You have just landed at Sharm El Sheikh International, about 10 km north of Naama Bay — a string of resort bays along one Red Sea coast road, each with its own reef. The bay you booked decides your first ride and your first swim, so this guide starts there. It covers the free Sinai stamp and when it is not enough, the agreed-fare taxi habit, where to sleep from a Sharks Bay all-inclusive to a Naama Bay budget hotel, the first fish dinner, and the Ras Mohammed, Mount Sinai and desert days that fill day two.
You just landed in Sharm el-Sheikh. SSH sits about 10 km north of Naama Bay, the bays running south to the Old Market — with an Airalo eSIM live for maps, a free Sinai stamp covering resort-only stays under 15 days, and the reef days that sell out first worth booking ahead through GetYourGuide.
Find your arrival stop, hotel, and first meal. Stays, sights, and landmarks in Sharm El Sheikh — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.
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Touch down at SSH and treat the first hour as logistics: Sharm is a string of bays along one coast road, and your hotel could be ten minutes away in Sharks Bay or half an hour south by the Old Market.
Set up data before you leave home — an Airalo eSIM loads in minutes, so maps work from the arrivals hall. For a longer Egypt trip, compare Saily and Yesim.
The arrival checklist, in order:
If a delayed flight wrecked the arrival, AirHelp checks whether the airline owes you compensation.
Journey times are approximate and refer to the listed stop — not necessarily your hotel. Allow extra time for waiting, walking, and connections.
The fixed-price option booked before you fly: the driver waits in arrivals with a name board, and the price covers the car to Naama Bay — Sharks Bay costs less, the Old Market more
The rank sits outside arrivals; meters are rarely used, so agree the full fare for the whole party before the car moves — the first quote is rarely the real one
Many resort packages include the transfer — check before you book anything else; shared coaches wait for other flights and drop bay by bay, so they run slower than a car
Blue and white microbuses run set routes along the coast road and leave when full; they drop on the main road, not at the hotel door — say your bay when you flag one down and pay in small notes
SSH sits about 10 km north of Naama Bay, so most rides are short. Every fare below is to Naama Bay; Sharks Bay costs less, the Old Market more. The rides in:
Choose the pre-booked transfer late at night or with big bags: the price is fixed before you fly. Choose a taxi only with the fare agreed first — meters are rarely used, and the first quote is rarely the real one.
Prefer to be met? A Kiwitaxi transfer or a Welcome Pickups driver puts a name board in arrivals at a fixed price. Driving yourself, price the airport pickup on AutoEurope first — a car rarely earns its keep here.
In town, you walk inside one bay and ride between them. Blue and white microbuses run the coast road for a few pounds — flag one down, say your bay, pay in small notes. Ride apps are patchy in Sharm, so they do not replace the agreed-fare habit.
Start on the Naama Bay promenade at sunset, the resort's living room: a curving sandy bay, beach cafés and dive boats coming home. Snorkel the house reef off the jetty first — turtles graze the seagrass on calm mornings.
Walk the clifftop at Ras Um Sid to Farsha Café, a lantern-lit terrace above Temple Reef — go for sunset, order mint tea, and snorkel the reef below before it, when the light is best.
Spend an evening in the Old Market, Sharm's original town centre by Sharm El Maya bay: spice stalls, cafés and the Al Sahaba Mosque, its domes lit gold after dark. Cover shoulders and knees for the mosque.
Browse GetYourGuide for boat days and Sinai trips, and compare Klook for activities.
Sleep on Coast Road in Sharks Bay — a five-star all-inclusive remodelled in 2023, with five pools, a private beach and a reef off the jetty. Book it for the fullest version of resort Sharm.
Stay above its own cove at the edge of Naama Bay — a five-star with a private beach, two pools and a spa, close enough to walk the promenade home. Book it for polish with the town in reach.
Bed down on King Abdullah Street in Naama Bay — 188 rooms around a pool, a free area shuttle and the promenade a short walk away. Book it for the social version of budget Sharm.
