What's on in Dahab, Egypt through the year

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year peak, Mid-year holiday in Egypt

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  19 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  Bedouin camps and dive centres keep working, but restaurants off the beachfront strip close until sunset and the whole town drops a gear for the month. Source ↗

Still on: Sinai flash floods (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually)), Christmas and New Year peak (18 Dec – 6 Jan (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Mid-year holiday in Egypt

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), Sinai flash floods (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr

• Holiday

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 MarRamadan & EidCrowded

  Egyptian families take the whole strip for the holiday and rooms sell out. The diving is unaffected; the town is louder than at any other point in the year. Source ↗

• Season

  The gulf wind

  15 Mar – 15 Oct · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  The northerly funnels down the narrow gulf most afternoons from spring into autumn. It is why the lagoon is full of kites and why the dive boats do their crossings in the morning.

Still on: Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), Sinai flash floods (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Eid al-Fitr (20–23 Mar), The gulf wind (15 Mar – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  15 May – 30 Nov · usually

  Shorty-and-nothing water from late May into November. The same reefs need a proper wetsuit from January to March, which is about the only seasonality the diving has.

Still on: The gulf wind (15 Mar – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: The gulf wind (15 Mar – 15 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (15 May – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: The gulf wind (15 Mar – 15 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (15 May – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: The gulf wind (15 Mar – 15 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (15 May – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Egypt, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: The gulf wind (15 Mar – 15 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (15 May – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Hazard

  Sinai flash floods

  15 Oct – 15 Mar · usuallyFlood seasonClosures

  Rare and violent: a storm over the mountains sends water down the wadis and across the coast road, cutting the runs to Nuweiba and St Catherine for a day. Camps in the wadis get evacuated. Source ↗

Still on: The gulf wind (15 Mar – 15 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (15 May – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (15 May – 30 Nov (usually)), Sinai flash floods (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Christmas and New Year peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 Dec – 6 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The European diving season peaks over the holidays, when the water is still workable and the town is at its fullest. Courses, camps and the good dive guides are booked weeks ahead.

Still on: Sinai flash floods (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))