Dahab, Egypt: 10 Things to Know Before You Go

Hidden away on the South Sinai coast, Dahab is the kind of place I didn’t know Egypt had. In a land where most tourists will cruise the Nile on a luxury boat (often as part of a package holiday) or stay in a commercial Red Sea resort, Dahab is the exception.

It’s a chill, small-scale, and bohemian place. It’s soulful and absolutely made for independent travellers, letting you relax by the beach but also get active in a variety of ways, being home to major scuba diving, kitesurfing, and rock climbing communities.

I had purposely added Dahab to my itinerary because I didn’t want it to focus just on Ancient Egypt. It definitely succeeded in adding a different note to my Egypt trip and, compared to the at times stressful cities like Cairo, it felt like a breath of fresh air. The lack of horns, the fresh smell of the sea, and the much lower-pressure interactions with sellers here make it a far more instantly welcoming place. 

It does take a major detour from the typical Egypt travel route to reach, though I found the effort was ultimately worth it. While I didn’t quite fall completely head over heels for Dahab and some seem to do (who may even go so far as calling themselves a Dahabibi – a Dahab bro/sister) — it’s definitely the sort of place I enjoy. 

It’s quite hard to describe Dahab. I want to say the boulevard along the beachfront reminded me somewhat of backpacker/digital nomad towns in Southeast Asia — maybe even Bali. I don’t mean to make any direct comparison though as it’s also nothing at all like Bali (for one, drinking is very rare, and it’s just about a thousand times quieter). Still, if you took an eyedropper tool to Bali, and left just a few droplets of Bali essence in this desert location in Egypt, I think you’d get something more or less like Dahab. 

Instead of structuring this as a typical ‘things to do’ list, I wanted to share some tips and observations to help you have the best stay in Dahab — and I’ll mention some of the best sights and activities along the way.

1. Staying longer is better

First off, I recommend staying in Dahab for at least 4 days if possible, but easily more if you want the full experience. There are several reasons why a longer stay is worth it:

1. It has a pretty slow rhythm. It’s nice not to be in a rush and to have time for that slow coffee with a panoramic view across the Gulf of Aqaba.
2. At the same time, there is actually a lot to do, especially if you enjoy outdoor activities. It’s more or less the adventure sports capital of Egypt, especially for rock climbing, kite- and windsurfing, and the nearby reefs are incredible.
3. Dahab takes a bit of effort to get to, so after coming all this way you may as well stay a while to enjoy it!

I personally stayed 5 nights, but could have made it a whole week if I had done more scuba diving or perhaps added a trek to Mt. Sinai (the one activity I regret not including). 

2. Getting to Dahab is a bit tricky

The town is quite isolated and far from other major nodes on the Egypt travel trail. But my guess is that’s also what kept it real; Dahab felt to me very organic and lightly developed in ways that I prefer over more built-up places. 

You’ll definitely feel very far away from the overwhelming hustle and scams of Cairo or the highly manicured and property-developed resorts elsewhere on the Red Sea. 

Here’s how to get to Dahab…

Overland: This will take a sleeper coach bus from Cairo. Something that kept me from considering it is that, due to security checkpoints, police will awaken you several times through the night for passport checks. I like my sleep and it sounded like an ordeal, so I opted to fly. The booking sites like 12Go or Bookaway will generally list the bus trip as being 10-hour trip, but based on the experiences of other backpackers, it seems it’s more likely to last 12 hours at least. 

Flying: The nearest airport is in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, which has several daily flights from Cairo. During the low season I paid 🇪🇬E£7,500› for a return, which seems to be around the typical fare.

From Sharm El-Sheikh, you need to take a taxi to Dahab. To avoid any potential taxi scams, I used the ride-hailing app InDrive.

There’s a twist, though: technically this app is banned around here, so riders will pick you up but then ask you to not mention InDrive should authorities ask. I was picked up by a very friendly driver who did the trip for 🇪🇬E£1,200› one-way. All in all, somewhat pricey — but the flashpacker in me was too determined to avoid taking the night bus.

