Dahab, Egypt Travel Tips: 18 Things to Know Before You Go
Dahab is easy to love and easy to get slightly wrong. It's a Bedouin diving town on the Sinai's Red Sea coast, an hour or so north of Sharm El Sheikh, and it runs on its own rhythm — cash, WhatsApp, slack tides, and long lunches on floor cushions. Get a few practical things sorted before you arrive and the whole trip flows — then you can spend your energy on the reefs, canyons and camps themselves. Here's what to lock in.
Getting There and Around
Fly into Sharm El Sheikh (SSH). It's the arrival hub, about one to one-and-a-half hours south by road, whether you're flying in direct or connecting through Cairo. Pre-book a hotel transfer or shared van (roughly $20-35) rather than negotiating at the airport arrivals hall — you'll pay less and skip the hassle.
Keep your passport handy for checkpoints. Expect one or two military checkpoints between Sharm and Dahab. They're routine and quick; just have your documents ready.
Uber doesn't work in Sinai. Get around town on foot (Dahab is tiny) and save a reliable local taxi driver's number for the Blue Hole run (about 100-150 EGP one way) or Three Pools (around 100 EGP).
Book dives and camps over WhatsApp. This is how everything gets arranged here — dive centers, transfers, Bedouin camps. Message ahead rather than assuming you'll walk in.
Money
Withdraw cash at Sharm airport. Dahab is largely a cash town, card machines are unreliable, and the few ATMs often run dry — especially on weekends. Arrive with plenty of Egyptian pounds.
Keep small bills. Camp fees, tea, tips, and cliff-cafe lunches all want cash, often in small denominations. Blue Hole cafes, Ras Abu Galum, and the Blue Lagoon take nothing else.
Haggle in the right places. Bargaining is normal in the bazaar and for taxis, but not in fixed-price cafes. Keep it friendly.
Visa and Permits
Know the Sinai-only stamp. Most nationalities get a free "Sinai-only" entry stamp on arrival, valid up to 15 days, covering Dahab, Sharm, and St. Catherine. That's all you need for a reef-and-mountain trip.
Get the full e-visa if you're going further. To dive the wider region beyond the Sinai zone or leave the peninsula, you'll need the full Egypt e-visa (about $25). Sort it before you travel.
Diving and Water Safety
Never chase the Blue Hole's Arch. The Blue Hole is safe and spectacular for snorkeling the shallow "Saddle" and for reef dives — but the "Arch" passage at 55m-plus has killed many divers attempting it untrained. Dive only with a reputable center, never exceed your certification, and ignore any dare to go deep.
Warm up on the house reefs. Start at the Lighthouse (gear rental about €10-15, guided shore dive €25-30) at slack tide for the calmest entry, then build up to Eel Garden and The Islands. Guided dives at the Blue Hole and Bells run about €30-45.
Respect the reef. Wear reef-safe sunscreen and a rash guard for long snorkels, and don't stand on or touch the coral — the same etiquette that keeps reefs alive everywhere from here to the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns.
Health and Sun
Don't drink the tap water. Buy sealed bottled water — it's cheap and everywhere. Use it for drinking and brushing teeth.
Take the Sinai sun seriously. It's intense even in winter. Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, and a rash guard for the water are not optional, and you should drink far more water than you think you need.
Culture and Etiquette
Dress for the setting. Beachwear is fine on the seafront, but cover shoulders and knees at St. Catherine's Monastery, mosques, and inland Bedouin villages.
Keep alcohol low-key. It's served in licensed bars and resorts, but public drunkenness is frowned upon. A quiet drink at a spot like Furry Cup is the local speed.
When to Go
Aim for spring or autumn. March-May and September-November bring warm days and calmer winds — the sweet spot. Summers run a scorching 35-40°C; winters are mild at around 20-25°C. The Red Sea itself stays a swimmable 21-29°C year-round with excellent visibility.
Eating and Drinking
Eat well for little. Seafront dinners at Shark Restaurant, Ali Baba, Nirvana, Blue House, or Lakhbatita run about 150-350 EGP a head. Breakfast and lunch at Ralph's German Bakery or Everyday Restaurant land at 100-200 EGP, and koshari or a wrap at King Chicken is even less.
Budget for tipping. Small tips (baksheesh) are part of the rhythm here — a few pounds for the taxi driver, a bit extra for camp cooks and dive guides. Keep a stack of small notes and you'll never be caught fumbling.
Connectivity
Grab a local SIM at the airport. Pick up a Vodafone, Orange, or Etisalat SIM at Sharm El Sheikh (SSH) on arrival — it's cheap and far more reliable than cafe WiFi, which is patchy. You'll want the data anyway, because WhatsApp is how you book dives, taxis, camps, and transfers.
Download offline maps. Save Dahab and the Blue Hole area on Google Maps before you head to the reefs and desert, where signal drops out. There's no cell coverage at Ras Abu Galum or the Blue Lagoon at all.
Dive Safety and Insurance
Sort dive insurance before you fly. A DAN membership covers decompression treatment, and it matters here — the nearest hyperbaric chamber is in Sharm El Sheikh, roughly an hour away. Don't dive uninsured.
Respect the no-fly window. Leave at least 18-24 hours between your last dive and your flight home. Plan your final day around the Lighthouse snorkel or the bazaar, not the Blue Hole, so you're not cutting it close for the SSH transfer.
Pharmacies and Emergencies
Pharmacies are well stocked. The chemists in Masbat carry the basics and staff usually speak English, but bring any prescription medication in its original packaging. Pack rehydration salts for the heat and motion-sickness tablets for boat trips and the bumpy 4x4 rides to the Colored Canyon.
Packing Essentials
Pack for sun, sea, and one cold mountain morning:
- Reef-safe sunscreen (buy plenty; you'll use more than expected)
- Rash guard or long-sleeve swim top for all-day snorkeling
- Your own mask and snorkel if you have them — free reef access at the Lighthouse and Eel Garden
- Warm layers, a headtorch, and a windproof jacket for the pre-dawn Mount Sinai summit (it's cold and windy at 2,285m)
- Sturdy shoes for the Colored Canyon scrambles and the Steps of Repentance
- A refillable water bottle and electrolyte tablets
- Cash in Egyptian pounds — small bills especially
- Modest cover-up (shoulders and knees) for the monastery and villages
- A dry bag for boat trips to Three Pools and the Blue Lagoon
What Travelers Wish They'd Known
That Dahab isn't a place you rush. The visitors who try to cram every dive site, canyon, and mountain into a few days leave frazzled. The ones who pick two or three things they love — a couple of shore dives, one big excursion like Mount Sinai or Ras Abu Galum — and leave the rest of the day open? They're the ones who don't want to go home — it's the first thing long-time residents will tell you, too.
That the off-grid days need planning. Ras Abu Galum and the Blue Lagoon have no electricity and no ATMs, so carry every pound you'll need and let someone know your plan.
That an extra night is never wasted. Between the reefs, the desert, the freediving, and the Bedouin camps, almost everyone underestimates how much there is to do here. Give yourself more time than feels sensible. Dahab will happily fill it.
