Dahab, Egypt: 10 Things to Know Before You Go

Hidden away on the South Sinai coast, Dahab is the kind of place I didn’t know Egypt had. In a land where most tourists will cruise the Nile on a luxury boat (often as part of a package holiday) or stay in a commercial Red Sea resort, Dahab is the exception. It’s a chill, small-scale, and bohemian place. It’s soulful and absolutely made for independent travellers, letting you relax by the beach but also get active in a variety of ways, being home to major scuba diving, kitesurfing, and rock climbing communities. I had purposely added Dahab to my itinerary because I didn’t want it to focus just on Ancient Egypt. It definitely succeeded in adding a different note to my Egypt trip and, compared to the at times stressful cities like Cairo, it felt like a breath of fresh air. The lack of horns, the fresh smell of the sea, and the much lower-pressure interactions with sellers here make it a far more instantly welcoming place. The main seaside walking strip hit a familiar note It does take a major detour from the typical Egypt travel route to reach, though I found the effort was ultimately worth it. While I didn’t quite fall completely head over heels for Dahab and some seem to do (who ma...