An Egypt Experience You Didn’t Know You Wanted: A Snorkeling Tour in Sharm El-Sheikh
When I say Egypt, what comes to mind? Pyramids? Mummies? Ancient Civilizations? Indian Jones-esq adventure?
There’s another side to Egypt, and it looks more like paradise than an action adventure thriller. This side has miles of beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and vibrant marine life that will wow even the most experienced divers and snorkelers
One of the best places to see this side of Egypt is Sharm El-Sheikh, a popular resort town on the southeastern cost of the Sinai Peninsula, and a stop on the Zaandam’s grand lap of Africa.
The History of Sharm El-Sheikh
The history of Sharm el-Sheikh goes back more than 8000 years. Ancient Egyptians discovered different types of metals in the area, and pharaohs demanded the natural resources to be mined. Ruins of ancient quarries near the city of Dehab remain, but no lasting civilizations were built. Likely due to the unforgiving desert and climate.
The region’s significance switched from economical to religious in the 15th century BCE when Moses led his followers through the Sinai desert. He climbed Jebel Mousa, AKA Mount Sinai (a 202km / 125mi drive away from Sharm el-Sheikh), which is where it is believed he received the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
FUN FACT: Mount Sinai is the highest peak in Egypt stretching up a lofty 7,497 ft/2,285m high. It is popular pilgrimage site for followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and most hikes begin in the early morning in order to reach the peak at sunrise.
The region remained mostly uninhabited until the 20th century. Egyptians established a military presence on the peninsula following Israel’s War of Independence (1948-1949) given its strategic location at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. The goal was to block shipping to Elat, Israel’s only port on the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel gained occupation of the area after the Six-Day-War in 1967, and held it until the Camp David Accords in the early 1980s.
During that time, the Israelis began building Sharm el-Sheikh as a tourist destination, which the Egyptians continued to develop into the resort and vacation destination it is today.
To read more on the military and political history of Sharm el-Sheikh click HERE!
Sharm el-Sheikh in 2022
Today, Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Egypt. It’s home to lavish resorts, buzzing beach clubs, and beautiful beaches. It’s also home to some of best diving in the world due to the protected waters teeming with fish, coral, and fascinating ship wrecks.
The Zaandam pulled into the Sharm El-Sheikh pier on October 29th, 2022, and I whipped out the bathing suit to go on a snorkeling tour excursion to Ras Mohamed, one of most famous national parks in Egypt.
Getting Off the Ship
Each new country comes with new laws and rules. Egypt’s happen to be quite intensive. All passengers had to turn in their passports a few days prior for Egyptian immigration inspection followed by picking them up the night before Sharm el-Sheikh. The reward being that ever sought-after passport stamp. Plus, the ability to get into Egypt.
The disembarkation process is exactly like landing via plane. You must show your passport to immigration officers, put your bags through a security scanner, and walk through a metal detector.
From line up to tour bus, the process took around 45 minutes.
Getting to Ras Mohamed
Twelve of us were shepherded into mini bus 10, where we were greeted with AC and a friendly tour guide (whose name I couldn’t quite catch.) He welcomed us to Egypt as the bus took off down the impeccable roads surrounded by a hot, arid, unforgiving landscape. It was a 12km/8mi drive to the national park, but the journey took nearly 40 minutes given the frequent security checkpoints and stops.
FUN FACT: There are no wild camels in Egypt. If you spy a camel all by its lonesome, it’s because Bedouins will let their camels go off to source their own food. They are smart creatures, and will return.
Along the way, our guide told us that Ras Mohamed is on the southern point of the Sinai Peninsula, and is where the Gulf of Suez meets the Gulf of Aqaba. It’s a national park with 480km2 of preserved land- no buildings, no people, and no fishing. Minimal human interference means beautiful water with 60m/196ft visibility and abundant marine life. In fact, there are more than 1200 types of fish and 220 types of coral.
FUN FACT: Coral fossils have been found in the surrounding rocky mountains. This is because there used to be volcanic activity, which spewed said coral out to dry land.
The Experience:
We were welcomed into a Bedouin tent on the beach with water, sodas, and traditional tea. It took the sixty-ish passengers approximately 20 minutes to get their snorkel masks, life vests, and flippers before the guides gave a basic safety briefing. The biggest message: DON’T TOUCH THE CORAL.
Climate change is making coral bleaching unfortunately common. Changes in temperature, light, or nutrients cause stress on coral, and they expel the symbiotic algae in their tissues as a response. This leaves them bleached, and prone to mortality. Coral are essential for the underwater ecosystem- once the coral dies, other sea life dies too.
Just recently, there was a global ocean heatwave that caused 75% of the planet’s coral reefs to suffer from heat induced bleaching between 2014-2017. However, no such bleaching has occurred in the northern Red Sea. Scientists have been studying the Red Sea’s corals, and have found that many can withstand 4-5C° above maximum temperatures, and some even withstand 7C° increases. In fact, the symbiotic algae in Red Sea coral increases oxygen production in warmer waters.
But why? Scientist speculate that coral in the Gulf of Aqaba migrated from the south thousands of years ago, where the water is much warmer. Temperatures in the Gulf of Aqaba are 27-28C°, but the coral have retained their ability to live at 33C°. , which is how they are able to withstand temperature increases. (Learn more HERE.)
Back to the snorkeling….
The squad of snorkelers hit the water along with 3 guides. Once the 60 kicking bodies dispersed around the water, I got to relax into the ocean and enjoy the amazing life below. There were dozens of coral formations full of sea creatures. I spied angelfish, butterfly fish, sweetlips, goatfish, jewel fairy basslets, and a few groupers. There were big, colorful fish I’ve never seen before, as well as mysterious black ones that flitted among the shadows. A highlight was a stingray hugging the sandy bottom.
We had around 1hr 10min of snorkel time, followed by 45 minutes of free time to relax by the water, take photos, enjoy more tea, and browse the handmade Bedouin items for sale.
Returning to the Ship
We returned back to the ship exactly how we left. Through the dessert, through a security checkpoint where we had to exit the mini bus to scan our bags, and back on board.
Would I recommend this excursion? Yes! The tour was well constructed and the guide was kind and informative. Plus, the snorkeling was truly breathtaking!
