children from school so parents are forced to pay vastly inflated prices for holidays, both abroad and in the UK. Sadly it's those unfortunate families who are on lower incomes that suffer the most as it means they now may not be able to give their children a holiday at all.

do try Icelolly and Holidaydiscountcentre.

When the time comes I will give them a try, thanks :good:

Off to LPA (Gran Canaria) on Monday 1st September, cant wait.

Flying with Monarch (Should be on a A321) Take off 15.15pm.


Will take pics at both BHX and LPA and share them when i get back.


:whiteflag: :whiteflag: :whiteflag:

Have a great time, looking forward to the pictures.

 

[Ant29]

I possibly may be booking a holiday next week for October, Thomas Cook have Tunisia for £250 per person all inclusive, and it seems my Mom and I have the holiday blues. She's not well at the moment, so when the doctor gives her the all clear on Sunday, we will probably book as soon as!

 

[BHXsupporter]

If I'm honest Egypt doesn't appeal to me either... There's nothing to do away from the coastline....

Wow Aviador!
How about these wonderful experiences? (well Alexandria is on the coast I suppose)

Alexandria - history, architecture
Sinai - Cairo - history, hubbub, chaotic, graceful
Luxor - romantic idyll with temples
King/Queen valleys - magnificent spectacles
Aswan & uper Nile - dam, felucca (wooden sailboats) trips on the Nile
Egypt's deserts - amazing history (Copts etc) and sights (rock formations, Bedouin tribes, fauna & flora)

for starters. Admittedly not all for children!

 

[Ash]

Off to KEF tomorrow on the new BE service, would have liked to try the Icelandair product but alas its not available until next year. Annoyingly despite all these new non-stops, I'm having to return to BRS on Easyjet as there is no return available to BHX in late Sep.