With kids · Sharm El Sheikh · Egypt
Sharm El Sheikh with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Eslam maalky.22, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Sharm is an easy family beach destination: reliable sun, warm sea, resort pools and water parks, and reefs that children can see from a pontoon or a glass-bottom boat. Strong sun, coral cuts and sea urchins are the main things to watch. Top picks: Naama Bay promenade, Soho Square and Desert safari and Bedouin evening. Families usually base themselves in Nabq Bay.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 5
- Best area for families
- Nabq Bay
- Rainy-day options
- 1
Best things to do with kids
Waterfront · Naama Bay
1.Naama Bay promenade
The pedestrian walkway along Naama Bay connects hotels, restaurants, cafés, shops and dive centres around a sheltered sandy beach. It is the social centre of Sharm, at its busiest after dark when restaurants set out tables and shisha cafés fill.
Walk the promenade in the evening and compare menus, but ignore the touts and choose places busy with diners.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- After dark
- Food
- Shopping
Experience · Sharks Bay
2.Soho Square
An open-air entertainment complex near Sharks Bay with restaurants, bars, a bowling alley, an ice rink and an evening dancing fountain show. It is a popular family outing on evenings off the reef.
Arrive around dusk to eat and catch the fountain show after dark.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- After dark
- Food
Experience · Sinai desert
3.Desert safari and Bedouin evening
Organised trips take visitors by quad bike, jeep or camel into the desert valleys behind Sharm, typically ending at a Bedouin camp with sweet tea, bread baked over a fire and a view of the stars.
Choose a trip with proper helmets and goggles for quads, and bring a scarf against the dust.
- Time needed
- 3–5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Active
- Kids
- After dark
- Outdoors
Museum · Central Sharm
4.Sharm El Sheikh Museum
Opened in 2020, this museum displays pharaonic statues, mummies, Coptic and Islamic objects and displays on Sinai's Bedouin heritage, brought from Egypt's major collections. It is the only significant indoor cultural site in the resort.
Good for a hot afternoon or a windy day when boats are not running.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
Nature · Ras Mohammed
5.Ras Mohammed National Park
Egypt's first national park covers the southern tip of Sinai and the surrounding sea. Its reef walls, especially Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef with the scattered cargo of the wrecked Yolanda, drop into deep blue water busy with schools of fish, turtles and sometimes reef sharks. Boat trips from the marina are the usual way to snorkel or dive here; the land area has mangroves and desert viewpoints.
Book a boat trip that leaves early from the marina to reach the reefs before the main fleet of day boats.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Nature
- Active
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
Rainy-day ideas
- Sharm El Sheikh Museum — Good for a hot afternoon or a windy day when boats are not running.
Where families should stay
$$ · Best for families, budget and beach
Nabq Bay
North of the airport, Nabq Bay is a strip of newer, large resorts, many with water parks and big pools, fronting a wide, shallow reef flat. It is popular with families and all-inclusive holidays, and borders the Nabq Protected Area with its mangroves.
- Good
- Big pools and water parks; Good value all-inclusive deals; Space for children
- Watch out
- Shallow reef flats make swimming tricky at low tide; Can be windy; Far from the Old Market
- Nearby
- Nabq Protected Area, Sharm El Sheikh airport
Family travel tips
- Choose a resort with a sandy beach entry or a shallow lagoon for young children; reef-edge resorts are better for older kids.
- Water shoes protect against coral and sea urchins.
- Use high-factor reef-safe sunscreen and UV swim tops; the sun is intense year round.
- Glass-bottom boats and semi-submarines let non-swimmers see the reef.
- Check age limits for quad bikes and diving courses before booking.
Day trips for families
- Coloured Canyon (About 2.5 hours by car) — A narrow sandstone canyon near Nuweiba whose walls are streaked in red, yellow and purple, walked on a short hike of about an hour.
When to go with children
The best months overall are March–May and October–November. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Sharm El Sheikh good for kids?
Sharm is an easy family beach destination: reliable sun, warm sea, resort pools and water parks, and reefs that children can see from a pontoon or a glass-bottom boat. Strong sun, coral cuts and sea urchins are the main things to watch.
+What can kids do in Sharm El Sheikh?
Naama Bay promenade, Soho Square, Desert safari and Bedouin evening, Sharm El Sheikh Museum and Ras Mohammed National Park.
+Where should families stay in Sharm El Sheikh?
Nabq Bay: Newer large resorts and a long promenade north of the airport.