Putting the her in hurghada

In case you haven't noticed, I go on a lot of holidays. City breaks, long haul trips, all inclusive breaks. Yet I have to say that if I had to pick a favourite type, it'd be winter sun. Nothing beats jetting off in late November while it's freezing and miserable at home, to get some much needed vitamin D and good vibes. This year was actually an extra special winter sun trip as it was my first ever fully solo trip! Finding myself with annual leave that needed using and finding that no one was free to come with me (expired passports, too busy at work, recently moved countries), I decided that wasn't going to stop me. I'm someone who likes my own company anyway and I'm outgoing and unafraid of chatting to new people so the idea of solo travel didn't scare me too much. And after researching holiday options, I landed on Egypt pretty quickly. I didn't want to go long haul but I wanted hot weather (not just mild) so that narrowed my search to only a handful of places, and once I saw how cheap and beautiful Egypt was, I hit 'book' straight away.

When I say that Egypt was cheap, I mean insanely cheap. Like £300 for a week all inclusive cheap. In fact, some were even more like £250, but a lot of the hotels were pretty old fashioned looking and I wanted something more modern so I upgraded slightly and went with the Bellagio hotel for 5 nights all inclusive (about £350 on loveholidays). As a side note, when I say that Egypt was cheap, I'm excluding Cairo from that. You could get cheap flights and hotels in both Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh (and a lot of the small resorts in the general Red Sea area), but the flights to Cairo are crazy expensive every time I look, which is worth bearing in mind when choosing where to go and where to stay. Anyway, after a 5 and a half hour flight from Luton, I arrived! I'd pre-booked my transfer on booking.com from the airport to my hotel (around a 20 minute journey) but I allowed too generous an amount of time from landing to being picked up. Because Egypt requires a visa (I did mine online for ease, which only took about 24 hours to be approved but you can do it at the airport when you arrive), I figured it would take a while to get through. But it was super speedy, which left me hanging around for a while with my eyes peeled for a sign with my name on. I think the airport is a good place to get a first impression of a place; some places are rude and trying to scam you with overpriced taxis from the offset but everyone in Egypt was a delight from the second I touched down to the second I left. Spotting me on my own, I got asked a handful of times if I was okay and if I needed a taxi or any help - everyone was so friendly and smiley and kept welcoming me to Egypt which was a fab (and representative) first impression. My hotel struck a good first impression too as the pool area was beautiful, my room was lovely, and I got given a quick walking tour to show me all the restaurants and bars (there were about 7 or 8). So far so good!

Due to the longish flight and the 2 hour time difference, it was pretty late by the time I arrived so I just had time to quickly get ready, grab a plate from the buffet of the randomest food you've ever seen put together, and then went to the evening entertainment. Two notes on the hotel. Firstly, they were really on it with the entertainment. They had a lovely animation team who ran stuff all day and all evening so you could get involved in as much or as little as you wanted to. That first evening, there was a dance show and then the team got us all up to do a big conga followed by a dance-along session. Secondly, it wasn't the best place for solo travellers, which I kind of knew going into it. I mean, generally speaking, all inclusive hotels are not solo traveller hot spots. Normally solo travellers opt for places like hostels where they're likely to meet others and join up with groups. So the hotel was naturally a lot of couples and families (young babies and toddlers rather than older kids due to the time of year probably), but to be honest, I wasn't on a solo trip where I was hoping to meet lots of people. I was looking to craft my own little adventure and the hotel offered me exactly what I wanted from the trip, but if anyone is debating their own solo trip, I wanted to give a full review of my experience so you can know what you want from yours.

Part of what I wanted from this holiday, was just chilling in the sun! As you'll know if you've read my latest book review blog post, I hadn't had chance to read much before this holiday so I was excited to just sunbathe and read and drink beer. November is a super busy month at work for me so this trip was perfectly timed. Especially when I saw that the hotel has a spa, where I had some lovely relaxation in the form of an Egyptian full body massage followed by a Turkish Hammam (the baths where they scrub you and cover you in bubbles and stuff). When you go for winter sun, you obviously do get the heat, but you don't get any longevity in the sun. Just like at home, the sun has completely set by 5 o'clock, and actually due to the position of the building, I lost the sun round the pool of my hotel by more like 4 o'clock. But Egypt honestly had some of the most beautiful sunsets of anywhere I've been in the world so I wasn't too mad about it; it just meant I tended to get up earlier to start my sunbathing shift.

As I mentioned, the hotel had plenty of restaurant options. As well as the 3 buffet ones, they also had 4 à la carte restaurants which you had to pre-book. Apparently you were meant to pay a supplement to eat in each of them too but when they learned I was on my own, they just waved me off and said I could go for free. Another perk of solo travel! So that evening I was off to the Egyptian restaurant to mix it up from one of the buffet options and everyone in there was so lovely, the whole time I was away everyone was calling me a princess and a queen (they obviously know me well). I got a mixed mezze thing to start (I love this kind of food) and then a local Lamb and rice dish to follow which looked super dry but was actually lovely and tender.

