ENJOYING THE RED SEA COAST

 

The Red Sea got its name from the red coral reefs that lie off-shore. The sea itself is a brilliant turquoise, with warm water and sandy shores, with shallows stretching out far from the beaches.  To really get a close-up of the coral reefs we went on a glass-bottom boat tour in Soma Bay.

Lynda and I enjoying the cruise

I love those glass-bottom boat trips. I went on one at Zakynthos, Greece last summer to see the caretta-caretta sea turtles.  The trip I made on the Red Sea was just as spectacular with schools of brightly-coloured fish everywhere.  As we passed over the beds of red coral you could see clearly all the sea-life below: fish, anemones, and crustaceans. We even spotted a couple of scuba divers exploring the reefs.

Diver

Because of the reefs, diving is a popular sport on the Red Sea coast and from Hurghada north there are many dive schools offering gear and lessons for those who want to try.  The area is a prime location of scuba diving and fast becoming a popular resort area as well. The beaches are some of the purest, most unspoiled in the world! The area is known as the Red Sea Riviera.

http://www.dive-the-world.com/diving-sites-egypt.php

Most of the resorts have dive schools and instructors for those who want to try snorkeling or scuba diving. As well, they offer other water sports such as kite surfing, wind surfing, jet-skiing, sailing and fishing.  Or, like we did, you can take a cruise on a glass-bottom boat and survey the wonders of the sea from above.

 

 Kite Surfing

After a day at sea or on the beach you can relax in the beautiful, fully-equipped spas that these resorts offer to their guests.

 

Before leaving our Soma Bay Resort area to board a plane back to Cairo at Hurghada, we stopped to visit another luxury resort, The Steigenberger Aqua Magic.  This is one of the most vibrant family-oriented resorts on the Red Sea. This resort was definitely geared for families with children and an entire area is devoted to a Disney-like theme park for kids to enjoy with water slides, pirate ships.

 A special program called Magic Tots Club for young guests includes fun and educational activities so parents can enjoy some leisure time on their own. There are lots of teen activities too including a games room, electronic games play station room, billiards, table tennis and a soft drinks bar. 

 

 For adults there are all the amenities you could wish for on a Riviera holiday including a 9-hole golf course, a dive centre, a shopping and leisure promenade where guests can shop and dine,  The accommodations were posh, beautifully decorated with a congeal staff who showed us around. And when we checked the prices they were amazingly reasonable: €160 a day all inclusive for double occupancy. www.steigenbergeraquamagic.com

 

Spa

 



After our tour we drove to Hurghada for our flight.  I was sorry to say goodbye the Red Sea and would love to think I might visit again some day. 

http://www.touregypt.net/vdc/abtrdsea.htm 

NEXT:  Cairo, the Old and the New