Reefs of Sharm el-Sheikh. Where to see coral beauty? — choose a hotel in Egypt with a reef Sharm el-Sheikh coral reef

Everyone understands what it means to “have a good vacation” in their own way, and selects places on the map and hotels accordingly. For some, animation is important, for others, the main thing is that “all inclusive”... For me, it’s important to swim in the sea and see something new. The Red Sea has been an old dream since the days when sharks, turtles and corals only existed in the TV show “Movie Travel Club”. The current generation of Russians knows Hurghada and Sharm better than the shores of Crimea. The number of hotel reviews on the Internet confirms this.

Anyone who sees tropical fish for the first time cannot contain their delight. But how to choose a hotel with the most beautiful, living reef? I was in the Sharm el-Sheikh at the Sunrise Hotel in May 2005 and January 2007, at the Amphora Hotel in May 2007 and in Hurghada at the Coral Beach Hotel in March 2006. Having visited several places, I am wondering: “Where should I go next for truly rich, undisturbed reefs? ? Is it really not possible to save them from destructive contact with civilization?”

Perhaps vacationers do not know that corals are not plants, but coelenterate animals related to the freshwater hydra (see school zoology textbook). In warm tropical seas they come in a fantastic variety of shapes, colors and sizes. They can be soft, similar to flowers: clusters of lilacs, asters or chrysanthemums, or covered with a hard calcareous layer on the outside and only at the ends of the holes “flowers” ​​protrude - tentacles. Stinging like nettles, they grab small animals swimming nearby.

They can only live in very clean water with temperatures ranging from +20 to + 30 with good lighting. Formed by hard corals (madrepores), the reef is home to a variety of amazing marine life. Crabs, hedgehogs, sponges, clams, fish of all colors and sizes hide and hunt. You can watch them for hours, all you have to do is take a mask and snorkel and put your head in the water! A spectacle from which it is impossible to tear yourself away!

Reef inhabitants

Such a variety of fish of all sizes and shapes, incredible colors is impossible to imagine! Long and narrow, like sticks, are flute and tilzura fish; slopes flattened along the bottom; flat as plates, butterfly fish and angel fish. In spots and stripes; stripes vertical, horizontal and diagonal, wide and narrow, black on yellow, white on blue, iridescent, etc. Very funny are small fish whose front half of the body is black and the back half is white; depending on the background, only one half is visible.

Parrotfish feed interestingly. With a crunch that can be heard very well under water, they bite off and crush corals with their strong, beak-like jaws. Fine sand falls down, and they eat the soft parts of the coral polyp.

My friends warned me that I should swim in a T-shirt, but on the first day I was shy, afraid to look stupid, and as a result my back got terribly burned. And not just - the shoulders, as usual, but the whole thing - from the back of the head to the heels, the legs under the knees hurt and did not bend, it was impossible to sit! So I don’t care about the appearance - then I started swimming in bicycle shorts and a T-shirt. It would be nice to have a snorkeling suit made of neoprene, like divers, and on the shore, of course, apply protective cream. The suit will also protect against burns from jellyfish or accidental cuts from coral. Useful advice: enter the water in special conditions. I consider slippers to be barbaric for environmental reasons: you should not step on the reef at all, since the damage that trampling and breaking out corals causes to nature is irreparable!

Reef in Sharm el-Sheikh

And if a hotel is built in such a place, then its administration should take care of the presence of pontoons or piers with convenient descents into the water. This is one of the important signs of a good reef, where there is something to see.

For these reasons, I chose the Sunrise Hotel (Sunrise Garden Resort 4*) in the northern part of Sharm el-Sheikh (Sharks Bay) in 2005. - This is the second line to the beach in common with Sunrise Island View 5* located on the first line. 10 minutes walk to the sea or 5 minutes by bus. Enter the water from the pontoons immediately to a depth of 5-6 meters and swim along the reef slope from the Savoy Hotel to Concord. The bay and reef are called White Knight. Suitable for snorkeling, but not for non-swimmers and children, as walking on the shallows of the reef is not allowed for safety reasons.

The reef was truly amazing. As elsewhere in Egypt, there are no lifeguards on the beach, you are responsible for your safety, but, nevertheless, if one of the vacationers tries to enter the water not on the pontoon or stands on the bottom, a whistle is heard from the shore, a reminder that that it is dangerous. No amount of slippers can save you from a stingray or the long spines of a hedgehog! It's easier to avoid contact. The main rule: do not touch anyone or anything with your hands! Buy a picture book and know the most dangerous animals so you can stay away, they don't attack themselves.