Choose your bay before your hotel — the bay is the decision. Naama Bay is the walkable centre: promenade, restaurants and nightlife on foot. Sharks Bay, by the airport, is quieter and resort-scaled. Ras Um Sid is the divers' headland. The Old Market area is cheapest and most local.
Book ahead for December to February and school holidays, when charters fill the bays. Before you pay, confirm the total includes the 14% VAT, 12% service charge and 1% city tax.
Eat fish on day one — the Red Sea is the larder, and the classic order is grilled whole fish with sayadiyah, the spiced fisherman's rice. Three first stops: Fares Seafood, Old Market. Choose your fish and prawns from the ice, priced by weight — confirm the per-kilo price before they cook, because bills here grow by the gram. The locals' and returning divers' pick.
Drink mint tea on cushions above Temple Reef as the lanterns come on — part café, part viewpoint, and the sunset seat in Sharm. Arrive an hour before sundown; the terrace fills.
Graze koshari, ful and taameya and grilled meats between the beach cafés — the easy first-night option when you land late, with no surprises.
For food tours, browse the Sharm listings on GetYourGuide and book a slot for your first free evening.
Three escapes cover what Sharm does best: the Ras Mohammed reefs by boat, the overnight climb of Mount Sinai, and the desert safari behind the bays. Carry water — two end in the sea, one on a summit.
Nine hours by boat: snorkel or try an intro dive on Ras Mohammed's coral walls, then swim at White Island sandbank, with a buffet lunch on board. Pickup included, rated 4.7 from over 4,300 reviews, from about US$29. Check availability →
Fifteen hours, out at night: climb Mount Moses by torchlight, watch sunrise from the summit, then descend to Saint Catherine's, among the oldest working monasteries in the world. Pickup included, rated 4.4, from about US$48. Check availability →
Eight hours into the desert: a guided quad ride in convoy, Bedouin tea, then a Bedouin camp for a camel ride, BBQ dinner, shows and telescope stargazing. Pickup included, rated 4.8 from over 2,100 reviews, from about US$31. Check availability →
Leave a spare day for Tiran Island boat trips or SOHO Square.
October to April is the season: the sea stays swimmable all winter, days run from the mid-20s to low-30s Celsius, and reef visibility peaks. December to February peaks with charters. June to August is properly hot, often over 38°C, but rates fall.
The pound stood at about EGP 55 to US$1 in October 2026 and moves, so treat conversions as a snapshot. A fish dinner runs EGP 400 to 1,200 a person; a boat day US$25 to 60.
A backpacker in a budget Naama Bay room, on Old Market street food and microbuses: US$35 to 55 a day. Mid-range — a beachfront room, seafood dinners, one boat day: US$100 to 160 a day. A splurge day in an all-inclusive suite passes US$300.
Tap items to check them off — your list is saved on this device.
Pack for strong sun, warm sea and air-conditioned everything. This is the full list:
Add the Sharm extras: reef-safe sunscreen — the marine park protects the coral that is the whole point of the trip — your own snorkel mask if you have one, reef shoes for jetty entries, a Type C and F adapter, and a light cover-up for the Al Sahaba Mosque and Old Market evenings.
! Check visa requirements before you fly
Arabic runs the city, in its Egyptian dialect — warm, funny and fast. Resort staff work in English, Russian, Italian and German, but a greeting in Arabic changes any negotiation.
Four phrases do most of the work:
Sort your entry paperwork before you book anything non-refundable — Sharm has two doors, and you choose at passport control. Arrive by air at SSH and stay less than 15 days in the South Sinai resorts — Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba — and British, EU and US visitors among others get a free entry permission stamp, the Sinai stamp, and need no visa. Your passport needs six months' validity.
The stamp is Sinai-only. Travel to Cairo, Luxor or Hurghada, or stay longer, and you need a full Egypt visa: an eVisa from the official portal (visa2egypt.gov.eg) at least a week ahead, or a visa on arrival at the bank kiosk before passport control — US$30 in cash, up to 30 days. Decide before you queue: once you have entered on the free stamp, adding a visa later is difficult.
Ras Mohammed sits on the edge of the rule. The park is in South Sinai and land visits are generally made on the stamp, but some boat and dive operators ask for a full visa for offshore trips — if a boat day is certain, buying the US$30 visa on arrival is simplest.
