Ras Mohamed Boat Trip & White Island

Ras Mohamed is the headland at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, where the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba meet the Red Sea. Declared a protected area in 1983, it became Egypt's first national park, and its reefs are among the richest in the Red Sea: steep coral walls, coral gardens in shallow lagoons and large schools of fish that gather where the currents meet. White Island is a bright sandbar off the park's coast, surrounded by shallow turquoise water, where the boats stop for swimming and sunbathing.

The day starts with a transfer from your hotel to the marina in Sharm El Sheikh. The boat sails south along the coast to Ras Mohamed, about 90 minutes away. You make two snorkelling stops on the park's reefs, chosen by the captain for the conditions on the day, and stop at White Island, where you can walk on the sand and swim in the lagoon. Lunch is served on board. In the late afternoon the boat returns to the marina and the driver takes you back to your hotel, about eight to nine hours after pickup.

Who this trip suits

• Snorkellers of all levels: the stops include calm, shallow areas for beginners and reef walls for confident swimmers.
• Families with children who can swim, or who are happy with a life jacket in the shallow water at White Island.
• Non-snorkellers travelling with snorkellers, who can stay on the sun deck and swim at the sandbar.
• Anyone staying in Sharm who wants a full day on the water with lunch taken care of.

It is a weaker fit if you get seasick easily or cannot spend a day in the sun. Certified divers should ask for a diving boat instead, since the best walls of Ras Mohamed are deeper than snorkelling depth. For land trips, see our Sharm El Sheikh day tours.

Why the guide and crew matter here

Ras Mohamed has currents, and the reefs change from one stop to the next. The guide and crew choose the sites for the day's wind and sea, brief you before every stop, show beginners how to use the mask and fins, and stay in the water with less confident swimmers. They also explain the park rules that keep the reef alive: no touching or standing on coral, no feeding the fish and nothing taken from the sea.