What to expect on a Sharm El Sheikh holiday
The holiday resort of Sharm el Sheikh translates as “The City of Peace” and is situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Sharm el Sheikh is the largest city on the Sinai Peninsula. The nearby towns of Nuweiba, Dahab and Taba offer tourist attractions and also have a growing number of large and small hotels.
Beaches
Sharm el-Sheikh’s main industry is tourism, both domestic and international. Tourists are drawn to Sharm el-Sheikh’s natural beaches, spectacular scenery, and consistently low humidity. Egypt’s ancient appeal aside, the country is a magnet for package holidaymakers more than any other type of visitor. This is due to the warm Egyptian beaches, which are cheap and luxurious.
Watersports
Water sports such as snorkeling, diving, windsurfing, kite surfing, paragliding, sailing and canoeing are popular here and are considered among the best in the world, due to Sharm’s calm and transparent waters almost all year round. year. Very close to the Red Sea, Sharm offers some of the most striking underwater landscapes and warm waters that make it the perfect place to dive. Tourists have the unique opportunity to see a wide spectrum of marine species. Sharm el-Sheikh is a habitat for two hundred and fifty of various coral reefs and a thousand species of fish.
excursions
Sharm offers a wide variety of excursions, for example Safari Tours, Sea Tours, Nile Cruises and even Balloon Tours. Imagine taking a day trip to Luxor by plane from Sharm, visiting the Valley of the Kings, the statues of Memnon, the temple of Hatshepsut and the temples of Karnak. Alternatively, you may prefer to visit the desert mountains, which are the most remarkable facet of Sinai, and which hides the Colored Canyon, one of its most beautiful places. Near the coastal town of Nuweiba, this extraordinarily deep, narrow fracture is dotted with red, orange, yellow, and purple mineral sediments.
Transportation
You can get to Sharm by plane, boat, bus or car. Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport offers regular flights to Alexandria, Cairo, Hurghada and Luxor. In addition, there are numerous cheap flights from London airports and charter flights to Ireland, Italy, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and other destinations. At Sharm Marina, there are not only sailboats and private yachts, but also cruise ships and ferries that can take you to Aqaba and Hurghada. International Fast Ferries offer speedboats to Hurghada on the mainland Red Sea coast four times a week. Travel time is 1.5 hours for the price of LE 250 one way and LE 450 round trip. Please note that the ride is bumpy and subject to cancellation.
If you decide to drive to Sharm el-Sheikh, you can start from Eilat, Israel and drive up the east coast, through Nuweiba and Dahab. Another option is to drive along the western coast from the capital city of Cairo. Daily buses are offered for both routes. From Cairo, if you take an East Delta bus, your travel time would be about eight hours (LE80); in a luxury coach, it takes about 6 hours. When traveling from Cairo by bus, please have your passport and ticket to hand as you will pass through several checkpoints. The ride is enjoyable with gorgeous scenery all the way through the route.
In Sharm, you can travel by taxi. Taxis are generally modern, either Chevrolet or Hyundai. Be prepared to demand that the taxi use your meter; It is the law in Sharm. You can also take a small bus, which is a fleet of blue and white tuk-tuks, which is a less expensive form of transportation than taxis. To get into a tuk-tuk, simply wait on the side of the main street and raise your hand to stop one as it approaches. A single fare to anywhere in Sharm will be approximately 20 LE.
Hotels
Many hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh, especially in the Na’ama Bay area, accommodate tourists on package holidays. There are hotels from three to six stars with all inclusive, refined facilities and some budget accommodation. Sharm is a well developed area and is more like a European resort than an Egyptian one. While anyone can likely spend a lot here, Sharm el-Shakh remains, for many Europeans, a comparatively cheap vacation alternative to pricey beach resorts elsewhere in Europe.
Some hotels are quite far from Na’ama Bay, so you have to pay a taxi for each trip to Na’ama. However, the taxi is not that expensive in most hotels. In Na’ama Bay, hotels are often located across a pedestrian street; this can interfere with privacy a bit, especially when using a hotel pool.
For affordable luxury, check out the Renaissance Hotel, Hilton Cascades and Concorde el Salaam. If you prefer a luxurious stay, your options include the Hyatt Regency Sharm El Sheikh, Grand Rotana Resort & Spa, Maritim Royal Peninsula Hotel & Resort, Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton.