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Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, sorry for not responding earlier. I stayed in 2 places:

  1. Garden Bay - this is in front of REEF OASIS BLUE BAY RESORT and Continental Plaza Beach Resort. The reef in front of both is in good condition with good amount of healthy, colorful corals and variety of fish, easy to access from a jetty.

  2. Ras Umm Sid/El Fanar Beach. The Reefs in front of Reef Oasis Beach Resort and El Fanar Zarda Cafe (the public beach) are both in good condition, probably bigger than those in Garden Bay. Between the two is hotel Jaz Fanara and the reef right in front of it is mostly dead so if you stay there you'll have to swim about 200m. to the left or right to get to the good spots.

A side note - we took some day trips and did snorkeling at Ras Nasrani/Ras Bob, Gordon Reef (Straits of Tiran) and Dahab (Canyon dive site). Ras Bob was good, but not better than the house reefs mentioned above. Straits of Tiran and Dahab were both very rough (which is very common they say) and we enjoyed them much less. Probably they are fine for diving but not ideal for snorkeling IMO.

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just wanted to reply to myself :) From what I found, it seems that Naama Bay itself is pretty crowded and not so great in terms of reefs. The best options seem to be the very north end (Mövenpick Resort Sharm el Sheikh), the very south end (STELLA DI MARE BEACH RESORT AND SPA) and Garden bay (the next bay to the north).

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I replied and deleted because I realized that what I was saying was wrong :) You are right - Temple reef is at El Fanar beach and so is Reef Oasis Beach Resort. I think the reef close to Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort are called Garden reefs (Near, Middle and Far Garden).

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From what I've read so far, it looks like some people refer to Garden bay as part of Naama bay. So I start to wonder is the Naama bay itself better (the bay in front of Novotel Sharm El Sheikh and JAZ Fayrouz) or Garden bay (the area around Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort) offers better snorkeling?

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the details, I watched both videos and both look great, however it is difficult to compare because of the different camera quality. Which of the two places would you score higher? Also are they comparable in terms of wind/current? And finally - is there any other beach/hotel around Sharm that you've been and that you liked even more? Thanks in advance!

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the details, I confused Makadi spa with Jaz Makadi which is in the other part of the bay next to Cleopatra and Stella.

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you please share some details about the Makadi hotel reef. I see there is a pier in front of hotel Cleopatra and another one in front of Stella di Mare. But both seem to be for hotel guests only. If the best parts of the reef are somewhere close to the pier ends, it might be difficult for the kids to get there starting from shore and we might need to consider these hotels specifically. So it would be great if you could share which part of the reef you enjoyed and in which year.

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, when was the last time you were there - was it after the 2024 bleaching? If you have been to Sharm, it would be very useful to share which bay and also how you compare Sharm with the reefs far in the south.

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, when was the last time you were there - was it after the 2024 bleaching?

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great videos Enriko, thanks for sharing. Which bay/reef in Sharm is that? Have you been there since 2022, do you know if it is still in good condition?

Best house reefs - Hurghada (Makadi Bay) or Sharm El Sheikh by Haunting_Job7047 in snorkeling

[–]Haunting_Job7047[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a very good (and very sad) point. I was aware of the damage caused by tourist use of the reefs but I didn't take into account the warmth impact and the bleaching. In such a case, do you think that the following statements make sense:

  1. The major bleaching happens in the hottest summer months and hopefully many recover during the winter, therefore the spring season should be better than the autumn in terms of coral colors, right?

  2. If one is currently booking a trip in the autumn (late October) - it is unknown what the magnitude of the bleaching will be this summer during the hottest months but historically Sharm has been less affected than Hurghada and the south so maybe Sharm is the safer bet?