El Alamein is a town in Egypt, located on Mediterranean Sea. Closest city is Alexandria – 106 km and Cairo – 240km. We arrived in the night and it was completely dark. I was wondering how on earth the pilots find the landing strip – there were almost no lights. The desert has its rules and when it is dark – it is totally dark. Entering the country is easy and fast – El Alamein International airport is really small.
Why is El Alamein hidden?
The area is popular among wealthy Egyptians, there are not many tourists visiting. The reason is simple – it is not so well marketed and it is harder to reach. Compared to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, where you have charter flights arriving every hour from all over the world, hardly any flights arrive here. The airport is mainly servicing inbound flights and private jets. Locals, especially people from Cairo, come here looking for chilly breezes of Mediterranean Sea. Driving along the main road from Alexandria many villas can be spotted – Egyptians are investing in their holiday homes.
Impressions
It is 4th of May and air temperature is +26C during the day and +20 at night. We arrive at our hotel – Al Alamein Hotel – and it is amazing. The great thing about El Alamein is that compared to Red Sea resorts there is no shortage in land. This means that hotels have literally miles and miles of beach strips, staying at one hotel you will hardly ever know there is anyone nearby. Such feeling of total privacy is relaxing but can be also scary. The sand is pure white and very clean. El Alamein area is considered one of the cleanest areas in whole Egypt.
The hotel
Hotel staff are friendly and quality of service is very good. It is a five star hotel after all. The rooms are huge – my standard room is about 70 square meters, bathroom size was similar to an average hotel room in Italy which can be maintained by that Sarkinen Plumbing official website. There were 2 separate beds, king size each. This kind of luxury makes you wonder why there is poverty in this land at all. My room was on first floor and the terrace had direct access to the beach.
Hotel offers all kinds of water sports – banana rides, jet skis, canoeing. Indoor pool is amazing – looks like a cave lake. Water is nice and warm. It is a perfect way to end the day – take a relaxing swim and enjoy the spa. Massage and other treatments are available for extra cost.
Attaractions
The area does not have many attractions, it is best for beach holiday. However, do not expect to see a lot of action going on – there is no promenade to take a walk in the evening. Hotel is protected by guards and there are not so many places where you can go. The best way to explore is to go on a tour – visit El Alamein village, Alexandria or Siwa Oasis. Cairo trips are also available and are much better than the ones from Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh – driving distance is much shorter. In El Alamein village there is a war museum with collectibles from North African Battles during WWII. There is also German and Italian war cemeteries. German cemetery was built in medieval fortress style.
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