Sharm El Sheikh Hotels

World class scuba hub and site of myriad international accords and conferences, this “City of Peace” has come a long way from previous spells as a fishermen outpost, Israeli settlement and commercial and naval port. To wit, after a substantial facelift, Sharm El Sheikh International Airport will be able to service a remarkable 15 million passengers a year in 2012.

A recent spate of shark attacks aside, the warm waters that ripple from the Red Sea provide Sharm El Sheikh visitors with idyllic conditions to discover superb marine biodiversity. As a result, avid divers can chart a course to explore the extraordinary underwater caves and coral reefs of Ras Muhammad National Park. Further inland, desert landscapes, wadis and the singular UNESCO World Heritage Saint Catherine Area beckon. For most, however, Sharm El Sheikh’s parade of shiny resorts and chic cafés, restaurants and nightclubs proffer ample diversion.

Sharm El Sheikh’s Top 10

Sharm El Sheikh Local

Sharm El Sheikh is a small resort area with just over 35,000 permanent residents. While visitors can bask in the lap of luxury on the beach, trips to the rest of the South Sinai Governate and Sinai Peninsula round out the overall charm of Sharm.

Dahab is a former Bedouin village and small town 100 km up the coast from Sharm El Sheikh. Popular with windsurfers, Blue Hole divers, beach resort holiday-makers and as a gateway to Mount Sinai.

El-Tor, 93 km northwest of Sharm El Sheikh, is the South Sinai Governate capital and a platform to the UNESCO World Heritage Saint Catherine Area.

Nuweiba is 167 km from Sharm on the Gulf of Aqaba coast. The small town contains some modern hotels and proximate Bedouin-style accommodation areas.

Saint Catherine is a peerless UNESCO World Heritage Site of epic significance to Christian, Muslim and Jewish pilgrims. The Sinai area is flush with archaeological sites, ancient landmarks and rugged mountain scenery. Saint Catherine’s Monastery, at the base of Mount Sinai, contains the most venerable collection of early icons, objects and mosaics in all of Christendom.

Taba is a busy border hub ever-popular with domestic tourists and Israelis, with a worthwhile eponymous nature reserve on the edge of town.

Sharm El Sheikh Eat & Drink

The restaurant scene in Sharm El Sheikh falls in line with other coastal package holiday resorts. Despite high prices and a discernible lack of sophistication, the promise of variety is enough to seduce most diners.

Sharm El Sheikh Events

Sharm El Sheikh has a few annual events and recreational pursuits of note.

Watersports are a Sharm staple and the area is a global hub for divers, snorkellers, windsurfers, kitesurfers and para-sailers. There are no shortage of equipment rental stalls, instructors and operators up and down the main drag.

There are several quality golf courses in the vicinity of Sharm El Sheikh.

International Camel Competition crowns the fastest camel in the Sinai desert every April.

International Shopping and Tourism Festival is a deliberate and brazen effort to boost the coffers of area hotels, restaurants and shops in July.

International Diving Competition lures some of the best underwater enthusiasts to dive sites in and around Sharm every October.

When To Go

With sunshine abundant and rainfall virtually nil in Sharm El Sheikh, the only real off months are January and February, when temperatures range from 55°F (13°C) to 73°F (23°C). The peak summer period from May to September inclusive features more than 10 hours of sun a day and temperatures between 73°F (23°C) and 102°F (39°C). Needless to say, skin protection is essential on the coast and in the arid Sinai Peninsula.

What To Miss

The current travel advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office with regard to political unrest in Egypt is less relevant for Sharm El Sheikh than for Cairo or Alexandria. Sharm visitors in snorkel or dive gear face more danger, on the whole, than the average tourist in the capital. With that, give amateur dive operators a wide berth in the resort city and secure the services of a reputable company with capable instructors. Ensure your travel insurance is in order before you go out on a dive excursion as well.

As a busy tourist resort, visitors must inevitably face a profusion of touts in Sharm El Sheikh. With prices in line with much of continental Europe, shops in the Old Town market and Naama Bay promenade offer few tangible rewards for bargain hunters per se. Moreover, to haggle anywhere in Egypt is a practical contact sport best left to gutsy, shameless experts and locals. Sharm is no exception in this regard. Merchants are notoriously sly and visible foreign shoppers are easy prey. Above all, this is a place to dive and loll under the sun - not to shop.

The usual array of taxi and currency exchange scams abound in Sharm El Sheik. Make sure your mental calculator is in order before you negotiate fares and let money change hands.

Getting Around

As the most popular package holiday resort in Egypt and, arguably, North Africa and the Middle East, Sharm El Sheikh is easily accessible from a wide range of destinations, such as London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Geneva, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Oslo, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Rome-Fiumicino. Sharm El Sheikh International Airport is a major hub in the country and handles a remarkable 7 million plus passengers a year. Only Cairo International Airport serves more passengers per annum. Impressive as this is, plans are in the works to double Sharm El Sheikh International’s capacity by 2012.

Visitors who arrive via Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Taba International Airport via London-Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester or Brussels, or Taba by land via Eilat, Israel will receive a two week (14 days) permit to travel within the eastern Sinai Peninsula. Those who want to explore the country outside of Sharm and the Sinai can apply for a one month visa from the Egyptian Consulate in London.

Express bus service is a less popular mode of transport to Sharm El Sheikh but one available from the likes of Cairo (6 hours), Alexandria (9 hours) and Luxor (14 hours).

Within Sharm, few stray very far from the beach or hotel resort. Mini-bus and private car fleets depart throughout the day for tours of the Sinai.

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