Cairo to Dahab and the Red Sea – Day 09 & 10 Travel Talk Egypt & Jordan Discovered Tour

Departing the capital Cairo the Travel Talk Tours Egypt & Jordan Discovered Tour now travels eastward bound en route to our next destination of Dahab by the Red Sea coast, leaving the African continent and entering the Sinai Peninsula on the Asian side of Egypt. The trip is about to change now as the newly formed Groups A & B merge together, we gain a new guide and we leave behind the chaos that is Cairo and the Egyptian Temples of the past week for a more laid back experience.

RECAP: Cairo, Egyptian Museum & Kahn El Khalili Bazaar – Day 08 Travel Talk Egypt & Jordan Discovered Tour

Our time in Egypt is about to come to an end, but not before some relaxing time by the sea, some snorkelling and some fun on Quad Bikes.

Sites & activities include…

• Snorkelling at the Blue Hole
• Quad Bike Riding
• Taxied around Dahab in the back of Utes

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Day 09: Cairo to Dahab – 04 December, 2016

Just when we thought the early mornings were over as we approach the more relaxing part of the tour, we learnt last night that we were departing at 5:00am this morning. As we are up too early for breakfast, we check out and meet in the lobby with our luggage where the friendly people at the Pyramids Park Resort Cairo have a breakfast box prepared for us all to take on the van. Today we are split up into two groups which made no difference whatsoever to the journey, those travelling to Jordan and those staying in Dahab. The bigger group of the two was heading to Jordan so we were on the mini bus, while the other group was smaller and they had a van. Our luggage was all tied to the roof of both vehicles and with that we were ready to depart Cairo.

Our journey today will see us leave the African continent and enter Asia and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula famous for the Suez Canal. The geography nerd in me is really looking forward to seeing the Suez Canal today with massive container ships meandering their way through the desert sands.

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Once we reach the Suez Canal we must pull over for a security check. It is basically a glorified border crossing, since the Israelis invaded the Sinai all those years ago, part of the agreement for giving the land back to Egypt as that the Israeli people have free movement within the Sinai region, hence the border checks and heightened security. After a quick check of our passports which our guide Rani takes care of we are on our way heading through the tunnel of the canal. This is where I was disappointed because you couldn’t really see much of the canal, you apparently have to go to the town of Suez to see it because it is highly secure along the path of the canal. Oh well back to sleep on the bus.

Most of today is a long drive from Cairo to the south east of the country to the seaside town of Dahab on the Gulf of Aqaba, our path takes us deep into the south as the northern region of Sinai is basically a no go zone for anyone. We pass through the popular tourist town of Sharm El-Sheikh etching ever closer to our destination Dahab.

Upon arrival into Dahab we head straight to our hotel for the next two nights, the Dahab Paradise Hotel which is a really nice chilled out hotel right across the road from the ocean. The whole of Dahab is very chilled out which is exactly what we all needed after the intense nine days we just had exploring all the monuments of Egypt and after the ten hour bus ride we just experienced. The rooms are very comfortable and the pool out the front is pristine. The dining area is located outside so you can sit and eat while you stare out to the Red Sea and the mountains of Saudi Arabia.

Wifi at this hotel is very poor and you’ll struggle to get a connection out, which you could say adds to the chilled out atmosphere giving you the sense that you’re cut off from the world. The rest of the afternoon was ours to do as we pleased before we would head out into town for dinner.

Tonight we would catch a taxi into the centre of town so we could get anything we needed such as money from the ATM or even stop off at a grocery store. We would also go to the foreshore to grab some dinner. Our taxi in Dahab for the entire time was paid for by Travel Talk, but our taxis in Dahab had a bit of a twist to them because they were in fact Utes where we would sit in the tray at the back to be transported. Holding on for dear life especially over the speed humps we arrived in the centre of town.

Rani our guide was taking everyone to a restaurant he recommended that serves predominantly seafood. I’m not particularly a fan of seafood so I wondered the streets to look at what the other options would be. Not overly hungry I decided not to eat anything tonight and just joined everyone at the restaurant to have a drink and as I wasn’t the only one I didn’t feel so bad.

After dinner we caught our taxi back to the hotel and most people went to bed while some stayed up and sat by the pool and the hotel fire pit having a few drinks. Tomorrow we have a chilled out day of snorkelling and quad bike riding which I’m really looking forward to.

Day 10: Dahab – 05 December, 2016

This morning our adventure continues as the group wakes up at the Dahab Paradise Hotel located right next to the beach. Looking out from the hotel you can look directly across the Gulf of Aqaba and make out the faint mountain ranges of Saudi Arabia while we sit outside having our freshly prepared breakfast. After breakfast we head over to the diver shop next to the hotel to collect our snorkelling gear to take with us this morning and grab a towel from the poolside.

Our taxis, the same ones we used last night are waiting for us out the front of the hotel so we jump in and make our way towards the Blue Hole. Along the way you can see an array of construction taking place to build a number of resorts along the coast that have come to a standstill since the revolution in Egypt, bringing tourists to the area to a grinding halt. We pass a number of camels wondering freely along the road and navigate the narrow dirt roads that take us to the Blue Hole.

