10 Best Things to Do in Sharm el-Sheikh for Families

Why Sharm el-Sheikh is One of Africa’s Best Family Destinations

Tucked at the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where the Red Sea splits into the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez, Sharm el-Sheikh is one of those rare places that genuinely delivers for every member of the family. The sun shines relentlessly, the water is impossibly clear, coral reefs sit metres from the shore, and the resort infrastructure has been built with comfort in mind. Egypt is the broader canvas here – ancient, complex, and endlessly fascinating – but Sharm strips things back to beach, desert, and sea. For families, that simplicity is a gift. The kids can snorkel before breakfast, ride a quad bike in the afternoon, and fall asleep watching the stars over the Sinai Desert. This guide walks through the ten best things to do in Sharm el-Sheikh as a family, covering how to spend your time well, what to expect on the ground, and a few practical tips to make the trip run smoothly.

Snorkeling Straight from the Shore – Red Sea Magic for Kids

The single most memorable thing most families do in Sharm el-Sheikh costs almost nothing and requires almost no planning. You put on a mask, you wade into the water, and you are immediately surrounded by parrotfish, angelfish, and lionfish weaving through brain coral and sea fans. The Red Sea has one of the most biodiverse coral ecosystems on the planet, and Sharm sits right in the middle of it.

The best shore-entry snorkeling spots for families with younger children are around Shark’s Bay and the shallow reefs near Naama Bay. Shark’s Bay in particular has gentle, protected water, sandy entry points, and reef formations that begin in less than a metre of depth – perfect for children who are just getting comfortable with a mask and snorkel. The name sounds alarming to first-timers but the bay is calm and the marine life is entirely harmless at this site.

For older children and confident swimmers, Ras Nasrani and The Tower reef offer more dramatic walls and the chance to see turtles and rays. Several dive centres along Naama Bay rent snorkel gear by the hour or day at very reasonable rates, and most resorts include basic gear in the room rate. If your children are eight and older and have never snorkelled before, an introductory lesson with one of the many certified schools takes about an hour and gives them the confidence to explore independently afterward.

Ras Mohammed National Park – Egypt’s Crown Jewel of Marine Life

About 12 kilometres south of central Sharm el-Sheikh, where the Sinai Peninsula narrows to a rocky point and the two gulfs meet, Ras Mohammed National Park represents some of the most dramatic marine scenery in the entire Red Sea. Declared a national park in 1983, it protects a stretch of coastline that includes mangrove channels, salt pans, sheer underwater walls, and an extraordinary diversity of fish and coral.

Families visit Ras Mohammed primarily via boat day trips, which depart from Sharm Marina most mornings. The trips typically run five to six hours, include two or three snorkel stops, lunch on the boat, and equipment rental. Children adore these excursions because of the sheer volume of marine life – the schooling fish at sites like Jolanda Reef and Shark Reef are simply spectacular, with massive Napoleon wrasse, barracuda, and occasionally hammerhead sharks visible at depth for anyone who wants to put their face in the water.

Beyond the water, the park’s mangrove channels are worth exploring on foot along the boardwalk. They look otherworldly – root systems arching out of shallow, brackish water – and give children a strong sense of how coastal ecosystems work. Entry to the park requires a ticket, and most boat operators include this in the day trip price. It is worth confirming before you book.

Naama Bay – The Beating Heart of Family Beach Life

Naama Bay is Sharm el-Sheikh’s main beachfront neighbourhood and the place most families end up spending a significant portion of their trip. A sweeping crescent of sand backed by hotels, restaurants, and watersports centres, it functions as the social hub of the resort – lively without being overwhelming, and organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate with children in tow.

During the day the bay offers an enormous range of watersports – glass-bottom boat rides, banana boat rides, parasailing, paddleboarding, and pedalo hire. Glass-bottom boats are particularly popular with younger children who aren’t ready to snorkel but still want a window into the reef world below. Most operators along the beach run short trips of 30 to 45 minutes that give a surprisingly good view of fish and coral without any swimming required.

In the evenings, Naama Bay transforms into a pleasant pedestrian promenade. Families stroll between restaurants, ice cream shops, and souvenir stalls, and the atmosphere is relaxed and genuinely family-friendly. The restaurant strip along the waterfront serves everything from grilled fish and Egyptian kofta to pizza and pasta for children with more cautious palates. Most restaurants here are accustomed to international families and can accommodate dietary requirements without much fuss.

