im total beginner but good windsurfer so wanna learn kite surfing, im going book up a holiday to egypt , prob sharm, is it best to book through a kite surfing company or just hire the quipment and get some tuition when im there?? please help....

You don't need to do it through a kitesurf company.

The Colona kitesurf centre at Sharm is on the grounds of the Regency Plaza so I'd suggest getting yourself a good package deal to there and then just wander down to the centre whenever you want and Kevin and Dianne will sort you out with all the gear and tuition you need. It's probably worth, but not essential, geting in touch with the centre (kevin and Dianne) first via email for more info. I've not used a kitesurfing holiday company to book with before but I'm guessing they add on a bit of a premium to the price and might be useful for getting to more remote locations but at Sharm you really don't need to book with them.

ok thank very much, nice one do u think i should stay in sharm or n bay then or isnt there much in it..

I stop in Sharm in Feb this year and taxied to Nabq Bay it was about a twenty minute drive about £5.00 each way and we were on the airport side of Sharm. Didn't check out night life a Nabq, but we normally go all inclusive so stop around the hotel mostly. I look to return next winter and will be looking to book up Nabq next time. Good spot to learn Kev and Di are great very easy going and you get really spoilt.

I have a holiday booked up in Nabq Bay at the Regency Plaza Hotel, where Colona watersports are situated. I go in 3 weeks and am really looking forward to it. There is alot of good reviews about the hotel and some bad ones, but it looks fine to me. I've never been all inclusive before, but is it is my honeymoon, so the mrs and i thought we would treat ourselfs. We booked it through teletextholidays.co.uk and we got a very goo deal, about £150 pp cheaper than any high street travel agent. So keep an eye in here and i will post something about the hotel and centre when i get back.

Ross.

im going 3 weeks too! havnt booked yet, will check out teletext!

Cool, we fly from newcastle on the 18th. It was a very reasonable price. The hotel also has a dive centre, which my wife and i are both into, so really everything is taken care of.

Ross.

so what course do i need to do to be able to kitsurf alone??

im looking at staying at The Grand Hotel Sharm El Sheikh as no flights on the sat . i think this is close to the bay so be ok.... !!

Tip for Regency Plaza

On your last day only one of you go and check out so one of you keeps a wrist band on. Aso take some selotape, cut your own wrist band off - go check out (this is when they normally take your bands off you) then once you've checked out re-stick your band back on.

This means you're not waiting around for you flight all day with no way to get all inclusive food and drinks.

Yes I'm a tight git.

..

AddStarr I love your style, right up my street owt like that!

The Borg.

..

Addstarr, that soundslike a great plan, my type of thinking!!!!!

How did you find the hotel? And did you stay all inclusive? How did you find it? good value or shit? What is the food like? I have read some quite bad reviews and am getting a little worried. What are the rooms like? any other tips for me?

Cheers,

Ross

I went All inclusive and would describe it as good value. I just did a google search for regency plaza and there are plenty of holidays companies that do package deals there. They are all about the same price. I would say you are looking at about £560 per person all inclusive with flights. Hotel claims its 5* but I would say its a very good 3/4*.

Food didn't make me or the wife ill, which is a worry when going to Egypt All Inclusive. It was good, not fantastic but nice enough.

It's full of Russians but I don't find that much of a problem. The beaches are nicer and less hectic than Naama bay.

Rooms are better than your average room but certainly not 5 star. More than comfortable for a weeks stay though. We weren't costantly hounded for tips like some reviews suggest.

Basically if it was rated as 3* you would be well impressed with it. Because it is rated as 5* you might be a bit dissapointed if you're expecting world class luxury. But if you are going Kitesurfing then I would say it is the hotel to stop at simply because you will be comfortable there and the kitesurf centre is attached to it so there's no where more conveinient. They were building a hotel next door when I stayed which would be equally as handy for the kitesurfing but may be a better hotel, I don't know.

If you have already booked I wouldn't worry about the reviews. In my opinion the bad ones are over the top and I know people who go year after year with no problems. I will be booking there again if/when I go back and my non kitesurfing wife would be happy to go back too.
Speak to the Kitesurf centre about transfers if you haven't already sorted them out.
Take your masks and snorkels as there are some good reefs a short walk away. Take some footwear for the sea because of the urchins.
Don't worry too much about the local taxis ripping you off. They were cheap enough to get into Naama bay for a meal or night out if you fancy a change (there's nothing really in Nabq Bay).

I have just returned from a week honeymoon/ kiting in sharm el sheikh, i stayed at the regency plaza hotel which is where Kite Junkies are located. Unfortunately the wind didn't really blow much. I got out on my 12 for about 4 hours over 2 morning's in the whole week. Bit shit really. But it can be like that at this time of year apparently. Apparently the rest of July has been awesome out there. Aside from the winding not playing, the hotel there is really nice, not 5 star like it says more like 3/ 4 star. But we had a really nice stay non the less. Facilities, staff and food all really good. All inclusive was well worth it. Down side only being that the hotel was full of Russians and slovaks, they hav to be some of the rudest, arrogant people i have ever coem across, but after a few days i had got over that and just ignored them.

The beach and lagoon there are perfect for kiting, the only real hazard being those stupid russians again!!!! swimming and floating around in the kite area. But fuck'm i say, if they are stupid enough to swim where there is kiting going on.

Kev, Diane and Pedro at the Kite centre are great too, really nice and very helpful. They were also kind enough to give me a discount on my lesson and board hire because of shitty wind cutting my lesson short.

Squires - as for the wind in november, i was told winter is much better for consistant widn out there, it starts from late septemebr apparently through to january and february. But best thing to do is speak to Kite junkies, they will give you all the advice and tips you are looking for.

www.kitejunkies.com/index.html

So overall, i would definately return, probably at another time of year, when it si a bit quieter, sometime towards winter i reckon.

As for the rest of sharm el sheikh, i don't know, didn't leave the resort really. Went on a couple of day trips on non-windy days, but generally stayed around the resort all you needed was there, if you were there for 2 weeks, you might get a bit bored and need to get out more but we were fine.

Anyway, that is my run down on sharm el shiekh.

Cheers,

Ross