Egypt · summer (Jun-Aug)
Summer in Sharm el-Sheikh: Best Tours & Activities — Trip Planner
Your Sharm el-Sheikh plan for a summer trip — when to go, how long you need, and what to prioritise. Early-morning tours, water-based trips, air-conditioned museums and after-dark walks in Sharm el-Sheikh — how to enjoy the hottest months without melting.
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Summer experiences in Sharm el-Sheikh
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What's actually worth your time in Sharm el-Sheikh
The reef is the attraction and the rest is filler. Ras Mohammed, twelve kilometres south, puts Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef inside one drift, with the wreck's cargo of scattered bathroom fittings still lying on the sand. Tiran's Jackson and Gordon reefs are the day-boat standard. Naama Bay and SOHO Square are built environments; the Old Market at Sharm el-Maya is where local prices survive.
Sharm el-Sheikh after dark
Naama Bay was the centre and has slid downmarket, with touts working the strip and bars open as long as anyone is still drinking. SOHO Square out at Nabq is the newer, cleaner and pricier version, built around a dancing fountain and an ice rink. Most guests never leave their resort bar. Alcohol pours freely in tourist areas and almost nowhere else in Sinai.
What things cost in Sharm el-Sheikh
The Egyptian pound has been floated twice since 2022 and prices move accordingly, so treat any quote as current-day only. A meal in the Old Market runs a few hundred pounds against several times that inside a resort. Two-tank boat dives with equipment are usually quoted in euros or dollars rather than pounds. Ras Mohammed charges a per-person park fee plus a vehicle fee at the gate.
Sharm el-Sheikh's museums, and which one to pick
There is little here. The Sharm el-Sheikh Museum on the airport road opened in 2020 with several thousand pieces moved out of Cairo storerooms, spanning pharaonic and Greco-Roman material, and it is quiet enough to walk through almost alone. Otherwise the serious history means a long drive to Saint Catherine's Monastery below Mount Sinai, with its sixth-century church and icon collection.
What to eat in Sharm el-Sheikh
Resort buffets here are international by design, so the actual Egyptian food is in the Old Market and the back streets of Hadaba. Look for fatta, Red Sea fish sold by weight and grilled to order, molokhia, and koshari from a counter rather than a hotel. Feteer meshaltet, the layered pastry, is worth hunting down. Bedouin tea arrives heavily sweetened and thick with mint.
When to go to Sharm el-Sheikh
| Best months for summer | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| December | 25°C / 77°F | 0 days |
| January | 22°C / 72°F | 1 days |
| February | 23°C / 73°F | 1 days |
The month to avoid is July — around 40°C (104°F) with roughly 0 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: December is the sweet spot, July the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.
Where to base yourself in Sharm el-Sheikh
- Naama Bay — Main tourist strip — restaurants, dive shops, souks, mid-range hotels.
- Sharks Bay — Higher-end resorts on the reef edge — home reef diving straight from your hotel beach.
- Nabq — Newer resort area 15 min north of the airport — quieter, larger all-inclusives.
- Old Market (Sharm el-Maya) — Original town — cheaper local restaurants, souvenir stalls, more authentic.