Top Things to Do in Marsa Alam

Start with the water

Marsa Alam is a diving destination that happens to have resorts attached, not a resort town that happens to have a sea. Almost everything worth doing here is either in the water or a long drive away, and that is worth accepting early rather than discovering on day three.

The good news is that the water here is genuinely world-class, and you do not need a diving certificate to see the best of it.

Swim with turtles and dugongs

This is the thing people remember. The bays north of town — Marsa Mubarak and Abu Dabab — have shallow seagrass beds, and seagrass is what green turtles and dugongs feed on. The water is a few meters deep, so a mask and snorkel are enough.

Very few places in the world offer a non-diver a realistic chance of swimming above a dugong. This is one of them.

Two honest points. These are wild animals in an open bay, so nobody can promise a sighting on a given morning — turtles are close to reliable, dugongs are not. And go early: the bays are calmer and less crowded in the first hours after sunrise, and the animals are much easier to spot before the water is stirred up.

Dive the southern reefs

The reefs off this coast are less trafficked than anything further north, and that shows. If you are certified, your hotel's dive center is usually the simplest way to reach house reefs and local boat sites.

If you are not certified, most centers run introductory dives, and a discover-scuba session here is a better first dive than almost anywhere in Egypt because the visibility and conditions are so forgiving.

Take the day trip to Luxor

This is the only major cultural site within reach, and for a lot of guests it is the reason the trip feels complete rather than just restful.

Be realistic about what it involves. The drive is 5 to 6 hours each way, depending on where your hotel sits on the coast, so it is a very long day with an early start and a late return. The route runs on the Safaga road, which is the only route approved for tourist vehicles, and the trip crosses a governorate boundary so it needs a travel permit arranged 24 hours in advance. That means it is not a trip you can decide on at breakfast.

Our Luxor day trip includes a licensed Egyptologist guide and all entrance tickets — the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut on the West Bank, Karnak on the East.

If you have two free days rather than one, an overnight in Luxor is a much better experience for the same driving.

٥ — Go into the desert

The Eastern Desert starts immediately behind the coast road, and desert excursions — jeep or quad, usually with a Bedouin camp and dinner — are the standard evening alternative to the hotel buffet.

Manage expectations. These are enjoyable evenings out, not wilderness expeditions, and the camps are set up for visitors. Taken on those terms they are good value, particularly with children, and the night sky this far from any city is the real attraction.

Snorkel or dive at Elphinstone

The offshore reef north of Marsa Alam is one of Egypt's best-known dive sites and draws divers specifically for the chance of encountering oceanic whitetip sharks in season.

This is a serious site — deep water, current, and no shelter — and it is for experienced certified divers only. It is not a snorkelling trip, whatever a hotel desk might imply.