Why is no one talking about the Red Sea?

Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

I could not have imagined the absolute beauty, vibrancy and richness of life lying just beneath the surface of the Red Sea. The harsh realities of desert life, the heat, dirt and barrenness is replaced by colour, wonder and delight.

Marsa Alam is about 790 kilometres south of Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and is known for its swimming, snorkelling and diving.

Flying into Marsa Alam we were struck by the many all-inclusive resorts that line the coast. The area is known for this so if you want more of a secluded and authentic Egyptian experience you’ll have to go a little further afield.

I could not have been more pleased that we chose Marsa Alam to spend a few days to recover from some long travel days and to prepare ourselves to explore Egypt for the next five weeks. As we quickly discovered, Egypt can feel extremely overwhelming, so taking a couple of days to adjust was not just worth it but essential.

Where to stay

Many of the all-inclusive resorts have their own reef that their guests can explore. This is important because if you want to do some awesome snorkelling you’ll need to choose accommodation based off the house reef. We opted to stay at Aurora Bay Resort for this exact reason and it did not disappoint.

Aurora Bay is an all-inclusive resort sitting right on the Red Sea about a 50minute drive south from the international airport. We arranged a transfer through the hotel and once we got through customs and security at the airport it was a fairly smooth transfer.

TIP: Buy your Egyptian visa online prior to landing to save time. We were met straight off the plane by locals trying to sell us one. It was overwhelming as we initially didn’t understand what they were doing. You’ll also have to fill out an arrival card so make sure you’re carrying a pen.

The resort itself we felt to be quite dated but the food was adequate and most importantly the reef was spectacular – which was why we were there in the first place!

How to get around

You can organise just about anything once you’re on the ground in Egypt. The only thing we pre-booked was our transfer to the resort from the airport. After a long travel day knowing we had someone waiting was a welcome relief. Our onward journey to Luxor was also booked as a private transfer through our accommodation or contacts on the ground. This looked like a private car or minibus. The only time we took an Uber was from the airport in Cairo.

Tip: Tipping culture in Egypt is big so make sure you’re carrying some Egyptian Pound so that you can give your driver a couple of dollars.

Things to do

You can do as much or as little as you want. Many tourists choose to spend the day by the pool sipping cocktails and enjoying the constant food on offer. Sunbathing also seems to be the thing to do here. We were approached on numerous occasions by staff concerned about how white our skin was, offering us oils and other methods to tan ourselves. It became quite the joke at the resort as we were the whitest people around.

Other than hanging around the resort the main thing to do in Marsa Alam is of course explore the reef!

Reef trip

One of the most popular activities for people heading to Marsa Alam is to take a boat tour and go snorkelling or diving in search of turtles, dolphins and dugong (sea cows).

We organised a boat trip with the resort who arranged a taxi to and from the boat.

I’m going to be honest. We really didn’t enjoy the boat trip. There are different types of tours you can take to the outer reef but we had read the trip is long and the actual time spent in the water is limited. We opted for a tour that did a couple of different stops along the coast, unfortunately so does every other boat.

The snorkelers are required to follow a guide with at least another 20 people. At one of the bays we all took turns watching a turtle. We of course loved seeing the marine life but the experience was dampened by the sheer amount of people trying to glimpse the wildlife. Most of the time you’re just trying to avoid getting whacked in the face by flipper wearing tourists.

The other frustration was that all the boats appear to be both snorkelling and diving tours. So there is ALOT of time spent waiting around for the divers to get in and out of the water. The trip felt like it was all about the divers, the people snorkelling just an after thought.

All this said, any day out on the water is a great day and we did have the absolute joy of getting to see turtles and dolphins. I had a very special encounter with a dugong that I’ll treasure forever (that post is coming soon). I think though, if you really want to get out onto the water try to find a small or private tour.

House reef

The house reef at Aurora Bay is stunning. Make sure you walk around the bay to the opposite side where the reef is at its finest. You’ll most likely have the whole place to yourself too. The sea is of course tidal so if you plan to snorkel at low tide you’ll need shoes to walk out to the reef.

The clarity in the Red Sea is some of the best we’ve ever experienced. It was delightful to be swimming in the perfectly tempered waters watching an underwater world very much alive. We saw all types of different fish, corals, sting-rays, eels and turtles.

Something to note:

Marsa Alam is certainly a resort destination. Unless you go further afield you won’t really encounter authentic Egypt. It’s import to note that while this is a tourist destination and people will be wearing whatever they like, Egypt is a Muslim country and therefore it is respectful to cover up and dress appropriately.

It also gets extremely hot and you will burn. Come prepared with sunscreen and protective clothing. Another thing to note is that in our year of full-time travel Marsa Alam wins the award for worst encounters with mosquitoes. Thankfully we had bug spray but every evening we would spent hours walking around killing all of these annoying insects!

Our stay in Marsa Alam was just four days of our five weeks spent exploring Egypt. Check-out all the must-do activities, where we stayed and how we got around in Luxor, Aswan and Cairo HERE.

Egypt is a whirlwind of culture, history and sensory overload. It is a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and experiences unlike anywhere else on Earth. Despite how incredible this was, our favourite most precious time spent in Egypt was in the Siwa Oasis. A place that is so authentic and untouched by mass tourism that it will leave you speechless. You can read all about our time in the Siwa Oasis HERE.