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When we arrive at the dive site we are given our instructions from our guide Rani on what we would be doing this morning. Due to the current we would start away from the Blue Hole and drift our way down into the Blue Hole. We are also told that the best viewing areas of the coral reef is outside the Blue Hole and he wasn’t wrong about that. Unfortunately a lot of the reef here has been damaged by divers over the years, however in having said that it is still an impressive sight under water as you’ll see from the below photos and video, just don’t come here expecting to see the Great Barrier Reef.

VIDEO: Snorkelling in Dahab at the Blue Hole with Travel Talk Tours

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It’s really easy swimming along here even if you’re not a confident swimmer. The salt concentration in the water is quite high keeping your buoyancy above the water if you wish to float and the water wasn’t cold at all despite the outside temperature at the time only being about 25 degrees (their winter). You’re free to spend as much time as you like in the water and once you’re done you can head back to where we left our stuff and our hosts will offer you a complementary drink.

From here we headed back to the hotel where we had lunch. The hotel has some nice options from lunch, I was impressed with the burger and was well and truly over Egyptian food by now. I also took a liking to the mango smoothie, I lost count of how many I had but they were so good I didn’t care. We were given some time to chill out at the hotel before we headed back into town for our next activity, quad biking.

I’ve never been on a quad bike before so I was a little nervous. The way it was sold to us was that there would be two groups, a slow group and a fast group. I wanted to be in the slow group to begin with while I learnt how to handle the bike, but after a short time you get used to it. We started off by leaving the town on the main road and cut through a rocky bit of land to take us to the outskirts of town where we started to drive in the dusty desert of Dahab.

VIDEO: Quad Bike Riding in Dahab with Travel Talk Tours

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Along the way we made a couple of stops so we could take some photos and take in the surrounding area. At one point we also stopped at a Bedouin Camp, we will learn more about the Bedouin people when we arrive in Jordan tomorrow. At the camp we just missed out on seeing the sunset but none the less we climbed to the top of the mountain for some nice views watching the desert go from day to night.

At the Bedouin Camp they keep some pet lizards and these were passed around for everyone to have a look at, we were also given some Bedouin tea before we all jumped back on our bikes to continue on our way. At this point it was starting to get dark so the lights were turned on all our bikes. As we get down back to the town nightfall suddenly takes over and we are now driving along the beach in the dark for one last stop looking back to the town. From here we head back and hand our bikes in, ending our desert quad biking adventure which I really enjoyed and would love to do again someday at another location.

We then caught our taxis back to the hotel and this is also where we had dinner tonight. The people continuing onto Jordan tomorrow had an early morning while the people staying behind in Dahab for the rest of the week had a free day to sleep in tomorrow. The people continuing onto Jordan said their goodbyes to the people staying behind and went off to bed.

Next on the Travel Talk Tours Egypt & Jordan Discovered by Nile Cruse Tour as we spend our final night in Egypt we move onto our next country, Jordan. The group will be taken to the Egyptian border by our guide Rani where we will be left to cross over into Israel. We have a short transfer through Israel and are taken to the Jordanian border where we meet our new guide and head for the beautiful Wadi Rum region and spend the night in a desert camp.

UP NEXT

Dahab, Egypt to Wadi Rum, Jordan via Israel – Day 11 Travel Talk Egypt & Jordan Discovered Tour

LOOKING BACK

Cairo, Egyptian Museum & Kahn El Khalili Bazaar – Day 08 Travel Talk Egypt & Jordan Discovered Tour

Egypt & Jordan Discovered by Nile Cruse
During this two week adventure with Travel Talk Tours our journey starts off in the capital of Egypt, Cairo before making our way south, down along the River Nile. Travelling by road to Luxor and Aswan, and checking out many of the famous monuments and temples along the way, we also have the choice of participating in some exciting optional extra activities. From Aswan at the bottom of Egypt and close to the Sudanese border, we jump on board a boat and spend three nights sailing along the Nile back to Luxor, checking out Edfu Temple and get a brief glance at Kom Ombo Temple along the way.

We end up back in Cairo to explore the capital in greater depth with a city tour before we start heading east towards Jordan. Before hitting the border we arrive in Dahab for two nights of relaxation by the sea and then travel by road from Egypt into Jordan via a 30 minute crossing through Israel. We spend our first night in a new country out in the desert park of Wadi Rum before heading to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Petra, a real highlight. We’ll go for a swim in the Dead Sea on our way to the capital of Jordan, Amman where our tour will come to an end. Before bidding farewell to our fellow travel companions we’ll spend two nights exploring this exciting capital.

This tour of Egypt and Jordan can be taken in three different forms, however a number of people on this journey travelled on nine day Egypt tours that started in Cairo and ended when we returned to Cairo. Other travellers with the group also did fifteen day tours that followed the same path to Dahab and spent just short of a week there before returning to Cairo…

• Egypt & Jordan Discovered by Nile Cruse
• Egypt & Jordan Discovered by Felucca
• Egypt & Jordan Discovered by Land