Things to do in Dahab
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Dahab
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best joint window: warm sea, pleasant desert temperatures, kite season opening.
Hot and windy: strongest Lagoon wind and warmest sea, punishing midday heat on land.
Best joint window: warm sea, reliable wind, summer crowds gone, freedive training in full swing.
Mild and quiet: best prices and comfortable hiking, cool nights and a shorty wetsuit in the sea.
What's on
- Dahab Culture Week usually April
A week of local arts, music, traditions, performances and workshops across town.
- Dahab International Festival of Water Sports usually May
Diving, freediving and water sports competitions; book accommodation and dive schools early.
Best things to do in Dahab
Lighthouse Reef
Dahab's house reef off the promenade, with turtles, morays and octopus and no boat needed.
Blue Hole
Iconic deep sinkhole north of town; snorkel the saddle or dive the rim and never attempt the Arch.
The Canyon
A light filled seismic crack dropping to about 30m, usually paired with the Blue Hole in one day.
Eel Garden
A sandy slope carpeted with garden eels at the north end of the promenade, free beyond gear hire.
H2O Divers Dahab
ScubaBoard regulars praise this centre for serviced equipment and safe gas on Dahab dive courses.
Reef 2000
Long praised dive centre near the Canyon side, named repeatedly in Dahab dive community threads.
Lighthouse Divecenter
Dive centre in the Lighthouse area with long running community endorsements for courses and fun dives.
Planet Divers
Community endorsed Dahab dive centre for learning to dive at low Red Sea prices.
Where to stay in Dahab
Masbat and Mashraba
first trip, all-round base
Central bay with promenade, dive centres, cafes and restaurants, walk everywhere from here.
Lighthouse and Eel Garden
divers, freedivers and long stays
Northern end of Masbat, closest to Lighthouse Reef and Eel Garden, dense with dive schools and yoga.
Assalah
budget, local life and stays of a month or more
Egyptian town north of Eel Garden with local bakeries, markets and cheaper rents, a walk from Masbat.
The Lagoon
families, kiters and resort comfort
Sandy spit south of town with big resorts and wind centres, but a taxi or long walk to Masbat.
Blue Hole Road
quiet and views
Small hotels between sea and mountains north of town, beautiful and calm but a taxi ride from dinner.
Think twice about
- Far south resort and Medina fringe beyond the Lagoon
Isolated and poorly lit, dependent on taxis for everything, with undeveloped plots between properties.
- Main Sharm to Dahab road and Blue Hole road edges
Some sea view properties are actually on a highway verge, with traffic noise, dust and nothing walkable.
- Deep Assalah back streets for short nightlife focused stays
Safe and friendly but unlit in places, with stray dog packs and a long dark walk home from Masbat.
Best restaurants in Dahab
Shabka w Senara
Pick your fish, shrimp or calamari from the display, pay by the kilo, the best value seafood in Dahab.
Zanooba Slow Cooking
Tiny pre order only spot for slow cooked Egyptian tagines, ordered in the morning for the evening.
Dai Pescatori
Dahab's special occasion restaurant, Italian seafood and wood fired pizza in a quiet dining room.
Seaduction
Lebanese rooftop in Assalah, presented beautifully, with makloubeh as the must order dish.
Athanor
Italian food and pizza with a stunning outdoor terrace, a reliable romantic dinner pick.
Ralph's German Bakery
Institution for Bavarian breads, bee sting cake, German breakfast platters, coffee and orange juice.
King Falafel
Fuul and tahina with fresh bread, salad and pickles, the authentic Egyptian breakfast in Dahab.
Yum Yum
Falafel sandwiches at street prices in the Assalah Square area, rated among Dahab's best.
Outdoor things to do in Dahab
Ras Abu Galum Protected Area
Roadless Bedouin coastal reserve reached by camel, boat or foot, with a reef wall metres from hut beaches.
Blue Lagoon
Calmer, shallower cove beyond Abu Galum, good for families and also named for stargazing.
Mount Sinai
Overnight climb to the 2285m summit for sunrise, with a Bedouin guide required on the mountain.
St Catherine's Monastery
One of the world's oldest working monasteries, at the traditional site of the Burning Bush.
Coloured Canyon
Narrow sandstone slot canyon with walls running yellow to rust red to purple under 40m walls.
White Canyon
Pale limestone canyon contrasting with the Coloured Canyon on the standard desert jeep circuit.
Ain Khudra Oasis
Palm oasis lunch stop on the canyon jeep safari north and west of Dahab.
Harry Nass Windsurf & Kitesurf Center
Premium Lagoon wind centre operating since 1999, with a shallow teaching lagoon and boat rescue cover.
Best hotels in Dahab
Safir Dahab Resort
Dahab's benchmark large resort, with direct Lagoon beach, spa, large pool and multiple restaurants.
Jaz Dahabeya
Beach resort paired with the Lagoon wind centres, the kiter's luxury base in Dahab.
Dahab Lagoon Club & Resort
Large resort facilities on the sandy Lagoon, with the same isolation caveat as its neighbours.
Retac Qunay Dahab Resort & Spa
Low rise, desert modern, spa led resort on its own bay, the most design led hotel Dahab gets.
Sheikh Ali Dahab Resort
All suite hotel in a palm garden with pool and activity desk, the best reviewed town hotel in Dahab.
Dahab Paradise
Pool hotel with mountain backdrop and sea view rooms, for calm over convenience north of town.
Dar Dahab
Boutique serviced apartments on quiet Assalah beachfront, the long stay and remote work pick.
Alf Leila Boutique Hotel
Small boutique on Lighthouse Street, the best boutique base for a dive first trip.
Is Dahab expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | EGP 2,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | EGP 4,750 a person |
| Splurge | EGP 9,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ras Abu Galum Protected Area: a few days ahead
- Blue Lagoon: a few days ahead
- Mount Sinai: weeks ahead
- St Catherine's Monastery: weeks ahead
- Coloured Canyon: a few days ahead
- White Canyon: a few days ahead
- Ain Khudra Oasis: a few days ahead
- Gabr el Bint: a few days ahead
- Mount Sinai in peak season, and Zanooba the morning before at the latest.
- Dive and freedive courses in high season if you want a specific school or instructor.
- Lagoon resorts at Christmas, New Year and Easter, and private Sharm transfers for late flights.
- Fun dives, Abu Galum and canyon jeep days usually book the day before.
Is Dahab safe?
- South Sinai resorts are distinguished from the closed off north in advisories; check your government's current wording.
- Main risks are water currents and depth, extreme sun and dehydration, and unguided desert hikes.
- Drink bottled or filtered water only, use SPF 50 and carry far more water than feels necessary.
- Dress modestly away from the beach, covering shoulders and knees in Assalah, markets and the monastery.
Dahab travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Blue Hole as a midday bus tour selfie stop is the worst version of Dahab's best site; go early with a centre.
- Depth ego at the Blue Hole: the memorial plaques are not decoration, walk away from Arch offers.
- Promenade seafood without the choose your fish by weight format is Dahab's most mediocre meal.
- Overpaying the airport taxi and assuming the free Sinai Only stamp covers trips beyond Sinai.
Getting around Dahab: public transport and more
- Walk the core: Lighthouse to Mashraba to Assalah is one continuous seafront walk of about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Use open backed pickup taxis beyond the core, agree the fare before moving and carry small EGP notes.
- Bicycles rent cheaply and suit the flat bay road; there are no in town public buses.
- Fly to Sharm el Sheikh, then about an hour by road to Dahab; pre book a transfer for late arrivals.
Who Dahab suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Dahab your trip
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