Sharm El Sheikh is a name most people are familiar with, even if they never actually went to Egypt. This once tiny fishermen village grew into a strategic port for the Egyptian Naval Forces due to it’s location at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba. It lies at the tip of the Sinai peninsula and has become a popular tourist destination once the region got more stable. After the revolutions in Egypt tourism declined but the city was one of the first to rebound.

Unfortunately, since then, the city itself was targeted in some terrorist attacks and lately the Sinai region (especially the North) has become unstable again with the presence of ISIS and other extremist organizations. Despite of all this turmoil (and because of it) Sharm-El-Sheikh is a very secure place, unless for the risk of overspending. You can’t get near without passing elaborate military checkpoints, since Egypt simply can’t afford tourist to stay away. Find out why our backpacking trip included this resort destination in this post and how you can add a touch of luxury.

Sharm Day 1: The journey to Comfort

• Sights:       Naama Bay
• Lodging:   Hyatt Regency Resort Sharm El Sheikh
• Budget:    £ 524

Finding the Bus Stop

We had booked a bus but had no clue where to get on it

We both woke up in the train about an hour before we rolled into Cairo’s Ramses Station. After we gathered our stuff, we got ready to get off. Surprisingly we ended up being on time, which we definitely did not expect. So we had some time to have breakfast in the restaurant upstairs. The next leg in our long journey was a Go Bus to Sharm El Sheikh. So I went looking for the Go Bus station. I had taken a screenshot of the location of the closest Go Bus site near the station. However that site was either not correct or I completely missed it. So we had booked a bus but had no clue where to get on it. Eventually I activated my data to find the place, since most other bus offices were less than helpful in pointing me the right way.

It’s about the journey, but reaching your destination is nice too

Once I got the other location of the internet (which cost me € 50 on data), we walked 10 minutes and finally found the Go Bus office and stop. We settled in to wait on the bus while watching the overly dramatic Bollywood series on the TV. Not long after (but enough time for Daisy to fall asleep again) we climbed onto the bus for the next 9 hour chapter of our trip. Daisy slept most of the way. I finished the book about the Greek myths and legends she bought in Athens. We finally got to our destination after 28 hours, and both of us were exhausted from the trip.

You have to look the part…

The price for a night in this piece of paradise was only $ 25

The question of course is: what the hell were we doing in Sharm El Sheikh? It’s not exactly a budget destination. Luckily thanks to my various business trips to Jordan the year before, I had saved up quite some Hyatt Loyalty points. I was even a Platinum member, giving you extra perks in Hyatt’s all around the world. So naturally once you tell someone you’ll be staying at the Hyatt, they assume you have money to spend. The taxi driver we found to take us to the Hyatt wanted to charge us a £ 100.

We were convinced that was outrageous and eventually he agreed to put on the meter. It ended up being further than we thought, driving through most of Sharm El Sheikh, and costing £ 50. Which still was half of what he wanted to charge us. However, I can imagine most of you do not have shitload of Hyatt points saved up. Luckily the price for a night in this piece of paradise is only $ 25. A great deal pricier than any budget option but still not a bad deal for a day or two of pure luxury and relaxation.

…, they will treat you accordingly

The taxi dropped us off at the main gate and a golf cart came to take us the next 250m along the lush driveway to the main entrance. We obviously looked completely out-of-place, huge traveling backpacks and wearing cheap sneakers and smelly and dusty clothes. The receptionist thought so too, since he basically ignored me when I said I had a reservation. H assumed that was impossible and wanted to charge us for the night. I protested and showed him my platinum member card. Within 5 seconds another guy took over and told me the previous dude was in training and he apologized in his stead.

Naama Bay

The radical change in attitude towards us after pulling out status was an insult

After finding out I was a platinum member his attitude quickly changed. However the damage was done. I don’t appreciate when they treat people based on their looks. The radical change in attitude towards us after pulling out status was an insult. However I decided not to go on about it with them. We got an amazing room with a breathtaking view and enjoyed spraying our stuff all over it the room. We did not want to spend too much on dinner, but everything in the resort was obviously priced according to the status of the place.

Everything was rather expensive and the place was full of resorts

So we took the free shuttle bus to Naama Bay. This district of Sharm is the centre of activity and is filled with shops, bars and restaurants. We quickly found out Sharm was built on and for tourism. Everything was rather expensive and the place was full of resorts. We found a nice restaurant, but we had gotten better food for way less. We bought some wine and beer in the most local looking shop and took the shuttle back to the hotel where we enjoyed our night in the comfort of the Hyatt room and soft bed.

Sharm Day 2: The Resort Life

• Sights:       The beach and the pool
• Lodging:   Hyatt Regency Resort Sharm El Sheikh
• Budget:    £ 1141

The beach

Sharm El Sheikh and the Hyatt Resort were the perfect place for a break

Today was gonna be a day of luxury and rest. After the long trip to Sharm and the busy week before, we needed a break. Sharm El Sheikh and the Hyatt Resort were the perfect place for that break. So we got up just in time to enjoy the elaborate breakfast buffet. After we creamed ourselves with sunscreen, we headed for the beach. Right in front of the beach was the reef but diving was way too expensive. So we decided to rent a pair of snorkels and masks and went snorkeling. We saw a lot of colorful fishies and I ended up making some pictures and videos with the action camera.

The pool

We dressed up as fancy as we could and went for the buffet dinner

When it became to hot at the beach, we moved poolside and explored the many pools and the slide. We ordered some lunch in the poolside bar and went back to the beach to enjoy the sunset there. At night we dressed up as fancy as we could and went for the buffet dinner. Stuffed, we went back to our room and enjoyed the quiet before heading back to our cloud like bed. We booked a bus to Dahab for the next day and packed most of our stuff already before going to sleep.