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Airport

Cairo International (Indirect)
Sharm El Sheikh International

Information

Language: Arabic, English and Egyptian.
Time Zone: GMT +2
Egyptian Tourist Office: Egypt House, 170 Piccadilly, London W1V 9DD. Tel: 020 7493 5283. www.gotoegypt.org

Travel money

Egyptian Pound

Things to do

Snorkel or scuba-dive with spectacular marine life at Ras Mohammed National Park. Explore striking desert terrains in a 4x4 jeep or visit historic St Catherine's Monastery. Browse colourful bazaars and dine Bedouin style, beneath the stars in Dahab. Take a tour to the country’s ancient capital, Cairo, to trek around the famous pyramids by camel and to visit the incredible Egyptian Museum.

Beaches

With some of the world’s top diving sites, the Red Sea is home to stingrays, tropical fish and turtles. Snorkel and scuba dive at Ras Mohamed National Park, then dry off on its secluded beaches.

Spend days on Hurghada’s famous golden sands or take an excursion to one of El Gouna’s beautiful offshore islands, such as the white shores of Tawila.

Head to Na’ama Bay in Sharm for snorkelling; you’ll spot colourful fishes just a few steps into the water. From here you can take a sailing trip or see the underwater life from a glass bottom boat.

Explore your destination

Highlights

• Snorkelling or scuba-diving with spectacular marine life in the amazing coral reefs of Ras Mohammed National Park, home to over a thousand species’ of fishes
• Exploring striking desert terrains in a 4x4 jeep before visiting a traditional Bedouin camp for dinner under the stars
• Visiting the historic St Catherine's Monastery, built at the spot in the Sinai Desert where Moses is said to have seen the burning bush
• Browsing colourful bazaars and haggling for souvenirs to remind you of your holiday in the Red Sea
• Trekking around the famous pyramids and visiting the incredible Egyptian Museum on a tour to the country’s ancient capital, Cairo
• Horse or camel riding, whether for half an hour along your hotel beach, or on a longer trip in the desert
• Teeing off on El Gouna or Taba Heights’ 18-hole Championship golf courses
• Experiencing the stunning scenery of Sinai’s craggy mountains
• Keeping an eye out for nesting turtles at the nature reserves at Nabq and Ras Mohamed
• Riding a quad bike over sand dunes; these four-wheel motorcycles are ideal for driving on desert terrain

Snorkelling

Take a relaxing boat trip to the Garden Reef and famous Ras Mohamed National Park, where you’ll uncover an incredible underwater world, surrounded by over 1,000 species of colourful fish.

Cairo

Spend 1 or 2 days exploring the spectacular city of Cairo. You’ll get to see the awe-inspiring Pyramids of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, along with the fascinating Egyptian Museum, home to more than 120,000 relics and antiquities.

Bedouin Experience

An amazing opportunity to visit the desert, with the chance to ride a camel to a Bedouin camp, you’ll experience an evening of great hospitality, including a candlelit dinner beneath the stars.

Food and drink

Egyptian cuisine is often aromatically spiced and traditional dishes include 'ful', a spicy stew of beans, kofta kebabs and lamb. Try a mezze platter, a mixed plate of goodies like falafel and hummus.

Taste the refreshing local beer, Sakara, brewed in El Gouna, or for a tea break Egyptian style, sample the shisha, a pipe filled with a special kind of tobacco mixed with molasses.

The Red Sea’s resorts also offer a wide variety of international cuisine, including familiar fast food outlets. In Sharm, look out for Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Café.

Evening Flavour

Sharm el-Sheikh’s best nightlife is centred around Na'ama Bay, with its lively strip of bars and clubs. You’ll also find a handful of cosmopolitan terrace bars and plenty of shisha cafes along the main streets, beachfront restaurants along the promenade and a small selection of casinos.

There are plenty of bars and clubs in Hurghada, El Gouna’s cosmopolitan marina plays host to DJs and live music every Friday and Taba Heights’s more low-key nightlife centres around its hotels.

For a more authentic Egyptian evening, book a traditional Bedouin meal under the stars.

Shopping

Haggle for bargains in Sharm’s ‘Old Market’ in Na’ama Bay, where you can also treat yourself to perfume or jewellery made with gold, silver and semi-precious stones.

Look out for shisha pipes, colourful scarves, spices and leather goods in Sharm’s shopping plazas, like the El Sharm Mall. Good holiday buys for the home include Bedouin embroidery, Egyptian cotton bed linen, pottery and brass.

Taba Heights offers hotel shops and a small shopping area and in Hurghada and El Gouna there is a variety of bazaars and boutiques.

Dates for the Diary

Hurghada International Festival’s sporting celebrations wow the crowds from early to mid February every year. With participants from across the globe, highlights include the gruelling triathlon and the final day’s ‘Hurghada half marathon’.

For the Family

• Riding camels in the desert, always a popular trip for the whole family
• Looking down on vibrant fishes and coral reefs from a glass-bottomed boat
• Learning to dive in one of the world’s best scuba diving sites
• Going wild for the Red Sea’s watersports, with everything from windsurfing and kitesurfing, to banana rides and parasailing
• Soaking up the sun on the Red Sea Riviera’s golden sandy beaches
• Enjoying fantastic sightseeing and discovering the wonders of Egypt in Luxor