As well as knowing I wanted time to chill, the main thing I wanted while away was to go on excursions and explore. I'll never understand those people who travel all the way to different countries just to stay in their resort. So on the agenda first was to see more of the Red Sea, as I'd booked a boat trip day to Orange Bay, which is an area on Giftun Island. I booked with Get your guide (as I almost always do) and went with this orange bay excursion which included snorkelling and lunch on board. To be honest, most options sounded very similar, but this one was super highly rated so it just edged it for me. It was a strong start to the day as the boat was really lovely and spacious so there was plenty of room for everyone on the top deck, and the team were so friendly and lovely (again, this was my experience with literally everyone I met while in Egypt but still worth saying). It was also really multi-cultural and not a particularly Brits-abroad type of destination which I liked; just on this boat trip there were Hungarians, Germans, French, Brazilians, and Egyptians (and probably more). The trip to Giftun Island was about an hour long, so it was a lovely cruise there and all the drinks on the boat were included (no alcoholic ones were available though). My day was made when we happened to spot a pod of dolphins on the way too! Luck would have it that the photographer had me posed up on the bow of the boat at the time so caught them in the right of that last photo! Although ignore my hilarious pose; he had me doing all sorts of cheesy ones.

The funny poses continued once we got to Orange Bay (I included the one of me stood on the table to give you a little taster - not my idea for the record). The island was absolutely beautiful; I mean, just look at the colour of that water! Even photos didn't do it justice, it was simply breathtaking. We had a lovely couple of hours chilling out there in a section of beanbag-sunbeds that had been reserved for our boat group. Although I made the rookie error (for the whole holiday actually) of having no cash and it was a cash-only island so I couldn't get a cocktail, which would've been the cherry on top.

Once we got back on the boat, it was time for lunch and then a spot of snorkelling. They took us to two different spots to snorkel, where there was beautiful coral and plenty of pretty fish. When I was initially researching Egypt, I did a quick 'Hurghada v Sharm El-Sheikh' search and everyone said the same that Hurghada won on almost all counts including the snorkelling and underwater life. My main reason for choosing Hurghada actually was its proximity to some Ancient Egyptian sites, but we'll get on to that shortly. Anyway, it was another lovely cruise back to Hurghada and I got dropped off at my hotel just in time to enjoy a quick drink and another gorgeous sunset.

I always like to alternate between activity and chill days on these kind of holidays so it was another day round the pool. By this point I'd cracked the code on which area of the pool got the sun longest so I was able to squeeze the very last few minutes out of the sunbathing!

Certain items of clothing just feel destined to go on certain holidays and having had this jumpsuit for a little while, I knew it belonged on my Egypt holiday. I love the floaty legs, the bright colours and the hint of under boob it creates. It wasn't particularly cold in the evenings in Egypt but I definitely felt better wearing longer items. I like to try and dress more modestly in Muslim countries (like Egypt and Morocco). You know, like opting for slight under boob rather than full-on cleavage (it's called being conservative, look it up).

The next day was a very exciting one with a very early start! As I said, my main driver in visiting Egypt was seeing some Ancient sites, inspired largely by The book of two ways which I read earlier this year (featured in my latest book blog post). I did a bit of research and initially planned to do day trips to both Luxor and Cairo but when I looked into it further, Cairo was about a 7 hour drive away and when you take into account breaks and hotel pickups, it would mean getting collected at about 1am and having an incredibly long day. Plus, Cairo and Giza are massive and so I deduced that they were a trip of their own, and I'll be back to Egypt some day to tick them off. For this trip, I decided to keep it to just Luxor, which is slightly closer at around 4-5 hours drive from Hurghada. So naturally, my pick up time was super early (we're talking 4am) but I slept pretty much the whole way there and woke up just as we were getting to the pretty green landscapes that surround the Nile. Our first stop on the full day excursion was Karnak temple which was massive and really impressive. We learned loads from our guide and had chance to go round and get some pictures. A top travel trip for anyone going to Egypt (and other similar places) is to beware that the transactional nature of interactions with strangers is implied rather than being explicit. Basically, if something in Britain costs money, we would say upfront 'that costs £X' and then the person decides whether or not they want to partake. In Egypt, it's kind of different. They offer you a service or a product or a favour, and they expect to be paid but the price comes after. Don't assume British habits in other countries as you may end up paying for something you'd rather not. For example, there were loads of Egyptians in Luxor who would offer to take your photo, and then expect a tip afterwards. Same with directions, same with lots of other things that you could easily think 'oh that's nice of them'. I did know this already from my time in Morocco but it's one to beware of if you've never been to a country like that before. I felt really bad actually; a local man saw me taking photos of the obelisk and very enthusiastically insisted I come with him for a better angle (I protested but he tried again like 3 times so I eventually followed). He even waved us past a security guard to go into a separate bit with a perfect view, and encouraged me to do loads of fun poses. He did a great job on the photos in fairness to him, but then when he asked for a tip, I was really apologetic because I didn't actually have any cash on me. He didn't understand at first as he thought my sunglasses case was a purse and it was only when I showed him that he got it and looked really disappointed. I went with over-apologetic and over-friendly to make up for it, and he just kind of waved me off, but I've heard stories of people getting shaken down for stuff like that (men maybe more so than women). So just bear it in mind basically. Plus there's plenty of other tourists who will happily take your photo for free (I made friends with a nice Dutch man who was struggling to take his own photos with self timer). Oh and also, all the toilets require cash in order to use them (only like 10p equivalent) so learn from my mistake and visit an ATM before you go.

