Until about the late 1960’s Sharm El-Sheikh was just a quiet fishing community but increasing investment has made the “City of Peace” one of the best known and most visited Egypt holiday destinations. Sharm El Sheikh offers sun, sea and sand with luxury five-star hotels including hotels in Naama Bay, hotels in Nabq Bay & hotels in Sharks Bay, water sports and some of the finest Red Sea diving as well as shopping and entertainment.   It’s a vibrant and lively resort with just about all the amenities you’d expect of a well developed tourist centre including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health clubs, camel riding, desert safaris and nearby antiquities to visit.

Sharm El Sheikh is a well developed area that feels surprisingly “European” and is definitely for the gregarious travelers who seeks a lively resort that’s set amidst crystal clear waters, magnificent corals, sandy beaches and endless desert landscapes. Naama Bay, located just north of Sharm, is a resort in its own right offering all you’d want from a holiday in Egypt while the nearby Shark’s Bay is also a growing resort.  Sharm El Sheikh is also noted for its sulphur springs which have been long considered cures for rheumatic and skin complaints.

Sharm El Sheikh is a genuine “year round” resort.  Average winter temperatures range from 15° - 35°C and 20°- 45°C during summer while the temperature of the Red Sea only varies  between 21° - 28°C all year.  Sharm El-Sheikh features some of the world’s most amazing underwater scenery with crystal clear water, rare and beautiful reefs and an incredible variety of exotic fish.   Much of this can be seen simply by snorkeling off the coast, but Sharm El-Sheikh is known world-wide as the top destination for the best Scuba diving holidays in Egypt.  Jaz hotels and resorts in Sharm El Sheikh are matchless and provide travelers with the ultimate all inclusive Sharm El Sheikh holiday experience for all the family
 

Sharm El Sheikh Hotels

Hotels in Sharm El Sheikh cater for the single traveller, couples and families and cater for any taste and budget, from luxurious five-star resorts complete with unspoilt, private beaches and fantastic international cuisine to compact and family-friendly boutique-style hotels that are warm and welcoming.

Sharm El Sheikh hotels are scattered among the three main regions of the resort.  Naama Bay is famous for its sweeping seafront and beach and beautiful paved walkways lined with bougainvillaea and oleander.  Ras Om El Seid is famed for its coral reefs.  It’s a cliff top area with many hotels perched on the high bluffs that link Naama Bay and the bay of Sharm El Maya.  Sharm El Maya is the name given to the old town bay area of Sharm El Sheikh. A picturesque bay with a beautiful sandy beach, it has a profusion of palm trees providing natural shade for sun loungers.

Excellent quality hotels are located throughout Sharm El Sheikh, in Nabq bay, Ras Om El-Seid, Maya Bay and El Montaza.  Most have the major advantage of being close to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport and within easy walking distance of the city centre.   Many Sharm El Sheikh hotels have a private beach where you can enjoy the warm, clear Red Sea or indulge yourself in heated pools.  Some Sharm El Sheikh hotels also offer relaxing massage or sauna facilities as well as Health Clubs and Spas.
 

Diving in Sharm El Sheikh

The bustle of the resort’s complexes may not be to some people’s taste, but there can be no doubt that Sharm El Sheikh is probably the best Scuba diving and snorkelling location on the Red Sea.  Ras Mohammed National Park contains some of the most famous dive sites in the Red Sea with 800 metre deep reef walls, pounding current and coral gardens. Sharm El Sheikh is suitable for all levels of diving ability and as you’d expect in such a prime diving location, there is a large selection of companies offering diving courses at all levels.   Sharm El Sheikh remains one of the cheapest places in the world to pick up a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) qualification.

Sharm El Sheikh Dive Sites

Diving in Sharm El Sheikh runs from Ras Mohammed at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula to the Straits of Tiran Reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba.  Diving conditions are usually calm and moderate thanks to the shelter of the land.  The entire area is under the protection of the Ras Mohammed National Park and you should not touch the coral or feed the fish.  There are literally dozens of dives sites in the area, but the top ten must be as follows:

Temple (Difficulty level: Beginner) at the centre of the Ras Om El Seid bay, this has  a huge coral pillar extending  skywards and a reef wall  that drops to 15m. There are lots of pinnacles which are well worth exploring and it’s a great location to spot octopus.

Ras Katy (Difficulty level: Beginner) this is a lovely shallow dive with plenty to see and where most beginners will make their first open water dive.  It’s particularly spectacular at night with lionfish and the occasional free swimming giant moray. It can be quite crowded with boats at times.

