How do you get from Sharm el-Sheikh to Dahab?

It is about an hour by road. We can arrange a transfer for you, which is the easiest and most reliable option. It costs 70 euro per person for the return trip, or 20 euro per person each way for groups of four or more, which comes to 40 euro return. Let us know your flight details and we will take care of it.

Do I need a visa for Egypt?

It depends on your nationality and how long you stay. At the time of writing, a visa costs 30 US dollars and is usually only needed for stays longer than 14 days. You buy it at the bank counter before passport control, not after, so do that first and then join the queue. Bring the 30 dollars in cash, in US dollars, and check the current rules for your own passport before you travel.

Can I pay by card in Dahab, or do I need cash?

Dahab runs on cash. Bring some and withdraw the rest here. The green Bank of Egypt machines give the best rate; airport machines are more expensive. There is an ATM just to the left as you walk out of The Gate.

Can I drink the tap water in Dahab?

No. Drink bottled or filtered water, and wash your hands often. You can refill your bottle at The Gate for free, which saves a lot of plastic.

How do taxis work in Dahab?

There are no official taxis. Anyone with a car is a taxi. Stand by the road, put your hand up, say where you are going, and agree the price before you get in. Short trips are usually around 100 Egyptian pounds.

Dahab Travel Guide: What to Know Before You Come

Dahab is a small town on the Sinai coast, and it is easier to visit than most people expect. It is also a bit different from anywhere else in Egypt: slower, more relaxed, and built around the water.

This is what we tell guests before they arrive. Practical things, from people who live here.

From Sharm: About 1 hour
Money: Mostly cash
Sea temperature: Around 26 °C
We speak: EN, NL, ES, AR

How Dahab became Dahab

Dahab means gold in Arabic. Nobody agrees on why. One story is that gold once washed up on this shore. The one you hear here is about the light. Late in the day the sun comes off the water and the mountains turn gold.

Long before anyone came here to dive, this coast was Bedouin land. It still is. Dahab sits in the territory of the Mzeina, the largest Bedouin group in Sinai, and the village of Assalah at the north end of town is theirs. We teach a little further down the same shoreline, in Mashraba.

For most of its history this was a hard place to reach, a small oasis and fishing settlement with mountains at its back and no road along the water. The coast road came later, built while Sinai was under Israeli control between 1967 and 1982, running down from Eilat past Nuweiba and Dahab to Sharm el-Sheikh. Sinai returned to Egypt in 1982, and the coast has been developed from there.

Sharm el-Sheikh, an hour down the same road, grew into an airport and a strip of hotels. Dahab stayed small: a couple of streets along the water, and cafes where you sit on cushions on the floor.

Getting here

Almost everyone flies into Sharm el-Sheikh. From there it is about an hour by road to Dahab.

We can arrange your transfer, and that is what we would recommend. It costs 70 euro per person for the return trip. If you are four or more, it is 20 euro per person each way, so 40 euro return. Send us your flight details and a driver will be waiting for you. It saves the arrival-hall negotiation after a long travel day.

The visa, in the right order. This trips people up. You buy your visa at the bank counter before passport control, then you join the queue for the officers. If you walk straight to passport control first, you will be sent back. At the time of writing it costs 30 US dollars, and it is usually only needed for stays longer than 14 days. That depends on your nationality, so check the current rules for your own passport before you fly.

You will also fill in a small card with your details and where you are staying.

Bring that 30 dollars in cash, in US dollars, and keep a pen in your hand luggage for the arrival card. Those two things are the difference between a five minute arrival and a long one.

Arriving late is fine. There is always a night guard at The Gate. Whatever time you land, someone will open the door and show you to your room. Message us on WhatsApp when you land and we will know you are on your way.

Money

Dahab runs on cash. Almost everything is paid that way, so plan for it.

