Agiba Beach

Agiba is a narrow cove set into a limestone cliff west of Marsa Matruh, and the approach is what makes it: the road runs along the clifftop with no hint of the beach until you reach the viewpoint and the whole cove opens below, a crescent of pale sand with water in bands of green and blue against dark rock. A stepped path cut into the cliff leads down. The beach is small, perhaps a hundred metres, and it fills quickly in summer. Swimming is best at the sheltered end because the open side takes swell and there is rock underfoot. The clifftop above has a handful of cafes and is where most people actually spend their time, since the view from there is the picture everybody comes for.

What you actually see

• The clifftop view - the cove appearing all at once from above.
• Banded water colour - green to deep blue over sand and rock.
• The cut cliff stair - the only way down to the sand.
• A hundred metres of beach - small, enclosed and quickly full.

When to go

May to October. Early morning or late afternoon avoids both the heat and the crowd; midday in August the cove is shoulder to shoulder. Half a day including the trip from Matruh. Sunset from the clifftop is the local ritual.

Honest expectations

The beach is genuinely small and gets very crowded in season. The stair down is steep and awkward and there is no shade below. Swimming conditions are poor when swell runs, and there are no lifeguards. Clifftop cafes are basic and overcharge in summer.

Nearby

Cleopatra's Bath is a short drive; Marsa Matruh is east along the coast.