The city of Sharm el-Sheikh , located in the south of the Sinai Peninsula, is one of the largest and most popular resorts not only in Egypt , but also in the whole world. More than 200 hotels of various categories located in the city receive numerous tourists throughout the year. Thanks to the tropical desert climate, you can rest in Sharm el-Sheikh in almost any month – even in winter, the water temperature in the sea does not fall below 20 degrees. And although the air can warm up to 40 degrees in summer, its low humidity allows you to tolerate such heat without much discomfort.
Sharm el-Sheikh occupies the southern edge of the Sinai Peninsula , stretching 30 kilometers along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba . Near the city, in the southwest, there is the Ras Mohammed National Reserve , which is deservedly considered one of the most beautiful places in Egypt, and in the northeast, the resort borders the Nabk Reserve .
Located on the shores of the Red Sea, Sharm el-Sheikh boasts an extremely rich and diverse underwater world. A huge number of divers and snorkelers come here to admire the picturesque coral reefs and exotic marine life. Barracudas, surgeon fish, hammerhead sharks, moray eels, stingrays, crocodile fish, anthia groupers and more live in the warm water off the coast of Sharm el-Sheikh .
We are going on vacation to Sharm el-Sheikh with a child
Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the best Egyptian resorts for family vacations, with a lot of entertainment, excellent nature and a cool climate. If you want to go on an interesting excursion or just have fun on the beach, choose Sharm el-Sheikh .
Are children having fun in Sharm?
Yes of course! You will be lucky if you find a hotel with animation – then you can breathe easy and relax by the pool with a cocktail, while your little ones are diligently coloring and carving in the children’s club.
Find out in advance what your hotel can offer as daytime and evening entertainment for children and plan your vacation accordingly. As for entertainment outside the hotel, there is plenty of it. The desert is an impressive feature of the Egyptian landscape and, of course, older children will be very interested in riding quad bikes on sand hills. Fortunately, it is relatively inexpensive.
And you can ride a camel. You can do it on the dunes, or you can do it quickly in the city.
True, you need to actively bargain here, because the rascals on Naama Bay like to break the price for a five-minute ride. ” Bebalesh ” (that is, free) is unlikely to work, but for 10 bucks you will be driven for 5-10 minutes. Then, you can go to Soho Square . It is a beautiful place in itself, which somehow even stands out from the overall picture of Sharma – clean, beautiful, fountains, before the New Year’s holidays, Snowmen on roller skates are dissected. Here you can play bowling or go ice-skating (neither personally tried, although the tourists said they liked everything).
There is a so-called Kids’ Arcade – an ideal place for little ones – video games, slot machines, a children’s play area with balls, toys and slides (you can leave the children there and drink coffee below in Café Chino ). Plus carousels and a selection of attractions for the little ones.
They speak English and Russian there, everything is very accessible. All this works, as it were, from 16:00 to midnight. Well, you can also feed children here, fortunately, there are many restaurants here, and they represent cuisines from all over the world. Trips to the pyramids can tire children, but the pyramids themselves are quite an impressive sight. Sailing on a glass bottom boat is one of the best and safest things to do in Sharm El Sheikh with children. I am glad that children have discounts on all excursions.
Let’s not forget about Sharma’s water parks . It is very cool if there is a water park at your hotel, and if it is not, ask the guide. Admission is about $40 per adult, and about $25 per child, plus bring money to pay for a locker and your own towel.
You can try go-karting if you haven’t already done it at home. Children from 7 years old can participate in races (height from 150 cm). This is another exciting event for little daredevils.
Beaches in Sharm El Sheikh
All children love the sea, and there is no better place in Sharm el-Sheikh where children will have more fun and more fun than on the coast. Sharm el-Sheikh is among the top five resorts in the world for snorkeling and diving.
Maybe this is an exaggeration, but the coral reefs and fish here are really impressive! Especially in Hadaba. It ‘s too early to go diving with a baby, but swimming with a mask is just the thing!
Maxi-fins, all this can be easily rented on almost any beach and in any Sharma hotel . In addition, the beaches offer a range of water sports. Very cool catamarans with slides are an excellent choice. But we would not advise you to ride on buns. This is dangerous, especially if you take into account that many people have crashed on these bumps in Sharm (admittedly, adults who probably asked to go faster.). Banana– another matter, not so scary, but also fun. Find out in advance which beach your hotel has – a sandy beach is, of course, much more comfortable for delicate feet than pebbles, on which you won’t slip for a long time. Sometimes you can see quite a lot of small jellyfish in the sea – we only once heard that a jellyfish stung someone in the sea. But you have to be more careful with sea urchins – our friend happily ran along the rocky bottom on a beach somewhere in Hadaba, and bumped into such an urchin, which was peacefully sleeping among the stones. It’s unpleasant, and you just can’t get these needles out.
Where to eat and what to eat in Sharm El Sheikh?
Be sure to try delicious traditional Egyptian food. As a rule, hotels organize one day of Egyptian cuisine – meat, side dishes, and, especially, sweets – everything is traditional and unusual for us.