White Knights (Difficulty level: Beginner) a good site for the novice where the reef wall drops away to a sandy plateau at about 13m.  At the centre you’ll find a gully with swim throughs at 10m and 35m.This sheltered site is home for trigger fish, groupers and the occasional manta and there is a populous eel garden to the north.

Jack Fish Alley (Difficulty level: Intermediate) there’s a big white patch on a cliff that’s a good marker for this site.  It’s usually done as a drift dive there are some interesting caves at 5m full of glass fish. To the south you’ll find two ergs covered with glass fish and a great spot for underwater photography.   Further south is the coral garden and the sandy gulley which gives this sites its name. Stingrays can be found resting in the sand as well as white tip sharks.

Gordon Reef (Difficulty level: Intermediate) located in the Straits of Tiran, Gordon Reef features the wreck of the “Lovilla” which ran aground in 1981. This dive can be done either as a drift or a mooring dive, starting out with a sandy plateau which you follow out to the drop off at around 20 meters. Descending down the drop off you may see hammerheads or eagle rays which often frequent the waters here and are bound to see big gorgonians and a multitude of reef fish.

Dunraven  (Wreck -Difficulty level: Intermediate) a British steamer in the Ras Mohammed National Park, it lies in two sections  both of which are penetrable, however there is not always an entire route through. The large brass propeller lies to the north end of the wreck and the reef to the west. The sea life is interesting and abundant here and a swim along the reef makes a good end to the dive.  Napoleon fish are common, as well as lionfish and flathead scorpion fish and you can see particularly impressive brain coral on the reef.

Ras Za'atar (Difficulty level: Intermediate) also in the Ras Mohammed National Park, Ras Za'atar is located on the southern side of Marsa Bareika. This is a drift dive that usually starts to the south and you travel north with the reef on your left.   A few minutes into the dive there’s a spectacular table coral sheltering glass fish, Napoleon Wrasse and turtles.  It’s also an ideal place to see dolphins under the water.

Shark and Yolanda (Difficulty level: Advanced) also located in the Ras Mohammed National Park, this has been in the Top 10 of the World's dive sites for many years and consists of two small ergs joined by a vertical wall  that drop  into the abyss.   The dive usually starts at Shark reef where you’ll spot large schools of barracuda, silky sharks and snappers that gather in the strong currents just off the wall. Keeping an eye on the blue will reveal tuna, bluefish, and the occasional hammerhead.  As you proceed toward Yolanda you will reach a plateau scattered with small ergs and coral outcrops filled with stone fish and scorpion fish.  Continuing round the reef you will come upon the scattered remains of the wreck of the “Yolanda” complete with its cargo of toilets and baths.   This is a complex and highly rewarding dive, but be sure you have a thorough briefing as the currents here can be strong and unpredictable.

Jackson Reef (Difficulty level: Advanced) located in the Straits of Tiran, this site is a nesting ground for hammerhead sharks. It’s the most northerly of the reefs of Tiran and the northern limit of day boats from Sharm El Sheikh. It features the wreck of the “Lara” at the northern end and there is superb wall diving along its entire perimeter.  Sightings of sharks, turtles and other big fish are not uncommon and there’s a huge diversity of different corals and sponges as well large numbers of trigger fish, masked puffers and banner fish.

SS Thistlegorm (Wreck - Difficulty level: Advanced) Located in the Straits of Gubal, this is the biggest attraction of all the Red Sea sites, generating more income for Egypt than the pyramids.  It is strictly speaking classified as a war grave and therefore illegal to be dived on, but that doesn’t stop thousands from doing so every year! It was sunk in 1941, packed to the gunwales with supplies destined for the British 5th Army that included bren-gun carriers, motorcycles, jeeps, trucks, rifles, radio equipment, ammunition and (with true military logic for a desert campaign) a supply of wellington boots.  The Thistlegorm is heaven for wreck enthusiasts, but is also one of the most underrated fish dives in the area, attracting schooling barracuda and providing a hunting ground for giant tuna and snapper.