3. Be sure to rent a bicycle on your first day

You won’t be beeped out of the way by incessant traffic here in Dahab – it’s a quiet town where even the main road is pretty calm. You don’t really need to have any other transport method than your two feet.

However, renting a bike will give you a lot more range, which I realized a bit late into my stay. Since it’s very cheap to rent one, I suggest having a bicycle for your entire stay. (I rented mine for 🇪🇬E£200› per day.) 

All along the beachfront there is a paved walkway, and there are regularly bicycle stalls where you can park. Cycling is actually one of the main ways people get around here, and I noticed the locals don’t even lock their bikes as theft is so uncommon.

Initially I explored only on foot, which meant I stuck mostly to the central area known as Lighthouse. Once I had a bicycle, I could also easily reach the laid-back residential area of Zarnouk to the north, or cycle to the Laguna to the south, Dahab’s nicest beach.

Getting a scooter/motorbike is also an option, but I’m not sure they’re allowed to go on the beach promenade. Personally, I enjoyed cycling around with constant sea views.

4. Alcohol exists here, but not really

I know, Egypt is a Muslim-majority country. However, in many places around Egypt you can still get alcoholic drinks, in part due to the Coptic Christian minorities and in part due to relative acceptance around serving non-Muslim foreign tourists.

However, I should note the alcoholic drinks situation in Dahab is pretty bleak. While there are several well-stocked dedicated shops where you can buy drinks to take home, it’s difficult to find anywhere public where you can consume an alcoholic drink. I wasn’t really expecting to, but I’m just flagging this so you’re aware.

Google Maps pointed me to Churchill’s Sports Bar & Grill, but they told me they actually didn’t have a license anymore. Even Mojito Bar serves only the virgin kind. The only spot serving alcoholic drinks I encountered was Yalla Bar, though their cocktails are made with such chemical-tasting spirits that I felt zero urge to come back. I would actually recommend making Dahab your detox holiday and foregoing alcohol entirely.

Drinking beers with your buddies at the hostel or on your hotel patio is definitely still something you can do. However, apart from this Dahab is largely ‘dry’ – a place to drink mocktails, or maybe have a sheesha with mint tea while you watch the waves roll in.

5. Few places in the world are this good for scuba or snorkeling

I have dived or snorkeled in many places around the world and finally I get why everyone’s always raving about the Red Sea. Dahab, in particular, is unbelievably good. Make as much use of it as you can!

Walking along the waterfront at night, I first noticed the strange flashes of light under the water, with beams shooting off in different directions as though it was a landing party in some sci-fi film. Actually, these were groups of night divers checking out the house reef. Some of Dahab’s best reefs here are just meters away from the shore, with the Lighthouse reef even being right beside the town center. 

This level of instant reef access is quite rare and precious. If you ever wanted to learn scuba diving it’s actually hard to think of a better place.

You can just gear up at your dive school, literally walk several meters across the promenade, enter the water… and, well, you’re there. No boat rides needed, no complicated entries. You just walk right in, practice your techniques in the shallow area, and then head out just a little further where the wall reef begins. For a beginner it’s far less stressful than, say, doing a back roll entry off a boat in the middle of nowhere.

The waters are stunningly clear and there’s a ton of fascinating underwater life to discover, from large creatures such as Napoleon wrasses and barracudas down to the smallest of nudibranchs. The most famous dive site here is The Blue Hole, a massive 120-meter-deep submarine sinkhole.

If you don’t dive, don’t worry. The snorkeling is also very accessible – either in Dahab town itself, or at the Three Pools Dive Site south of town. 

Given the accessibility of the reefs, I found it quite heartening to see that nature preservation is taken seriously. There’s often a type of special lifeguard who will whistle and stop tourists who might touch the corals close to shore to avoid damage to the ecosystem.

