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Voykit pocket guide · Egypt
Dahab
دهب
Go for 3–4 nights: dive or snorkel by day, Mount Sinai at night, walk everywhere. Skip if you want big-resort polish or nightlife.
Dahab is a small Gulf of Aqaba town 85 km north of Sharm el-Sheikh, built around a walkable seafront of dive shacks, cheap cafés and Bedouin-run camps. The reef starts a few metres off the shore, so you can snorkel without a boat. Most visitors come for diving, windsurfing and a Mount Sinai sunrise, and stay longer than planned because the daily cost is low.
- Country
- Egypt
- Local name
- دهب
- Best months
- Mar–May, Sep–Nov
- Avoid
- Jun–Aug (35 °C+ days), and the Christmas–New Year peakJun–Aug (95 °F+ days), and the Christmas–New Year peak
- Stay
- 3–4 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EGP
- Money
- Currency is the Egyptian pound (EGP, also written LE or £E). Hotels, cruise boats and larger restaurants take cards; taxis, markets, small cafés, tips and toilet attendants are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget EGP 700–1,200 excl. bed · Mid EGP 1,500–2,800 excl. bed · High EGP 3,500+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Vodafone, Orange, Etisalat (e&) and WE sell tourist SIMs at Cairo airport with passport; about EGP 500–1,000 for 20–40 GB — check.
- Emergency
- Police 122 · Ambulance 123 · Tourist police 126 · Fire 180
- Plugs
- Types C, F · 220 V · 50 Hz · European round-pin sockets.
- Tipping
- Restaurant: 10% even when service is added (it rarely reaches staff).; Guide, full day: US$10–20 per person.; Driver, full day: US$5–10.; Cruise crew: About US$5–10 per person per day in the envelope.; Toilet, porter, small help: EGP 10–30.
- Water
- Tap water is chlorinated in cities but most visitors drink bottled; do not drink Nile water.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in hotels and restaurants; attendants at sites expect EGP 10–20. Carry tissue.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Bedouin tea or coffee at a beach café | EGP 20–50 |
| Breakfast (fuul, eggs, bread) | EGP 60–120 |
| Grilled fish or chicken main | EGP 150–350 |
| Taxi within the centre | EGP 30–60 |
| Bicycle rental, one day | EGP 100 |
| Guided shore dive with kit | EGP 700–1,000 |
| Blue Hole tourist entry fee | EGP 150–200 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- SSH · Sharm el-Sheikh International
- About 85 km south; pre-booked taxi 1–1.5 h, or East Delta bus from Sharm bus station (check today's departure)About 53 mi south; pre-booked taxi 1–1.5 h, or East Delta bus from Sharm bus station (check today's departure)
- TCP · Taba International
- Far north; only useful if you cross from Jordan via Nuweiba or Taba Heights
Typical fares
- Sharm airport → Dahab, pre-booked taxi
- about EGP 1,000 per cab, 1–1.5 h
- Dahab → Sharm el-Sheikh, East Delta bus
- just under 2 h; departures are erratic, confirm the day before
- Taxi in the centre
- EGP 30–60; agree the price first
Get around
The seafront promenade runs the length of Masbat and Mashraba and most visitors walk it. Taxis cover the rest: short hops in the centre, more to the Laguna, bus station or outlying hotels — agree the price before you get in. Bicycles are a practical way to reach the Blue Hole and Three Pools; rental shops sit near the bridge.
