An adults-focused five star all inclusive on the shore at Nabq Bay, 10 to 15 minutes from Sharm el Sheikh airport. The infinity pool spills towards the Red Sea, a jetty walks you out over the reef, and evenings drift from seafood at Red Sea Wharf to Italian at Fellini and a nightcap in the Pilli Pilli Bar, with a spa, Turkish bath and Thai massage for the afternoons.
Set along a private golden beach in Nabq Bay, this five-star all inclusive resort pairs eleven pools with a snorkelling jetty over the coral reef, around 15 minutes from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Unwind across the pools and sink into the spa with its hammam and sauna, with a buffet and à la carte restaurants spanning Moroccan, Italian and Asian flavours.
An adults-only five-star retreat perched on the Om El Seid plateau near Ras Umm Sid, around 25 minutes from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Unwind on a 400-metre private Red Sea beach, drift between outdoor pools and indulge in the spa, with a buffet and à la carte restaurants. Serene, beautifully positioned and made for relaxation.
A vast five-star playground on Um Marikha Bay near the airport, with Sharm El Sheikh’s only 18-hole championship golf course on its doorstep, pools spilling across the lawns and a long sandy beach facing Tiran Island. 418 rooms, six restaurants from sushi to bistro dining, tennis, spa and endless space.
A five-star Marriott resort on Om El Seid hill with a long private beach, direct reef access and views across to Tiran Island. 384 rooms and suites, three pools including one heated in winter, a dive centre, spa and restaurants spanning the Coast buffet, Calamari seafood and Italian at La Casa.
A five-star all inclusive resort on a private sandy beach where Nabq Bay meets the protected coastline of Nabq National Park. Thirteen pools spill through impressive gardens, with Italian, oriental and seafood restaurants joining the buffet, and the airport only minutes away.
A five-star all inclusive complex on a private Red Sea beach in tranquil Nabq Bay, less than ten minutes from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Three sister hotels, Mirabel Beach, Mirabel Resort and Mirabel Club, share superb pools, the Mirabel Spa and a spread of restaurants, with coral reefs and Tiran Island views offshore.
A polished five-star hotel on its own private beach at the entrance to Naama Bay, around 20 minutes from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Snorkel the coral reef straight off the sand, laze by the lagoon-style pool with its waterfall, and dine at sea-facing Italian and Mediterranean restaurants.
A long-standing Sharm El Sheikh favourite on White Knight Bay, just ten minutes from the airport and a short walk from SOHO Square. A vast lagoon-style infinity pool headlines four pools, three heated in winter, a long private beach with superb diving on the house reef, tennis, squash and a spread of restaurants and bars across this five-star resort.
Sharm El Sheikh sits at the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where red desert mountains fall away into the clearest water in the Red Sea. It is the classic winter sun escape for British travellers: reliable sunshine in every month of the year, coral reefs a few fin kicks from the beach, and a flight time of around five and a half hours from most UK airports. Direct flights operate year round from London, Manchester, Birmingham and other regional airports, so a week of guaranteed warmth is never far away.
As Egypt specialists, we have visited, vetted and handpicked every one of our Sharm El Sheikh hotels. Most of our collection is all inclusive, and the emphasis throughout is on comfort for grown ups: quiet pools, good restaurants, spas and house reefs rather than noise. Couples and groups of friends are our heartland, though families who like a calmer style of resort are very welcome too. Every booking is ABTA and ATOL protected, and we advise on entry requirements before you travel. Most visitors staying within the Sharm El Sheikh area can enter on a free Sinai only stamp, while a full Egyptian visa is needed for trips further afield such as Cairo or Luxor, and we confirm the current rules when you book.
Sharm is a string of bays rather than a single resort, and choosing the right one shapes your whole holiday. These are the four areas we recommend, each with hotels we know personally.
Naama Bay is the lively heart of Sharm El Sheikh: a sheltered, sandy horseshoe with a traffic free promenade of restaurants, bars and shisha cafes. The swimming is calm and the evenings are sociable, which makes it the best base if you want life outside your hotel. Our pick here is Stella Di Mare Beach Hotel & Spa, a beachfront retreat whose serious spa makes it a favourite with couples who want the buzz of Naama Bay by night and proper relaxation by day.
North of the airport, Nabq is quieter and greener, fronted by a long protected reef that keeps the sea glassy and the snorkelling superb. It suits guests who plan to stay put and enjoy their resort. Adults who want peace should look at Cleopatra Luxury Resort, an adults focused beachfront hideaway with a striking infinity pool. Pickalbatros Royal Moderna has a long jetty reaching over the house reef, so you step straight down onto some of the best snorkelling in Nabq. Pickalbatros Laguna Vista counts thirteen pools across its gardens, while Jaz Mirabel Resort is three sister hotels sharing one huge beachfront estate, ideal if you like plenty of restaurants to rotate through.
South of Naama Bay, the clifftop district around Ras Um El Sid is the most characterful corner of Sharm, close to the Old Market with its spice stalls, seafood restaurants and genuine Egyptian atmosphere. The reef walls below the cliffs are spectacular. For an adults only Sharm El Sheikh holiday, Pickalbatros Royal Grand Sharm is reserved for guests aged sixteen and over and perches right on Ras Um El Sid. Nearby on the Om El Seed cliff, Renaissance Golden View Beach Resort has its own house reef at the foot of the headland, with turtles and reef fish in residence most mornings.
