There are some fantastic day trips from Dahab. Some trips are a short drive away, while others take you deeper into the heart of Sinai.
Daily excursions can be combined to make multi-day safaris. The most popular are listed here.
Blue Hole
Every day we run a trip to Dahab’s world famous Blue Hole. Here nature has created a unique and beautiful geological formation. The sheltered waters inside the blue hole are ideal for swimming and snorkeling* The more adventurous can swim out to the reef wall to see the amazing marine life. The restaurants here offer opportunities for refreshment and relaxation. You can also venture up into the mountains for a fantastic view of the area, or along the shore to see the ancient fossilised reef exposed here. Daily at 10.30am.
*The water here is very deep and only suitable for confident swimmers / snorkelers.
Coloured and White Canyons
Wadi Ghazala
To fully experience the splendour of the Sinai deserts we need to drive for an hour to Wadi Ghazala. Our camels will take us through the sandy desert and rugged mountains to the oasis of Ain Khundra.
At the oasis we take lunch with the Bedouins and experience their lifestyle. We then hike through the magnificent White Canyon, the rocks high lime content creates the pure white walls we see here. Joining our camels again, we trek across the desert to meet our transport back to Dahab.
Mount Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery
Ras Abu Galum
A short Jeep trip takes us to the Blue Hole where we mount our camels for a trek along the spectacular coast of around one and a half hours.
Ras Abu Galum has been a protected area since 1993. Not only are the fauna and flora protected here, but also the habitat of the Bedouin, who here still live a life relatively free from influence of tourism. We eat fish, freshly caught and prepared by Bedouins, (Bedouins have the right to fish in this protected area, to all others fishing is prohibited) we enjoy the beach and snorkel over the coral reefs.
We return by camel to the Blue Hole where we can refresh ourselves with a swim or snorkel before the jeep ride home.
This can be a day excursion or an overnight trip.
Ras Mohammed National Park
Ras Mohammed was officially opened as Egypt's first national park in 1983.
This remarkable region is made of fossilized reefs, the highest point being Shark Observatory from where you receive a fantastic view of the reefs below. As well as offering fantastic opportunities for diving and snorkelling, Ras Mohammed is home to 80 plant species, 14 types of mammal and an essential staging post for hundreds of bird species. There is even a mangrove forest which is almost unique in Sinai (mangroves are also found at Nabq).
A well equipped visitors center shows educational films and slideshows about the park. Entrance fee is $5.
Nabq National Park
Nabq is a beautiful natural area situated on the coast midway between Dahab and Sharm. This unique park contains a some fantastic desert scenery and a 4 km long mangrove forest. It is also the home to a large variety of plant species as well as many animals such as Starks, herons, desert foxes and gazelles.
The Park is open daily from morning to sunset. Entrance fee is $5.
We start early and head off by 4x4 jeep to make the most of these fabulous natural sites.
The Coloured Canyon amazing colours are due to high iron content in the sandstone here, while thousands of years of erosion by water and wind has formed the amazing sculptured landscape we see today.
We lunch at the Ain Khudra oasis where we meet the local Bedouins and see their traditional way of life.
The beautiful White Canyon exudes peace and tranquillity. Here, high lime content in the rock has resulted in an incredibly beautiful fissure of pure white. We return to Dahab in the early evening.
Mount Sinai (Moses Mountain) rises 2285m and is said to be where God revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses. Mt Sinai is considered sacred by the Christian Jewish and Muslim religions.
St. Catherine’s Monastery is the smallest dioceses and the oldest Christian monastery still in use in the world. It also houses a rich collection of icons and precious manuscripts.
With the exception of Fridays and Sundays, the monastery can be visited daily between 09:00 and noon .
This excursion is offered either as a day or a night trip;
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•Sunrise Trip: We leave Dahab at 11:00 pm, ascend Mount Sinai, (about 1.5-3 hours) and watch the breathtaking sunrise from the summit. On the descent we pay our visit to the monastery.
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•Sunset Trip: The daytime excursion departs at 8:00 am, includes visiting the monastery, ascending the mountain, enjoying the spectacular view, watching the sunset and descending via the serpentine path. Transfer back to Dahab.
Day Trips
Sea Dancer Dive Center, Masbat, S. Sinai, Dahab, Egypt.
mail@seadancerdivecenter.com
+20 (0) 69 3640 887 (Dive Center) +20 (0) 109987604 – Steve (Manager) +20 (0) 124403519 – Ashraf (Owner)