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Destination: <span>Sharm El Sheikh</span>
HomeDestination: <span>Sharm El Sheikh</span>

Destination: Sharm El Sheikh

The southern tip of Sinai — Ras Mohamed, the Blue Hole at Dahab, and St Catherine's Monastery in the mountains behind.

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About this destination

What you will find in Sinai

Sharm El Sheikh sits where the Gulf of Aqaba meets the Red Sea, and the water is the reason the town exists. Ras Mohamed National Park, at the very tip of the peninsula, protects the reef walls where the two bodies of water meet — it was Egypt's first national park and remains its best-known dive site. Naama Bay and Sharks Bay hold most of the hotels.

North along the coast, Dahab is quieter and holds the Blue Hole, a submarine sinkhole that is both famous and genuinely dangerous at depth. Inland, the Sinai mountains rise to Mount Sinai, with St Catherine's Monastery at its foot — a working Greek Orthodox monastery founded in the sixth century and one of the oldest continuously inhabited in the world.

Most people come for a week of sea with one or two days inland. The classic inland trip is the overnight climb of Mount Sinai to reach the summit at sunrise, followed by the monastery in the morning.

Good to know

Sharm El Sheikh, explained

Sharm El Sheikh is the main resort town of South Sinai and the base for the reefs of the Gulf of Aqaba. Ras Mohamed National Park, twenty minutes south, has the steepest reef walls in Egyptian waters and is the reason Sharm built its reputation among divers long before it became a general resort.

The peninsula also holds the other half of the trip. St Catherine's Monastery, about two and a half hours inland, sits at the foot of the mountain of the biblical account and holds an extraordinary collection of early icons and manuscripts. Mount Sinai itself is climbed overnight by most visitors so they reach the summit for sunrise.

Sharm has its own international airport. The water is calm and shallow at the edge in most bays, which is why it suits families as readily as it suits divers.

FAQ

Your questions

Egypt's first national park, at the southern tip of Sinai where the Gulf of Aqaba meets the Red Sea. The reef walls drop steeply just offshore, which concentrates fish life close to the surface and makes it as rewarding for snorkellers as for divers. It is about twenty minutes from Sharm by road, or reached by day boat.
Yes. The usual route takes about three hours up and is walked overnight so you reach the summit for sunrise, with the descent and St Catherine's Monastery following in the morning. It is a steep walk rather than a technical climb, but it is cold at the top before dawn, even in summer.
A Greek Orthodox monastery founded in the sixth century at the foot of Mount Sinai and still inhabited by monks. It holds one of the oldest working libraries in the world and a collection of early icons that survived the periods when images were destroyed elsewhere. Opening hours are limited and it closes to visitors on Sundays and feast days.
Sharm has the better reefs and the mountains of Sinai behind it. Hurghada is closer to Luxor and Cairo and easier to combine with the ancient sites. If the sea is the point of the trip, Sharm; if you want sea plus temples, Hurghada.
Yes. Most bays shelve gently and stay calm, the resorts are built around that, and the reef is close enough that children who can snorkel will see plenty without a boat.
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