Sharm El Sheikh: 5-Day Itinerary
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Five days keeps our 4-day itinerary intact for its first three days, arrival, Ras Mohammed, St Catherine’s, and adds a full day trip to Dahab before closing on the Old Market.
Day-by-day at a glance
| Day | Focus | Est. spend (excl. hotel) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, Naama Bay | ~$30-60 |
| 2 | Ras Mohammed National Park | ~$40-90 |
| 3 | St Catherine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai | Tour price, plus full visa if needed |
| 4 | Dahab and the Blue Hole | Taxi/tour price |
| 5 | Old Market and departure | ~$30-50 |
Travel advisory: Sharm el-Sheikh sits in a well-established carve-out from Egypt’s wider Sinai advisory, the UK FCDO rates the Red Sea resort strip “generally low risk” (updated 4 August 2026) even while advising against travel to North Sinai and the South Sinai interior. Day 3’s St Catherine trip is the one day here that crosses into that interior; check your government’s current advisory before booking it, and book only through a licensed organized tour.
Day 1: Arrival and Naama Bay
Agree a taxi fare before the bags go in the trunk, since drivers waiting outside arrivals routinely quote three to five times the fair local rate. Check into a Naama Bay hotel, spend the afternoon on the beach, and walk the promenade for dinner and a first Old Market browse in the evening.
Concrete tip: Book Ras Mohammed and St Catherine’s now if you can. St Catherine departures leave in the small hours, so same-day booking rarely works.
Day 2: Ras Mohammed National Park
Ras Mohammed, Egypt’s first national park (1983) about 12km southwest, delivers Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef’s coral walls. Entry runs around $5 cash, plus your boat package. Go early for the clearest visibility, and have an early night, day three starts before dawn.
Concrete tip: Snorkelers get shallow reef access that rivals what divers see deeper down, don’t assume this is a dive-only stop.
Day 3: St Catherine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai
A full day, about 2.5 to 3 hours each way by road. Most tours leave in the small hours, climb Mount Sinai (2,285m) via the camel path or the “3,750 Steps of Repentance” for sunrise, then visit the monastery, built 548-565 AD under Justinian I, the world’s oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery, UNESCO-inscribed in 2002. The free Sinai entry permit doesn’t cover this trip since it crosses inland; you’ll need a full Egyptian e-visa, commonly around $25-30, even if the rest of your stay is inside the resort strip.
Concrete tip: Confirm your tour includes both the summit climb and the monastery visit, some budget operators quietly drop one.
Day 4: Dahab and the Blue Hole
Dahab, about 80-90km northeast, roughly 1-1.5 hours by road (verify current drive time), is South Sinai’s laid-back “diving capital,” a backpacker counterpoint to Sharm’s resort scene with genuinely strong windsurfing too. The Blue Hole, a submarine sinkhole just over 100m deep, has a real fatality reputation, almost entirely divers attempting the submerged “Arch” tunnel without technical training, the surrounding reef itself is safe and popular for ordinary recreational diving and freediving. Spend the day on the reef or simply along Dahab’s relaxed waterfront rather than attempting the Arch yourself.
Concrete tip: If diving the Blue Hole’s main reef, dive with a local guide who knows the site, don’t rely solely on a certification card from elsewhere.
Day 5: Old Market and departure
Use your last full day for the Old Market, Sharm el-Maya district, bargaining for spices and textiles, and the Al-Sahaba Mosque’s Ottoman-style architecture, or simply resting on the beach if four active days have caught up with you. Arrange your airport transfer the night before with extra buffer time.
Concrete tip: Exchange leftover EGP in town rather than at the airport, rates there run consistently worse.
Things to know before you go
Egypt’s currency is the Egyptian pound (EGP), heavily devalued in recent years. Cash matters for markets and small vendors; cards work at hotels. For fuller etiquette and safety detail, see our Sharm el-Sheikh travel tips .
If you want a second dive day at the Straits of Tiran or the Thistlegorm wreck instead of ending on day five, our 6-day itinerary keeps this exact structure and adds it.