Dahab

How I got there

I travelled from Luxor to Hurghada on the 6:30 morning bus through the arid Eastern Desert to the Red Sea town of Safaga
 and then north along the coast reaching Hurghada at 12:30...a long trip! I was lucky though as I had a nice air-conditioned 
coach, apparently some people weren't as lucky! Hurghada is an unimpressive place and I was glad I was just spending 1 
night there. A string of self-contained resorts hug the coastline and the construction of more resorts can be seen everywhere.
I stayed at Sea Wave Hotel, it was ok but not great, not sure to recommend it or not. They bought a ticket for the ferry for me,
 this cost E£225.  The next morning I shared a taxi with the other people in the hotel and headed for the port, the driver charged
 each of us E£10 which was really expensive for a short trip but apparently taxi fares in Hurghada are higher than the rest of Egypt!
 The ferry departure time was 8am so we got there for 7am.  All the information says it takes 90 minutes but it took longer than
 that and the ride was a lot rougher than I had expected although it was a lovely new catamaran and I got to watch the highlights
 of the recent Euro 2004 qualifiers unforunately it was bad news as Ireland were beaten 2-0 by Swizerland and we were out.
 On reaching Sharm El-Sheik we had to hang around waiting to get our bags back and then go through security again.
 On leaving the terminal I spotted a microbus heading to Dahab and hopped on board. On the journey I got talking to the people
 on board and met Guy, Sam, Tom, Brigitte and Johnno. When we got to Dahab we all headed for the penguin camp and hung
 around together for the next few days. I have got to highly recommend the Penguin Camp if your staying in Dahab and its cool
 proprieter with the cowboy hat, Jimmy.

 Hurghada
               Sea Waves
               Tel. (065) 54 50 71
 
 Dahab
               Penguin Camp,
               Mashraba,
               Tel. (069) 640320
 
Price was E£20 per night for a single room ensuite with fan staying in the camp, breakfast not included.
 Nicer rooms were available in the hotel
 its great views and a good location. 

 Trip to the Blue Hole involves a 4X4 wheel drive along a bumpy dirt track for a few miles. The off-road adds a bit to the
 adventure of the Blue Hole. 
 The trip to the Blue Hole including snorkel gear rental and complimentary Aqua music was E£25.
 Trip to Mount Sinai cost E£40 leaving at 11:00. Get there around 01:00. We climber fast and got up it in 1hr 50mins but
 we should have taken our time sunrise didn't happen till 05:30. We went up the camel path and down the steps of steps
 of repentance.
 

 At the Penguin Camp Restaurant e.g. prices
 breakfast - E£10
 juice - E£7
 dinner ~ E£20
 sheeshaI - E£5  

 Student Prices
 Entrance to Abu Simbel - E£19.50
 Entrance to Philae - E£?
 Entrance to Unfinished Obelisk - E£?