Sharm El Sheikh
The southern tip of Sinai, where the Straits of Tiran open to the north and Ras Mohammed guards the reefs to the south.
- Arrival
- Sharm El Sheikh · SSH
- To the town
- About 23 km to the town by road
- Private jets
- Airport of entry at SSH, open 24 hours
- Best time
- September to June
The city
Reefs at the foot of the desert.
Sharm stands on a promontory over the Straits of Tiran, where four reefs, Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson, line the channel into the Gulf of Aqaba. Held by Israel from 1967 and returned to Egypt in 1982, it grew into a resort town around Naama Bay, and in November 2022 it hosted the COP27 climate conference.
The Red Sea stays at 22 °C or warmer all year and rain barely registers. Winter afternoons reach 20 to 22 °C, spring and autumn in the high twenties to low thirties, and July and August reach 35 °C.
Arriving
Straight into the Sinai.
The airport lies about twenty-three kilometres north-east of the town, with a main terminal opened in 2007 and a runway of about 3,080 metres. Flights from Britain returned in 2019 after a four-year ban.
- Beirut 1 h 15
- Jeddah 1 h 25
- Munich 4 h 10
- Amsterdam 5 h 05
- Singapore 10 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
September to June.
Sinai sunshine over water that stays swimmable in every month, and rain measured in single millimetres. From September to June highs run from 20 °C in January to 34 °C, and the water is never below 22 °C. July and August are the hottest months, at 35 °C.
- 20° J 1 23°
- 21° F 2 22°
- 24° M 2 22°
- 28° A 2 23°
- 32° M 2 25°
- 34° J 0 26°
- 35° J 0 28°
- 35° A 0 28°
- 34° S 0 27°
- 29° O 2 27°
- 25° N 2 26°
- 22° D 4 25°
What to see and do
Days in and around Sharm El Sheikh.
-
Landmark
Ras Mohammed
A marine reserve since 1983, twelve kilometres away, with Shark and Yolanda reefs and a channel of mangroves at the tip of the peninsula.
-
Landmark
Ras Nasrani
Old gun positions facing Tiran Island, now one of the dive sites at the mouth of the straits.
-
Landmark
Nabq
Six hundred square kilometres of protected mangroves, dunes and reef along the coast to the north.
-
On the water
Straits of Tiran reefs
About an hour by boat from Naama Bay, Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas and Gordon reefs carry large sea fans, with drift dives along Woodhouse.
-
On the water
SS Thistlegorm
Sunk by German bombers on 6 October 1941, the wreck lies at about 30 metres with its cargo of Bedford trucks, motorcycles and two locomotives.
-
On the water
Camel Dive Club
Hesham Gabr founded this Naama Bay dive centre in 1986, and it now trains instructors as an SSI Instructor Training Center.
Official site -
Culture
Sharm El Sheikh Museum
Opened in 2020 on Airport Road, its nine halls hold about 7,000 objects, among them a head of Hatshepsut and the coffins of Isetemheb.
-
Culture
Al Sahaba Mosque
Inaugurated in 2017 in the Old Market, the mosque mixes Ottoman, Fatimid and Mamluk styles, with minarets of 76 metres.
Where to stay
Two Keys and the Red Sea resorts.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh The only hotel in Sharm selected by MICHELIN, with two Keys, and many of the Red Sea's dive sites a few minutes away.
- Rixos Premium Seagate Thirteen restaurants and an Aquaventure water park, nine kilometres from the airport.
- Rixos Sharm El Sheikh Adults Only 18+ Guests must be eighteen or over, and seven swimming pools spread through the grounds.
- Rixos Radamis Sharm El Sheikh Built around families, with an aquapark, the Rixy Kids Club and a convention centre.
- Club Prive by Rixos Sharm El Sheikh A smaller Rixos house among gardens and pools, where service is arranged butler style.
- Royal Savoy Sharm El Sheikh The adults-only part of the Savoy complex keeps its own reception, lounge, pools and villas.
- Mövenpick Resort Sharm El Sheikh Five private beaches belong to the resort, along with a diving centre and horse stables.
- Grand Rotana Resort & Spa A private beach 450 metres long looks across the water to Tiran Island.
- Stella Di Mare Beach Hotel & Spa Ras Mohammed's reefs are a few kilometres down the coast from its villas and panoramic rooms.
- Pickalbatros Royal Grand Resort Designed for adult guests, on the plateau of Om El Sid above the sea.
- Pickalbatros Luxury Suites An all-suite hotel whose guests can play an eighteen-hole championship course.
- Pickalbatros Golf Beach Resort On the shore of Um Marikha Bay, in the golf district shared with its sister Luxury Suites.
- Pickalbatros Laguna Vista Hotel At Nabq Bay, with a private beach on the Red Sea.
- Pickalbatros Royal Moderna Resort A family resort on the Peace Road at Nabq, set on the sand of the coast.
- JAZ Mirabel Beach Children have a club and a pool of their own, and there is an aqua park for the family.
Where to dine
Two tables at the Four Seasons.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Egypt, and we found no independent guide naming a fine-dining table in Sharm that we could confirm as open in 2026. These are two of the Four Seasons resort’s own restaurants, from its fine-dining list.
- Bullona Four Seasons, fine dining Mediterranean seafood Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh
- Il Frantoio Four Seasons, fine dining Italian Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh
Elsewhere in Egypt
More reasons to come.
Flying to Sharm El Sheikh?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.