Of course, for many children, these dishes do not look so attractive (eggplant gravy “baba ganoush” or hummus do not look very appetizing, but it is definitely worth trying). We are generally silent about okra (such fruits as “ladies’ fingers” with lamb), kosher (rice, pasta, beans, etc. piled into one plate) and mahshi (grape leaves stuffed with rice) – we ourselves do not like this very much. But falafel (deep-fried bean balls) they will weave in both cheeks. And the desserts just make my head spin: basbusa (semolina cake with honey), kunaf (mmm, my love, “hairy cake”, as we nicknamed it, again with honey), baklava(puff pastry rolls with nuts and honey).
As you can see, there are a lot of dishes with honey, so if your child is allergic to honey, be careful there. Walk around Naama Bay with the kids. In addition to the fact that there are many interesting souvenir shops, there are many restaurants and cafes. All chain restaurants such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Hard Rock Cafe are available (if you are a fan of fast food).
What else is there to do at the resort?
Go to the Old Market (Old Market, in Hadaba) – a very interesting place for both shopping and sightseeing. Children can practice their skills by bargaining when buying souvenirs (will be needed in the future), and at the same time choose a cute camel toy or order a personalized sand bottle for a couple of dollars.
Naama Bay in the evening is not a very children’s place. Drunk youth, hookah smoke from numerous hookahs that line up on this street, noise and commotion. But the hours until 10-11 (until the program at the hotel ends and the animators play tourists in the clubs on Naama Bay) are more or less calm here. Well, there is complete peace here during the day.
In general, you can and should go to Sharm with children !
Features of rest in Sharm El Sheikh: pros and cons
From the name Sharm El Sheikh exudes mystery and mystery. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to this resort every year to spend time in a warm country by the gentle sea and get acquainted with the ancient culture of the peoples who once lived here.
In order to have a smooth and hassle-free vacation, it is worth knowing a few advantages and disadvantages of this popular resort.
The indisputable advantages of Sharm El Sheikh include its location and climate. You can relax here all year round, without fear of freezing even in January.
The city is located on the coast of the Red Sea, which, according to many experienced tourists, is recognized as one of the most beautiful and rich in underwater flora and fauna. There are incredibly beautiful coral reefs in the vicinity of Sharm , where dozens of species of fish and other marine life live. Paradise for lovers of snorkeling or scuba diving!
A large selection of restaurants and entertainment facilities will make your vacation rich and not boring. Many nightclubs organize fiery parties right under the open sky, and among the invited DJs and artists are world-class pop stars.
The long sandy beach in Nabq Bay will be a real gift for families with children. Here, kids will feel complete freedom of action: the warm sea, a gentle entrance to the water and a little sand will not limit the young explorer.
In the city, in the Nabq Bay area, there is a large duty-free shop where you can buy everything from swimwear and souvenirs to outerwear at reasonable prices.
The convenient location of Sharm has several interesting excursions to visit. It takes much less time to travel from the city to the sights or to the capital of Egypt, Cairo , than from other resort centers of the country.
Sharm El Sheikh offers children several large water parks at once, among which Albatros and Cleo are the most popular . In one of them, you can spend an unforgettable day, which the whole family will remember for a long time.
Despite the fact that vacationing in Sharm El Sheikh has a lot of advantages, it is worth mentioning some disadvantages of this resort. However, for some tourists, many of the following can be an advantage.
First of all, Sharm belongs to the category of more expensive resorts in Egypt. Undoubtedly, there are budget hotels here, but most of the hotel complexes offer rest at prices that exceed the prices in Taba or Hurghada .
A little higher, compared to other resorts, the cost in Sharm El Sheikh for entertainment, sightseeing trips around the country and food in restaurants. This nuance must be taken into account when planning a vacation. However, there is no need to get upset prematurely. The beauty of the resort and the sea of impressions will easily “cover” the inflated costs.
Despite the fact that a family vacation in Sharm El Sheikh is possible, this resort positions itself as a youth tourist center. Bars and clubs are open 24 hours a day. Life rages and hits a key! For some vacationers, this factor may not be in favor of Sharm El Sheikh .
Another feature of the resort is the almost complete absence of the usual sandy beaches. An exception is the small bay Nabk Bay , the beaches of which are often overcrowded in the “high” season. On the rest of the coast, the bottom is covered with sharp stones, and you can enter the water only from a pontoon in special shoes.
Sharm El Sheikh was just a couple of decades ago a small fishing village in the hinterland of the country. Now it is a popular vacation spot for tourists from all over the world. Despite some of its shortcomings, the resort attracts with clean sea, beautiful coral reefs, comfortable hotels and developed modern tourist infrastructure. It is not boring or uninteresting here. And the amount of positive emotions received on vacation depends not only on the place of rest, but also on the tourist, on his mood and attitude to the country.
Excursions
Mount Moses (height 2285 m) is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year. According to legend, it was here that Moses received the famous 10 commandments. According to legend, God forgives all sins on this mountain at sunrise.
