Ras Mohamed is the first marine national park in Egypt, established in 1983 at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. It sits where the Gulf of Aqaba meets the Gulf of Suez, and that geography is the entire story: deep cold water from the Aqaba side meets warm shallow water from Suez, pulls nutrients up the reef wall, and feeds an explosion of marine life you don't see on calmer reefs.
The two reefs that matter: Shark Reef and Yolanda
Two reef heads form the headline of a Ras Mohamed day. Shark Reef is a vertical wall that drops past 700 metres into the blue. The wall is covered in red and orange soft coral, and a permanent population of bigeye trevally, schooling barracuda, and snapper hangs in the current along it. Yolanda Reef sits a few hundred metres west, named after a cargo ship that sank in 1980. The wreck's cargo of toilets, bathtubs and sinks is still visible scattered across the sandy bottom, and the reef itself is shallower and more colourful than Shark Reef. Most boats anchor between the two and you swim a circuit covering both.
Ras Mohamed National Park
Where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aqaba, the most legendary marine park in Egypt.
From $40What you'll see on a typical Ras Mohamed day
- Bigeye trevally schools, often hundreds strong, hanging motionless in the blue
- Blackfin barracuda spiralling in slow tornados
- Napoleon wrasse, the giants of the reef, sometimes curious enough to approach
- Hawksbill and green turtles grazing the coral
- Red and orange soft coral clouds covering the deeper wall
- Anthias storms, glowing orange clouds over every coral head
- Occasional reef sharks at depth, mostly safely below snorkel range
When to go and how the day is structured
Boats leave Sharm El Sheikh marina between 8 and 9 AM. The crossing is short, about an hour. You'll get two or three snorkel windows: the first between Shark Reef and Yolanda, the second on Yolanda's shallower coral garden, and often a third stop at a nearby reef like Jackfish Alley on the way back. Lunch is served on board between stops. Boats are back at the marina around 4 PM. The park collects an entry fee per visitor, typically included in your trip price.
Park rules you actually need to follow
- No touching, no kicking, no standing on coral. Park rangers do enforce this.
- Reef-safe sunscreen only. Oxybenzone-based creams are banned and damage the soft coral that makes Ras Mohamed famous.
- No shells, corals, or biological 'souvenirs' leave the park.
- Stay with your group's boat. Drifting too far is a coast-guard call.
Ras Mohamed vs Tiran: which day to pick first
If you only have one snorkel day in Sharm, pick Ras Mohamed. The reef walls and the marine life density are unmatched anywhere else on the Egyptian coast. Tiran is better for a second day when you want lighter snorkeling on four different reef heads (Jackson, Thomas, Woodhouse, Gordon). Tiran is also calmer and more family-friendly. Ras Mohamed is the bucket-list day.
Tiran Island Snorkeling
Four legendary reefs, Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas and Gordon, packed with marine life.
From $38
