The South Sinai is one of the most spectacularly beautiful landscapes on the planet and the Red Sea was ranked by Jacques Cousteau as one of the top-3 dive sites in the world. In recent years, some of these precious habitats have been designated as national parks. However, as tourism has grown in the region, so too has tourist waste and damage. Although the designation of these areas as national parks has provided them some degree of protection, it is ultimately the care and consideration of each visitor and tour operators that most contributes to the work of preserving the beauty and the wonder of the Sinai.

The most famous and Egypt's first national park is situated at the far southern tip of the Sinai, where the desert peninsula of Ras Mohammed edges out into the Red Sea. Its craggy plateau disintegrates into broad sand beaches or drops off into brilliantly rich coral reefs. Heading north-east up the Gulf of Aqaba coast is the lesser well-known Nabq Managed Resource Protected Area. Nabq's coral reef profiles and therefore community structure are very different from Ras Mohammed, nevertheless its reefs are extremely rich and easy to access from the shore. It offers virtually untouched and rarely dived sites. Since you will be based in the desert, this trip also presents plenty of opportunity to absorb the blissful experience of the Sinai.

Day 1
Arrival at Sharm el-Sheikh (or Taba) airport, where you will be picked up and transferred to Dahab situated approximately 100km north of Sharm. In Dahab, you will check into Coral Coast Hotel, on the northern side of Dahab's seafront. Coral Coast Hotel is designed with a Bedouin ambience, offering clean rooms with en suite bathrooms, balconies and fantastic sea-views. Coral Coast Hotel is Bedouin owned and employs a nearly all Bedouin and Egyptian staff.

Day 2
On your second day, you will be introduced to Embah Safaris and the dive guides. This first day will be utilised to sort dive equipment, weights and buoyancy checks and to do two dives around Dahab. Dahab offers a wide range of shore dives, from shallow gentle dives, such as Eel Gardens, to deep technical dives in the Blue Hole. By the end of day 2 you will be transferred to Ras Mohammed National Park, where you will board a dive boat for the night.

Day 3
While you had a good night's sleep, the boat has made its way to the first dive site of the day. On the menu is the Thistlegorm, wreck of an armed English freighter, discovered by Jacques Cousteau in 1956, which lies at a depth of 28 m. It carried railroad cars, vehicles, motorcycles and an collection of materials intended for World War II, making this wreck an unforgettable journey through time. The next two dives will be in Ras Mohammed National Park, which receives currents from the Gulf of Aqaba carrying substantial amounts of food and supporting a truly magnificent array of both reef and pelagic fish and a fantastic diversity of coral and other reef species. At the end of the day, transfer to Nabq for your first night under the stars.

These desert dwelling days are spent camping in some perfectly chosen beauty spots and in the company of local Bedouins and their camels. They will guide you from campsite to campsite and erect the Bedouin tents with carpets and sleeping mats on the ground, while you blow bubbles. They will also prepare all your meals, served in a traditional style of eating together and helping yourself. On a daily basis, cylinder refills, food and plenty fresh and bottled water are ferried into the Protected Area from Dahab by 4x4, where tracks sometimes need some emergency repairs (see photo). The camels provide the more local transport and don't shy away from these rough roads.

Late afternoon, transfer and return to Sharm El-Sheikh airport.

This trip can be run throughout the year on a tailor-made basis (min group size 6 people) and is specially designed for dive clubs and groups of dive buddies, who would like something different. Please note that July/August is somewhat hot and January/February nights quite cold for safari.

Discounts for groups of 10+ people and supplements for smaller groups are available on request.
Please contact BAOBAB for latest availability and quotes.

Many Bedouin families choice to live a traditional desert dwelling life-style. However, in the present day they also need an income, which can be provided through tourism. All BAOBAB Sinai trips help local Bedouins by giving them regular work, either as jeep driver or camel guide, and paying them a fair daily wage.

While based in the desert, special care and attention will be given to issues such as fresh water usuage and waste disposal. Water is a scarce resource in the desert but a necessity for cooking, drinking and washing. Sufficient fresh water will be available at all time, but we ask all people to take great care to avoid wastage. Any waste decays extremely slowly in desert environments and will therefore be burned on a daily basis rather than burried.

Newly filled dive cylinders, as well as fresh food & water, will be brought into Nabq on a daily basis.....so no need for noisy compressors!