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Dahab

The Blue Hole and a Laid-Back Bedouin Bay

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3 daysIdeal stay₹1,940From / night₹790Food / dayFreeEntry

A relaxed former Bedouin fishing village on the Gulf of Aqaba, with cushion-strewn seafront cafés, cheap dive schools and reefs right off the promenade. The Blue Hole and the Canyon are its famous sites, the lagoon is good for windsurfing, and camel or boat trips go up the coast to Ras Abu Galum. Most night climbs of Mount Sinai for the sunrise leave from here. Sharm's airport is 1.5 hours away.

Highlights

  • Snorkelling the edge of the Blue Hole
  • The Canyon dive
  • Lighthouse Reef off the promenade
  • Camel or boat trip to Ras Abu Galum
  • Windsurfing on the lagoon
  • Night climb of Mount Sinai
  • Seafront cushion cafés
  • Coloured Canyon hike

Things to do

  • Blue Hole and the Bells snorkelMorning · 4h
  • Ras Abu Galum by camel or boatMorning · 6h
  • Try-dive or fun dives at Lighthouse ReefMorning · 3h
  • Windsurfing lesson on the lagoonAfternoon · 2h
  • Seafront dinner on the cushionsEvening · 2h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Dahabvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Dahabvia Klook

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When to go

Best time: March – November

Heads up

Cooler Red Sea Water and Wind

From December to March the Red Sea is about 21-23 °C and the wind blows hard, especially in the evenings: snorkelling is chilly without a wetsuit (boats rent them), some boat trips are cancelled in strong wind, and nights are cool. Great kitesurfing weather; for warm water come from May to November.

Heads up

Ramadan: Shorter Hours

Ramadan falls about February to March in 2027 (the dates move about 11 days earlier each year). Museums, sites, shops and offices keep shorter hours, many local restaurants open only after sunset, traffic jams just before the evening meal, and the evenings are lively. Tourist hotels and resorts serve food and drink as usual; eat and drink discreetly in public by day.

Worth knowing

Sinai: Where You Can Go

North Sinai is closed to visitors, and roads across Sinai have police checkpoints: carry your passport. The South Sinai resorts, Dahab and St Catherine are visited normally, but some governments' travel advice is stricter (the US State Department's has said not to travel to Sinai except to Sharm El Sheikh by air), which can affect travel insurance: check your own government's advice and your policy.

  • Ramadan — The fasting month: many cafés and restaurants outside the tourist hotels close by day, sites and offices keep shorter hours, and the streets come alive after the sunset meal (iftar), with lanterns (fanous) and late-night crowds in Islamic Cairo. Eat and drink discreetly in public by day. It falls about February to March in 2027.
  • Eid al-Fitr — Three days of holiday at the end of Ramadan: Egyptian families head for Alexandria, the Red Sea and Sinai, so beach hotels, trains and buses fill and prices rise. Banks and offices close.
  • Eid al-Adha — The feast of the sacrifice, a four-day holiday: sheep are slaughtered in the streets on the first morning, and the beaches and trains fill with Egyptian holidaymakers. About May in 2027.