Beach Treasures and Treasure Beaches

Today’s Featured Writer: Gemma Stone

What’s all the Fuss about Sharm el Sheikh?

Once just a modest fishing village, Sharm el Sheikh has become Egypt’s most-visited beach resort, particularly for people who are beach lovers and keen divers. In recent years a number of cities including Nuweiba, Taba and Dahab have become beach hotspots, but Sharm el Sheikh remains the most popular of all.

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt – Panorama of Naama Bay (Photo:Naamsvermelding vereist/Wikimedia Commons)

So what is it about Sharm that brings people back year after year? Just less than half a century ago, the city was not worth mentioning, and yet today, it is packed with classy hotels that never rise more than two or three storeys and which command views across the Red Sea that just can’t be beaten.

For many, the weather is one highly desirable factor. It’s hot in the summer and pleasantly warm in winter, delivering long days of sunshine that extend into starlit evenings. No matter when you choose to go there (the city is accessible via the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport that hosts national and international charter flights), you can be guaranteed of the best beach weather.

Iolanda reef in Ras Muhammad Nature Park (Photo: Mikhail Rogov/Wikimedia Commons)

Next, and perhaps the most emphatic reason, is the landscape both on the beaches and underwater on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Lapped by clear water and covered in kaleidoscopic reefs, this region is a haven for scuba divers of all levels who come to explore renowned sites in the Ras Mohammed National Park, and the Gardens, Paradise and Ras Umm Sid – to name a few! Experienced divers also flock to the well-known wrecks of the Thistlegorm and Dunraven.

For those who are less eager to venture into the deep, there’s plenty of snorkeling and paddling in the shallows, which are met by long sand-and-pebble beaches, set against a backdrop of sweeping desert. If you’re eager to do some water sports, try your hand at wind surfing, parasailing, boating or sea kayaking, but remember to wear sun lotion as the desert sun can be harsh in the summer.

Beach Camels (Photo: camel15 by seriousfun)

So if you’re keen to explore a beach resort unlike any other, consider Sharm el Sheikh, from where it’s possible to take a day trip into Cairo to glimpse the Sphinx, or bump into a camel at the seaside cooling his hooves in the waves.

Bio: Gemma Stone is a travel fundi who spent some time back-packing in Nepal and Australia. Her most recent beach adventure in Sharm el Sheikh has provided her with amazing stories of trekking through the desert with camels en tow. Gemma is based in London and writes about finding budget holidays.