what should the taxi fare be from hurghada airport be say to the calimera hotel - may have been ripped off?

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Taxis - even at the rip off prices it's still cheap compared to the UK or many other holiday areas around the world.

I'm happy to "agree" a price having been many times top Hurghada but it's not the British way.

Best thing is that there are lots of taxis around even in most places within a few miles of the centre of Hurghada but it much more of a problem when you go futher out.

It can be very expensive, and time consuming running back and forth to El Gouna or Sahl Hasheesh (both being 25 to 35 mins way) , which is of course all part of the reason that they are so far away - to keep you "within" and spend your money locally at even higher rip off prices.

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I was actually surprised how far you can go for a quid when they have the meter running.

Sekalla to Regency Beach (about 16km) was only GBP1.05.

The driver did spend the entire journey cursing me in Arabic and scaring me witless for the entire journey though (which took about 8 minutes as he was travelling at Warp Factor 5 the whole time!).

The bus from El Gouna to Hurghada for 25p was my best ever deal though!

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EGYPT REAL - Your One Stop Shop for Hurghada Property

Author of: Propertastic's Complete Guide to Hurghada Property and Egypt's Red Sea Riviera Real Estate

we absolutely love our taxi rides in hurghada, its fun being assertive and empowering to stick to your guns on a figure that you want to pay,next minute having got your way ,all of a sudden you fell guilty thay youve argued over 50pence, but you consol yourself with the thought "that its all relevent " you get in ,have a laugh, talk about football , he tells you that he loves english people and on getting out all haggling has gone by the wayside,you like him that much you give him fare plus £1.00 tip!!!!!! how UNREAL IS THAT(PSis it only us that dose this!!!!)

WOW Good Client you are

no actually my wife is very mean, but if they do agood job and entertain you and you get out of the taxi happy so what!!! worth it, price of a drink!!!! ,

that is corect as if are good drivers

Hi
I read t5his thread with great interest. I have been on holiday in sharm several times and been advised by the rep that a normal price from sharm (near ocean college to be precise) to Naama Bay is LE20 each way I have been happy to pay this and have still had to haggle sometimes to get them to accept this price. I was not even aware they had meters!!

It seems this is overpriced, what is a good rate

what is a good rate to

Naama Bay
El Tur (this is the government offices yes?)
Dahab
any other places of interest

Now on a personal note - I accept the comments that this is still cheap compared to UK but one of the attractions of Egypt like many other places is how far you can make your money stretch and at the same time benefit the locals and their economy. We are constantly told not to give money to beggars or street kids because they start to expect it and become a pest. Why then hand over extra money to a taxi driver or give a waiter or barman £10 - £20 tips over a holiday period.

These are the people we are in contact with day to day, much more often than street kids or beggars. And THEY come to expect it, prices go up, service goes down unless you pay more and more. You ruin it for yourself, others that follow and eventually the locals themselves as people stop goig, get suspicious, have bad experience. many Brits dont like to haggle that much and when they feel exploited they vote with their feet and dont go back. the only time they complain is to others thinking ov visiting and put them off.

It's not a case of being tight, its maintaining the status quo as much and for as long as possible so we don't erode the very lifestyle, customs and society that attracted us in the first place.

I dont want to look at Egyptians as money grabbing and I dont want to be seen as a mug, an open wallet. I respect the Egyptian people and want them to respect me. i want them to respect the fact that I know about their country, their religion their prices. I dont want to be seen as a soft touch, my only value being the money in my pocket.

I recently had an excellent evening with a couple of guys I met, they showed me around, made sure I didn't get pestered. we got on really well and I made 2 very good friends. Then the next day they came up to me and asked me to pay them for the time they spent with me and told me I was rude for not offering them money the previous night. This was not Egypt i add.

Lets not ruin the places we visit for ourselves, other visitors and the locals themselves.

If you want to give more and really help there is Oxfam or many other worthwhile charities that will do a lot more good.

At the end of the day it's not about being tight, it's about being responsible, being respectful and respecting one's self and values. If you want to give more money to the economy or a taxi driver - hire him for the day at a proper rate. Get good local prices at the local shop and then go there every time and recommend it to others.

As I say my opinions, be glad to get feedback and don't forget my question about taxi fares in and from Sharm

Cheers all - if I offended anyone it was not my intention

Hi Kerry look here for Taxis in Sharm http://www.propertycommunity.com/forum/egypt...tes-sharm.html - my taxi driver charged me £15 return to El Tor which is about an hour each way.
For travel in Sharm I suggest you use the minibuses as you can hail them down and travel all the way from Old Market right to Nabq for 3le.
There is also this thread on Transportation in Hurghada http://www.propertycommunity.com/forum/egypt...ortations.html

Interesting post Kerry, I enjoyed reading it. My husband is Egyptian and he's always torn between giving more than is necessary and being ripped off. Where do you draw the line between feeling bad because you have more money than they do (not always the case by the way) and overtipping and giving the impression that all foreigners/tourists should do the same. Last winter we hired a taxi for a week while we were in Cairo. My husband befriended the driver, even took him for a meal a few times and paid a hefty tip at the end of the stay. Unbelievably it still wasn't enough - the driver came up with all sorts of extras that he said hadn't been negotiated at the start, including the fact that my husband should have paid for all his meals while he was 'on duty'. It's really difficult to know where to draw the line and so often when you're overly generous, more is expected. What starts as a good experience ends up leaving you with a nasty taste in your mouth.