Unagreed taxi fares are the first-timer tax: settle the full price before you get in. The same rule covers camel rides and boat extras — a price agreed after is a price invented.
Advisories treat the Sharm resort area differently from the wider peninsula: most warn against travel in North Sinai and against all but essential travel in parts of South Sinai away from the resorts, while the Sharm enclave itself sits outside those warnings. Check your own government's current wording before side trips inland, and use licensed operators for desert and mountain days.
Snorkel inside the marked zones, never touch or stand on coral, and keep clear of boat lanes off the jetties. Apply sunscreen before the boat, not in the water. Dive within your certification and keep insurance that covers diving.
Tap water is for washing, not drinking. Carry more water than feels necessary on desert days, start walks early, and treat dizziness seriously. For anything urgent, dial 123 for an ambulance or 126 for the tourist police.
If you liked Sharm El Sheikh, try these next:
The stamp, the bays and the taxes, in short.
Facts verified October 2026
A pre-booked transfer starts at about US$20 per car to Naama Bay, about 15 minutes. A rank taxi costs EGP 200 to 250 with the fare agreed before you ride — meters are rarely used. Sharks Bay is closer and cheaper; the Old Market runs about 25 minutes.
Often not — air arrivals staying less than 15 days in Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba get a free Sinai entry stamp. For Cairo, Luxor, a longer stay or some offshore boat trips you need a full visa: eVisa before travel or US$30 on arrival, up to 30 days.
Naama Bay for a walkable first stay — promenade, restaurants and nightlife on foot. Sharks Bay for quiet, resort-scale stays by the airport. Ras Um Sid for divers, and the Old Market area for the cheapest, most local base.
No separate per-night city tax. Hotel bills carry 14% VAT, a 12% service charge and 1% city tax; rates often quote that stack as included, but a low headline rate can grow by about a quarter at checkout. Confirm the total before you pay.
October to April: warm sea, days from the mid-20s to low-30s Celsius, and the best reef visibility. December to February is peak European charter season. June to August passes 38°C but brings lower rates and bath-warm water.
With the resort basics, yes. Agree every taxi fare before the car moves, snorkel inside the marked zones, and use licensed operators inland. Advisories treat the Sharm resort area differently from the wider Sinai — check the current wording. Tourist police 126; ambulance 123.
Pound figures move — your transfer quote and the official eVisa portal always win.
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Entry rules against GOV.UK Egypt travel advice (updated August 2026, read October 2026): free stamp for air arrivals at Sharm El-Sheikh staying less than 15 days in Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba; visa on arrival US$30 cash, up to 30 days; passport six months' validity. Conflicts printed, not hidden: US sources call the same stamp a 14-day permit; Türkiye's foreign ministry lists Saint Catherine inside the stamp area while GOV.UK's resort list does not; older pages quote a US$25 visa fee against the US$30 charged since March 2026. Ras Mohammed: GOV.UK requires a visa outside the resorts; October 2026 Sharm reporting says land trips are generally made on the stamp while some boat operators require a full visa — both positions are printed in the guide. Transfers against October 2026 fare reporting: SSH to Naama Bay 10 to 12 km, taxi EGP 150 to 250, pre-booked cars from about US$20. Exchange: about EGP 55 to US$1, 24 October 2026. Daylight saving against timeanddate: 24 April to 30 October 2026. Hotel taxes against a Sharm resort's published policy: 14% VAT, 12% service, 1% city tax. GetYourGuide hub opened and read (sharm-el-sheikh-l408). Products opened and read: Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine's, Super Safari. Hub-listed only: Ras Mohammed and White Island — its product page returned no extractable content, so its details come from the opened hub listing. Expedia pages opened and read: Sultan Gardens Resort (h890366), Falcon Naama Star Hotel (h3754182). Stella Di Mare Beach Hotel & Spa appears across Expedia's Sharm guides with October 2026 reviews, but its property page could not be opened in this build, so its URL is blank pending the confirmation pass — never substituted. Photo credits as in the guide data. Last verified October 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.