Sharm el-Sheikh Aquarium – Marine Education Close Up

On days when the wind picks up and the sea gets a little choppy – which does happen, especially between November and March – the Sharm el-Sheikh Aquarium provides a fantastic indoor alternative that kids tend to love. Located near the southern end of Naama Bay, the aquarium is run by the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries and houses a solid collection of Red Sea species in tanks that allow close-up views impossible to get while snorkelling.

The collection includes puffer fish, moray eels, stonefish, octopus, and several species of ray. The touch pool, where children can handle starfish and sea cucumbers under supervision, is consistently the most popular section with young visitors. The aquarium is relatively small by international standards – a visit takes one to two hours – but the quality of exhibits and the chance to see nocturnal and shy species up close makes it genuinely worthwhile rather than a fallback option.

It is also worth noting that the aquarium sits right beside the Sinai Divers marine research area, and the surrounding gardens and waterfront walkway make a pleasant place to spend time before or after the visit. For families with teenagers who are developing a serious interest in marine biology or conservation, this is one of the more intellectually stimulating stops on the Sharm itinerary.

Quad Biking and Jeep Safaris – The Sinai Desert Up Close

The Sinai Peninsula is not just water. Behind the hotels and beach clubs, a vast and spectacular desert landscape stretches north toward jagged red mountains, Bedouin settlements, and ancient caravan routes. Getting into that landscape with children is one of the most memorable things you can do in Sharm, and it provides a completely different perspective on Egypt beyond the resort bubble.

Quad biking tours are the most popular desert experience for families, and dozens of operators run trips departing from various points along the coastal road. The standard family quad tour runs about two hours and covers sandy tracks through desert terrain, usually ending at a Bedouin camp where tea is served beside a fire as the sun drops below the mountains. Children over eight or nine can typically ride on the back of an adult quad, and some operators have smaller quads suitable for teenagers. Always confirm the minimum age and weight restrictions before booking.

Jeep safaris are a better option for families with very young children or those who simply want to cover more ground. These open-sided 4WD tours go deeper into the desert, often stopping at viewpoints, dry riverbeds, and Bedouin villages where families can learn about traditional life in the Sinai. The combination of dramatic landscape, stargazing at night, and genuine cultural exchange makes these tours more meaningful than they might initially appear from the brochures at the hotel reception desk.

Old Market (Sharm el-Maya Souk) – Colour, Spice, and Street Food

Sharm el-Sheikh sometimes gets criticised for feeling too sanitised – and in Naama Bay, that criticism has some validity. The Old Market at Sharm el-Maya, about three kilometres south of Naama Bay, is where the genuine Egyptian atmosphere survives. This is the original neighbourhood of Sharm, and the souk here buzzes with shisha cafes, spice sellers, cotton garment stalls, and jewellery vendors in a way that feels authentically Middle Eastern rather than purpose-built for tourists.

Walking through the market with children is a sensory education – the smell of oud and frankincense from the perfume shops, the colour of hand-painted ceramics and papyrus art, the sound of vendors calling across narrow lanes. It is a safe and walkable area, though predictably you will be invited to look at things you didn’t intend to buy. A few minutes of friendly negotiation over a Bedouin silver bracelet or a bag of mixed spices is all part of the experience and teaches children something about commerce and culture that no classroom can replicate.

For food, the stalls around the market serve koshari (Egypt’s beloved lentil and pasta street dish), ful medames (stewed fava beans), fresh bread from wood-fired ovens, and grilled corn. This is the best place in Sharm to eat like a local, and the prices are a fraction of the resort restaurants. Most families find that children who are adventurous enough to try street food here become the most enthusiastic eaters of the whole trip.

Water Parks and Resort Pool Experiences for All Ages

On the high-energy end of the family activity spectrum, Sharm el-Sheikh has several water park facilities that deliver exactly what they promise – slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and the kind of shrieking joy that children talk about for years. Aqua Blue Water Park, located on the road between Naama Bay and the airport, is the largest dedicated water park in the region and offers a full day’s worth of slides and splash zones calibrated for different age groups.

For families staying in the major all-inclusive resorts – particularly the larger properties operated by brands like Rixos, Hyatt Regency, or the Baron Palms – the on-site pool facilities are often extensive enough to compete with standalone water parks. Some of these resorts have multiple pools, dedicated children’s splash areas, and water slides within the property, which means very young children can have a full aquatic day without leaving the resort.

A day at a water park or resort pool also provides a natural rhythm break for families who have spent several consecutive days on the reef. Younger children especially benefit from the structured environment of a managed pool area with lifeguards and shallow entry points, and it is worth factoring one or two of these lower-intensity days into a week-long itinerary rather than packing the schedule entirely with excursions.

