Attractions and excursions of Sharm el-Sheikh - what to see

There are almost no real attractions in Sharm el-Sheikh, and most of what travel agencies and excursion sellers give out as local attractions, in our opinion, should rather be classified as tourist entertainment. In general, if you want to visit Egypt in order to get acquainted with its rich history, for trips to the museum, visiting ancient palaces, temples and pyramids, it is better to go straight to Cairo, Luxor or Alexandria. But if you find yourself on vacation in Sharm el-Sheikh, then you should know about those few interesting places and excursions that are available to tourists here.

There are two interesting mosques and two Christian temples in Sharma itself. Although they have all been built over the past 30 years and are not historical places, it is worth visiting them because of the beauty of architecture and scale, and simply because there is nothing else to see here. The colorful "Old Market" will also be interesting, although in fact it is not old at all, but rather stylized in the old days. You can also visit two museums in the city, and this is where all the real attractions in Charm end. We will give a detailed description of these attractions and how to visit them later on this page.

Excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh

Things are much better with the sights that can be visited with excursions. The most popular and obligatory for all guests of the resort is, of course, a trip to Cairo and the Pyramids. We also recommend visiting Ras Mohammed National Park, Mount Moses and St. Catherine's Monastery, the Color Canyon. Unfortunately, inexpensive group bus trips to Luxor from Sharm el-Sheikh are not sold because the ancient city is too far away. Separately, we can mention excursions to Jordan or Israel: these are worthy trips, but they are expensive and will not be affordable for everyone.

All other options for excursions that are offered at the resort are, by and large, more tourist entertainment. For example, these are walks in the desert with riding ATVs or camels and visiting fake Bedouin villages; sea cruises to islands with swimming, snorkeling or diving; acquaintance with the underwater world on a boat with a transparent bottom or on a bathyscaphe, etc.

Where to buy excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh

If you are resting on a ticket, then the next day after arrival there will be an organizational meeting with the hotel guide, where you will be offered to buy excursions from the tour operator. We do not dissuade you from shopping with a hotel guide, but we inform you that the same excursions can be bought much cheaper on the street or online. In our practice, the difference in price for some tours reached up to two times. So you decide for yourself what is better for you: to buy more reliably and conveniently from a hotel guide, or with minor inconveniences on the street, but cheaper.

Well, if you want it to be both convenient and inexpensive, you can buy excursions online on trusted search engine sites with reviews. In this case, you can read reviews about the tour from other tourists, and book your favorite tour with a small prepayment by credit card or even without it. Payment of the main part of the cost is carried out directly to the guide already during the excursion, so everything is safe and reliable:

• 📷 Search for excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Search for excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tripster.ru
• 📷 Search for excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tezeks.com

Entertainment in Sharm el-Sheikh

But with tourist entertainment in Charm, the situation is much better than with attractions. Here you can have fun with children in the water park, go on the already mentioned recreational excursions to the desert or islands, snorkel or dive, ride a banana or parachute, watch the underwater world from a glass-bottomed boat or dive to the depths on a bathyscaphe. In the evening, adults can go to try their luck at the casino, visit one of the nightclubs with modern music, take a walk and go shopping in one of the walking areas in the Old Market, in the area of the promenade and pedestrian street in Naama Bay or on Soho Square.

And now we present to your attention a list and description of attractions and entertainment in Sharm el-Sheikh, indicating opening hours, costs and how to get to them yourself:

Old Market

This is a small colorful area of several streets, and a great place for evening walks, where you can and should go shopping, eat in one of the authentic cafes or restaurants, have a cup of coffee, or just chat with other tourists or locals and merchants. There is even a waterfall here, though artificial, and the majestic El-Sahab Mosque is located on the territory of the market. It is proposed to visit the old market even as one of the local tourist attractions, since apart from it there are no special evening entertainment and places for walking at the resort. Do not forget that traders initially call prices inflated several times, you can immediately bargain up to half of the initial price. Learn more about the Old Market and how to visit it here...

Al Sahaba Mosque

This is the largest mosque of Sharm el-Sheikh, located in the heart of the Old Market in the old district of the city. The height of its minarets is 81 meters, and the room can accommodate up to 3,000 believers. But this is not a historical mosque, but a modern one, it was built in 2016. Nevertheless, it is considered one of the most important in Sharm el-Sheikh and one of the most beautiful in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is believed that El Sahaba is the most beautiful place in the old town of Sharm el-Sheikh, in the evening it is very beautifully illuminated. In addition to viewing the outside, tourists can visit the mosque and inspect it from the inside. Learn more about the El-Sahaba Mosque and how to visit it here...

