2 Days in Sharm El Sheikh
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Travel advisory: Sharm el-Sheikh and the Red Sea resort strip sit outside the Sinai’s do-not-travel zones and are treated as normal, low-risk tourism by most Western governments, provided you fly in. Check your own government’s current advisory before booking.
Two days is enough for a beach-and-one-dive taste of Sharm, not the full picture, but a genuine start. This version keeps everything within the resort strip, so the free Sinai entry permit covers the whole trip; for more days and further-out excursions, see the 3-day or 5-day versions.
Day 1: Naama Bay and the Old Market
Land at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport (SSH) and take a taxi to your resort, agreeing the fare first since meters are unreliable; a Naama Bay run typically costs EGP 150-300 (verify, fares are volatile). Spend the afternoon on the beach or by the pool acclimatizing, then walk Naama Bay’s promenade in the evening for dinner, roughly EGP 300-500 per person at a mid-range restaurant. Finish with a stroll past the shops and cafes that stay open late along the bay.
Concrete tip: change some USD or EUR to Egyptian pounds at your resort or a bank on day one rather than waiting, small vendors and taxis want cash in EGP even where cards work at bigger restaurants.
Day 2: Ras Mohammed National Park
Book a day-boat dive or snorkel trip to Ras Mohammed National Park, about 12km southwest of town: a half-day snorkel trip runs roughly $35-50 per person (about EGP 1,400-2,000 at over 40 to the dollar, verify both figures), while a two-dive trip for certified divers runs higher, commonly $60-90. Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef are the sites to ask for, and the Yolanda wreck’s scattered cargo of bathroom fixtures is a highlight even for snorkelers on a good-visibility day. Back in Sharm by mid-afternoon, spend the rest of the day at your resort before a final Old Market dinner, budget EGP 150-300 per person for grilled fish at one of the district’s fish cafes.
Concrete tip: book the Ras Mohammed trip the moment you arrive rather than waiting until day two morning. Peak-season boats fill a day or more ahead, and a canceled or full trip is the easiest way to lose your one dive day on a short visit.
For a longer version that adds Dahab and the Straits of Tiran, see the 3-day itinerary , and for the sights this trip skips, our things to do guide covers the rest.