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Peninsula in Egypt
Photo: (WT-en) Jpatokal at English Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Sinai Peninsula, often shortened to Sinai (Arabic: سيناء sīnā' ; Hebrew: סיני) is the easternmost part of Egypt between the Mediterranean and the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, both forks of the Red Sea. The western coast and the northern coast outside of Arish are practically uninhabited, but several Bedouin settlements and tourist attractions dot the eastern coast.
Entry requirements
Along the Sinai coastal resort strip, most visitors do not need a visa for trips up to 15 days.
By plane
Sharm-el-Sheikh Airport (SSH) is a major international airport with regular, year-round flights from Europe, UK, Russia and elsewhere.
By boat
Ferries run regularly between Nuweiba and Taba Heights to Aqaba in Jordan, bypassing Israel and the tedious extra border arrangements.
By bus
Buses ply at least daily (insha'allah) from Cairo to Sharm, and across northern Sinai to Taba. The nearest railway station is Port Said but the buses do not call there.
By rail
The historic Sinai railway along the Mediterranean coast once connected Cairo with Jerusalem but fell into disuse as former colonial empires fractured.
By taxi
If you're on any kind of reasonable budget, avoid at all costs the local taxis, whose prices are higher than Cairo taxis by a factor of around 10.
By minibus
St. Catherine to Dahab: Bedouin Bus runs a twice weekly bus service from St. Catherine to Dahab and back on Tuesday and Friday.
By bus
East Delta bus company: regular cheap full-sized coaches depart daily for points throughout the peninsula from bus stations in Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Taba · Regional · TCP
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Sharm el-Sheikh (Arabic شرم الشيخ) is a large resort at the south tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The main reasons to visit are for scuba-diving and other water and beach activities, and to explore the Sinai desert.
Dahab (دهب) is a town in Egypt, 85 km (53 miles) north of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Gulf of Aqaba, near the southern tip of Sinai. It is a place that many have fallen in love with over the years, and return to time and time again.
Nuweiba is on the eastern coast of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, 70 km south of Taba and 180 km north of Sharm el Sheikh, and only 120 km from St. Catherine.
Taba Heights is a town on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. A purpose-built resort nestling between mountains and the sea with 5 large hotels, diving & water sports centre and a golf course.
Taba, in the eastern Sinai peninsula of Egypt, is on the border with Israel, close to the city and airport of Eilat. The area within one km of the border is a duty-free zone with a couple of large resort hotels, a few shops, the bus station and other amenities.
Arish or El Arīsh (Arabic: العريش, El ʿArīš ) is the largest city on the Sinai Peninsula, with about 165,000 inhabitants, as well as the capital of North Sinai Governorate. Lying on the Mediterranean coast of the peninsula, it is 344 km (214 mi) northeast of Cairo.
Mount Sinai (Arabic جبل موسَى Gebel Musa) is in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt and rises 2,285 metres above sea level. The mountain is a sacred site for Jews, Christians and Muslims.
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