Getty Images/Moment RF
Sinai
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to North Sinai and all but essential travel north of St Catherine's Monastery.
Rugged and starkly beautiful, the Sinai Peninsula has managed to capture imaginations throughout the centuries. The region has been coveted for its deep religious significance and its strategic position as a crossroads of empires: prophets and pilgrims, conquerors and exiles have all left their footprints on the sands here.
In recent years security fears have rippled through the region, creating a tourism downturn that is only now beginning to pick up again. For those venturing back, the lure of this region is easily explained. As a springboard to the Red Sea's underwater wonders, Sinai’s seaside resorts serve up sun-drenched holiday fun. Head away from the coastal buzz, however, and Sinai’s true soul can be found. Here the Bedouin continue to preserve their traditions amid the red-tinged, ragged peaks and endless never-never of sand. On a star-studded night, surrounded by the monstrous silhouettes of mountains, you'll realise why Sinai continues to cast a spell over all who visit.
Latest Stories from Sinai
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Sinai.
See
Blue Hole
Carved into a reef, 8km north of Dahab, is Egypt’s most infamous dive site. The Blue Hole is a gaping sinkhole that drops straight down – some say as deep as 130m. Exploring the deeper depths should be left to experienced technical divers, but there's plenty to discover close to the surface. The outer lip is full of marine life and a reasonable plunge into the hole is somewhat akin to skydiving. Depth: 7m to 27m. Rating: intermediate to advanced. Access: shore. Advanced divers can enter at the Bells, a narrow breach in the reef table that forms a pool close to shore. From here, divers descend through a chimney, exiting at 27m on a ledge that opens to the sea. Swim south along the wall, a saddle in the reef at 7m allows entry to the Blue Hole. As long as divers monitor their depth carefully, they can finish up by swimming across the sinkhole towards shore. Unfortunately, the site has claimed several lives, mainly thrill-seekers venturing well below the sport-diving limit. The trap is an archway at approximately 65m, which connects the sinkhole to the open ocean. Under-prepared solo divers attempting to find this archway have succumbed to narcosis, missed the archway entirely, lost all sense of direction or simply run out of air. In 2017 these dangers were highlighted yet again when renowned Irish freediving safety diver Stephen Keenan tragically died when rescuing another freediver who had become disorientated.
See
Thistlegorm
One of the top five wreck dives in the world, the Thistlegorm is a 129m-long cargo ship built in Sunderland, England, which was sunk during World War II. The ship had been on its way to Alexandria carrying supplies to restock the British army there; its cargo of armaments and vehicles including Bren gun carriers, motorbikes, Bedford trucks and jeeps can all be seen on dives within the wreck. Depth: 17m to 30m. Rating: intermediate to advanced. Access: boat. The Thistlegorm can be dived on a long day trip from Sharm El Sheikh (the journey time is three hours) or as part of a longer live-aboard trip.
See
Ras Um Sid
One of the best dive sites in the area, Ras Um Sid features a spectacular gorgonian forest along a dramatic drop-off that hosts a great variety of reef fish. It's opposite Hotel Royal Paradise. Depth: 15m to 40m. Rating: intermediate. Access: shore or boat.
See
Thomas Reef
The smallest, but easily the most spectacular, of the Tiran reefs, Thomas is home to steeply plunging walls that are lined with soft coral, schooling fish and patrolling sharks. Depth: surface to more than 40m. Rating: advanced. Access: boat.
See
Dunraven
The Dunraven sank in 1876 on its way from Bombay to Newcastle. Today the wreck, found at the southeast tip of Sha’ab Mahmud, is encrusted in coral and home to various knick-knacks including china plates, metal steins, and jars of gooseberries and rhubarb, among the detritus. Depth: 15m to 28m. Rating: intermediate to advanced. Access: boat.
See
Shark & Jolanda Reefs
This two-for-one special off the southern tip of Ras Mohammed is among the most famous dives in the Red Sea and rated one of the top five dives in the world. Strong currents take divers on a thrilling ride along sheer coral walls, through vast schools of fish and eventually to the remains of the Jolanda, a Cypriot freighter that sank in 1980. Depth: surface to more than 40m. Rating: advanced. Access: boat.
See
Gardens
At the perennially popular Gardens there are actually three sites in one. Near Garden is home to a lovely chain of pinnacles; Middle Garden features a fringing ridge that gently slopes down to a bed of sandy 'trails'; and Far Garden is home to the 'Cathedral’, a colourful overhang in deep water. Depth: surface to more than 40m. Rating: intermediate. Access: shore or boat.
See
Amphoras
A good choice for a drift dive, this dive site gets its name from an Ottoman shipwreck found here which was carrying a cargo of amphoras. Not much remains of the wreck ruins, but scorpion fish flit between the area's coral pinnacles where nudibranchs are found in abundance. Depth: 12m to 20m. Rating: intermediate to advanced. Access: shore or boat.
See
Al Sahaba Mosque
Designed by Fouad Tawfik, Sharm El Sheikh's new mosque fuses Fatimid, Mamluk and Ottoman style elements into its architecture and interior design. Whether it all really gels or just looks like a weird mish-mash is up to the eye of the beholder but there's no denying that this mosque is Sharm's most spectacular piece of architecture.