Sharm El Sheikh in 2 Days on a Budget
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The 2-day version: a house reef and one boat trip
Two days is enough for a genuine taste of Sharm el-Sheikh without trying to cram in an inland day trip: a beach-and-reef day in Naama Bay, and one boat trip out to Ras Mohammed National Park. Both days stay inside the resort strip, the part of Egypt’s Sinai coast that Western advisories treat as normal, low-risk tourism, no St Catherine or Dahab in this version. Need more time? The 3-day plan adds Dahab.
Book these before you go:
- A Ras Mohammed day trip
- A Sharm El Sheikh hotel on Booking.com
- Fly in and stay under 15 days at a resort strip hotel for the free Sinai entry permit, no visa needed for this itinerary
| Day | Focus | Rough cost (solo, no hotel) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Naama Bay beach/house reef, Old Market evening | A few hundred EGP for food and a mask rental (verify) |
| Day 2 | Ras Mohammed National Park boat trip | Boat/dive package price, park fee usually bundled in (verify) |
Day 1: Naama Bay and the Old Market
Settle into a Naama Bay hotel and spend the afternoon on the beach or snorkeling a house reef, Ras Um Sid and Shark’s Bay are both shore-accessible if you’re staying nearby, a mask rental is the only real cost. Walk the Naama Bay promenade in the late afternoon, then take a taxi (agree the fare first, meters aren’t reliable) to the Old Market (Sharm el-Maya) for the evening: bargain for spices and souvenirs, try sugarcane juice from a street stand, and eat koshari or grilled Red Sea fish at one of the fish cafés rather than a resort buffet. End the night with a shisha at an Old Market coffee shop if you’re not diving early tomorrow.
Day 2: Ras Mohammed National Park
Book a day-boat trip to Ras Mohammed, Egypt’s first national park (1983), for Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef, the latter scattered with the wreckage of a 1980s cargo ship. Most tours bundle snorkel or dive gear and the park entry fee into one price (verify current cost with your operator). Back in Sharm by late afternoon, close the trip with a sunset on the Naama Bay corniche and an early dinner before your flight or transfer.
How much does 2 days in Sharm El Sheikh cost?
Figure a few hundred EGP for day-one food, transport, and a mask rental, plus one boat-trip package for Ras Mohammed on day two (verify current pricing, it varies by operator and season). Confirm your hotel is inside the resort strip (Sharm, Dahab, Nuweiba, Taba) so the free Sinai entry permit applies and you skip the full visa entirely for a trip this short.