Best Beaches in Marsa Alam: Turtle Bays, Lagoons and Sandbars

Marsa Alam’s coast is a long line of sandy bays, fringing coral reefs and, further south, islands and sandbars. In Arabic a “marsa” is a bay or anchorage, and the name fits: the most beautiful beaches here are sheltered bays and lagoons rather than a busy town strip. Most visitors spend their everyday beach time at their hotel, and the beaches worth a special trip are in a protected bay to the north, a national park to the south and an island archipelago reached by boat. Here are the best of them, what each one is like and how to choose.

What a Marsa Alam beach is like

Along most of this coast a coral reef runs close to the shore. Between the sand and the deeper water there is often a shallow reef flat, which is why many hotels have a jetty that carries you over it to the reef edge. In the bays the picture changes: the reef opens up into a sandy bottom and seagrass meadows, where the entry is soft and the water stays shallow for a long way out. Those sandy bays and lagoons are the beaches people travel for.

Whichever beach you choose, the sea is the main event. Bring a mask, because even in knee-deep water you will see fish, and wear water shoes wherever the entry crosses rock, coral or seagrass. Our guide to snorkeling in Marsa Alam covers the reefs and how to snorkel them safely.

Abu Dabbab Bay: the turtle beach

If you only visit one beach outside your hotel, make it Abu Dabbab. This crescent of soft sand and calm, shallow water lies about 30 minutes north of Marsa Alam town. The bay is lined with seagrass meadows where green sea turtles feed all year, and you can walk straight in from the sand: no boat, no deep water and no experience needed. That is why it is the easiest beginner snorkeling spot on the coast, and a favourite with families.

Turtles are wild animals, so a sighting is never guaranteed, but your chances are good if you swim slowly and stay still at the surface. Very occasionally a dugong (sea cow) visits the bay too, though it is rare. Give every turtle plenty of space, never touch or chase one, and keep your fins off the seagrass. Read more about the bay itself in our Abu Dabbab destination guide.

The easiest way to go is the Abu Dabbab snorkeling trip, a relaxed half day with hotel pickup, a snorkeling guide and the equipment included. Pickups are usually in the early to mid morning, when the light is best for spotting turtles.

Sharm El Luli: the white-sand lagoon

Sharm El Luli is often called one of the most beautiful beaches on the Red Sea, and it is easy to see why. Fine white sand curves around a shallow, bright turquoise lagoon, with the mountains of the Eastern Desert rising behind it. It lies inside Wadi El Gemal National Park, about 60 km south of Marsa Alam and roughly an hour by road, and because building is not allowed in the park, there are no hotels on the beach.

The lagoon has a seagrass meadow where green turtles come to graze, and the shallow water makes it a gentle place to snorkel and paddle with children. Facilities are very limited and shade can be scarce, so bring water, sun protection and a light long-sleeved top. The national park charges an entry fee. On windy days the sandy bottom can cloud the water, so calm days are best. We arrange Sharm El Luli beach days on request: send us your date and group size, and we reply with the price and pickup time.

Hamata’s sandbars and the Qulaan mangroves

For a beach that feels truly wild, go south to the Hamata (Qulaan) Islands, a protected archipelago about 120 km south of Marsa Alam. Here the beaches are white sandbars in shallow turquoise water, ringed by mangroves where ospreys and herons hunt. There is no road to them: you reach them by boat from Hamata harbour, about a two-hour drive from Marsa Alam.

The Hamata Islands boat trip is a full day: an early pickup, a cruise into the archipelago, two snorkel stops on coral gardens and lunch with beach time on a mangrove sandbar. You simply wade ashore, so it suits children and non-swimmers too, and life jackets are available. Boats sail several times a week when the sea allows. The mangroves are fragile, so they are enjoyed from the boat and the sandbars rather than walked through. See the Hamata Islands destination guide for more about the area.

Your hotel beach and house reef

Don’t overlook the beach on your doorstep. Many hotels along the coast sit on their own bay or have a jetty out to a house reef, which makes an early-morning swim or a late-afternoon snorkel easy on the days between trips. A few simple rules keep it safe (our house reef snorkeling guide has more):

• Enter and leave the water where the staff tell you to, usually by the jetty or a marked channel, rather than walking across the reef flat.
• Ask about currents at the reef edge, and snorkel with a buddy.
• Watch the flags and the weather. On windy days, stay closer to shore or pick a sheltered bay.
• Never stand on coral: it is alive, it grows slowly and it can cut.

How to choose the right beach for you

• First-time snorkelers and young families: Abu Dabbab, for the sandy entry, the shallow water and the best chance of a turtle without a boat.
• The most beautiful sand and water: Sharm El Luli, if you are happy with a longer drive and few facilities.
• Remote and empty: the Hamata sandbars, if a full day at sea with an early start sounds good rather than tiring.
• Short on time or travelling with toddlers: your hotel beach, ideally on a calm morning.
• You came for dolphins rather than sand: the Sataya dolphin reef trip is a full day at sea, with wild dolphins that may or may not appear.

Travelling with children? Our guide to Marsa Alam with kids suggests which beaches and trips suit each age.

Beach tips: sun, sea and the reef

• Use reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and a long-sleeved top for snorkeling. The sun is strong all year, and shade is limited on the natural beaches.
• Pack water shoes for rocky or seagrass entries and a dry bag for your phone.
• Leave shells, coral and stones where you find them. Collecting them is banned in Egypt’s protected areas, and customs can take them from you at the airport.
• Take all your rubbish with you, and never feed the fish.
• The sea is often calmest in the morning, which is the best time for clear water and snorkeling.

For what else to bring, see our Marsa Alam packing list, and for sea temperatures through the year, read the best time to visit Marsa Alam.