Snorkeling in Sharm, September 2024
Lots of letter S’s in that title!
It seems like such a long time ago already but after a very intense work project I managed to get enough annual leave for us to have a sneaky week in Sharm. A few of my friends had already stayed at the Reef Oasis Blue Bay and recommended it so it seemed a good option. I then found out about the amazing honeymoon suite that overlooked the red sea so I counted all my pennies and secretly upgraded us for the week without hubby knowing!
Needless to say, he loved the room! The honeymoon suites are located next to the stunning Infinity pool and have an amazing view and a balcony or two to relax on. Other perks were breakfast brought to the room, wifi and a stocked mini bar (soft drinks). The hotel is very large and spread out but these rooms are close to the main hotel hub of bars and restaurants, in fact, we never went any further than the parade of shops to get some extra sun cream! The Infinity pool was great to relax around and due to the recent troubles in Cairo, the resort was very quiet so no problems getting sun beds. We went all inclusive which allows guests to dine in one of 3 included additional restaurants once per week, but due to the low occupancy we managed to eat in them every night! The food in all of them was very good but the French restaurant ‘Romantique’ was exceptional and worth the additional cost of 35 Euros each. The grounds were very tidy and the spa was really heavenly!
You will probably know by now that snorkeling is a massive hobby of mine and this trip was no different. The pontoon is just a few metres long meaning no slogging it out in the heat just to get to the water. We could get to the beach in about two minutes and were in the perfect place for maximum snorkeling opportunities. The reef runs all along the beach area here and despite my best attempts, I probably only investigated around 40% of it. The coral is plentiful, colourful and healthy for the most part. Whilst there are not as many fish as the Maldives there are still plenty to keep my interest and I even saw some new species. We went the last week of September and water temperature was around 26/27 degrees. We also did night snorkeling with the dive centre and it was brilliant to see all the feather stars comes out at night. These are just a few of my favourite shots:
