Sharm El Sheikh: Ras Mohammed Snorkeling & White Island Boat Trip

4.69

(137 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We shuffled down the dock in Sharm El Sheikh just after sunrise, salt already in the air. Our guide, Karim, waved us toward a low white boat—he’d been up since before us, grinning like he owned the Red Sea. We set off fast enough that I had to hold my hat, water slapping against the hull. There was this weird mix of excitement and sleepiness hanging over everyone. I caught myself staring at the coastline slipping away—Egypt looks different from out here, almost like it’s holding its breath.

The first snorkeling stop at Ras Mohammed felt like jumping into another world. The water was cold at first—shocking, honestly—but then you get used to it and start noticing everything. Karim pointed out a parrotfish munching coral (I could actually hear it crunching underwater). My mask kept fogging up but I didn’t care; there were these wild flashes of blue and yellow everywhere. Some folks stayed close to the boat, but I drifted farther than I meant to—guess I got distracted by a school of tiny silver fish flickering past my hand.

After a while we climbed back on board for lunch—grilled chicken, rice, some salad that tasted way better than it looked (no offense to whoever made it). The sea breeze kept blowing napkins around so we all gave up and ate with our hands half the time. Then came White Island: just this strip of sand in the middle of nothing. Stepping onto it felt surreal—sand so soft it squeaked underfoot, sun bouncing off everything. People were laughing and taking photos; I mostly just stood there squinting at all that turquoise water. It’s strange how quiet it gets out there even with a crowd.

On the way back, everyone was a bit sunburned and tired in that good way you only get after swimming all day. Karim told us stories about growing up here—I think he said his uncle used to fish near these reefs before tourism took over. By then my hair was full of salt and my skin sticky from sunscreen but honestly? I still think about that stretch of empty white sand sometimes when things get noisy back home.