Sharm El Sheikh — Egypt
Sharm El Sheikh occupies the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, where the Gulf of Aqaba opens into the Red Sea. It is a purpose-built resort town strung along a series of bays and backed by bare mountains, and its reason for existing lies a few metres offshore. The airport is 29 km away.
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Why go
Coral starts where the sand stops. Along most of this coast the shelf is narrow and falls away almost at once, so a reef wall carrying several hundred species begins within swimming distance of a hotel step. Ras Mohammed, at the very point of the peninsula, protects the junction where two gulfs meet and the currents push everything through. The Strait of Tiran holds a line of reefs set across the shipping channel. Almost no rain falls and no river arrives, so nothing clouds the water, which is the whole explanation for the visibility.
Above the surface the picture is more ordinary. This is an engineered resort town rather than an Egyptian one: hotel compounds, a promenade, a commercial strip and desert in between. Nobody arrives for the urban fabric. What redeems it is the Sinai behind, granite mountains, a monastery under the mountain of Moses, and canyon country a few hours north. Without an interest in the water and without leaving the compound, a week here stretches.
Month-by-month climate
The defining figure here is not the heat but the winter night: January bottoms out at 16.3 °C and February at 15.8 °C, which is why this coast works in midwinter while inland Egypt turns cold as soon as the sun is down. Daytime in those months sits at 23.4 °C and 23.1 °C, comfortable for walking and marginal for swimming without neoprene. Rain hardly registers at all, 13.8 mm across the year on two days that pass a millimetre, one in February and one in November; February alone supplies 5 mm and November 1.2 mm, while the 4.1 mm of December fall too thinly spread to count as a rain day. What does come usually arrives in short violent bursts that can flood a road for an hour before draining away. Then the climb is steady: 26.6 °C in March, 32 °C in April, 34.9 °C in May. Summer turns severe at 38.3 °C in June and 39.6 °C in July, and it is the nights that wear you down, 29.4 °C in July and 29.9 °C in August. September holds 36.5 °C, October eases to 32.7 °C, November to 28.7 °C with 21.3 °C after dark, and December returns to 24.8 °C.
| Month | Avg. high (°C) | Avg. low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Days ≥ 1 mm | Days ≥ 5 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23.4 | 16.3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 23.1 | 15.8 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar | 26.6 | 18.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 32.0 | 22.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 34.9 | 25.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 38.3 | 28.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 39.6 | 29.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 38.8 | 29.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sept | 36.5 | 28.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 32.7 | 24.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 28.7 | 21.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dec | 24.8 | 17.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Meteostat — Charm el-Cheikh et le Sinaï (Egypt) station, 14.3 km away, 5 sample years. Monthly totals rebuilt from daily averages. Data partly modelled (Meteostat, DWD/met.no).
When to go
April, May, October and November strike the best balance between air and water, with 32 °C in April and 32.7 °C in October and a sea that has had time to warm. Winter serves sun and diving in a thicker suit, days near 23.4 °C and a wind that builds after lunch. July and August, at 39.6 °C with nights reaching 29.9 °C, belong to people who intend to spend the day submerged.
The most favourable months, on these records
- January
- February
- March
- November
- December
What to see in 2, 4 and 7 days
In 2 days
- Snorkel the house reef first thing, before boat traffic and wind disturb the surface.
- Take a half-day boat out to the Tiran reefs, shallow enough to enjoy on a snorkel alone.
- Sit out the hot hours somewhere shaded, then walk the promenade once the light softens.
- Second day at Ras Mohammed by road, taking in the mangrove channel and the cliff entries.
- Close with sunset in the hills behind town, which costs almost nothing and resets the scale of the place.
In 4 days
- First day acclimatising on the local reef, with a guided snorkel to learn what you are actually looking at.
- Second day on a boat to the Strait of Tiran, two or three stops, back before the afternoon wind builds.
- Third day at Ras Mohammed, entering from the shore where the wall comes closest to the path.
- Fourth day inland to the Coloured Canyon, a narrow sandstone corridor that is walked rather than climbed.
- Hold an evening for the old market quarter, the nearest thing here to a town centre.
In 7 days
- Two days on local reefs, one from the beach and one by boat, to settle equipment and confidence.
- One full day at Ras Mohammed, taking both the mangrove side and the outer wall.
- One day north to Dahab, a smaller and older beach town with its famous deep sinkhole alongside.
- One overnight to the monastery below the mountain of Moses, with the climb starting before first light.
- One day in the canyons inland, choosing a single route and walking it properly rather than three by vehicle.
- One recovery day without diving, which is also what you need before boarding a plane.
- A last morning on whichever reef you liked best, then the transfer out.
Getting there and around
Sharm El Sheikh (SSH) lies 29 km from the resort strip and takes seasonal direct flights from much of Europe as well as connections through Cairo. Hurghada (HRG) shows as 76 km away, but it sits on the opposite shore of the gulf, so reaching it means a flight or a very long drive around: read that distance as misleading. Neom Bay (NUM), 104 km off, is in Saudi Arabia and not an option. On the ground, hotel transfers and taxis handle everything; the gaps between bays are longer than they look, and walking between resorts along the highway is thankless.
Nearest airports
- SSHSharm El Sheikh Airport29 km from the centre
- HRGHurghada International Airport76 km from the centre
- NUMNeom Bay Airport104 km from the centre
Budget
Country price level compared with France : −82 %
Price index for restaurants and hotels, France = 1000, from European purchasing power parities. It is a country average: it says nothing about one hotel in particular.
Egyptian prices meet a resort market here, which lifts the beach strip above the national average while leaving it far below Mediterranean Europe. Half-board rooms commonly run 50 to 130 € a night for two, climbing steeply for newer seafront properties, and a meal outside the hotels lands between 8 and 20 € a head. Diving is the real line item: a package of several dives with equipment hire is usually the largest single sum of the trip. Fees for the protected areas are collected separately and in cash.
Common mistakes
- Picking a hotel from photographs without checking whether it has a reef. Some bays are plain sand, and that difference decides the holiday.
- Standing on coral to adjust a mask. It destroys what you came to see and cuts feet badly in the process.
- Booking a dive for the day before flying. The interval required before altitude is not a suggestion.
- Reading the gap to Hurghada as drivable. The gulf lies in between and the crossing cannot be counted on.
- Expecting flat water every day. Afternoon wind is normal on this coast, and boat schedules are built around it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you see the reef without learning to dive?
Easily. The shelf is narrow and much of the best coral sits in shallow water, so a mask and snorkel are enough at many bays, and a boat trip to the strait works on the same principle. Bring fins and a rash vest rather than relying on sunscreen across your back, use the marked entry points instead of climbing over coral, and check which way the current is running before you swim out.
Is the sea warm enough in winter?
Swimmable, but not tropical. With air at 23.4 °C in January and 23.1 °C in February, the water holds up better than the Mediterranean at the same season, yet most people diving in those months wear a thicker suit. For an hour of snorkelling, a thin thermal top is the difference between comfortable and cut short.
How close is Cairo from here?
Far enough to be a flight rather than an excursion. The road crosses the entire peninsula and swallows a day in each direction, so the pyramids are normally handled as a separate short stay at one end of the trip. The outings that genuinely belong to this base are the Sinai ones: the canyons, the monastery, and the mountain above it.
Updated on 12 September 2026