Dahab: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Dahab, gold in Arabic, for the colour of its sand, was a fishing village of the Muzeina Bedouin. From 1967 to 1982 Sinai was held by Israel, and Dahab became Di-Zahav, a favourite of Israeli backpackers. Before going, check the current travel warning for Sinai of Israel’s National Security Council. Ninety minutes along the water.

A short history of Dahab

Dahab was a small fishing village of Bedouin from the Muzeina tribe on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba. Between 1967 and 1982 it was under Israeli control and called Di Zahav, and Israeli travellers discovered its beaches and diving sites. In 1982 it was returned to Egypt under the peace treaty, and the village developed into a destination for divers and backpackers, with the famous Blue Hole to its north. On 24 April 2006 about 20 people were killed in the town in a terrorist attack involving three explosions.

The ten best sights in Dahab

1
Masbat
The seafront promenade of cafés on cushions
2
Dahab Bridge
The little bridge at the centre of the bay
3
Mashraba
The quieter south end of the promenade
4
Assala
The Bedouin village at the north end
5
Eel Garden
Garden eels swaying on the sand
6
Lighthouse Reef
The easy reef in the middle of town
7
The Lagoon
Windsurfing and kitesurfing on flat water
8
Blue Hole
The famous sinkhole; snorkel the rim, dive only with training
9
The Bells
A chimney in the reef wall, next to the Blue Hole
10
Ras Abu Galum
A protected coast reached on foot or by camel

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Dahab →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Dahab:

Free walking tours in Dahab

The bay of gold

Assala · The original Bedouin village at the north end of the bay, where fishermen still pull boats onto the beach and goats wander the lanes. The Muzeina, the largest tribe of southern Sinai, have lived on this coast for centuries.
Eel Garden · A sandy slope just off the beach where hundreds of garden eels stand up out of their burrows like grass in the current, then vanish into the sand when you swim close.
Masbat · The promenade of restaurants and cafés where you eat on cushions a step from the sea, with the mountains of Saudi Arabia across the gulf, about twenty kilometres away.
Dahab Bridge · The small footbridge over a dry wadi in the middle of the bay is the heart of town. When rare winter rains come down the mountains, the wadi fills with flash floods that run straight into the sea.
Mashraba · The quieter south end of the promenade, with small camps and dive centres, and a reef just off the shore where you can snorkel among corals with no boat at all.
The Lagoon · A sandy spit encloses a shallow lagoon where the steady wind off the desert blows across flat water — one of the best places in the world to learn windsurfing and kitesurfing.

The Blue Hole and the north coast

North of Dahab the reefs drop straight into deep water, and the most famous dive site in the Red Sea, the Blue Hole, lies a few metres off the shore. Beyond it the road ends, and the coast goes on only on foot or by camel. Half a day or a whole day.

Lighthouse Reef · The easiest dive in town, where most divers in Dahab make their first dive: a gentle slope of corals from the beach, under the little lighthouse at the north end of the bay.
The Bells · Divers enter through a crack in the reef top and drop down a narrow chimney to about twenty-seven metres, then swim along a sheer wall toward the Blue Hole — a classic dive for the experienced.
Blue Hole · A round sinkhole in the reef more than a hundred metres deep, with a tunnel, the Arch, opening to the open sea at about fifty-five metres. It is known as one of the most dangerous dive sites in the world; many divers have died trying to pass the Arch, and plaques on the rocks remember them. It is the freediving capital of the Red Sea; snorkelling on the rim is safe and beautiful.
Ras Abu Galum · From the Blue Hole a path runs north along the cliffs to this protected area, where a few Bedouin huts stand on a beach with no road. The walk takes about an hour and a half, or you can ride a camel; the reefs here are almost untouched.
Wadi Gnai · Back south of town, a canyon leads into the mountains to a small oasis of palms and a well, where Bedouin families still tend gardens in the desert. Bedouin guides bring visitors by jeep or camel for tea.
Masbat · At sunset the whole town turns to the east to watch the Saudi mountains glow pink across the water, then settles on the cushions for dinner.