Again, in terms of the actual excursion, there are plenty of identical-sounding options but I went with this Luxor highlights one, which had loads of customisable options so I basically did the one with everything. This included Tutankhamun's tomb, as well as a Nile river cruise. The river cruise was just a short one but it was on a lovely traditional boat and it made for a nice bit of sightseeing before heading back to the land for lunch.

After lunch we got taken to an adorable shop which specialised in handmade alabaster and had a demonstration of how they make it first. It was really interesting and the pieces were gorgeous. The shop was absolutely massive and had a whole host of things (lots of Egypt paraphernalia) but I thought the handmade alabaster was the most beautiful so I got a little candle holder. All the pieces are unique so I had great fun holding them all up to the light to choose my favourite design while sipping on a homemade mint lemonade (which they specified was for hospitality not business when offering it to us). Again, every single person in the shop was super lovely and I actually got 2 marriage proposals from the men working there while I was shopping. Solo travel actually gives you a lot of time to think and reflect on things and I have to say that I think part of the reason I was able to enjoy my trip so much is because not only am I outgoing but I'm also comfortable with male attention. Men in Arabic countries are a lot more forthright in their admiration of women and our beauty than in a lot of western countries. So if you're shy or reserved or you just don't like men hitting on you then you may find solo travel in a country like Egypt to be uncomfortable. I personally loved it; every day I was getting called a queen, told I looked like an Egyptian princess, and told I was welcome to return to Egypt any day as they loved having me. But I definitely recognised it wasn't for everyone so it's a culture tip worth knowing.

And then it was time to head to the valley of the kings! I was super excited about this bit because this had been the focus of the book I'd read and I was looking forward to seeing it all come to life. Ancient Egypt fascinates me in ways that I can't really explain because it's just such a vast period of time that we still don't know everything about. I won't go off on too much of a tangent, but Cleopatra (arguably most famous Ancient Egyptian) is closer in time to us now, than she was to the Ancient Egyptians at the beginning of the era. That's how long the period is, and yet when we teach it in schools, it's basically 'they liked cats, mummies and pyramids'. It's so reductive to a time period that's so interesting and I'd really love to keep learning more about it actually. Plus the fascination with mummification through the world is actually the least interesting part about going to the tombs. Like yes, Tutankhamun's mummy was there, but it's not particularly interesting to look at and it teaches us virtually nothing about how the Ancient Egyptians lived or what they believed in. That, is what the tomb itself does. The items placed there, the language used in the tombs, the drawings painted on the wall; it all builds a picture of the lives of the kings who were buried there. It was so interesting and I can't say I've ever felt that sense of being immersed in history anywhere else in the world (and I've been to plenty of historic sites). I would definitely put it on your bucket list.

You may think of Cleopatra as the most famous Egyptian queen, but the most iconic was actually Hatshepsut. She was the only queen to ever rule alone, as she acted as regent for her young stepson, and she technically took on the role of a female king, adopting the full power of a pharaoh (unprecedented amounts of power for a woman at the time). Naturally there were lots of temples and monuments and statues made in her honour, but they were quickly destroyed by her stepson once he ascended to power. Luckily, there are lots of clever Egyptologists working overtime, so the temple of Hatshepsut has been restored and we had a nice little wander round it to round off our day in Luxor. We learned so much from our lovely guide and I had the best time; it was well worth the long bus journey!

Too quickly my last night had rolled around! Again, I was in a very Egypt-appropriate outfit with this one shoulder dress that I just love. You'll notice I didn't do much inspiring with my hair this holiday and that's because the wall-attached hairdryer in my room was broken, so I made do with air drying and up dos!

My flight times were almost perfect, as my return flight was at about 7pm. Given that the airport was only 20 minutes away, it meant I could have a full day sunbathing until exactly the point that the sun disappeared from round the pool before going back to my room to get ready, as late checkout only cost $7 an hour (so worth it to not faff around with luggage rooms etc). I'd got up extra early to get round the pool and I basically soaked in as much sun as I could since it's got to last me the winter. The memories and love of Egypt on the other hand? Well, that's likely to last a lifetime after such an incredible trip.