Most fish occupy a certain territory on the reef with suitable places for shelter and drive away “strangers,” especially when protecting fry. One day, a small Thalassoma fish hovered around me for a long time while I was taking photographs, and suddenly pecked my finger. Then I realized that she was attacking the tip of the strap attached to the camera housing, which was fluttering in the water; it looked very much like a small fish.

Best in Hurghada reef and beach near the Coral Beach hotel. The hotel's coastline stretches for a kilometer. There are sandy beaches and artificially built bays protected from the wind, a pier for the boats of its diving center and aqua center, and a convenient pier for entering the water near the reef. The reef area is large, the bottom is sandy. If in Sharm el-Sheikh all the living creatures are concentrated on the reef slope, then here it is “smeared” and the water area looks empty and trampled. On the flat surface of the bottom, a beige background of sand and dead corals, individual bushes of pink and purple living corals, individual groups of fish, shells, and sea urchins are visible. Strong winds often blow, raising waves. The wind blows bags, plastic containers and pieces of paper off the beach. Every morning workers clean the surf strip, but debris litters the bottom. You need to chase fish with fins from the pier at a great distance. There are sea anemones with clownfish (amphiprions), lionfish, parrotfish, surgeonfish, rhinoceros fish, lionfish, cheilins, all sorts of little things, cushion and long-spined urchins, we saw an octopus once.

We had a very successful boat trip “to the islands” from the aqua center from the hotel beach, and enjoyed swimming on the “Paradise Island” and two reefs. But we were clearly out of luck with the excursion to El Gouna, purchased from a guide. The weather was windy, we got a lot of chatter while sailing there.

Herself El Gouna advertised as the Egyptian Venice, it did not make an impression. Artificial islands, hotels on the banks, narrow, dirty canals with active motorboat traffic. There are two attractions: a toilet for camels and an aquarium with a collection of fish, the same as in the sea. There is a casino and a golf course - the only ones in Egypt, but for these things you have to go to other places, not to the Red Sea. On the way back there were two stops for fishing and swimming. No fish were caught, few people decided to swim in the big waves, but the ship’s crew was stalling for time and returned, as expected, only for dinner, having looked at the waves and the shores to the point of stupor.

Comparing what I saw in Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, I came to the conclusion that Sharm in May 2005 was much richer, so I went there in February 2007, but this year the impression was worse. It’s either cold in February, or the water is cloudier due to the construction of new Hilton hotel buildings on the shore between the Concord and Baron hotels. Maybe the roar scared the fish away, or maybe it was the widespread death of corals due to contact with people. The reef has become noticeably poorer, although there are still more large fish than in Hurghada. I swam for an hour and took a lot of pictures, but the lighting in May is better! There are parrots of all colors, various butterfly fish, stingrays, tangs, etc. I finally managed to meet a giant moray eel still living under one of the pontoons in the crevice. On our last visit, everyone except me discussed it, saw it and photographed it. And now the dream has come true! In the thickness of the water, it was as if a huge dark ribbon or flag was writhing in the wind - the moray eel was returning from the open sea to the reef wall, swam beneath me at a depth along the slope and disappeared into the crevice. The photo didn’t come out very well, but we managed to determine the length of the moray eel to be approximately 2 meters!

Over the past time, service on the beach has improved - drinks, buffets, animation, water activities - have become more diverse, but the underwater world has become poorer. I “recognized the fish on the reef by sight” after swimming along the beach 2-3 times. The fed schools stayed near the pontoons, and there were fewer living soft corals and urchins. In some places, the light calcareous surface of the reef is covered with a “fluff” of velvety brown-green algae, and this is a clear sign of water pollution, leading to the death of the reef. On such a surface there is no place where the larvae could attach themselves, from which a new colony of corals will grow. Sea urchins and fish that feed on algae could clean the surface, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN TOO FEW. Algae grows quickly because soil and fertilizers from green areas on the shore are washed into the water. In Australia, farmers have already begun to stop using fertilizers to save the Great Barrier Reef. In Egypt, apparently, they have not yet realized that they are destroying the most attractive thing that is in the Red Sea; they are carried away by making short-term profits. Heavy equipment is hammering the shore on the cape between the Concord el Salam and Baron hotels, creating terraces for the new hotel buildings. The roar can be heard even under water. Dust and turbidity make it difficult to take high-quality photographs, and corals only need very clean water! The increased number of motor boats that entertain vacationers with rides on bananas, “mad frogs” and parachutes also contributes to the pollution of the water area, and besides, they drive waves, for me personally, this interferes with swimming and the fish are probably not happy either.