Withdraw in town, not at the airport. Airport machines charge more.
Look for the green Bank of Egypt machines. They give the best rate. Others add a poor exchange rate and their own fees on top. There is an ATM just to the left as you walk out of The Gate.
Changing euros works too, if you prefer to bring cash with you.
How much to bring. Somewhere between 100 and 200 euro a week. A hundred is enough if you stick to the cheaper places, two hundred covers eating and drinking wherever you like.
Tipping is normal in restaurants. How much is up to you.

Eating and drinking

You will not go hungry. These are the places we actually go to, and where we take guests.

Hand-drawn map of Dahab showing The Gate and nearby cafes, restaurants and the viewpoint, with approximate walking times. — Our favourites, with rough walking times from The Gate.

German Bakery, about 5 minutes away. Bread, croissants and pastries. There is more than one branch; the nearest is on the main street in Mashraba.
Yum Yum, about 6 minutes. The best falafel in Dahab. Also more than one branch, and again the nearest is on the main street in Mashraba.
Old Every Day Cafe, about 10 minutes. Good coffee, good dinner, a lovely spot by the water.
Mahalawy, about 18 minutes. Fresh juices.
Namaste, about 18 minutes. Very good Indian food. Order the mango lassi.
Athanor, about 19 minutes. The best pizza in town. They deliver, and after a hard session we sometimes have them bring it to The Gate.
Single Fin, about 19 minutes, up by the Lighthouse. New, and the coffee is very good.
Coffee Wheel, about 20 minutes. Good coffee, run by freedivers.
Flat White, about 24 minutes. Coffee, locally owned.
Eldorado, about 26 minutes. Italian, a little away from the busy promenade, worth the walk.

Do not drink the tap water, and wash your hands often. Stick to bottled or filtered water.

You can refill your bottle at The Gate for free, as often as you like, so bring one with you rather than buying a new plastic bottle every day.

Ice is made with fresh bottled water, so it is generally fine, though it does not agree with everyone and you can always skip it. Fruit is fine too. In summer it is worth checking that it has been kept cold.

The days you are not diving

Even on a training week you have dry days built in, so there is time for other things.

Walk up to the viewpoint above town. It is free, and at sunset you look out over the whole of Dahab. Worth timing it right.
Go into the desert. There are several good trips out there.
Hike. People do the Saint Catherine hike, and there are other walks nearby.
Or do very little. Sitting in a cafe by the water with a coffee is a perfectly good day here.

We also run a few things ourselves that fit neatly into a dry day: the Ras Mohammed day trip and its overnight version, a Bedouin dinner in the desert, with the same family every time rather than whoever is free that week, and a night freedive on the reef after dark.

Getting around

There are no official taxis in Dahab. Anyone with a car is a taxi.

It works better than it sounds. Stand by the road, put your hand up, and someone will stop. Say where you are going, and it often helps to name the area rather than an exact address. Agree the price before you get in and haggle a little. Most short trips are around 100 Egyptian pounds, one or two euros, depending on the distance.

Staying connected

You can buy a local sim card when you get here, and eSIMs work fine too. The wifi at The Gate is good, so you are not stuck either way.

If something is wrong

There are pharmacies in town that are well stocked, and you can get most things without much trouble. There is one directly opposite The Gate, which is the easiest option for almost anything, though it does not show up on Google Maps. AMR Pharmacy on Peace Road is a good alternative nearby.

If you need a doctor, Dr. Heikal Medical Centre is about 5 minutes from us. Tell us if you are not feeling well, and we will point you in the right direction.

A few words of Egyptian Arabic

Nobody expects you to speak Arabic, and you can get by in English. But a few words go a long way, and people notice when you try.


