Sharm El Sheikh: Parasailing Adventure & Private Pickup

4.93

(135 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“You ready?” That’s what our driver asked as he pulled up outside our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, grinning like he already knew the answer. I was nervous—my hands were kind of sweaty, actually—but there was something about the way the morning light hit the Red Sea that made me say yes anyway. The van was air-conditioned (thankfully), and we chatted about football and where to get good koshari as we zipped through town. I didn’t expect to feel so at ease before being hoisted into the sky.

The boat crew waved us aboard—one guy had this sun-faded cap and a laugh that carried over the water. They got us harnessed up for parasailing without any fuss, just quick checks and a few jokes about not dropping my flip-flops (“It happens more than you’d think”). When the speedboat picked up, I felt my stomach drop for a second, but then it was just… quiet. The only sound was wind in my ears and that weirdly sweet smell of saltwater and sunscreen mixing together. Sinai’s mountains looked almost purple from up there—hard to describe unless you see it yourself.

I think we floated for five minutes—could’ve been more or less, time gets strange when you’re hanging above Sharm El Sheikh with nothing but blue all around. My partner squeezed my hand so hard I nearly lost feeling, but honestly, I barely noticed. Coming down was gentle; they reeled us back onto the platform like it was nothing special, though it felt anything but ordinary to me. Li from the crew offered to take photos (extra charge), which I usually skip but caved this time because how often do you get to see your own face mid-air?

Afterwards we just sat on the beach for a while, sand still stuck between my toes, trying to process how small everything looked from above—and how big it suddenly felt again on land. There’s something about seeing Sharm el Sheikh from up high that sticks with you longer than you expect.