Simon Calder visit to Egypt

14 November 2023

 “Our true intent is all for your delight.”

This week, for a short-notice trip to the Red Sea and Cairo, I paid a long-established tour operator – Discover Egypt – to arrange everything. Yes, service with a confident smile can cost more than assembling the elements yourself. But on a DIY trip the scope for disruption is far greater

Osama, who is surely the top tour guide in Egypt’s Sinai region, was waiting for me at Sharm El Sheikh airport. Not, though, amid the scrum of hotel shuttle drivers and hustlers who greet bleary and confused arrivals “landside” at airports across the world – after immigration and customs. Osama has permission to meet his charges as they emerge from the gate and guide them through arrival formalities up to and including the best local SIM card to buy to avoid punitive roaming charges.

He has worked with Discover Egypt for many years. I told the firm I wanted time on the beaches of southern Sinai, that strange ribbon of sunny indulgence squeezed between the mountainous desert and the absurdly warm water. And time in Cairo, the biggest city in Africa, with an excursion to the original Memphis and the little-visited pyramids of Saqqara – 20 miles south of the larger, newer, and more popular edifices.

Then I relaxed. No ploughing through online reviews to find the right accommodation: Discover Egypt knows the hotels where the plumbing will work and its clients will be happy. No tension about how to navigate through the airport and into a taxi for a fair price. Just turn up and Osama will take care of everything – as his counterpart, Sam, is doing in Cairo. And, given the downturn in tourism to Egypt over the past six weeks, turning up is a good plan.