As-Samayoun Coptic Church

As-Samayyun or The Heavenly Cathedral is the main Orthodox Christian church in Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the iconic sights of the city. If you visit it, you will definitely be amazed by the scale and beauty. Indeed, until you see this place with your own eyes, it is difficult to imagine that such a thing can occur in a Muslim country. But in fact, this is not surprising, because in Egypt every tenth believer professes Catholic or Orthodox Christianity. Read more about the Coptic church of As-Samayyun here...

Basilica Madonna Della Pace Catholic Church

This is a little-known landmark of Sharm el-Sheikh, which is rarely visited by tourists. The fact is that groups of tourists with sightseeing tours are not taken to this temple, as to the much more famous Coptic Orthodox church of As-Samayun. But if you prefer to get acquainted with the local sights on your own, then we advise you to combine visits to these two temples, because they are very close. Read more about the Madonna Della Pace Catholic church in Sharm el-Sheikh here...

Al Mustafa Mosque

>The Mustafa Mosque is the second most important of the mosques of Sharm El-Sheikh. A beautiful and elegant building with two tall minarets is quite worthy of attention and visiting, but often tourists and guidebooks confuse it with the Al Sahaba Mosque, which is located in the Old Town area on the Old Market. El Mustafa was built in 2006, but this does not detract from its value for believers and visitors of the city. on the left side of the building there is a library where you can get a brochure about islam in russian. Different halls are provided for the prayers of men and women. At the entrance, capes are issued for passage to the mosque, where you can walk. According to the reviews of those who have been here, tourists are not allowed inside, but this is not true. All mosques are closed to tourists only during prayer, for the cleaning period, and the rest of the time visiting is allowed and even welcome. If you are inappropriately dressed (short T-shirts, shorts, etc.), drunk or behaving noisily and immodestly, you may be refused a visit.

Cairo and the Pyramids

Everyone should go to the capital Cairo, to the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza! These are the most significant and important sights in Egypt, its business card. And such excursions are available from Sharm el-Sheikh. However, one feature needs to be taken into account: to travel to Cairo, you need a full-fledged Egyptian visa, and a free Sinai stamp will not work. However, this problem is easily solved on the spot. It is better to visit Cairo and the Pyramids with a ready-made excursion, since an independent trip will turn out to be more expensive and longer in time. In our opinion, it is worthwhile to go to Cairo and the Pyramids from Sharm el-Sheikh on your own only if you want to spend a few days there and get to know other places and sights of the city, but this is a completely different story. If you just want to see this wonder of the world, visit the capital and visit the main museum of the country, then there is simply no alternative to the excursion. Read more about the trip to Cairo and the Pyramids from Sharm el-Sheikh here ...

Mount Moses and the Monastery of St. Catherine

This is the main place of faithful pilgrims on the Sinai Peninsula and one of the most popular and most affordable sightseeing trips for holidaymakers in Sharm el-Sheikh and other resorts in Sinai: it is inexpensive and you will not need to apply for a full-fledged visa for it, but you can do with a free Sinai stamp. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Mount Moses has been revered since VI as the place where God sent 10 divine commandments to the prophet Moses. At the foot of the peak of Moses in the same period was built the Christian monastery of St. Catherine, which is considered one of the oldest functioning Orthodox churches in the world. From the monastery begins a difficult 7-kilometer ascent to the mountain, which can be overcome on foot or by camel. Learn more about Mount Moses and the Monastery of St. Catherine, and how to visit them here ...

Ras Mohammed National Park

This is the very first national park of Egypt, opened in 1989. It occupies a vast territory on land and at sea with an area of 480 square kilometers. Today it is a popular place that is definitely worth a visit while relaxing in the resorts of the Sinai Peninsula, which includes, among other things, the popular Sharm el-Sheikh. The National Park is known as one of the best places in the world for diving and snorkeling due to the extensive and protected coral reef, consisting of more than 220 species of corals. More than a thousand species of fish, 40 species of starfish, 150 species of crustaceans and 25 species of sea urchins live in the waters of the reserve. Foxes, gazelles, reptiles, migratory birds (white storks) are found on land. And on the border of water and land, amazing plants grow here – mangrove trees. Read more about Ras Mohammed National Park here...

