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Major city · Egypt

Dahabدهب

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.

Weather
see forecast
Currency
EGP
Best months
Mar–May, Sep–Nov
avoid Jun–Aug (35 °C+ days), and the Christmas–New Year peak
Airports
SSH · TCP
Nights
3–4
Not field-verifiedbasic guide
Print / PDF guide
3 pages, for the metro and roaming-off days
Map
Google Maps Apple Maps Street View
Rules in force · 8Nine African countries on this site have no trip line bec…
  • Africa ↗When a route touches a yellow-fever country — even a transit of 12 hours or more — keep the original yellow card (ICVP) in your hand luggage; health desks and airlines can refuse boarding or entry without it.
  • Africa ↗Nine African countries on this site have no trip line because governments advise against travel; several others have no-go regions. Read your government's advice for every country on the route before paying deposits.
  • North Africa ↗Plan links between North African countries by air or by ferry via Europe; the only regularly usable land borders for visitors are Tunisia–Algeria and Morocco–Mauritania via Western Sahara.
  • North Africa ↗Book Saharan nights (dunes, desert camps, oasis tours) between October and April; from May to September desert day temperatures regularly exceed 40 °C and many tours stop.
  • Egypt ↗Check visa rules for your passport on the official Egypt e-visa portal before flying; visa on arrival availability depends on nationality and can change.
  • Egypt ↗Drones need prior permission and are routinely confiscated on arrival; leave them at home.
  • Egypt ↗Do not photograph military sites, police, bridges or government buildings; some museums and tombs charge for or ban photography.
  • Egypt ↗During Ramadan, avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public in daylight; hotels and tourist restaurants still serve.

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.

Essentials

Quick answers and what things cost

Quick answers

The questions people ask first about Dahab, one line each. Tap a card for the full answer.

Cost cheat-sheet

2026 desk estimate · check

Typical prices for the everyday things, as ranges. Your currency is shown next to the local price.

  • CoffeeBedouin tea or coffee at a beach caféEGP 20–50
  • Street or quick mealBreakfast (fuul, eggs, bread)EGP 60–120
  • Taxi, about 5 kmTaxi within the centreAgree before you get in; drivers often open at double.EGP 30–60
  • Museum or sight ticketBlue Hole tourist entry feeEGP 150–200
  • Budget bedBeach camp or hostel bed, a night, per personEGP 250
  • Mid-range bedGuesthouse or hotel double room, a night, per roomEGP 1,800
  • High-end bedGuesthouse or hotel double room, a night, per roomEGP 4,000

A day, not counting the bed: Budget EGP 900 · Mid EGP 2,000 · High EGP 4,500

Local prices, with USD next to them (rates 2026-09 (approximate); change it in the header). Ranges are desk estimates: check locally. Every price and the budget calculator →

Decide

What it is known for, and when the weather works

At a glance

What the city is known for, how you fly in, and where to find the phrases.

Shore diving and snorkelling (Blue Hole, Eel Garden, Lighthouse)Mount Sinai and St Catherine's Monastery tripsWindsurfing and kitesurfing (about 270 windy days a year)Bedouin-run beach camps and cheap seafood
Airports
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)) · TCP Taba International (Far north; only useful if you cross from Jordan via Nuweiba or Taba Heights)

Weather and climate

Forecast from Open-Meteo · averages rounded

Dahab: next 7 days

Loading forecast…

Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.

Air quality

Loading…

Model estimate (CAMS via Open-Meteo), not a street-level station; readings near busy roads run higher.

Jan

21°C

10°C

1 rd

Feb

22°C

11°C

2 rd

Mar

25°C

14°C

2 rd

Apr

29°C

17°C

0 rd

May

32°C

20°C

0 rd

Jun

35°C

23°C

0 rd

Jul

36°C

25°C

0 rd

Aug

36°C

25°C

0 rd

Sep

34°C

23°C

0 rd

Oct

31°C

20°C

1 rd

Nov

27°C

16°C

1 rd

Dec

22°C

12°C

2 rd

High / low °C · rd = rain days

Arrive & move

Airports are listed under At a glance; this is how to move once you are in

Getting 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 & do

Day-trips, door to door

Day-trips

Door-to-door, not ride time

Mount Sinai and St Catherine's Monastery

go

Door to door: 8–10 h round trip

Organised minibus or taxi from Dahab, about 2 h each way; most trips leave around 22:00–23:00 to reach the summit for sunrise

Public buses no longer run; book a tour or taxi. Take a head torch and warm layers — the summit is cold before dawn.

Blue Hole and The Bells

go

Door to door: Half day

Taxi or bicycle 7 km north on a dirt track; about 15 min by car

Tourist entry fee applies. Cafés and toilets on site, no dive shack — bring your own kit.

Three Pools and Wadi Gnai

go

Door to door: Half day

Taxi or bicycle 7 km south; the road turns inland towards Sharm beyond here

Quieter reef with better table coral than near town; snorkel and lunch, back by late afternoon.