See and do
Known for
- Shore diving and snorkelling (Blue Hole, Eel Garden, Lighthouse)
- Mount Sinai and St Catherine's Monastery trips
- Windsurfing and kitesurfing (about 270 windy days a year)
- Bedouin-run beach camps and cheap seafood
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Sinai and St Catherine's Monastery | Organised minibus or taxi from Dahab, about 2 h each way; most trips leave around 22:00–23:00 to reach the summit for sunriseOrganised minibus or taxi from Dahab, about 2 h each way; most trips leave around 10:00 PM–11:00 PM to reach the summit for sunrise | 8–10 h round trip |
| Blue Hole and The Bells | Taxi or bicycle 7 km north on a dirt track; about 15 min by carTaxi or bicycle 4.3 mi north on a dirt track; about 15 min by car | Half day |
| Three Pools and Wadi Gnai | Taxi or bicycle 7 km south; the road turns inland towards Sharm beyond hereTaxi or bicycle 4.3 mi south; the road turns inland towards Sharm beyond here | Half day |
| Coloured Canyon and Ain Khudra oasis | 4x4 with a Bedouin guide, usually combined with White Canyon | Full day |
| Ras Abu Galum | Boat or camel from the Blue Hole area, 15 km northBoat or camel from the Blue Hole area, 9.3 mi north | Full day or overnight |
| Sharm el-Sheikh | East Delta bus from Dahab, just under 2 h (departures are erratic — confirm the day before), or a pre-booked taxi | 2–2.5 h |
Sleep
- Masbat and Mashraba (centre)
- The promenade strip around the bridge: dive shacks, cafés, budget hotels and camps. Walk to everything; expect some noise from beach bars.
- Eel Garden / Meleil (north end)
- Quieter north stretch of the same promenade, 1 km from the bridge, closest to Eel Garden and Lighthouse reefs.Quieter north stretch of the same promenade, 0.6 mi from the bridge, closest to Eel Garden and Lighthouse reefs.
- Laguna / El Goze (south)
- Resort hotels, shallow sandy bay, bus station and hospital nearby. Needs a taxi or a 30–40 min walk to the centre.
- Assalah
- Residential Bedouin area behind the seafront; cheaper local guesthouses, few tourist facilities.
- Outlying resorts (Blue Hole road, Wadi Gnai)
- Package-style hotels north and south of town; you will need a taxi for dinner and diving in the centre.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello / Peace be upon you | السلام عليكمas-salaamu alaykum |
| Thank you | شكراًshukran |
| How much is it? | بكام؟bi-kaam |
| Too expensive | غالي أويghaali awi |
| The bill, please | الحساب لو سمحتel-hesaab law samaht |
| Where is the toilet? | فين الحمام؟fein el-hammaam |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: 'Salam alaykum', handshake; wait for a woman to offer her hand; avoid: Hugging strangers
- Eating: Right hand; accept tea; avoid: Refusing hospitality flatly
- Bargaining: Humour and patience; avoid: Anger
- Dress: Shoulders and knees covered in cities; avoid: Beachwear outside resorts
- Baksheesh: Keep small notes ready; avoid: Showing a thick wallet
- Photos: Ask; pay if agreed; avoid: Photographing police or military
Scams and watch-outs
- Taxi drivers at the bus station approach arrivals aggressively: agree a price first or walk the 3–4 km into town.
- The Blue Hole's Arch is a technical dive at 55 m+; several divers die here each year. Stay within your certification and depth limits.
- Reef access is only at marked entry points — walking on coral damages it and cuts feet.
- Desert trips to the Coloured Canyon may cross areas where a full Egyptian visa is required; a Sinai-only stamp is not always enough.
- Summer heat (Jun–Aug) is severe; plan diving and hiking for early morning.
- Check the current security situation for North Sinai before any travel beyond the Dahab–Sharm corridor.
Dahab itself is calm and low-crime; the real risks are the Blue Hole's depth, summer heat, sunburn on the reef and taxi price games. Check your government's current advice for Sinai before booking.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Dahab yet. Suggested stay: 3–4 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Shore diving and snorkelling (Blue Hole, Eel Garden, Lighthouse)
- Mount Sinai and St Catherine's Monastery trips
- Windsurfing and kitesurfing (about 270 windy days a year)
- Bedouin-run beach camps and cheap seafood
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Egyptian Tourism Authority: egypt.travel/
- Go Bus (Cairo–Dahab schedules): go-bus.com/en/
- Climate-Data.org — Dahab: en.climate-data.org/location/8574/
- Wikivoyage: Dahab, revision 5240132 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5240132
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Dahabدهب
على العنوان ده لو سمحت
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Dahab; most are in Cairo, with consulates in Sharm el-Sheikh (check your own country's listing).
Sinai-only entry stamps do not cover travel beyond Sinai — see the Egypt visa page before booking desert routes.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/dahab). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.