Color Canyon

Unusual beauties of tourists will surprise the colored canyon – a natural landmark in the Sinai Mountains. The canyon is a gorge up to 30 meters deep, along the bottom of which there is a tourist route with a length of 5 km. Sandstone rock formations rise on both sides of the trail. The uniqueness of these rocks is given by the stratification of sedimentary rock, in some places turning into interlacing intricate patterns, bizarre sandy figures, as well as the unique color of the rocks, combining shades of red, yellow, orange, gray and purple.

There are very narrow places along the way where only one person can squeeze through. A walk through the Color Canyon takes no more than 1 hour. Since the canyon is located on the Sinai Peninsula, you do not need a visa to visit it, and the Xi'an stamp will do.

Beach and water activities

During your vacation in Sharm el-Sheikh, you can entertain yourself and your children with traditional beach and water activities such as banana riding, parachuting (parasailing), boating with a transparent bottom or a bathyscaphe, etc. In general, everything is like in Russian southern resorts. You can not find them everywhere, but only on individual beaches. The most popular places are Sharm El Maya Bay in the south of the city, beaches in Naama Bay, Sharks Bay. On other beaches, if such entertainments are found, then on a much smaller scale. Learn more about beach and water activities in Sharm el-Sheikh here...

Snorkeling

You can observe the underwater world of the Red Sea in Sharm el-Sheikh with the help of diving, excursions on boats with a glass bottom or on a tourist bathyscaphe-a submarine. But the most accessible way was and still is snorkeling. If you have your own mask and tube, then be sure to take it with you on vacation, and if not, you can rent on the spot from $ 2, or buy a set from $ 10 here. You will also need special beach shoes for swimming, these so-called aqua shoes or corals. It is better to buy them right away, because in any case they are needed for a beach holiday in Sharm el-Sheikh. You can buy them at the resort for 5-10 dollars. Learn more about snorkeling in Sharm el-Sheikh and how and where to do it here ...

Casino

One of the types of active evening pastime in Sharm el-Sheikh are casinos, because it is one of the most developed gambling zones in Egypt. There are 9 casinos in the resort. The rules of visiting are very democratic, there is usually no dress code, but at the entrance you will need to present the original passport, these are the rules here, although judging by the reviews, sometimes you can do with a copy or even a snapshot of the document in your smartphone. Here you can play all the usual gambling games that are presented in casinos around the world: roulette, slot machines, blackjack, poker, etc. The minimum bet is from $ 1, but no one will force you to play, so you can just watch how others play.

Water parks

If you come on vacation with children, then in Charm you can have fun in one of the local water parks, where you can spend the whole day enjoying an active pastime. Hotel guides and travel agencies offer trips to water parks with round-trip transfers and entrance tickets, or you can get to one of the water parks yourself by local transport and buy entrance tickets on the spot. There are a lot of water parks in Sharma, all of them work at hotels, here are the largest and most worthwhile visits:

• Aqua Blue Albatros (at the Aqua Blu Resort Sharm El Sheikh Hotel). It offers visitors 10 swimming pools and 32 water attractions. There are slides for both small and adults. It is located opposite from another large water park Aqua Park Albatros. The huge territory is equipped with everything necessary for recreation.
• Aqua Park Albatros (at the Albatros Aqua Park Sharm El Sheikh Hotel) – a lot of children's slides and 22 pools, 2 pools: children's and adult heated in winter. Due to the large territory of the entertainment complex, there are no queues for slides and attractions. There are all conditions for recreation: cafes, bars, sun beds, gazebos and more.
• Cleo Park (at the Sharm Dreams Resort Hotel) is a very small water park decorated in the style of ancient Egypt, there are few slides and pools.

Sightseeing tours of Sharm el-Sheikh

For every tourist who first arrives at this resort on a tourist voucher, hotel guides actively offer a sightseeing tour of the resort. Usually these are the cheapest excursions among all those offered, cost from 5 US dollars, and sometimes even free. In principle, we have nothing against such excursions, especially if you are a "beginner" in Egypt or tourism in general, but we do not recommend you to definitely agree to such a tour. And the thing is that sightseeing tours are not at all aimed at actually introducing you to the resort, but at easing your wallets a little, for which most of the trip will consist of visits to factories and branded stores of "special" tourist goods at "special" prices. Their prices are several times higher than can be found on the streets of the city, and excellent trade professionals work there, who will be able to sell even snow to Eskimos. But in fairness it should be said that during the tour you will be told and shown the main areas, taken to the Coptic Orthodox Church and mosque in the old town. So it's up to you to decide for yourself whether it's worth spending a day of your time and refusing an all-inclusive lunch for the sake of such an excursion.

