What's on in Marsa Alam, Egypt through the year

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

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  19 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  Resorts run to their own timetable, but boat crews and drivers are fasting and the town of Marsa Alam itself works evening hours. Trips leave earlier and finish before iftar. Source ↗

Still on: 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)

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr

• Holiday

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 MarRamadan & EidCrowded

  Egyptian families fill the resorts for the holiday week and the house-reef beaches get busy for the only time in the year. Book boats rather than turning up for them. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar)

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)

Busy — Eid al-Adha, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  1 May – 30 Nov · usually

  Warm enough for a shorty or nothing from May into November, and the long shallow bays make it feel warmer still. January to March is a full wetsuit for repeat dives.

• Holiday

  Eid al-Adha

  1 May – 15 Jun · usuallyRamadan & EidClosuresCrowded

  Eid al-Adha brings Egypt's longest public holiday, usually four or five days. Government offices, banks and many shops close, trains and buses are packed, and hotels fill with Egyptian families at higher rates. The date moves about 11 days earlier each year. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Eid al-Adha, Summer holidays in Egypt

• Season

  The desert summer

  15 Jun – 10 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  Nothing to shade the coast road and a hot wind off the hills; the middle of the day belongs to the water or the air conditioning. Resorts are cheap and half full.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), Eid al-Adha (1 May – 15 Jun (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), The desert summer (15 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), The desert summer (15 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), The desert summer (15 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Oceanic whitetips at Elphinstone

  1 Oct – 31 Dec · usuallyWildlife season

  Late autumn is when the oceanic whitetips are most reliably out on the offshore reef, hanging under the boats between dives. It is the reason the liveaboards fill from October.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 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 (1 May – 30 Nov (usually)), Oceanic whitetips at Elphinstone (1 Oct – 31 Dec (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

  European charter flights land through the holidays and the dive centres run at capacity. The water needs a wetsuit by then, which nobody seems to mind.

Still on: Oceanic whitetips at Elphinstone (1 Oct – 31 Dec (usually))