Dahab

An hour’s drive from Sharm through the stunning mountainous scenery and you arrive at the picturesque coastal resort of Dahab (the name of which translates literally as ‘gold’). Originally a Bedouin settlement, where the inhabitants subsisted on fishing, herding goats, rearing camels and harvesting dates from the numerous date palms to be found there, Dahab became a popular destination for hippy travellers in the 1960s and 70s.

After a day’s diving, the popular pastime in Dahab is to sit in one of the sea-front restaurants or cafés and enjoy a drink and a shisha (a water pipe with flavoured molasses tobacco – apple is the most popular flavour) while enjoying the sunset and watching the world go by. The nightlife in Dahab is more subdued but there are several popular venues which put on parties with western music, mostly at weekends – Tota Bar, Rush and the Furry Cup.

Like Sharm, desert excursions by jeep or camel are popular from Dahab and, in fact, Dahab is closer to some of the more well-known attractions such as the Coloured and White Canyons.