Sharm El Sheikh Museum

The Sharm El Sheikh Museum is an antiquities museum that was renovated in 2020. The museum received 5,120 exhibits from the storerooms of other museums in the country. The three spacious halls feature ancient Egyptian statues and mummies, animal mummies, cat figurines, boats, as well as statues of ancient Greek athletes and the remains of baths. Each exhibit has a plaque with a description in Arabic and English. The museum has a Russian-speaking guide, but he is not always in the museum. If you are lucky and he will be there, be sure to listen to his story, his services are free.

Tutankhamun Museum (King Tut Museum)

The Tutankhamun Museum (King Tut Museum) is a museum of copies of exhibits from the National Museum of Cairo. In one hall of the Genena City shopping center there is a good collection of 135 copies of ancient artifacts: statues, mummies, sarcophagi, jewelry, household items. The main part of the exposition is dedicated to Pharaoh Tutankhamun. All copies were made under the supervision of the Ministry of Antiquities of Egypt. But there are also real exhibits – photos from the excavations of Tutankhamun's tomb and real letters from archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered the untouched tomb in 1922. If you have already been to the National Museum in Cairo, then you don't have to visit this museum. If you do not plan to visit the museum in Cairo, then you can come here, if you do not mind paying a fairly high entrance fee of $ 15. there is no excursion service in the museum, but all exhibits have signs in english and russian.

The Museum of Papyrus (Sharm Papyrus Museum)

The Papyrus Museum in Sharm El-Sheikh, which guides recommend so much to visit, is not really a museum - it's just an antique shop. Here you can see an interesting exposition of papyrus paintings and buy them. The variety is very large: from pharaohs and pyramids to modern plots. All papyri are real, so the sellers say. For the original, you will have to pay a lot, but even here you need to bargain.

SOHO Square

SOHO Square Sharm El Sheikh Shopping Center is one of the largest entertainment and shopping complexes. There are many shops from grocery to jewelry, cafes, restaurants, bars offering dishes of Egyptian, Japanese, Indian, Thai cuisine. Entertainment includes a cinema, bowling alley, night club, children's play area, attractions, ice rink. Next to the shopping center there is a walking area, in the center of which there is a fountain, it is also called a dancing fountain. Every hour for 10 minutes the musical accompaniment is turned on and you can see a small performance. In the evening, the fountain jets are painted in different colors, which looks very impressive.

La Strada Shopping Center

La Strada Mall is a large and civilized market. It includes dozens of shops, including supermarkets, bakeries, clothing and souvenir shops, pharmacies, restaurants, cafes, mobile phone shops. Nearby famous restaurants Burger King and Hard Rock Cafe. There is a Duty-free shop where you can buy alcohol and cigarettes duty-free within 48 hours after arrival by presenting your passport.

Hollywood Sharm El Sheikh Entertainment Complex

The Hollywood Sharm El Sheikh shopping and entertainment complex has a large territory, which is mainly occupied by a walking area, shopping pavilions, a cafe, a restaurant. There are a few children's attractions, figures and sculptures of various cartoon, film characters, animals and a Jurassic theme park with dinosaur figures. During the holidays, after 21:00, evening performances and singing fountain shows are held on the main stage.

Recently, Hollywood has not been working at full capacity and is suitable only for evening walks for those who live nearby, you should not go here specifically. It is not suitable for shopping, due to the closure of some stores.

Dolphinarium Delphina

Dolphinarium Delphina is the only dolphinarium in Sinai that will give a lot of positive emotions. Visitors can not only watch a show with dolphins and fur seals, but also swim with dolphins, feed the local inhabitants – penguins. Among the services of the dolphinarium is such an unusual one as proposing marriage to your significant other with the help of its inhabitants, which cannot but delight your chosen one. For those who really love marine animals, the local instructors will help and teach the wisdom of their training and training.

🕒 29 August, 2024