Sharm El Sheikh

Why Sharm El Sheikh works

Sharm El Sheikh sits where the Sinai Peninsula's desert mountains drop directly into the Red Sea, creating a stark contrast of ochre rock and vivid turquoise water that has made it one of the world's leading dive destinations. The Ras Mohammed National Park, a short boat ride from the resort strip, protects coral walls dropping vertically into deep water, drawing divers for consistently excellent visibility often exceeding 20m and encounters with reef sharks, turtles and dense schools of tropical fish. The SS Thistlegorm, a British Second World War cargo ship sunk in 1941 and rediscovered by Jacques Cousteau in the 1950s, remains one of the world's premier wreck dives, its holds still holding motorcycles, trucks and rifles largely undisturbed since sinking. Beyond diving, Naama Bay forms Sharm's main tourism hub, a curved promenade of hotels, restaurants and dive shops facing calm, sheltered water suited to snorkelling directly from the beach. Inland, a day trip to St Catherine's Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai and among the oldest continuously operating Christian monasteries in the world, offers a striking contrast to the coastal resort scene, with pilgrims and hikers climbing Mount Sinai overnight for sunrise from the same summit where Moses is traditionally said to have received the Ten Commandments. Sharm's desert-meets-sea setting and reliable winter sun have made it a long-standing favourite for European sun-seekers escaping colder climates.

Trip Snapshot

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