Coloured Canyon and Ain Khudra oasis

caution

Door to door: Full day

4x4 with a Bedouin guide, usually combined with White Canyon

Long, hot and rough; some routes need a full Egyptian visa rather than a Sinai-only stamp.

Ras Abu Galum

overnight

Door to door: Full day or overnight

Boat or camel from the Blue Hole area, 15 km north

No road access; camping and snorkelling in a protected reserve. Arrange through a dive centre.

Sharm el-Sheikh

caution

Door to door: 2–2.5 h

East Delta bus from Dahab, just under 2 h (departures are erratic — confirm the day before), or a pre-booked taxi

Worth it only for a flight connection or a change of scene; Dahab's own reef is better.

Eat & sleep

Which area to sleep in

Where to sleep

Areas, not hotels: pick the one that fits your arrival time and plans.

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.

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.

Practical

What a day costs, what to watch out for, and the pocket card

Cost per day

2026 estimate, excluding the bed unless stated
Budget
EGP 700–1,200 excl. bed
Mid
EGP 1,500–2,800 excl. bed
High
EGP 3,500+ excl. bed

Trip budget

2026 estimate · converts to your currency
Guesthouse or hotel double room1 × 4 nights × EGP 1,800EGP 7,200
Food, local transport, entries2 × 4 days × EGP 2,000EGP 16,000
Pre-booked taxi Sharm airport → Dahab, one way1 × EGP 1,000EGP 1,000
Two guided shore dives with kit rental2 × EGP 1,800EGP 3,600
Mount Sinai and St Catherine's tour2 × EGP 1,200EGP 2,400
eSIM, about a week of data2 × EGP 400EGP 800
Buffer 10%Price creep, a taxi you did not plan, one splurgeEGP 3,100
Trip total≈ EGP 4,263 per person per day, bed includedEGP 34,100

2026 estimate in Egyptian pounds; flights, dive courses and Mount Sinai tours excluded. Your choices stay in this browser.

Prices of common things

Bedouin tea or coffee at a beach caféEGP 20–50
Breakfast (fuul, eggs, bread)EGP 60–120
Grilled fish or chicken mainEGP 150–350
Taxi within the centreAgree before you get in; drivers often open at double.EGP 30–60
Bicycle rental, one dayEGP 100
Guided shore dive with kitEGP 700–1,000
Blue Hole tourist entry feeEGP 150–200

2026 estimate; check locally.

Watch out

Safety

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.
  • 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.

Emergency numbers

Police
122
Ambulance
123
Tourist police
126
Fire
180

Pocket card

One page · print or save as PDF

Fill in, then print or save as PDF

Stays in this browser only; nothing is sent anywhere.

Dahabدهب

Pocket card · Voykit

My bed tonight

—

—

—

على العنوان ده لو سمحتTo this address, please

Emergency

  • Police122
  • Ambulance123
  • Tourist police126
  • Fire180

Embassy

No embassies in Dahab; most are in Cairo, with consulates in Sharm el-Sheikh (check your own country's listing).

My embassy: —

Fare anchors (2026 estimate)

  • 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

Say or show

  • السلام عليكم — Hello / Peace be upon you (as-salaamu alaykum)
  • شكراً — Thank you (shukran)
  • بكام؟ — How much is it? (bi-kaam)
  • غالي أوي — Too expensive (ghaali awi)
  • الحساب لو سمحت — The bill, please (el-hesaab law samaht)
  • فين الحمام؟ — Where is the toilet? (fein el-hammaam)

Sinai-only entry stamps do not cover travel beyond Sinai — see the Egypt visa page before booking desert routes.

Deep dive

What this guide covers so far, and its sources

Not a trip line yet

This is a basic guide: no airport-to-bed contract, walking clusters or day plans are published for Dahab. Airport, fare and schedule details are unverified; check the operators before you fly.

What we know, and what is coming

On this page

  1. Best months: Mar–May, Sep–Nov · avoid Jun–Aug (35 °C+ days), and the Christmas–New Year peak · month by month →
  2. 2 airports and 5 areas to sleep in
  3. Weather: a 7-day forecast and monthly averages
  4. Cost per day in 3 bands
  5. 6 day-trips, door to door
  6. 6 things to watch out for, with emergency numbers

Coming as the guide grows

  1. Airport-to-bed contract for SSH: pre-booked taxi price band, bus fallback, late-arrival rung.
  2. Four walking clusters with rescue anchors: Masbat bridge, Eel Garden, Lighthouse, Mashraba.
  3. Place pages with verified entry fees and cutoffs (Blue Hole, Canyon, Mount Sinai, St Catherine's) and eat pages with last orders.
  4. Dive-site safety fixtures for the Blue Hole and Canyon so the depth warnings render as hard gates.

Meanwhile

Back to Egypt

Sources