The Place?

Various international airlines, mostly European, organize charter flights to Sharm El-Sheikh, from there you can move around Sinai by taxi or bus. Egypt Air and Sinai Air also have daily flights to Sharm El-Sheikh. From Cairo buses like the East Delta Bus Co. leave on a daily basis to Sharm, Dahab, Taba and Nuweiba. The stations are located in Abbasiya, Cairo and at Almaza Heliopolis. See transportation for details. By car from Cairo, it takes around five hours to Nuweiba, and six hours to Sharm El-Sheikh. The road is in good condition, and the ride through the desert is entertaining. Vehicles cross the Suez Canal into Sinai, using the recent Ahmed Hamdy Tunnel. When in Sinai, you will probably move around using the white Peugeot taxis, we must advise that they can get quite expensive.

The original people of Sinai are the Bedouins. For centuries they have roamed the desert with their black goat-skin tents, camels, goats and sheep. Searching for an oasis or a well to spend a few days and then move on. Throughout history, they have been known for their tremendous hospitality. Recently however, as the tourist development continues to grow, contact with "real" Bedouins has become very rare. You may spot one or two, when on the roads to Dahab and Nuweiba, dragging behind them a string of goats. The Bedouins you deal with in and around the tourist resorts are what we call “tourist Bedouins”. They have adapted themselves to the profitable world of tourism. Some have tents, and arrange "Bedouin Nights" and Camel Safaris with the five-star hotels, others bought taxis, namely Peugeots 504, and work as taxi drivers, taking tourists around Sinai.

Sinai is probably the most Eco-friendly area in Egypt. The environmentalists are keen to preserve the natural habitat and keep the peninsula clean. A garbage recycling plant has been built in Dahab, and Eco villages like Basata do exist. Nevertheless, extensive tourism has evidently damaged the ecosystem, both coastal and marine. On-land and underwater cleanups are organized three, four times a year, and the area from Ras Mohammed National Park to Naqb (South of Dahab) and Ras Abu Gallum is considered a wildlife protectorate. All we ask is that you don’t litter, and that you leave your camp sites, as well as dive sites, as clean as you found them. While diving, or snorkeling, do not disturb the Marine life, by touching or feeding anything. Divers in the past excessively gave boiled eggs to the famous Napoleon fish, and, as a result, some Napoleons today will only eat eggs, and no longer feed on the starfish which feed on the coral reefs. In other words, feeding marine life can seriously damage the life cycle.

To foreigners, Sinai is a relatively cheap place. Tourists coming for the first time are usually surprised by the prices. For Egyptians, however, it is not so cheap and most of the country’s population cannot afford a trip to the peninsula. The Na’ama Bay area in Sharm El-Sheikh is the French Riviera of Sinai, it is loaded with Five Star Hotels and expensive Restaurants. There are only a few middle range hotels for the low-budget tourist. Dahab and Nuweiba, on the other hand, are filled with low-budget camps where you can stay in a not-so-good room for as low as 5 LE. Dining and drinking are relatively expensive when compared to the rest of Egypt. Taxis and Buses are also highly priced, namely the taxis.

Nightlife in Sinai is centered in and around Sharm El-Sheikh, the commercial capital. Most of the five star hotels have their own Pub and Discotheque. Among the renowned places are Cactus Disco and The Bus-stop. Recently a Hard Rock Café has opened in Sharm and is also quite a popular place. In Dahab, one or two discotheques exist, but the rest are just cafes on the sea. The rest of Sinai is not very concerned with nightlife, after all the idea isn’t to go club hopping but to enjoy the peaceful silence of the desert, the bon-fire, and the amazing stars of a Sinai night.

If you're not a diver, then snorkeling while in Sharm, Dahab or Nuweiba is ideal for. In some seasons snorkelers in Sinai get to see as much as divers. At any of the dive clubs you may rent a mask, fin, and snorkel. Be sure to ask them for a good snorkeling site (not all diving sites are suitable for snorkeling). Always wear sun protection while snorkeling. Remember to rent booties with the fins, you will need them to walk on the reef. If you're a beginner, be sure to find a site without a long walk on the reef.

Most of the big hotels offer a wide variety of water sports to choose from. Including skiing, windsurfing, parasailing, pedalos, banana boats, dingies, glass bottom boats. And if you're not interested you can just sit on the beach and enjoy a nice drink. Beaches that belong to hotels are not for free, so unless its a public beach, most hotels ask for 20 to 40 LE from non-residents.

One of the many adventures in Sinai is to discover the desert on camel back. Some hotels offer organized "camel safaris" where you ride to some Bedouin village and drink tea or have a traditional Bedouin meal. If you want to have the same experience for a better price we suggest you arrange it with the Bedouins themselves, namely in Dahab. You can't miss them they sit around 20 or so camels. They organize day trips for around 60 LE per person, including a meal. You can also ask about horse riding, again like the camels, you can probably get ripped off if you rent the horse via a five star hotel. Always check with the Bedouins first.

Not dissimilar to the Camel Rides, the "Bedouin Night" is also a trip into the desert. Usually on Camel back, and sometimes by buggies, you go to a Bedouin tent in the desert by night and have a Bedouin party, you may arrange to spend the night in the desert. The Bedouin tents have been exposed to many tourists and are no longer "original" they have been somewhat altered to suit the coming visitors. Nevertheless, it's quite and experience.

Most travel agents and the big hotels organize tours by jeep or by bus, to places like the St. Catherine Monastery, the Colored Canyon, Ras Mohammed or maybe even the Pharaoh’s Island. If you're only visiting Sinai, you can arrange for a tour to Cairo and back !