Already in the eighties, when the Red Sea has come to the fore only Taba and Eilat, just across the border in northern Sinai, who discovered the few privileged fans dive that was part of the world was a notorious was known a few thousand years before the "discovery" that the coast of Sharm el Sheikh and coral reefs that surround it, which is quite shocking, was Lets face it, after the Bible mentions the Red Sea parted by Moses himself inthe Bible for thousands of years so it wasn't exactly a secret now was it? I mean how many folks have read the Bible? So to be fair let's say this region was rediscovered by some diving enthusiasts, who fell in love with the gentle lapping waters of the Red Sea encompassing the golden sands of the desert.
I have a strong belief that some parts of this world have a direct effect on your psyche, an effect that cannot be quantified or fully explained by the written word or the spoken word until it is seen by your very own naked eye, felt in the first breath of air you breathe in your lungs and felt with the warmth of the sun caressing bare arms and if you are lucky maybe a teeny tiny bit of breeze. This is how I felt back in 1990, when I crossed the desert from Israel through Taba to the then unheard of resort or should i say fishing village Sharm El Sheikh with a select few travel agents has been introduced to this part of the world. I travelled by coach across the Wilderness, that is uniformly golden as we saw in Gods Own Demerera Sugar Bowl, I have a half before breakfast is waiting for a big old bucket with a big strong hand to scoop imaginary mix sugar puffs of the desert in some of his (my God eats puffs Sugar, sorry Shreddies lovers!) which is how I feel, but I have known for a living the same fantasy for my three years, then again, I digress and go into ecstasy. That was then and this is now, and in the past20 years the little unknown resort with its two hotels standing on the edge of the Sinai desert that I first came upon when I first visited Sharm El Sheikh has undergone a metamorphosis worthy of mention.
At twenty four kilometres long this little desert place in Egypt has become the top holiday destination for us and our European cousins'. It is peppered with a wide selection of five star hotels offering either very luxurious ultra modern five stars like the Four Seasons Resort or smaller and more affordable three to generic tourist five star hotels, most offering all inclusive, but as a rule of thumb All Inclusive Hotels can get a bit repetitive after five days so be warned. Speaking for myself I have never really liked the concept of and "All Inclusive Holiday", I would much prefer exploring local delicacies and culture and staying in small and friendly family run hotels, but nonetheless given the nature of cheap Sharm El Sheikh holidays and the fact that it's a purpose built holiday resort, unless you are prepared to go deep into the sandy desert and hunt down some very shy Bedouin locals puzzled by the crazy English man who is trying to go local, All Inclusive holidays are the best option, of course if you are going to stay around Naama Bay, Sharks Bay or Ras Om El Seid Hill, you can get away with little BB's and eat local but as most hotels stretch over some serious kilometres along the coastline of Sharm El Sheikh then All Inclusive is easier by far! If you are planing on an All Inclusive Holiday in Sharm el sheikh, remember that no two five star hotels where ever created equal, use the price as guidance simply the more it costs the better service you should receive.
You have Tourist fives, and Family fives, and of course luxury five stars, an experienced travel agent will point you in the right direction and remember tripadvisor.com is a very good resource of reviews both positive and negative, however, I have known many holidaymakers been undone by the good marks and points given by the people who have looked at Sultan Garden's for example, but, and this you need to take into consideration, the Sultan Gardens is absolutely perfect if you are going as a family with children in tow, older couples with no kids may find the Sultan Gardens teeming as it will be with lots of families with kids, doing what kids do on holiday may result in the hotel been unsuitable and a tad overwhelming, this means Would not have liked it so much, so if you have suggestions on websites that really really need to read between the lines and to check that has no business writing this review. In addition to where to stay the course, the holidays in Sharm El Sheikh is known for diving and what a place to dive, if the Garden of Eden was to be under the sea, then this is where it would be. Once you have a snorkel on his head under water in the sea and you are in another world, a world full of colors,every coral and every fish imaginable just there in front of you, you get to see the yellows and purples and the turquoise of all the darting little fish, the sway of sea anemones and the brain coral and best of all you are there, sensing and touching all these new and wonderful techni-coloured visual stimuli which bares no comparison to you gazing in brochures and on the internet at all the photos and snapshots.
