Sharm El Sheikh
Sinai's resort capital between desert mountains and the Red Sea — gateway to Ras Mohammed, the Tiran reefs and Bedouin stargazing nights.
Overview
Sharm El Sheikh occupies the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, where bare red mountains fall straight into some of the clearest water in the world. That geography is the whole story: Ras Mohammed National Park — routinely ranked among the finest dive sites anywhere — is twenty minutes away by boat, the Straits of Tiran a little further, and reef walls plunge within metres of the shore along the whole coast. Naama Bay supplies the promenade-and-restaurants side; the quieter bays north and south hold the resorts. And an hour inland, the desert takes over entirely — Bedouin camps, canyon walks and some of the darkest, clearest night skies within reach of any beach holiday.
Why visit
- Some of the finest diving and snorkelling on earth, minutes from shore
- Desert and reef in one stay — canyon, camp and coral in the same day
- A polished resort infrastructure at prices well below comparable coasts
Highlights
- Ras Mohammed National Park — the meeting of two gulfs and world-ranked reef walls
- The Straits of Tiran: drift dives and big-fish encounters
- Shore reefs that begin metres from the beach — snorkelling as good as the diving
- A Sinai desert evening: Bedouin dinner and serious stargazing an hour inland
- Naama Bay's promenade for the social evening hour
Things to know
- Sharm's international airport makes it an easy direct arrival from Europe; Cairo is an hour's flight.
- Do not fly within 24 hours of your last dive — plan the final day as beach, desert or promenade.
- The best sites are boat sites: a private boat day reaches Ras Mohammed's outer walls before the day-trip fleet.
- Afternoons blow up breezy most of the year — book water activities for the morning.
Season overview
Travel essentials
Good to know
What makes Ras Mohammed special?
It sits where the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba meet at Sinai's tip, so nutrient-rich currents feed reef walls of unusual density and drama — Shark and Yolanda reefs are the famous pair. Visibility of 20–30 metres is routine, and because the walls rise close to the surface, snorkellers on a boat day see a remarkable share of what divers see.
Is Sharm El Sheikh only for divers?
Not at all. The shore snorkelling is world-class in its own right, the resorts are genuinely relaxing, and the Sinai interior adds a second holiday: Bedouin camp dinners, canyon walks and stargazing under some of the darkest accessible skies anywhere. Plenty of guests never put a tank on and leave delighted.
How do I fit Sharm into an Egypt itinerary?
Fly — Cairo to Sharm is about an hour, which makes a three-or-four-night Sinai finish practical after Cairo and the Nile. Remember the 24-hour no-fly buffer after a final dive when placing the last day, and consider arriving or departing on Sharm's own international airport to save a Cairo transit.
Sharm El Sheikh in photographs
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