6. It gets windy and even slightly chilly (outside summer)

I ended up visiting Egypt not in the winter high season (the typical travel time, especially for Ancient Egypt) but in May. This meant that elsewhere in Egypt I was regularly sweating absolutely buckets. When I was in the White Desert close to the Sahara, the temperatures even reached a brain-sizzling 47 degrees C (117 F). 

So imagine my surprise when I found that despite being at the edge of the Sinai Desert… Dahab is actually pretty mild during this time. It was sometimes even a tiny bit cold when the winds were strong. Overall it felt more like sunny spring weather than full-on summer. 

This actually makes it a pleasant place to be, and it’s of course what also makes it a big kitesurfing spot. Just know that the water temperatures don’t quite reach tropical level, particularly earlier in the year.

When scuba diving I needed a full wetsuit, rather than the shorty wetsuit I’d used in tropical destinations. However, this may be very different in the peak of September, when the waters have had a full summer to warm up, reaching around 27–28°C.

7. There are essentially 4 areas to stay

As I got to know the town better, especially as I began bicycling my way around, I understood it can be divided into more or less four distinct zones.

Lighthouse is the main center around the crescent-shaped bay where most of the seaside bars and restaurants are located. If you’ve ever been on a “backpacker strip” in a tropical island then you will somewhat recognize the overall texture of this area. It’s filled with souvenir shops, cafes, and restaurants covering all sorts of cuisines including tacos, pad thais, and so on. 

Stay here if you want to be close to the action. Yalla Bar and others play loud music during the day, so you may want to be one or two streets inland if you want more peace. It’s fairly busy overall, but along the promenade at least there’s no motorized traffic, so it’s not too bad. Most of the scuba dive shops are also located here (especially ones focused on walk-in customers). 

Best Lighthouse-area stays:

• $ Sunrise Dahab Lodge – A budget-friendly camp-style stay in Lighthouse, footsteps from Fantasea Dive Center and the beach.
• $$ Red Sea Relax Hotel – The hotel sits directly by the Lighthouse Reef, has its own dive centre, pool and beachfront.

Mashraba is the area south of Lighthouse, starting more or less at the bridge. It still feels vibey and organic in its layout, but the foot and bicycle traffic really thins out here. The accommodation is mostly small/mid-size hotels here. Dive shops are usually part of a hotel or mini dive resort, more focused on pre-booked dive stays.

I would recommend this area especially for families or couples who want to be walking distance from the main restaurant and swimming area at Lighthouse, but also want a calmer stay.

My favourite stays in Mashraba:

• $ Jimmy Hotel – For travellers who want to be close to restaurants, diving and the social side of Dahab – in Downtown Mashraba
• $$ Tree House Hotel – A relaxed, good-value hotel, with a garden and a convenient spot near the seafront

Assalah is north of Lighthouse, feeling more residential and increasingly bohemian as you go north. There are fewer restaurants and amenities around here, but spots like Sarda Cafe feel somehow local and intimate.

I would suggest this area for longer stays, digital nomads, and those looking for a residential-style Airbnb or guesthouse. It’s kind of like a village away from the main town. Walking to lighthouse can take 20-30 minutes, so I recommend having a bicycle if you stay here.

Best places to stay in Assalah:

• $ Beit Tolba – A recently renovated chalet just a couple of minutes from Dahab Beach, with spacious rooms, sea and mountain views
• $ Rafiki Hostel – The hostel everyone in Dahab recommends, about 500m from Dahab Beach. More on my experience in the next section.
• $$ Daniela Diving Resort Dahab – a dive-focused hotel, with its own PADI dive center – good for people who want a resort base with easy access to the lagoon and water sports.

Laguna is the more newly built resort area southwest of town, neatly planned in a grid like a mini version of Sharm El-Sheik. It’s honestly not the part of Dahab that appeals to me, so I didn’t get to check it out much, but if you want more of a formal resort hotel, this is the area to look.

• $$$ Safir Dahab Resort – A polished beachfront resort, with a private sandy beach, landscaped pool and views across the Red Sea towards the Sinai mountains.