You can swim on an excursion to Ras Mohammed and on the reefs in the strait off Tiran Island. Book through a guide or at the dive center on the beach. We swam to the Ras Mohammed Nature Reserve and scuba dived there. Both times with Russian instructors. The dives went smoothly. The organization of the trip depends on the company. On our first trip on the boat there were a lot of snorkelers, and at the first stop they snapped up all the fins and masks, including ours, which had been tried on in advance and selected according to size. But there were four stops in different places and we saw more while sailing along the coast. We met dolphins and a huge sea turtle, and during a scuba dive we watched not only a stingray with charming blue spots, but also an electric stingray!

On the second trip there were two stops, and the first one was very long. It seems that at first the instructors were simply catching up on sleep after night dives. There were only divers on the ship. The instructors “dipped and walked” all the newcomers in turn, the rest spent all this time sunbathing and wandering around the deck, bored.

Strictly speaking, a reserve is a place where any economic activity is prohibited so as not to cause damage to the unique nature. In Ras Mohommed, no one thinks about calculating the permissible recreational load (the number of vacationers per unit of time without harm to the reef). In the small bay there are at least 10-12 ships with tourists at the same time, 3 more groups drove up to the shore on buses, and an organized crowd under the leadership of a guide swam to inspect the reef. According to the rules, you cannot feed the fish and you cannot litter them. But then the boat next to us set sail, and scraps, plastic cups and spoons floated across the waves, it looked like the sailors from the galley had thrown overboard everything that was left after lunch. And yet, there we were lucky enough to even see a Napoleon fish about 1.5 meters long!

In May 2007, I chose another hotel in Sharm, Holiday Amphoras 4*, of a lower class, which was noticeable by the service in the restaurant: there is less choice of dishes, periodically there are not enough cups and glasses, the waiters are not so attentive. But the hotel area is large and well-groomed, the beach has a solid pier and comfortable steps. In this place (northern coast of Cape Phanar) the coast is steep, and the cliff behind the reef wall also steeply goes into the black depths. The fish population was about the same as in Sharks Bay, but the water was clearer, there were more soft corals, more small fish, and there were species that I had seen for the first time.

Ocean researchers say the rapid decline of corals around the world could lead to their extinction by the end of this century!

We are the last generation of people who can still see tropical forests and coral reefs in all their glory! Hurry up to find a hotel with a live reef!

You should go to Egypt first of all for the beautiful sea and corals. Yes, sometimes the service fails, there are problems with food or check-in, but as soon as you go to the beach, put on a mask and fins and dive into the water, all your doubts about your vacation spot will go away.

You need to be careful when choosing a hotel with beautiful corals. Pay attention to the type of entrance to the sea: the most preferable is a pontoon or a pier. Many hotels clear the entrance to the sea from corals for a more convenient entry, but in this case, look at how long the beach as a whole is; perhaps only a small part has been cleared of corals. A pier that is too long is also not a guarantee of a good place for snorkeling; it is quite possible that the beach is strongly influenced by the ebb and flow of the tides, which is why some days you will have to walk in knee-deep water.

When planning a vacation in hotels from our selection, be sure that you will not miss a single stingray or moray eel!

More loyal fans of this hotel chain from all over the world go to The Ritz-Carlton in Sharm el-Sheikh. This gives a certain advantage to those who like to swim with fins and a mask. Busloads of tourists are not brought here, there are not very many people on the beach and no one can stop you from admiring the beautiful reef. Entrance to the sea is carried out only from the pontoon.

Hotel Pyramisa has a very large and long beach for every taste. There is a pontoon, and there is also a gentle sandy entrance to the sea. It is, of course, limited to a small depth, but is no less popular (). The beach itself is located on one of the most beautiful coasts of Sharm el-Sheikh and has an equally beautiful coral reef.

Dreams Beach Resort is located on a high bank, which is why you will need to go down the steps to the sea. The advantage of this location is that the beach is always protected from the wind, and in the afternoon it goes completely into the shade. The pontoon is also quite unusual: it is half submerged in water, so we recommend purchasing special slippers to avoid slipping. The reef's regulars include stingrays, moray eels and turtles.

