Penny Uro, who has travelled to the North African country several times before, came away from her latest holiday to Egypt feeling as if she’d been hassled and scammed
A Brit holidaymaker who claims Egypt is getting worse as a holiday destination with every visit said she “couldn’t wait to leave” the country.
Penny Uro, who has travelled to the North African country several times before, says she found the “hassling for money and scamming culture so exhausting.” She claims she was bothered by Uber drivers, tour guides, street vendors, and airport staff—despite being in the company of four men and a child.
The 41-year-old shared a video on Instagram for her 22,000 followers titled “Reasons why I couldn’t wait to leave Egypt.”
Solicitor and travel influencer Penny said she felt that “nothing was done as part of general good service,” and instead every seemingly kind act was “just a way to extract extra cash.”
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For example, arriving at the airport at 11pm with a child and suitcases, she was eager to get a taxi, but says she had issues with drivers pretending to be with Uber, and then demanding she pay them in cash.
She added that one driver allegedly “stopped just before the exit of the airport, threw my suitcases out of the boot, and drove off”.
Penny, from the Midlands, said it only got worse when she arrived at her hotel, where she claims her group was “constantly harassed for tips and constantly catcalled”.
The travel enthusiast said: “It was shocking. We were constantly harassed for tips and constantly catcalled. One of the men who cleaned the toilets actually followed me into the ladies and stood outside my cubicle.
“When I came out, he kept telling me I was beautiful and then asked for tips. Waiters would stand by the coffee machines in the morning, pressing the coffee button and asking for tips. They would also follow me around, asking if I had a husband.
Penny said she was also harassed on the street and when visiting famous landmarks. She said: “Even though I was travelling with four men, it seems that didn’t put the locals off. We arranged a private tour guide, but every time we stepped out of the van, locals would descend on us with various tidbits to sell.
“When we said no, they would start grabbing our arms or bags and then say things aggressively. We went to the Valley of the Kings, and around each tomb are various men who either take your photo or let you into the tomb, and every one asked for a tip.
“Our tour guide took us to three shops despite telling him that we had no interest in buying anything. When we tried to leave, someone would hold the door closed and another member of staff would try to take you to a different section of the shop.
“Rinse and repeat until we had to tip the doorman to let us out. The guide always waited outside, presumably because he knew what was happening.”
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Penny also encountered problems at the airport when travelling home. She said: “Airport staff searched my handbag after it went through the security belt. When it came to retrieving it, the staff member refused to hand it over unless I paid him a fee.
“I told him repeatedly I had no more cash left and he said that I had to write down all my personal details and he would ‘find me.’ These details included address, passport number, age, email, phone number, etc. So I made up those details, grabbed my bag, and left.
“Going to the bathroom at the airport was a painful experience, with locals standing inside and withholding toilet paper and access to the sinks and hand dryers unless we tipped them. I’m an Amex credit card holder and have priority passes for airport lounges.
“We checked over seven times that lounge access was not subject to a fee, and a representative repeatedly confirmed that it would be free for passholders. When we got to the desk at the lounge, which was a considerable distance from where we were in the airport, they wanted to charge us $175 for access.”