Mount Sinai and the monastery

About an hour and a half inland lie the mountain where tradition says Moses received the Law, and the monastery at its foot, one of the oldest in the world. Tours leave Dahab around eleven at night to reach the summit for sunrise. A night and a morning; very cold on top even in summer.

White Canyon · On another day, a narrow canyon of white sandstone in the desert north of Dahab, which you walk through and climb out of with the help of ropes and Bedouin guides.
Mount Sinai · Jebel Musa, the mountain of Moses, about two thousand two hundred and eighty-five metres high, identified by Christian tradition since the fourth century with the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments. The camel path climbs in about two and a half hours, then about seven hundred and fifty steep steps to the summit chapel, where hundreds wait in blankets for the sunrise.
Steps of Repentance · The other way down is the Steps of Repentance, nearly four thousand steps cut by monks straight down to the monastery. Whether this is the biblical Sinai is debated — scholars have proposed many mountains — but pilgrims have climbed it for some sixteen hundred years.
St Catherine’s Monastery · Built by the emperor Justinian in the 550s and never destroyed, it is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world. In its courtyard grows a bramble said to descend from the burning bush, and inside the walls stands a small mosque of the Fatimid era, built, the monks say, to protect the monastery.
The monastery library · Its library holds one of the greatest collections of early manuscripts in the world, second only to the Vatican’s. From here the Codex Sinaiticus, one of the two oldest complete Christian Bibles, was taken in 1859; most of it is now in the British Library, and the dispute over it has never ended.
Wadi Gnai · On the road back to the coast, the granite mountains of southern Sinai fall toward the sea through wadis like this one, where the Bedouin graze camels and goats on the little that grows.

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Getting to Dahab and getting around

Sharm el-Sheikh Airport · About an hour by taxi; there are checkpoints on the road
Dahab Bus Station · Buses to Sharm, Nuweiba, Taba and Cairo

Cheap eats in Dahab

Dahab eats fish caught that morning, grilled and sold by weight on the promenade with rice, salads and tahini; Bedouin bread baked on a domed iron over the fire; koshari and ful at the local stalls in town; and sweet Bedouin tea with desert herbs. The local stalls of the town centre are a fraction of the seafront prices.

Masbat · Fish by weight on the seafront
Dahab Bus Station · Koshari and ful in the town centre
Assala · Local fish restaurants
Wadi Gnai · Bedouin bread and tea

Museums in Dahab

Dahab has no museums; its history is the Bedouin of the coast and the monastery in the mountains.

St Catherine’s Monastery · Icons and manuscripts
Assala · The Bedouin village

Nature and day trips near Dahab

Dahab is reefs under the water and granite desert above it — some of the best snorkelling in the world a few steps from the beach.

Blue Hole · Snorkel the rim
Eel Garden · Garden eels
Ras Abu Galum · The walk along the coast
White Canyon · A desert canyon hike
Mount Sinai · Sunrise from the summit

Things to do in Dahab with kids

With children: snorkelling from the beach, a camel ride, and the shallow lagoon.

Lighthouse Reef · Easy snorkelling
The Lagoon · Shallow water to play
Ras Abu Galum · A camel ride

Holy places in Dahab

Inland lie the mountain of the Law and one of the oldest monasteries in the world.

Mount Sinai · The mountain of Moses
St Catherine’s Monastery · The burning bush

Nightlife in Dahab

Dahab’s nights are slow: cushions by the sea, a few bars with music on the promenade, and the stars from a Bedouin camp in the desert.

Masbat · Bars on the promenade
Dahab Bridge · The centre of the evening
Wadi Gnai · Stars from the desert

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Frequently asked questions about Dahab

What is there to see in Dahab?

The top sights in Dahab are Masbat, Dahab Bridge and Mashraba. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Dahab?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Dahab without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Dahab?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Dahab, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The bay of gold.

How do you get to Dahab and get around?

The main ways are Sharm el-Sheikh Airport and Dahab Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Dahab, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Dahab that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

Looking for a hotel in Dahab for your dates?

Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.

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