Things to do in Sharm El Sheikh
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Sharm El Sheikh
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best all-round window: warm sea, easiest snorkelling and comfortable desert trips.
Peak winter sun: cooler evenings, sea around 21 to 22C, busiest resorts and highest prices.
Shoulder sweet spot: rising warmth, fewer crowds and lower prices. Ramadan and Easter affect service and prices.
Fierce on land, prime in the water: best big fish diving at Ras Mohammed, desert and golf only early or at night.
Transition: still very hot, sea at its warmest, prices and crowds rebuilding to autumn peak.
What's on
- SOHO Square Festival of Lights / Big Switch On Last Friday of November
Christmas lights launch in SOHO Square ahead of Christmas and New Year.
- Christmas and New Year's Eve 25 December / 31 December
Large resorts run gala dinners, markets and entertainment for the winter sun crowd.
- Orthodox Christmas 7 January
Also marked by resorts in Sharm.
- Ramadan Roughly 8 February to 9 March 2027
Daytime service reduces outside resorts while evenings come alive after sunset. Dates are lunar, verify.
- Eid al-Fitr End of Ramadan, around 10 March in 2027, depending on the moon
Festive mood and resort special menus at the end of Ramadan.
Best things to do in Sharm El Sheikh
Ras Mohammed National Park
Egypt's first national park where two gulfs meet, with coral walls and huge summer snapper aggregations.
Straits of Tiran
Four offshore reefs by boat: Jackson for fish density, Thomas for challenge, Gordon best for snorkellers.
Ras Um Sid
Best cheap shore snorkelling in Sharm, a reef wall minutes from the beach via the El Fanar pontoon.
Farsha Mountain Lounge
Cliff terraced lounge above the sea with cushions, lanterns and shisha, transformed when lights come on.
Old Market
Closest Sharm gets to a normal market town, with spice stalls, fish cafes and the lit Al Sahaba Mosque.
SOHO Square
Free to enter managed square with fountain, ice rink and Sharm's densest cluster of non-hotel restaurants.
Naama Bay
Sharm's original walkable centre with a rare sandy beach, cafes, bars and dive centres along the promenade.
White Island
Tidal sandbank where the gulfs meet, paired with Ras Mohammed snorkel stops on a full day boat for non-divers.
Where to stay in Sharm El Sheikh
Naama Bay
first trip, all-round base
Central, walkable and sandy, with restaurants, nightlife and dive centres on foot.
Sharks Bay / Ras Nasrani
luxury and quiet reef base
Upscale cliff and cove resorts facing Tiran, with SOHO Square as the evening centre.
Ras Um Sid / Hadaba
daily snorkellers and divers on a budget
Best shore reef in the built-up strip above El Fanar, quieter and good value.
Nabq Bay
family all-inclusive value
Big modern all-inclusives with water parks and shallow lagoons suiting small children.
Think twice about
- Old Town / Sharm el-Maya as a resort stay
Right for an evening market visit but no resort beach strip and few quality hotels. Visit at night, sleep elsewhere.
- Isolated standalone resorts far north of Nabq or on the main highway with no bay
No walkable anything and taxi dependency for every meal. If a hotel cannot name its bay, do not book it.
Best restaurants in Sharm El Sheikh
Fares Seafood Restaurant
Sharm's best known local seafood spot: pick your Red Sea fish for grilling, frying or tajine.
El Masrien Grill
Egyptian grill locals use for koshari, molokhia, mixed grills and lamb shank in huge portions.
Boharat Restaurant
Refined Egyptian splurge at white tablecloth standard, booked as the nice Egyptian dinner slot.
House of Spice
Standalone Indian restaurant to travel for, top rated among Sharm's deep Indian bench.
Dananeer Seafood & Steak House
Surf and turf celebration dinner with steak and grilled seafood on one menu for groups.
Mandarin Bistro
SOHO's main Chinese group dinner, easy to combine with the fountain and bars afterwards.
Café Chino
Lebanese mezze and grill group dinner to order wide and share, where vegetarians eat properly.