Sharm El Sheikh Beach & Water Sports

Beaches in Sharm El Sheikh are pristine and plentiful.  Most Sharm El Sheikh hotels usually have their own private beaches exclusively available to hotel guests.   Activities available on the beach include volleyball and other organised sports or games.  Many Sharm El Sheikh hotels also feature beachside bars and cafes or restaurants serving anything from light snacks to full meals.  Sharm El Sheikh is also a top Red Sea destination for wind and kitesurfing.  Kitesurfers usually head away from the crowds to the more chilled end of Sharm in Nabq with just a few bars and restaurants and a long golden sand beach, although it’s great to have the diverse night life of Sharm El Sheikh so close to hand!

The kite zone is huge so it’s never too crowded despite growing in popularity with those who want to mix up Freestyle with Waveriding.  Wind patterns here are different to the Hurghada side of Egypt in that the winter winds are stronger and last pretty much all day, while the summer winds start early and finish early as the day gets hotter and kills the wind.  Hotels and resorts in Sharm El Sheikh also offer a large choice of more relaxed beach and watersports activities, from banana rides to excursions to the awesome Ras Mohammed National Park. And even if you are a non-diver, you can still enjoy the sights of the underwater world of the Red Sea by booking a trip on a glass-bottomed boat.

Sharm El Sheikh Nature & Wildlife

Obviously, the main wildlife attraction of Sharm El Sheikh is the fabulous Red Sea with corals and marine life in abundance.  Sharm El Sheikh’s underwater flora and fauna is rich and varied and includes butterfly fish, rainbow wrasse, moray eels, napoleon fish, turtles, grouper fish, dolphins, blacktip sharks, hammerhead sharks and schools of surgeon fish.  There are about 250 different types of coral reef and over 1,000 different species of fish throughout Ras Mohammed National Park, the St. Katherine National Park and Nabq Protected Area.

Seeing these incredible creatures is best done by snorkelling or Scuba diving.  There are courses available at the many PADI training centres throughout Sharm El Sheikh and many hotels incorporate diving schools but the less daring can book trips on glass-bottomed boats.   It’s not just fish and marine life that abounds here though.  St. Katherine National Park boasts 46 reptile species including geckos and skinks and larger mammals such as Wild Cats, the Sinai Leopard, Rock Hyrax and the Nubian Ibex. Nabq Protected Area is also a resting and stopover place for different migratory birds including the Pacific Golden Plover, Black-bellied Plover and the Caspian Tern.

Shopping and Leisure in Sharm El Sheikh

For those who love to shop, Sharm El-Sheikh provides ample opportunities to indulge in retail therapy.   Sharm El Sheikh is famous for producing jewellery, leather goods and rugs. Expect to haggle when shopping in Sharm El Sheikh!  It is all part of the experience and the shop owners will be shocked if you don’t try to negotiate!  The majority of shops and shopping centres are based in Naama Bay but Sharm Old Market is great for hunting out bargains.  If you want real value for money you should go south-west to Dahab which is less busy and less commercialised than Sharm.

There is more to Sharm El-Sheikh than beaches, sea and shopping of course.   It’s a well developed area that feels “European” with refined hotels, facilities and amenities. Sharm el Sheikh has a fantastic range of restaurants, bars and cafes to visit as well as the hotels own all inclusive menus.  The market area in Old Sharm is popular for its abundance of seafood restaurants and cheap prices.  For those wanting a romantic evening, head to the” On Deck” restaurant in the Iberotel Lido hotel in Naama Bay where you can dine on a pontoon overlooking the water. The Il Mercato promenade, often called “Les Champs Elysee” of Sinai close to the Iberotel IL Mercato Hotel offers a varied selection of excellent cafes and restaurants.

There’s even an 18-hole Championship golf course in Jolie Ville Golf Resort, located only five kilometres from the main hotels in Sharm el Sheikh which is open to non guests. It includes a driving range and artificial lakes and is a perfect escape for those who love the game.
 

Sharm El Sheikh Spas

Sharm El Sheikh has many Spas and Health Clubs, usually associated with hotel complexes.  There’s hardly any five or four-star hotel that doesn’t either incorporate a Spa and Health club or at least offers sauna and massage facilities.  Most of these are available only to residents, but some can be booked by non-guests.   The Jaz Mirabel complex (Mirabel Beach, Mirabel Club and Mirabel Park hotels)   offer guests the services of the Mirabel Spa with nine separate treatment rooms and a Health Club with a fully equipped gym, whirlpool and dry/wet saunas.  The Sol y Mar Riva Mar, Riva Beach and Riva Club hotels features the Tranquillity Spa with 17 treatment rooms offering Thalassotherapy treatments including massage, saunas, steam bath, hydrotherapy and facial care.