8. Yes, Rafiki Hostel is fantastic

During my research into Dahab I noticed many bloggers mentioning Rafiki Hostel, to the point of becoming a tad suspicious of everyone recommending the same place. I did ultimately end up staying there as well and can confirm it’s actually a superb hostel.

Its layout is a bit unusual though – it’s actually spread across three different residential houses. They’re in the same street, but a few buildings apart. While that could easily spell disaster for the social aspects, I found it’s actually genius, as it splits the hostel into three different vibes. 

The first building is entirely dorms and slants a lot younger, the second building is a mix and has the swimming pool, and the third has private rooms only and is quieter. I went into the third ‘boring’ building, where I booked a room with a small desk that I could work from. The middle building was still there whenever I wanted to socialize.

The hostel is very adept at promoting its own tours throughout the week via the Whatsapp channel. The tours are honestly a bit of a mixed bag though. The trip to Three Pools Dive Site could have easily been a taxi (if you can get a crew together).

There’s a trip where you stay overnight in a little desert canyon, but it’s just a short ride out of town. It’s nice for the sitting-around-a-campfire part, but staying in a tent there seems pretty pointless when you have a much more comfy bed with AC at the hostel just a 15-minute ride back into town. 

My advice is to make friends at the breakfast table and then make your own ad hoc plans, unless it’s for something that’s really logistically difficult (like the Mt. Sinai hike).

9. Want to hike the mountains? Prebook it!

I had my mind on hiking to the top of Mt. Sinai for sunset, but I missed out on the experience because, frankly, I just got lazy. 

Dahab has a slow vibe and I was content hopping between cafes and reading a book. I forgot about the all-nighter required for Mt. Sinai, but looking back, I really wish I’d still included it in my itinerary. I probably should have just locked it in for my first night, got something epic done right away, and then chilled in Dahab for the remaining days.

You can book the trip on GetYourGuide. It’s a 2-hour drive and the vans typically leave in the late evening, around 10 pm. Bring warm layers – everyone told me it got super cold at the top.

book the sunset hike here

10. It’s a viable digital nomad hub 

I actually learned of Dahab originally from a digital nomad, who pitched it as a quiet mid-season pitstop between other pins on the world map. While it’s not one of the top nomad locations worldwide, Dahab is in a specific niche where it offers low prices and perhaps fewer distractions (parties, nearby cities, etc.) than certain other hotspots.

I could definitely see the appeal: it’s a cheap and overall pleasant place to be by the coast. You can bury yourself in your work, but still have plenty of outdoor activities to do in your off hours. Tap away on your laptop in one of the many cafes, then do some rock climbing or dive some reefs on the same day, without much hedonism around to ruin your overall productivity. 

One thing to flag though: the internet connectivity isn’t perfect. My room’s Wi-Fi was pretty slow, and I had to use my local SIM card with mobile data as a backup a few times. Speeds are typically 5–15 Mbps, which is totally fine for light work, but if you have very video-heavy or upload-intensive work it won’t be ideal.

CoworkInn Dahab, Everyday Cafe, and Ralph’s German Bakery are several places known for higher-quality connections. 

Even if you’re not working remotely, Dahab can be the perfect antidote to the madness found elsewhere in Egypt. It reminded me at least conceptually of Essaouira in Morocco, which is also a (kite)surfing hotspot that contrasts wonderfully with the chaos of Marrakech, much as Dahab contrasts with Cairo.

While the distance from other travel nodes in Egypt doesn’t make it a no-brainer to just throw into your itinerary, if you have the time to spare and make the journey to Dahab, you will be rewarded with a laidback escape that might just make you forget all those taxi scams you suffered in the capital.

And if Cairo is part of your trip, don’t miss my guide in which I explain how to navigate it with far fewer headaches. In my in-depth Cairo guide, I’ll also update you on some important things that other guides miss that changed completely in recent years – and knowing them will help you have a better time at the Pyramids and elsewhere.