TDY Gouge - Egypt

Cairo, Egypt - Tiger Aviation Services will take great care of you and are very reliable. Tiger will do all of the handling including paying for transportation to and from the Hotel. Sheraton Heliopolis (2022677730) is 10 min from Apt., other hotels closer to downtown can be over 1 hr in peak traffic times. Hotel is great, and within per diem rates, pool, gym, good security with over 5 restaurants. ~Swissotel, El Salam was great. Very nice hotel, 3 restaurants (Italian, Indian/Thai, French Style Cafe), a bank, a work out center, casino, pool with bar, a bar in the lobby, the room had a stocked mini bar and the TV had 3 or 4 English channels (MTV, MTV2, Discovery, TMC). The entrance to the hotel had a metal detector ( Americans were not screened). The hotel was only 10 minutes from Cairo East Military Base in Heliopolis. DO NOT drink the water or eat things washed off with tap water anywhere in Egypt. Ice cubes are a no-no also (personal experience). Go shopping at the Khan in downtown Cairo. They will barter with you. The Nile River Supper cruise is a good experience (about $25.00-$30.00).

Hurghada, Egypt - The Hilton Hurghada is a very nice place, highly recommended. Hurghada is a resort city on the Red Sea that caters to Europeans and Russians. We waited quite a while in the terminal for customs but the rest of the stay was well worth it. This is a great place to RON if you are flying from Eastern Europe to Eastern and Southern Africa or to middle or southern Saudi Arabia. The room rate after conversion to USD was only $50.00 a night! Several of the crew took double takes after we figured out the conversion, we couldn't believe the room rate was so cheap. The rate also includes all meals. If this location can be justified to pass through, do NOT turn the opportunity down. All people from the airport to the hotel and locals were very friendly. There several discotheques in the area which cater to Europeans. We weren't there long so we didn't get a chance to really see the nightlife beyond the hotel but it looks great!