Dahab

Dahab grew out of a Bedouin fishing settlement and a backpacker beach camp into a small town that has stayed noticeably different from the resort cities to the south: low buildings, a walkable seafront of cafes with cushions on the ground, and a culture built around what is directly offshore. The reef runs along the whole coast and drops close in, which makes almost all the diving here shore diving, walked into from the road with tanks in a pickup. The lagoon at the northern end is shallow, flat and windy, which has made it a centre for kitesurfing and windsurfing. Above the town the Sinai mountains rise immediately, so camel and jeep trips into the wadis are the standard land excursion. The pace is deliberately slow.

What you actually see

• Shore diving along the reef - entries walked in from the coast road.
• The windsurfing lagoon - flat shallow water at the northern end.
• The seafront cushion cafes - the town's defining habit.
• Mountains at the back door - wadis and Bedouin camps behind the coast.

When to go

October to May, with the wind season for kite and windsurfing running strongest in spring and summer. Water is warmest late summer. Three days for a taste, a week or more for diving courses, which is what many people come for.

Honest expectations

Shore entries over sharp coral and rock are hard on feet and require boots. The Blue Hole nearby has a serious fatality record and should be treated with respect. Prices have risen and the town is more developed than its reputation suggests. Tap water is not drinkable.

Nearby

The Blue Hole and Ras Abu Galum are north; Sharm El Sheikh is ninety minutes south.