Salam aleikum	السلام عليكم	Hello, peace be with you. The reply is wa aleikum salam
Sabah el kheir	صباح الخير	Good morning. The reply is sabah el nour
Masa el kheir	مساء الخير	Good afternoon or evening. The reply is masa el nour
Shukran	شكراً	Thank you
Afwan	عفواً	You’re welcome
Law samaht	لو سمحت	Please, or excuse me
Aywa / la	أيوة / لا	Yes / no
Tamam	تمام	Okay, all good
Ezzayak? / ezzayek?	إزيك؟	How are you? The first to a man, the second to a woman
Amil eh? / Amla eh?	عامل إيه؟ / عامله إيه؟	How is it going? Again, the first to a man. You will hear this more here than ezzayak
Inshallah	إن شاء الله	Literally “if God wills”. Used the way you would say “hopefully” or “we’ll see”. One of the most common words of the day
Bekam?	بكام؟	How much is it? Useful in a taxi and at the market
Mafish mushkila	مفيش مشكلة	No problem
Yalla	يلا	Come on, let’s go. You will hear this all day
Maya	مية	Water
Ahwa / shai	قهوة / شاي	Coffee / tea
El hisab	الحساب	The bill
Ma’a salama	مع السلامة	Goodbye

The soundtrack

Half the cafes here play Arabic music, and once you have been out a few evenings you start recognising it. Liam has been collecting it for years, so we keep a playlist of what we actually listen to.

An evening in the Sinai desert, by the fire

Where to start

Two that everyone here knows

Saalouny El Nas Fairuz. The classic, best on a slow morning.
Nour El Ein Amr Diab. You will hear this one somewhere, guaranteed.

And from there, Umm Kulthum for the old world, Cairokee and Wegz for the new.

Open the playlist

Put it on before you come. It is a good way to arrive already half in the mood.

Manners and what to wear

Dahab is relaxed and quite free compared to much of Egypt. You do not need to cover up, and long clothes are not expected.

Away from the beach and the promenade it is worth being a little more considerate about what you wear, particularly as a woman. It is a small thing and it is appreciated.

If you come during Ramadan, it is a good time to be here. On some evenings the promenade fills up with tables and chairs and everyone eats together. During the day more is closed, so expect shops and supermarkets to keep different hours. At The Gate we eat iftar with the staff every evening, and guests are always welcome to pull up a chair.

What to bring, and what to leave at home

Pack light. Dahab is warm, casual, and most things you forget can be bought here.

Worth bringing

A cap and sunglasses. The sun is stronger than it feels with a breeze coming off the water.
Reef-safe sunscreen. You will be in the sea most days, and what you put on your skin ends up on the reef.
A refillable water bottle, so you are not buying plastic every day.
Water shoes, if you like them. Plenty of people bring them and never use them. Not essential.
Any specific medication you rely on. General medicines and things like chargers are easy to find here, but a particular prescription may not be.

Leave at home

Towels. The Gate Hotel has towels for your room, and separate ones you can take out with you. No need to give up half your suitcase.
A big suitcase. Dahab is casual. You will live in very few clothes.

If you are diving with us on a course, equipment is included. For a training week it is not, so you can bring your own or rent from us.

When to come, and what the water is like

Dahab works all year. The sea sits around 26 °C, visibility is often over 30 metres, and there is no current and no swell to speak of. Summer air temperatures get high, so we dive in the morning and take the afternoon slowly.

We wrote a full month-by-month breakdown in the best time of year to freedive in Dahab, including what to pack for each season.

If you are coming to dive with us

The dive sites are close. The Lighthouse is about 5 minutes by car, and the Blue Hole is 20 to 30 minutes away, with a park fee of 20 US dollars per person per day on top. Ras Mohammed is about an hour, so we only go there as a full day or an overnight trip. Our pool is at the centre itself, 25 metres and two lanes.

If you are still working out what you want to do here, these are the useful ones:

Freediving in Dahab, the overview of what diving here is actually like.
Our courses, from a half-day introduction to AIDA and SSI certification.
The training week, if you want a full week of diving with somewhere to stay.
AIDA or SSI, if you are wondering which certification to go for.
Is freediving safe, an honest answer rather than a reassuring one.

Anything we have not covered, just ask. WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us, and we would rather answer a question now than have you wonder about it on the plane.