My partner wants to look at getting a holiday apartment on the Red Sea. I don't object as I enjoy snorkelling and diving. How do the following places compare? Pros and cons?
Hurghada
Zafarana (a newly dveloping area 1 hr north of Hurghada)
Sharm El Sheik
Nuweiba
Dahab
Anywhere else you have knowledge of?
Factors to take into account include
access from airports
supermarkets
local produce market
cafes, restaurants etc
hassle and security issues
Thanks in advance.
(X-posted on Diving branch)
nightbusdreamer
2
alanr
Hurghada could be improved by someone nuking it. Sharm only needs bulldozing - but it does have the greatest diving in the area.
Dahab is the "traditional" hippy / backpacker resort but it's starting to go the Sharm route. Nuweiba is a ferry port
3
swisssinai
Nuweiba has a ferry port in the south with a small town around it but Nuweiba Town is actually on the north east part of the Nuweiba flood plain, some 4 miles away from the port. In between are some of the best beaches in Sinai with excellent snorkelling and diving. Dahab however has a much wider choice of dive centres and with lower dive prices. It has a cosy village type of atmosphere and more shops than Nuweiba. Sharm and Hurghada are much much bigger - huge international resorts with hundreds of hotels, thousands of tourists, loads of shops, cafes, restaurants, airports etc etc . If you like large busy resorts then Sharm would be nicer than Hurghada. If you prefer a small cosy place but still with quite a large number of expats and tourists but with cheap diving then Dahab would be for you. If you want a more isolated, quieter place with great beaches then Nuweiba is just right.
The only one I would not recoomend is Zafarana as its in the middle of nowhere, the beaches there are not that brilliant, and I reckon its more like 2 hours north of Hurghada.
4
jezhealy
I'm not sure even a nuke could improve Hurghada. I only stayed 2 hours to change buses on the way from Marsa Alam to Cairo - I can think of few worse places in the world. The best diving is further south, towards Sudan, though I fully expect that in time places like el-Quesir and Marsa Alam will become just as gut-wrenchingly appalling as Hurghada.
In terms of "hassle/security issues", the only problems you're likely to encounter are northern European drunks in football shirts.
6
rit
Hi there, nightbusdreamer, if you are still looking for a holiday apartment in Egypt. I have recently bought an aprtment at the Zafarana Beach Resort. There's not alot there at mo as they are still developing it but it will be done by June 08. The Coral reef there is untouched and you dont have to go very far from the resort to see the coral etc.
The resort will have a diving school,shop plus all the usual 5 star stuff one be expect. Its located 1.5 hours drive from Cairo so not too far from the Pryamids and also not far from some of the oldest monstries in the world if you fancied abit of culture as well as the beach thing.
If you want more info then please let me know, I have researched into the resort big time.
7
swisssinai
How on earth can you get to Zafarana in 1.5 hrs - in that time I would only get as far as Ain Sokhna !
8
rit
swisssinai, I have been informed its 1.5 hours from Cairo and 2 hours from Hurghada!! I've been told by someone who has been out there that the new highway from Cairo south is excellent.
There will be free transfers from Cairo and Hurghada.
I hope to go out later on this year so will let you know more.
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