Hotel guests can admire the corals mainly in the summer season. In winter, the beach is quite windy, so you are more likely to see a red flag than crowds of vacationers. The lifeguards on the pier take their work responsibly and do not allow hotel guests to swim too far (), but this does not interfere with the beauty of the underwater world.

There are as many as three hotels located on one large territory. They all share one common beach with a long pier. The video shows small waves near the corals, but they should not scare you - this hotel has one of the best places for snorkeling, and while walking along the pier, look carefully around and enjoy the underwater world.

The hotel was built quite a long time ago, so allow yourself to close your eyes to the outdated number of rooms and go straight to the beach, which is located in a nature reserve, and its reef is one of the most beautiful in Sinai. It is also important that the beach also has a gently sloping sandy entrance to the sea. Be prepared for the fact that yachts with divers often sail to this reef.

The Movenpick hotel has 4 beaches: two have a gently sloping sandy entrance, and the other two are suitable for snorkelers. The reef is one of the best in the Naama Bay area (as you know, hotels in the bay itself are not famous for interesting reefs).

Grand Rotana has a good diving center where, under the supervision of an experienced instructor, you can make your first dive without going on a yacht trip. The only drawback of the beach is the insufficient number of sun loungers, which are occupied almost at night. Apparently, the desire of guests to admire the reef is so strong!

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The best coral reefs in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt: photos.

Modern is a top-class resort with luxurious expensive hotels, traditional bars, nightclubs and. Since the early 80s of the last century, an urban village located on the coast of the Sinai Peninsula has gradually transformed into a high-quality resort town with huge tourism potential. It is in Sharm that the best on the Red Sea are located, with crystal clear water and rich fauna. Every year, crowds of outdoor enthusiasts flock to the city to take a sea dive to coral reefs, visit all the locals and have a good time with friends, family and loved ones.

Where are the best coral reefs in Sharm el-Sheikh?

Diving is considered one of the most common types of recreation in Sharm. The fact is that it is literally located in a coral forest. Here corals are almost everywhere and are considered a national treasure.

You won't be able to find corals in the very center, since they were specially cut off there so that tourists could enter the water without fear. All reefs are well protected from poachers and therefore have unsurpassed natural beauty.

The best coral reefs in Sharm el Sheikh are located in several resort areas, in places where diving and snorkeling enthusiasts most often dive.

Strait of Tiran
The first, most famous dive site is located in the Strait of Tiran, where there are as many as four strips of coral reefs. What is noteworthy is that each strip has its own name - Thomas, Gordon, Woodhouse and Jacksen, which were given to them by the pioneering English sailors. Diving underwater in these places, you can come across the mysterious sunken ship “Thistlegorm”.

Ras Um El Sid Bay
The second most popular place with a coral wall is the coast of Ras Um El Sid. a huge steep coral wall is located in close proximity to the shore; it is home to unique specimens of marine fauna, which some divers love to photograph.

Besides visual delight, rich in marine attractions the world of this reserve is conducive to exciting diving. Moreover, Ras Mohammed has long been ranked among the top ten places in the world for scuba diving and scuba diving. Plunging into the world of this beautiful unknown, it’s as if you find yourself in another reality, where you have your own trees (made from corals), of various shapes, colors and sizes, which have long become the home of equally diverse fish that live here. This reserve is even called a natural aquarium due to the coexistence of many species of marine life: predators (trevalons, stingrays, barracudas, etc.) and peaceful ones (Napoleon fish, butterflies, angels, seahorses, etc.).

Another notable place where you can meet not only corals, but also sea turtles is Turtle Bay. This area is also home to: famous coral tower 60 meters high, Sodfa reefs, Amphoras, Pink Wall.

Since diving is very popular in the resort town, hundreds of schools have opened their activities here, teaching all interested tourists the art of diving. Only an experienced scuba diver with extensive experience can dive to great depths.

Most diving schools are located in the main one - Naama Bay, but you can also find these educational institutions in other areas. For example, starting from the northern part of Naama Bay, all the way to Nabq Bay (if you move along the road to the airport), the entire coast is covered with coral reefs. There are many hotels in this area that have special pontoons designed for scuba diving. Each hotel has a diving center where tourists can receive diving instructions and all the necessary equipment.

The best coral reefs in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt: photos