Between Naama Bay and Nabq lie two quieter bays. At White Knight Bay, Concorde El Salam is a long standing favourite whose infinity pool seems to pour straight into the Red Sea. Further out at Um Marikha, Pickalbatros Golf Beach Resort sits beside an eighteen hole championship golf course, a rare chance to combine a round in the desert with an afternoon on the reef.
Sharm El Sheikh is one of the finest snorkelling and diving destinations anywhere, and you do not need a boat to enjoy it. Many of our hotels have house reefs or jetties with direct reef access, so you can drift over coral gardens before breakfast. Expect parrotfish, lionfish, moray eels, clouds of anthias and regular turtle sightings straight off the beach in Nabq and below the Ras Um El Sid cliffs.
For a day trip, Ras Mohammed National Park at the peninsula’s tip is the headline act, where two currents meet and the walls at Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef teem with life. To the north, the Straits of Tiran hold four celebrated reefs, including Jackson Reef, reached by an easy morning boat ride. Divers are equally well served: Sharm’s dive centres are long established, PADI courses run year round in warm, calm water, and the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm is within reach for qualified divers. If you are new to it all, the sheltered bays at Naama and Nabq are the gentlest places to find your fins.
There is no bad month for Sharm El Sheikh holidays. The sea stays warm enough to swim all year and rain is a genuine rarity. The best time to visit for most people is spring or autumn, when the heat is golden rather than fierce.
Classic Holidays is a UK travel company specialising in Egypt, so you speak to people who have walked the jetties, tested the restaurants and snorkelled the house reefs of the Sharm El Sheikh hotels we sell. As members of the Co-op Travel Consortium we draw on serious buying power, which means sharp prices on all inclusive Sharm El Sheikh holidays without cutting corners on quality. Every holiday is financially protected through ABTA (P7508) and ATOL (12904), and we tailor each trip to you, from adults only hideaways to a two centre twin with Cairo or a Nile cruise. Talk it through with a specialist on freephone 0800 041 8400 and we will find the right bay, and the right hotel, for your kind of holiday.
Sharm El Sheikh is a genuine year round destination, with sunshine in every month and a sea that stays warm enough to swim even in winter. For most visitors the best time to visit is spring (March to May) or the golden autumn window from September to November, when days sit between 25C and 33C. June to August brings peak summer sunshine and superb value, while December to February offers classic winter sun at a comfortable 20C to 24C.
It is one of the best snorkelling destinations in the world. Coral reefs sit just metres from the shore, and several of our hotels, including Pickalbatros Royal Moderna in Nabq and Renaissance Golden View on the Om El Seed cliff, have house reefs or jetties with direct access to the water. Boat trips run daily to Ras Mohammed National Park and the Straits of Tiran, where you can expect turtles, rays and walls of colourful reef fish.
It depends on the pace you want. Naama Bay is the lively centre, with a promenade of restaurants and bars and calm, sheltered swimming. Nabq Bay is quieter and reef fronted, perfect if you plan to relax within your resort. The clifftop Ras Um El Sid area near the Old Market offers dramatic reef walls and a more Egyptian feel, while White Knight Bay and Um Marikha are peaceful bays between the two. Our specialists will match you to the right base.
Direct flights from the UK to Sharm El Sheikh take around five and a half hours, making it one of the closest places to Britain with guaranteed winter warmth. Services operate year round from London, Manchester, Birmingham and other regional airports, and Egypt is just two hours ahead of the UK, so there is no jet lag to recover from. Transfers from the airport to most resort areas take between ten and thirty minutes.
Yes. Sharm El Sheikh is a well established, purpose built resort town that has welcomed British holidaymakers for decades, and direct UK flights operate to the resort year round. Egypt has invested heavily in the airport and in the resort areas, hotels are professionally run with a polite security presence, and visitors consistently describe the atmosphere as relaxed and friendly. As with any destination, we keep an eye on the latest UK travel advice and share it with you before you go.
Entry is straightforward. Most British visitors staying within the Sharm El Sheikh area can enter on a free Sinai only stamp issued on arrival, which covers the resort and local excursions. If you plan to travel further afield, for example to Cairo, Luxor or a Nile cruise, a full Egyptian visa is required instead. The rules can change from time to time, so we advise on the current requirements when you book and make sure you travel with the right paperwork.
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Classic Holidays when selling travel arrangements is a trading name of Co-op Travel Services Ltd. Classic Holidays is an Accredited Body Member of Co-operative Travel Consortium. (ABTA P7508, ATOL 12904).
Your Financial Protection: Book with Confidence. Classic Holidays is a Member of ABTA. ABTA and ABTA Members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist when things don’t go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct.
All of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme but ATOL protection does not apply to non-flight holiday and travel services offered on this website. Classic Holidays will provide you with information on the protection that applies in the case of each holiday and travel service offered before you make your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.caa.co.uk
