Though the secret is not as well kept as it was even ten years ago, Sharm El Sheikh holidays are still one of the best bargains in the world, and here a visitor has so many options for enjoyment that it boggles the mind.  For anyone looking for a wonderful break, and not planning to travel out of the immediate area, there is no need for an Egyptian visa and entry to the country via the passport control office at the airport is easy.  In fact, there is so much to see and do right on the Aqaba coast here at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula that a short stay can barely do it justice.

Sharm El Sheikh has become a highly favoured destination of scuba and snorkelling enthusiasts from all over the world.  Some of the most beautiful and densely populated coral reefs on the planet can be found here, with countless species of marine life abounding in the clear, warm waters of the Red Sea.

The reefs are so numerous and so close to shore than many of the hotels and resorts have their own private piers for divers, and many also offer beginner classes for the novice.  This is a superb spot to get a taste or a glorious immersion in the wonders of the deep, and for non-swimmers a glass bottom boat is an excellent substitute.

Immediately inland from the resort town itself lays the great Sinai Desert, with different marvels to explore on a day trip or two.  St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai is a fairly short drive (in a 4 x 4 vehicle).  This is believed to be the site of Moses’s burning bush, and the monastery is one of the most famous in the world.

A little further along is the marvellous Coloured Canyon of Nuweibe with its 16-story sandstone walls in all of nature’s most gorgeous hues.  Drive on from there to the village of Dahab, a town where just two activities flourish, and both to wonderful extremes.  This is the site of the most dangerous (therefore incredibly popular) dive site in the world, the Blue Hole.

For anybody not interested in diving, the other hugely popular attraction is to relax on the beach and do nothing at all.

Back in Sharm El Sheikh (locally known as just ‘Sharm’) is the place to find all the nightlife any party person could desire, mostly concentrated in the Na’ama Bay area.  The Pacha Club, Egypt’s top-rated nightclub, is located at the Sanafir Hotel in Sharm, and the Sinai Grand Casino, largest casino in the Middle East, is on Peace Road not far away.

A few of the many other ‘in’ places include the world-famous Hard Rock Café, the Little Buddha and even a bar that literally serves ice-cold drinks:  you sip from an ice glass over an ice table, wearing a fur parka in the sub-zero ‘climate’.  As Egypt Holidays become more and more popular, now is a good time to take a short break in Sharm El Sheikh