Sharm El Sheikh in 3 Days: Adds Dahab
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The 3-day version: adds a Dahab day trip
Three days builds on the 2-day plan (Naama Bay, the Old Market, Ras Mohammed) with a third day in Dahab, the Sinai’s laid-back diving town. Dahab sits inside the same excepted Red Sea resort strip as Sharm, so this itinerary still doesn’t cross into the advisory-sensitive interior. Need more time for St Catherine? The 4-day plan adds it.
Book these before you go:
| Day | Focus | Rough cost (solo, no hotel) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Naama Bay beach/house reef, evening at the Old Market | 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 3 | Dahab day trip, Blue Hole reef | Transport fare plus a snorkel/dive rental if needed (verify) |
Day 1: Naama Bay and the Old Market
Arrive and settle into a Naama Bay hotel, spend the afternoon on the beach or snorkeling a shore-accessible house reef at Ras Um Sid or Shark’s Bay, no boat needed. In the evening, taxi to the Old Market (Sharm el-Maya), agree the fare first, for bargaining, sugarcane juice, and a grilled-fish dinner at a fish café instead of a resort buffet.
Day 2: Ras Mohammed National Park
Book a day-boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt’s first national park (1983), for Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef, its wreck-strewn signature dives. Most tours bundle gear and the park entry fee into one price (verify current cost). Finish with a sunset walk on the Naama Bay corniche.
Day 3: Dahab and the Blue Hole
Take a shared minibus, taxi, or bundled tour to Dahab, roughly 80-90km northeast, about 1-1.5 hours by road (verify current transport fare). Dahab is South Sinai’s laid-back “diving capital,” a backpacker counterpoint to Sharm’s resorts, and home to the Blue Hole, a submarine sinkhole with a real fatality reputation, but almost entirely among divers attempting the deep “Arch” tunnel without proper technical training. The surrounding reef is safe and popular for ordinary snorkeling and recreational diving. Spend the day on the town’s relaxed waterfront cafés and the reef itself, then head back to Sharm by early evening; confirm your return transport time before you set out, since Dahab has fewer late-evening options back to Sharm than a resort itinerary assumes.
How much does 3 days in Sharm El Sheikh cost?
Figure a few hundred EGP across day one, a Ras Mohammed boat package on day two, and a Dahab transport fare plus incidentals on day three (verify current pricing for all three, they vary by season and operator). All three days stay inside the free-entry-permit resort strip, so no full Egyptian visa is needed for a trip this length.