Secluded Sinai: Nuweiba

Nuweiba
Expansive fine-sand beaches peppered with Bedouin beach tourist camps; Nuweiba offers something completely different to most other Egyptian Sinai Peninsula diving resorts. Situated just 70km south of Taba and150km north of Sharm El Sheikh, Nuweiba is celebrated for its easy, but spectacular shore diving and quiet and laid-back approach topside with little in the way of commercial tourism.
The town is surrounded by natural beauty, with views of the Sinai mountains, the rich blues of the Red Sea reefs and the mountains of Saudi Arabia across the Gulf of Aqaba. It is also one of the best places to experience Bedouin culture. Nuweiba was built in 1971 between an area inhabited by two different Bedouin tribes: the Tarabeen in the north and the Maizena in the south.
An ideal location from which to travel to other countries fringing the northern Red Sea, Nuweiba's main port sees many thousands of people and vehicles making the short 90-minute trip across the Gulf of Aqaba to Jordan.

Top dives
The diving in Nuweiba is all accessed by shore by either jeep or camel. Much like its neighbouring towns of Dahab and Taba, there is little in the way of current, so you are unlikely to encounter much in the way of big animals. Nevertheless, there is a lot of variety in the diving sites accessible here and the stunning Abu Galum National Park is an underwater area not-to-be-missed. Ras Mamlach is an hour jeep ride away and is the classic site in the national park.
A more unusual site is the MFO (Multi-National Force and Observers) Pipeline. Two sunken pipelines run parallel 5m apart and descend from 5m to depths of 12m and 20m.
If you prefer to stay close to your resort, enjoy diving with small critters and have a camera, then the house reefs are where you may prefer to spend most of your time.
From the Coral Hilton, you will find the fabulous Abou Lou Lou house reef, a favourite with many top underwater photographers. Swimming over the seagrass to the start of the reef, you are likely to spot ghost pipefish, morays, moray eels and crocodile snake eels.

Topside
For tourists, there are two main areas from which to choose to stay. Between the main town and port there is a strip along the beachfront where you will find modern hotel complexes, such as the Hilton Nuweiba Coral Resort and the Swisscare Nuweiba Resort Hotel. Further North towards Taba, there are many Bedouin-styled and owned camps along the vast beaches where guests can stay at a very cheap rate in beach huts and basic rooms. Most of these are comfortable and have air conditioning.