The Good Guide To Self Catering In Sharm El Sheikh
Sharm El Sheikh now has many privately owned apartments, studios and condos and a lot of these are rented out for self catering holidays.Some of the advantages to renting a self catering apartment in sharm el sheikh is that your not tied to your hotel by having to be back for lunch and dinner, giving you more quality time to explore the resort. You can also bring in your own alcohol which is not allowed in most hotels and in some cases alcohol being confiscated. Other advantages are a more quieter atmosphere, no loud music blurring out late at night or being pulled into the hotel entertainments, after all it is your holiday and you can find plenty of your own entertainments in one of the busy resorts. And more importantly you have the choice to cook your own food.
Itò€™s a good idea to buy your food and supplies at the beginning of your holiday, and to buy enough for the whole duration of your stay, most self catering apartments do have Fridge Freezers to keep meats and vegetables fresh, but do check when booking your holiday apartment.
Sharm El Sheikh has improved drastically in recent years and now provides for the self catering holiday, supermarkets selling meats, vegetables and dairy products, some of the best are the Metro supermarkets found in Nabq Bay and just past Naama Bay on the way to Old Market and Hadaba. The Metro supermarkets are the nearest you will get to our supermarkets back home selling fresh meat, vegetables and dairy products in fact everything you will need for your self catering holiday in sharm el sheikh, they also have a home delivery service making it even easier for you.
Other large supermarkets in sharm are 24 7 situated are in Naama Bay and Old market along with smaller shops selling food and kitchenware. for details of where the nearest supermarket is to you there is a couple of free informational booklets issued monthly, these directories tell you where to eat, shop, and places to go and lists all supermarkets in Sharm El Sheikh, the booklets are called The Mix and The Book these can be found in coffee shops, supermarkets, Restaurants and Bars.
Alcohol and cigarettes are best bought at Old Market situated in Sharm El Maya about 6 Km south of Naama Bay. Old Market has the charm of ancient Egypt with its Bazaars, souvenir shops, perfume shops and colourful displays of spices, Old market has everything you will need for your self catering Holiday, and at very good prices. Look out for the Heineken shop in the centre of Old market this is the cheapest I have found for Beer and spirits.
try the local beers like Sakara or there brand of stella imported Beers are more expensive.
Cigarettes can be bought in the small food shops dotted in and around Old Market these are the cheapest with set prices.
Watch out for street sellers who sell cigarettes these may be fake and you will have to haggle the price. Fruit, vegetables and meat can be bought at Old Market at cheap prices.
As Old Market is a popular tourist spot there are many souvenir shops, as with Cairo and Luxor you will have to Haggle in the shops for the best price, once you get the hang of it, it is quite good fun. One of my Tips for Haggling is to ask the price, half it and work around that figure, try not to pay over two thirds of the original figure. Remember there will probably be another shop a few meters away selling the same thing, so if you fail to get a good price from the first you may get a better deal from the second, third and so on.
The whole of sharm El Sheikh stretches from Nabq Bay right to the Bay of Sharm El Maya over 30 miles in total. so if you intend to see a bit of the place you will need to get around by some mode of transport Taxi, Micro Bus, or Hire Car. Taxis are a reasonably cheap way of getting round, depending of how much you use them, they have recently had a overhaul from cranky old Peugeots to shiny new ones, this was to give Sharm El Sheikh the new up market look. All official taxis are blue and white with there own unique fleet number, make a note of its number if you want to use the driver again, the driver will probably hassle you for business.
Blue and white taxis do have fixed rates for the destination but before you get in, state destination and cost of fare as some drivers still ask for more money or a tip at the end of the journey.
Never get in blue and white pickups they are not taxis, some will ask you if you want a lift and then demand paying for there service. Keep clear of taxi touts in Naama Bay they are on a commission. There are hundreds of taxis at Naama Bay so its easy to get your own, You may even be able to negotiate a lower price than the set fee.
Cheaper ways of transport to get you out and about from your self catering apartment are the public microbuses, these are also blue and white and they also have fixed prices for there destination, but will try to charge tourists a lot more for the fare, The fare Tariffs can be found at bus stops in Naama Bay on large Boards or free information Booklets like the Mix or the Book. Micro Buses do get very crowded at peak times especially in the morning taking Egyptian workers to work, but if you donò€™t mind this then itò€™s a very cheap way of getting around.
If you have an international driving licence and want to drive in Sharm El Sheikh then rent a car, this might be the best option in the long term for getting you around, Fuel is very cheap around 2 LE a litre in Egypt. Having the freedom of you own car gives you more options to fully explore Sharm El Sheikhò€™s many attractions. International licence will have to be applied back in your own country. UK application forms can be downloaded from the RAC website.