Sharm el-Sheikh considers itself and indeed is the seaside resort in Sinai. Large numbers of visitors holiday here every year.

The small town has grown rapidly and there are more and more tourists enjoying the charms of the place.

Sharm el-Sheikh considers itself and indeed is the seaside resort in Sinai. Large numbers of visitors holiday here every year. Sharm el-Sheikh Bay, Naama Bay and Shark Bay are about 6 km apart but the development of the resort is such that they will soon form one settlement. The long beaches of fine sand already attract Israeli visitors who were to be found on the peninsula before the Egyptians regained this part of Sinai. Since then, the small town has grown rapidly and there are more and more tourists enjoying the charms of the place.

Visitors love to lie and roast in the sun but beware of too much exposure, as it is very fierce. They also love to swim in the extraordinarily clear waters and to hire windsurfing boards, ideal for making the most of the ever-present breeze. The seabed close to the coast is like some gigantic coral aquarium, home to coral grouper (red fish with blue spots), Napoleon wrasse, parrotfish, butterfly fish (always in pairs), map angelfish (blue and yellow), threadfins and scorpion fish with long, elegant fins.

Luxury hotels with swimming pools have flourished along the coast. They offer all the facilities, including plenty of sports and leisure activities, demanded by an international clientele who make for the resort summer and winter. Highly qualified instructors offer an introduction to scuba diving for those wishing to swap the snorkel for a tank. Those already familiar with the sport can make the most of the wonderful “drop-offs” and night dives.

After sunset, visitors have the choice of touring the shops, which open quite late and offer the usual souvenirs or of frequenting the café terraces strung out along the main road running parallel with the beach. Those not worn out by their day of sun and sand can head off to one of the numerous hotel discos.

One advantage of the resort’s well-deserved success has been that the airlines now provide not just one daily scheduled service between Sharm el-Sheikh and Cairo but also direct charter flights from Europe. Sharm el-Sheikh is now therefore about five hours from London.