As a marine biologist I have been diving and snorkeling in the Egyptian Red Sea since 1995 – and one question I get again and again is: “Where should we go for the best snorkeling?”
There is no single right answer. Sharm, Hurghada and Marsa Alam are quite different places under water, and the best choice depends on what you want to see – steep coral walls, calm and shallow lagoons, or green turtles grazing in the seagrass. Below is my take on the three main areas – and a couple of less known alternatives. (If you are a diver, most of this applies to you too.)
1. Sharm El-Sheikh – house reefs and coral walls
Sharm lies at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, where the Gulf of Aqaba meets the Red Sea. The reef drops steeply close to the shore, so the water is deep and usually very clear.
Many hotels have a jetty that takes you straight out to the reef edge. Here you can do what I call wall snorkeling – the deep blue water on one side, and the coral wall full of fish on the other. If you like that feeling of floating over the edge, Sharm is the place.
Some of the bays, like Ras Um Sid, are fairly sheltered from the prevailing northerly wind, so conditions are often calm. But it varies – so have a look at what wind and waves to expect in Sharm before you go.
Do not miss a day trip to Ras Mohammed National Park. It is a world-class marine reserve for a good reason – and your entrance fee helps support the protection of the reefs.
2. Hurghada – islands and lagoons
Hurghada is a well-established destination with wide, shallow bays and many offshore islands.
This is where I would send families and beginners. From the sandy beaches you can walk slowly out into the water and get used to the mask and snorkel, before you swim out to the coral heads. The boat trips to islands like Giftun or Magawish take you to beautiful, shallow turquoise lagoons – lovely for a swim, but you will find less marine life over the sand than on the reef itself.
What Hurghada does well is large schools of reef fish. And the sandy areas between the reefs are a good place to look for the bluespotted stingray and the masters of camouflage on the bottom – like the octopus. To find the best day for a boat trip, you can also check the weather, wind and waves in Hurghada.
3. Marsa Alam – the unspoiled south
Marsa Alam is for the more adventurous snorkeler. It is less developed than the north and closer to the pristine reefs of the deep south.
The coast here is known for its marsas – natural bays, often with seagrass meadows in the middle. The seagrass is food for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the rare dugong (Dugong dugon), so this is where you have the best chance to meet the big ones – turtles, dugongs and dolphins.
If your goal is to snorkel with turtles every day, Abu Dabbab bay is hard to beat. The reefs in the area are generally in better shape than in the busier north – and you will see lots of large fish. Please give the animals plenty of space – I have written about how to snorkel responsibly with turtles and dugongs.
A small tip: tell the hotel staff that the turtles and dugongs are the reason you chose their bay. That way they know the animals are valuable to their business – and that is good news for the animals too. (And of course, check the weather, wind and waves in Marsa Alam.)
The less known alternatives
If you want to get away from the crowds, these two are worth a look:
- Safaga (south of Hurghada): A good middle ground. Reefs like Tobia Arba – also called the Seven Pillars – are less crowded than around Hurghada, and the coral is in very good condition.
- Nabq Bay (north of Sharm): Often overlooked – but here you find a forest of grey mangrove (Avicennia marina), close to the northern limit for mangroves in the Red Sea. The mangroves are a nursery for juvenile fish, and they attract birds you will not see out on the reef.
My recommendation
- Choose Sharm if you want easy access to deep reef walls and Ras Mohammed National Park.
- Choose Hurghada if you want an easy start over sandy bottoms with coral heads – or boat trips to shallow, sunny island lagoons.
- Choose Marsa Alam if you are looking for pristine reefs, big fish, green turtles and – if you are lucky – dugongs in their natural habitat.
Wherever you go, the house reef of your hotel is where you will spend most of your time in the water. In another post I show how to find the hotel with the best house reef – simply by looking at satellite images.
