How many days in Sharm El Sheikh, and how to split them

A week is enough for a good Sharm El Sheikh holiday, and a fortnight is better if you want to see Sinai as well as the sea. For seven nights, plan three or four beach days, one boat day, one short evening trip and, if you like, one long day. For fourteen nights, add the long days and keep one rest day in three. The beach should not be squeezed out.

The trips differ a great deal in effort. The city tour lasts four hours and starts at 16:00. The desert safari lasts five hours and starts at 15:00, or an hour later in summer. The Ras Mohammed boat day lasts about eight hours. The Mount Sinai sunrise night lasts about 17 hours. For current prices, open each trip page, as shared and private trips are priced differently.

Seven nights: a sample plan

• Days 1 and 2: pool, beach and the hotel reef, with no trips while you adjust to the heat.
• Day 3: the Ras Mohammed and White Island boat day, an 08:00 pick-up and a return around 16:00.
• Days 4 and 5: beach and rest, with the city tour at 16:00 on day 5 if you want some shopping.
• Day 6: the desert safari from 15:00, with a quad ride at sunset, dinner and stargazing.
• Day 7: a free day, with no early starts, ready for the flight home.

This plan has two trips and a spare. If you want one long day, replace day 4 with it and add a rest day after. With seven nights, the Mount Sinai night is possible but tight, because it takes a day to recover, so most visitors choose it only if the mountain is the main reason for coming.

Fourteen nights: adding the long days

A fortnight gives you room for the full range. In the first week, keep the plan above. In the second, add the Mount Sinai night, a Cairo or Dahab day, and one more boat day or the road trip into Ras Mohammed. Put the Mount Sinai night early in the second week, so you have a rest day after it and a long gap before your flight.

The short trips and what they give you

The city tour collects you at 16:00 and returns about 20:15. It takes in the Al Mustafa Mosque, the Heavenly Cathedral, the Al Sahaba Mosque and the Old Market, then SOHO Square for the fountain show. Cover shoulders and knees. The desert safari collects you at 15:00, or an hour later in summer, and returns around 20:00. The quad ride lasts about an hour, and the minimum age is 6.

Both leave your mornings free, which is why they fit so well between beach days. They also give variety without much effort. If you have only a few days, one of them is a better choice than a long day that uses your whole day and half the next.

Where to put the first trip

Do not book a trip for your first full day. Flights from the UK take roughly five to five and a half hours, and you will arrive tired and unused to the heat. A gentle first day by the pool is a better start. Then place your first outing on day three, and make it the boat day, so you know early whether the weather and the sea allow it.

The long days and what they cost you

The Ras Mohammed boat day collects you at 08:00 and returns around 16:00, with up to 40 guests, snorkelling and lunch on board. The Mount Sinai night starts at 21:00 and brings you back to Sharm between 11:00 and 14:00 the next day. You will want a quiet afternoon afterwards. Do not book anything on the following day that needs energy, a clear head or an early start.

Rules of thumb

• One trip for every two beach days is a comfortable ratio.
• Never put two long days back to back.
• Avoid a long day on the last full day before your flight.
• Put sea trips early, so that a weather cancellation can be moved to another day.

Most trips can be booked online up to 48 hours before, and inside that window you send a request. If the port authority stops a sea trip for weather, we move it or refund it, which is another reason to leave spare days. A cancellation three or more days before departure brings a full refund, and one made inside that gets half until 24 hours before.