Camel Bar & Rooftop
Enduring rooftop over central Naama for sunset drinks and casual dinner with bay lights after.
Outdoor things to do in Sharm El Sheikh
SS Thistlegorm
WWII supply ship sunk in 1941 still carrying trucks and motorcycles, ranked among the world's top wreck dives.
Mount Sinai
Overnight climb with a Bedouin guide for summit sunrise, then St Catherine's Monastery on the descent.
Blue Hole
Dahab day trip pairing Coloured Canyon by jeep with snorkelling the Blue Hole outer reef and beach lunch.
Sinai Desert
Quads or jeep to a Bedouin camp for dinner and stargazing in genuinely dark skies, best at sunset.
Jolie Ville Golf Course
Sharm's only championship course, 18 holes par 72 on a plateau above the sea, best played early.
Tiran Island
Private boat to Tiran or Ras Mohammed with your own timing, lunch on board and a guide in the water.
Dunraven Wreck
Victorian steamship sunk in 1876, coral covered and gentler than Thistlegorm, often paired with a reef dive.
Nabq Bay
Shallow windy lagoon that is Sharm's kite centre, good for lessons with a school that runs a rescue boat.
Best hotels in Sharm El Sheikh
Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh
Sharm's benchmark luxury resort, terraced to a private reef beach, built for celebration stays.
Rixos Premium Seagate
Top end mega all-inclusive with water park and many restaurants, a stay-in holiday in Nabq.
Baron Resort Sharm El Sheikh
Calmer premium all-inclusive on white sand facing Tiran, with a house reef off the jetty.
Stella Di Mare Beach Hotel & Spa
Smaller clifftop luxury inside Naama with its own reef and spa, the luxury pick in a walkable bay.
SUNRISE Arabian Beach Resort
Large terraced resort in Sharks Bay praised in particular for its in-resort restaurants.
Savoy Sharm El Sheikh
Staying here makes SOHO Square your front garden, with White Knight reef a short shuttle away.
Sierra Sharm El Sheikh
Savoy group's SOHO Square base, a smart mid-range choice for groups who eat out nightly.
Mövenpick Resort Sharm El Sheikh
Gardens and private beach on Naama's quieter side, away from the promenade crush.
Is Sharm El Sheikh expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | EGP 2,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | EGP 4,500 a person |
| Splurge | EGP 10,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ras Mohammed National Park: a few days ahead
- Straits of Tiran: a few days ahead
- White Island: a few days ahead
- Temple Reef: a few days ahead
- SS Thistlegorm: weeks ahead
- Mount Sinai: a few days ahead
- Blue Hole: a few days ahead
- Sinai Desert: a few days ahead
- Ras Mohammed and Tiran boats fill a day or more ahead in peak season, book before you land.
- Book Thistlegorm earliest and Mt Sinai a few days ahead.
- Reserve top SOHO restaurants on weekend and festive nights.
- Decide the visa before landing: the free Sinai stamp excludes mainland Egypt and the Thistlegorm.
- Never schedule your only marine excursion on your final day, as wind reschedules boats.
Is Sharm El Sheikh safe?
- Fly in and check your own government's current advice, as the resort strip is excepted from Sinai do-not-travel zones.
- Obey guides on currents, never touch the reef, and use reputable drivers for desert and mountain trips.
- Do not photograph military or police installations, and never explore desert or mountains unguided.
Sharm El Sheikh travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Hotel desk and pier side excursion selling varies hugely in group size, guide quality and included fees.
- Shop invitations, free tea and bracelets placed in your hand become sales sessions. Say no thanks and keep walking.
- Pay in EGP or by card at your bank rate, not house currency conversion.
- Ask clinic prices first and call your insurer, as minor stomach trouble can become a large private bill.
Getting around Sharm El Sheikh: public transport and more
- Walk inside Naama Bay, SOHO Square and the Old Market, and ride between them.
- Agree the taxi fare in Egyptian pounds before you get in, every time.
- Carry small EGP notes and pin your hotel's bay, as resort names repeat.
Who Sharm El Sheikh suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Sharm El Sheikh your trip
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