Marsa Alam sits on Egypt’s southern Red Sea coast, a few hours’ drive south of Hurghada and served by its own airport. It is a smaller and quieter place than either Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh, and that is the main reason people choose it.

What it has instead is reef. The stretch of coast between El Quseir and the Sudanese border holds some of the least-dived coral in the Egyptian Red Sea, and much of it is reachable from the shore.

The reef

Three sites account for most of the reputation. Elphinstone Reef is a long narrow reef in open water, known for its walls and for oceanic whitetip sharks. Daedalus Reef lies far offshore and is reached on liveaboard trips rather than day boats. Sataya, also called Dolphin Reef, is a horseshoe-shaped lagoon where spinner dolphins rest during the day.

Closer in, Marsa Mubarak and Abu Dabbab are the two bays most shore divers head for. Both have seagrass beds, and seagrass is what brings the dugong. Abu Dabbab also has green turtles that graze in the shallows, which makes it one of the easier places in Egypt to see them without a boat.

Wadi El Gemal National Park

South of Marsa Alam, Wadi El Gemal became a national park in 2003. It covers both desert and coastal habitat and is home to the Ababda Bedouin, as well as gazelles, desert foxes and mangroves along the shore. Inside the park, at Wadi Sikait, are the remains of the Roman emerald mines known as Mons Smaragdus. They are not on the scale of the pharaonic sites further north, but they are genuinely ancient and genuinely here, and the walk in is part of the visit.

What is not here

It is worth being clear about this, because some descriptions of Marsa Alam suggest otherwise. There are no temples or tombs beside the resort. The nearest pharaonic monuments are at Luxor and further north, several hours away, and a day trip to them from Marsa Alam is not practical. If ancient monuments are the priority, base yourself in Luxor or Cairo and visit the Red Sea separately.

When to go

Marsa Alam works year-round, but it is busiest from around October to April, when charter flights from Europe arrive and the water is at its clearest. Summer is hot and humid on land, though the sea remains comfortable. Wind picks up in the spring, which some divers find tiring and windsurfers and kitesurfers enjoy.

Practical notes

  • Marsa Alam International Airport is about twenty minutes from most of the resorts.
  • Many dive sites are offshore. Liveaboards leave from Port Ghalib and are the practical way to reach Daedalus and the Brothers.
  • Bring reef-safe sunscreen. Seagrass beds are fragile and the dugong population is small.
  • Cash matters more here than in Hurghada. Not every small business takes cards.

Marsa Alam suits divers, snorkelers and anyone who wants a quiet week on the Red Sea rather than a resort strip. For a first visit to Egypt with excursions and nightlife in mind, compare it with Hurghada before you book. Read more in our guide to Marsa Alam.