Marsa Alam holidays

Footprint-free white sands and coral reefs teeming with turtles are on the cards with holidays to Marsa Alam.

The new kid in town

Marsa Alam is the most southern of Egypt’s resorts, which means sunny weather’s the norm. Its shimmering beaches are some of the most unspoilt along the Red Sea Coast. But with an ever-growing number of luxury hotels popping up along its 50-kilometre shoreline, it’s certainly starting to rise in the popularity stakes.

The beaches

Marsa Alam lines up an unparalleled range of beaches, from popular stretches to unblemished swathes. The main one, Abu Dabbab Beach, is a sweep of white sand with a roll call of watersports, and a reef where dugongs and giant turtles are routinely spotted. At the other end of the spectrum are the beaches at Honkorab and Golaan. You'll find them to the south of the resort in Wadi el Gemal National Park. Here, solitary mangroves poke out of duck-pond still waters, and there’s not a soul around for miles.

The diving

Off the coast of Marsa Alam are some of Egypt’s most unspoilt reefs. Elphinstone Reef is arguably the best of the lot – a 70-metre-high coral wall, where whitetip reef sharks and giant turtles circle above your head. There’s also Samadai Reef, a place where wild spinner dolphins congregate, which explains the nickname, Dolphin House. If that's not your type of H20 action, you can head for Aqua Coraya waterpark, where the family-friendly slide count is in the double digits.

The sights

Port Ghalib is an exclusive marina development north of Marsa Alam. Its tree-lined quay brims with international restaurant chains, high-quality eateries, and a selection of upmarket shops. And if you’re looking for history, to the south of Marsa Alam you'll find Wadi el Gamal, which translates as Valley of the Camels. There's an emerald mine in the grounds of this national park, which supposedly supplied Cleopatra with her favourite bit of bling. Alternatively, you can leave tyre tracks in the surrounding desert on an adrenaline-packed quad bike tour.

Popular hotels in Marsa Alam

Top things to see and do in Marsa Alam

Beaches

Hotel-based beaches

There aren’t really any public beaches in Marsa Alam. Instead, individual stretches of sand tend to belong to hotels. Because of this, most visitors don’t venture far from the beach on their doorstep. If you really want a change of scene, you can pay to use the facilities at a neighbouring hotel.

The big beach

Roughly half-an-hour’s drive from Marsa Alam, Abu Dabab Beach is one of the only stretches of sand in the Marsa Alam area that lures visitors away from their hotel beaches. It’s the snorkelling opportunities that act as the magnet. The coral off the coast is home to sea cows – blimp-like mammals, which graze off the seabed.

The secret beach

The coast off Marsa Alam is scalloped with coves and bays, but they’re barren and almost all are facility-free. Most visitors here don’t venture further than the organised beaches on the doorstep of their hotel. And you can’t blame them. Hotels like the Iberotel Coraya Beach Resort have soft sandy beaches just metres from their bedrooms and they tend to be topped by comfortable sunloungers and thatched parasols.

Shopping

Bargain buys

Those with an eye for a bargain should head to El Qusier on a Friday for the town’s weekly market. The traders stack their stalls with shisha pipes, spices, perfume, textiles, pottery and jewellery, while locals and holidaymakers stroll up and down eyeing up the goods.

Mid-range buys

Most of the shops in the Marsa Alam area belong to hotels. The Iberotel Coraya Beach Resort and the Resta Grand Resort have a few gift shops, which sell souvenirs. Port Ghalib has a slightly bigger portfolio of stores. The corniche shopping area near the waterfront has a cluster of shops that sell take-me-homes like perfume, handbags and jewellery.

Designer buys

To upgrade your shopping list from souvenirs to something more, you’ll need to go to Cairo or Luxor. Both are accessible on overnight trips from Marsa Alam. In the streets of Sharia Baghat Ali in Cairo you’ll find stores selling marshmallow-soft Egyptian cotton and textiles. In Luxor, meanwhile, El Safar Bazar is the place to go to buy gold and silver.

Nightlife

Laid-back evenings

Nightlife is hotel-centric in Marsa Alam. Most hotels have at least three or four bars that open late. Some even put on their own disco night. Dinners in the desert are another way to pass an evening in this part of Egypt. Climb into a 4x4 a few hours before sunset and drive to a Bedouin camp to dine by starlight.

Lively evenings

Port Ghalib is as lively as it gets in the Marsa Alam area. Cafés, restaurants and a few shisha bars sidle up to the water here. It’s still a fairly new resort so the wheels have only just got rolling. You’ll spot familiar chains like TGI Friday’s and Pizza Hut and a VIP bar where DJs play into the early hours.

Food & drink

Fuul medammes

According to an old Arabic saying, fuul medammes is ‘a rich man’s breakfast, a shopkeeper’s lunch and a poor man’s supper.’ This dish is known affectionately as Egypt’s national cuisine, and it’s made from mashed fava beans, garlic, onion and lemon juice.

Koshary

This dish may look disordered, but there’s a method to the madness on a plate of koshary. This traditional recipe is made by combining rice, macaroni, chickpeas, lentils and tomato sauce and showering the finished product in a hail of fried onions.

Shakshouka

Egypt doesn’t own the patent to shakshouka. In fact, the recipe belongs to Tunisia and Israel. But it’s still a regular on Marsa Alam menus. The places that serve it for breakfast stew up tomatoes, spices, peppers and onions and poach eggs on the top. The chefs that make it for dinner add lamb to the original recipe.

Hamem

Back in 3000 BC, stuffed pigeon was considered a delicacy by the pharaohs and it’s still top of the dinner table pecking order today. Grilled pigeon, stuffed with bulgur wheat, and served with lime juice makes a regular appearance on restaurant menus.

Tea

For some Egyptians, alcohol is off-limits for religious reasons. So, instead of popping out for a pint, locals get together over tea. It’s not cup-and-saucer stuff like in England, though. Egyptians take their tea without milk and, more often than not, flavoured with fruit or mint.

Average Weather in Marsa Alam

Facts about Marsa Alam

Currency
Egyptian Pound
(EGP)
Language
Arabic
Time zone
GMT +2
Flight duration
5 hours 30 minutes from Gatwick

FAQs

Where can I find the latest travel advice?

All your questions about entry requirements, visas, passports or health information are answered on our Travel Advice page.

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