Dolphin Shows and Animal Encounters at Dolphin World

Dolphin World Sharm el-Sheikh, located at the marina, offers families the chance to watch dolphin performances and, for those who want closer contact, structured swim-with-dolphins sessions. This is one of the more controversial entries on any family list – perceptions of captive dolphin programmes vary widely – but it remains one of the most popular family activities in the city and warrants honest discussion.

The facility is well-maintained and the trainers are experienced. For young children who have never been near marine mammals, the encounter creates a profound sense of connection to the natural world and often sparks lasting interest in marine conservation. The swim programmes are structured and supervised, with safety briefings beforehand, and children as young as six can participate in the shallower interaction pools.

Families who prefer to see dolphins in the wild can arrange early-morning boat trips to Dolphin House near Ras Mohammed, where wild spinner dolphins gather in the bay – an experience that many families consider more meaningful precisely because the animals are free. The choice between these two experiences is a genuine one, and both have their place depending on the ages, confidence levels, and values of your family group.

Day Trip to St. Catherine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai

No family trip to Sharm el-Sheikh is complete without at least one venture into the Sinai’s extraordinary interior. St. Catherine’s Monastery, located about 200 kilometres north of Sharm at the foot of Mount Sinai, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monasteries in the world, dating to the 6th century AD. It sits in a mountain valley of stark beauty, surrounded by granite peaks that turn pink and amber at sunrise – and this sunrise is exactly why most visitors make the journey.

The classic overnight excursion departs Sharm in the early evening, drives to the base of Mount Sinai, and begins the two-hour ascent by moonlight, arriving at the summit in time for one of the most dramatic sunrises in the world. The mountain is considered sacred in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the sense of place at the top – standing above a sea of jagged peaks as the sky turns from black to violet to gold – is genuinely moving in a way that resonates even with children who have no particular religious connection.

For families with younger children, the midnight climb (which involves 750 Steps of Repentance carved into the rock in the final section) may be too demanding. In this case, visiting St. Catherine’s Monastery itself during the morning opening hours is rewarding on its own – the burning bush, the ancient library, the Byzantine mosaics, and the extraordinary mountain landscape make for a full half-day. The monastery is open to visitors but closed on Sundays and religious holidays, so check dates before you book your transport.

Practical Tips for Families in Sharm el-Sheikh

A few logistical points that make a genuine difference when travelling to Sharm el-Sheikh with children:

• Getting around: Taxis are the main transport option and are affordable by European and American standards. Negotiate and agree on a price before you get in – metered rides are not standard practice here. For families staying in one resort area, tuk-tuks (small three-wheelers) are a fun and cheap way to cover short distances that children particularly enjoy.
• Best time to visit: October through April offers the most comfortable temperatures for outdoor activity – the summer months (June to August) push above 40°C, which limits daytime activity considerably, especially with young children. Winter months are occasionally windy, which can affect snorkelling visibility.
• Sun protection: The sun at this latitude is intense year-round. Children need reef-safe SPF 50 sunscreen reapplied frequently, rash guard shirts in the water, and hats during desert activities. Pharmacies in Naama Bay stock sunscreen but bring your preferred brand from home.
• Food safety: Stick to bottled water for drinking and teeth-cleaning. The food at established restaurants and resorts is generally safe, but street food should be evaluated case by case – hot cooked items from busy stalls are a lower risk than raw items or anything sitting open in heat.
• Currency: Egyptian pounds are used throughout Sharm. ATMs are widely available in Naama Bay and at most major hotels. Many tourist-facing businesses accept US dollars and euros, but you’ll get better value paying in local currency.
• Reef etiquette with kids: Before any snorkelling trip, explain to children that nothing should be touched, broken, or collected. The coral ecosystem is fragile and already under pressure from climate change and tourism. Teaching children reef respect early is one of the best things any family can do here.
• Visa: Most nationalities receive a Sinai-only entry stamp on arrival at Sharm el-Sheikh Airport at no charge, valid for 15 days and limited to the Sinai Peninsula including day trips to St. Catherine’s. If you plan to visit Cairo or other parts of Egypt, you need a full Egyptian tourist visa, which can be arranged at the airport or online before departure.

Sharm el-Sheikh rewards families who come with a mix of ambition and flexibility. The reef alone justifies the trip for most people, but the desert, the culture of the Old Market, and the profound experience of the Sinai mountains add layers that turn a beach holiday into something genuinely memorable. Egypt is an extraordinary country to introduce to children, and Sharm el-Sheikh – accessible, safe, and endlessly stimulating – is one of the most welcoming entry points it offers.

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📷 Featured image by Mohamed Nafea on Unsplash.