Is it safe? When we talk about our travelings in the South of the Sinai, this question is coming up.
Egypt, and Sinai in particular, used to be one of the safest places on the planet, but this reputation has changed significantly since the revolution in 2011. News of riots on mainland Egypt and threats of terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula are constantly in the news. While it is true there are some serious problems in the country – just as in the broader region and the whole world – the situation is not as bad as the media makes it sound.
Terrorism is a threat the media keeps on repeating virtually on a daily basis. While there is certainly some truth to it, the troubles are concentrated in a very small corner of the Sinai in the north, in the area around El Arish, Raffa and the border area with Gaza, hundreds of miles from the tourist destinations of South Sinai. Who these terrorists are, where they are from or how many they are is unclear, but it is a small group who use the media to blow up their hideous acts. They include some locals as well, but most are probably from outside Egypt. The Bedouin tribes stand united against them, they are not and not harbouring terrorists. Terrorism is a quite worrying problem, but at least it seems to be very isolated, well-contained by the government, and far from the tourist areas in South Sinai.
We believe Sinai is safe.