Travel notes & guides

Two protected reefs, a white sandbar and water so shallow you can stand in it — what to expect on the Red Sea's busiest island day.

Learn these dozen and you will recognise most of what swims past you on a first snorkelling trip.

Egypt's dolphin reefs are resting sites, not attractions. Here is how to visit them well.

No licence, no experience, about seven metres down. A straight account of an intro dive from start to finish.

Sea temperature, air temperature, wind and crowds across the year — and which months genuinely suit which trip.

Your ticket covers three tombs out of more than sixty. Here is how to spend them well.

The largest religious building ever constructed, and most visitors see it in an hour and a half. Spend it on these five things.

Going inside, the camel sellers, where the famous photograph is taken from, and how long you really need.

Sand gets everywhere on a quad. A short, specific packing list from people who run these trips daily.

Baksheesh is part of daily life here. A straightforward guide to amounts that are neither insulting nor absurd.

Twenty minutes north of Hurghada and a different country in atmosphere. What to do with a day there.

Koshary, molokhia, feteer and the rest — what they are and where to find the good versions.

The Red Sea is calm most days, but a windy one catches people out. What works, and what does not.

Both are on Giftun, both cost about the same, and they are not the same day out.

A shallow bay with resident turtles and, if you are very lucky, a dugong.

Boats provide everything. One item is still worth packing, and it is not the fins.

These reefs are among the most heat-tolerant on earth, and scientists are trying to work out why.

Three ways to see coral if you cannot swim, will not dive, or are travelling with someone who won't.

Steady wind, warm water and standing-depth lagoons. There are few better places to start.

The camps on safari trips are staged. The culture behind them is real and considerably older.