At its foot, in the place where the Lord spoke with Moses, the monastery of St. Catherine grew up – the oldest active Christian monastery.
The multi- colored canyon is another gift of nature to these strange places. Stone and sand cliffs, iridescent with all the colors of the rainbow – from white to bright red – will make you hold your breath with delight. According to legend, this city was founded by a tribe of nomads, the Nabateans, in the 4th century BC.
Blue Hole . It is located near the resort of Dahab . First of all, it will be interesting to divers. It is a karst sinkhole – an underwater vertical cave about 130 meters deep in the seabed of the Red Sea. The depth, underwater world of the Red Sea and availability for diving make it popular for many divers.
Ras Mohammed . National Natural Park. Located 25 km from Sharm El Sheikh . From 485 sq. km of the park – 385 sq. km falls on the water surface.
In addition to the rich underwater world, there are mangrove trees that grow in salt water, bald eagles, reptiles and dozens of birds.
There is also a magical salt lake , where the concentration of salt is the same as in the Dead Sea, 150 species of corals and even corals that grow above sea level!
Tiran Island . The island has long been a disputed territory of Egypt and neighboring states. In this regard, the land part is closed to visitors.
But here are four of the most beautiful coral reefs around the island – available for viewing. This colorful underwater kingdom is worthy of special attention for everyone who likes snorkeling and diving.
Excursions by bus or plane are organized from Sharm El Sheikh to Cairo and Luxor to the ancient Egyptian sanctuaries, which are among the famous Wonders of the World.
Thrill-seekers are offered a desert jeep safari with a visit to a Bedouin village, camel riding, barbecue and national dances in the evening.
You can also visit the city of Petra in Jordan, where the rock temples amaze the imagination, and when visiting the amazing caves, pictures of ancient civilizations arise.
Souvenirs from Sharm el-Sheikh
In the luggage of almost every tourist who leaves Sharm El Sheikh , you can find a carefully packed box containing a modern analogue of ancient papyrus – the writing material of the ancient Egyptians. The technology of its production is very complex. It was lost for a long time, and then with great difficulty was restored by Egyptian scientists.
Today, there are only a few factories in the entire country that produce this “historical” product designed for the development of tourism. Its cost is quite high, so the price of one small letter cannot be lower than $10-20. It should be taken into account that the drawing on the product is applied manually, using special permanent paints. Therefore, papyrus made in a factory can be called a real work of art.
Of course, the mass souvenir industry of Sharm-El-Sheikh cannot ignore such a unique product, which people all over the world associate with Egypt. Therefore, the market is full of papyrus fakes made not from reeds, but from banana trees, the pattern on which is most often stamped. And here you need to decide on one of the options: either pay a substantial amount and bring home a real papyrus, or spend a little money and buy an imitation of it, which, quite possibly, will quickly lose its marketability. The most unpleasant option is to buy at the price of a real fake. It is not difficult to recognize the deception: pseudo-papyrus is fragile, it cannot be bent or rolled up, and the paint is smeared when water gets on it.
A huge number of different souvenirs can even make shopping in Sharm el-Sheikh difficult . What to buy: a vase or a casket, a set of incense sticks or a figure of a funny galloping camel? The choice is so large that it is easy to get confused. Have you decided to buy an alabaster statuette that depicts something that is not very clear to you? Do not forget to ask what it is, otherwise you can, through ignorance, buy and give someone one of the symbols of the afterlife, which are so rich in Egyptian mythology. In addition, it does not hurt to make sure that the thing is made of the declared material, and not of cheap and less durable plaster. To do this, you need to illuminate the figurine with a flashlight: real alabaster lets some light through.
Jewelry is sold everywhere in Sharm el-Sheikh , but it is wiser to buy gold in specialized stores. On the market you can find precious jewelry with a dizzying design, but no one will give you a quality guarantee for them. If you are sure that you can recognize a fake, and you want to buy a gold product in a store or “hand-made”, make sure that the seller does not replace your chosen item with a copy at the very last stage of the purchase.
If you liked cartouches (beautiful name medallions), then keep in mind that it is not customary to buy them for yourself, but only as a gift to someone. A non-standard option for a souvenir (for example, for a music-loving friend) is a disc with Arabic, Nubian or Egyptian music. Before buying, you can ask to listen to the recording.
Another quite popular purchase in Sharm el-Sheikh is an inexpensive ($5-7) wristwatch, the design of which imitates well-known brands. Despite the “fakeness”, they serve their owners well for several years.
In short, souvenirs from Sharm El Sheikh can include a wide range of goods, from trinkets to accessories and clothes of good quality.
The main thing to learn before shopping in Sharm : haggling here is not only appropriate, it is mandatory. The exception is shops with fixed prices, of which there are not so many here. In a word, if things have a price tag, then you can’t bargain. And if there is none, then you need to knock down the price as long as possible. But you should not “fight” for the product if you are not sure that you want to buy it. Sellers consider it an insult when the amount is reduced by half, and the buyer has changed his mind about taking the item.