Dive in Egypt and see some unspoilt hidden treasures in the Red Sea

Egypt diving holidays are truly memorable as Egypt offers some of the best dive sites in the world. You can do reef dives, walls and wreck diving, so depending on your experience and preference the choice is yours!

Diving is a serious business in Egypt as it brings the country a lot of tourists and money every year. As this is such a precious tool for the regions’ tourism its future has to be protected along with the reefs that line the seabed, which is why many parts of the Red Sea have been turned into protected marine parks. All the money charged to see these marine parks goes back into preserving them.

If you want to dive in Egypt you will have to decide which part you want to see as there are several places along the Red Sea Coast to explore and all are different. The most popular places to dive in Egypt are Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada but there are other, quieter, alternatives including Al Quseir, Marsa Alam and Sinai, where you will be able to see some completely unspoilt hidden treasures in the sea!

Diving in Egypt is a truly amazing experience and a must do! All divers experienced or novice will completely fall in love with Egypt and its magical Red Sea!

Egypt – Valley of the Kings

On the West bank of the River Nile lays the Valley of the Kings, not far from Egypt’s ancient capital Luxor.

The Valley of the Kings consist of two sides, the East Valley and the West Valley which is where most of the royal tombs are situated, many of the tombs in the East Valley was mainly for favourite nobles. The East side is the most popular for tourists as it is where you will find the tombs of the Pharaohs.

Evidence suggests that The Valley of the Kings was decided as the resting place over 3500 years ago by the Pharaoh Thuthmosis I with many more to follow, including Ramses IX, Ramses VI, Ramses III, Ramses I, Seti I, Tuthomosis III, Amenhotep (Amenophis) II, Horemheb and many more. The fascinating thing is that archaeologists believe there are still many more undiscovered tombs hidden under the sand!

Perhaps the most famous tomb in the Valley of the Kings is that of Tutankhamen. Although Tutankhamen was a young and not a particularly respected pharaoh in his time, but his tomb is regarded as one of the most important archaeological finds in the world, as when this tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter it was almost completely intact, unlike all others that had been robbed and left bare. Tutankhamen is also the only pharaoh (that has been discovered) that still resides in the Valley of the Kings, the rest have been moved to museums.

The tombs in the Valley of the Kings really are a key to insight what ancient Egyptian life was like, as they all display paintings and drawings on the tomb walls showing stories and portraits of everyday life.

Today The Valley of the Kings remains one of the biggest tourist attractions in Egypt. Many tourists include a trip to the Valley of the Kings on their holiday to Egypt; whether it’s cruising the Nile or a city break to Luxor, tourists from all over the world make time to see this fascinating insight of ancient Egyptian history!

Egypt holidays to the land of the Pharaohs

Holidays to Egypt are ideal for those whose idea of a holiday involves rather more than just lazing on a beach in the sun. It’s a reasonable point of view after all you don’t really have to travel thousands of miles across the globe to do that. There are beautiful beaches with warm, sunny climates much nearer home.

No, Egypt holidays are ideal for those who want to come home from their holiday having done things they couldn’t do at home, and feeling enriched in mind and spirit even if they are a bit impoverished in the pocket for a while afterwards.

The fact is that there is so much to experience and to learn in the land of the pharaohs that however many holidays to Egypt you take you’ll always come back having done or learned something different from your previous trips. You’ll be doing all this in the warm, sunny climate of North Africa too. Egypt has it all!

Whereabouts in Egypt is the best place to head for? That’s a tough question, there are so many places of interest. Holidays to Luxor are very popular, it being so handy for the Valley of The Kings and the Pyramids and all the other temples and monuments.

Luxor has plenty to offer in its own right. It was the ancient city of Thebes which was the great capital of Egypt in the time of the New Kingdom. It was the glorious city of the God, Amon Ra. Even today, coming from the UK, you feel as though you’ve wandered into another world as you stroll around the bazaars and soak up the atmosphere.

From here you can even take a trip in a balloon over the Valley of The Kings to get a completely different perspective on the amazing structures. That could be very useful if you’re only on a short visit!

But that’s just Luxor. Everywhere you go in Egypt you’re surrounded by history and relics of the great civilisation that flourished here so many centuries ago.

One of the great features of Egypt of course is the River Nile. For many years regarded as the World’s longest river, though these days many say it’s actually second to the Amazon if you care about that sort of argument, it is the reason for Egypt’s existence.

The effect of that is that all of Egypt’s civilisations have grown up and faded away in their turn along a relatively narrow strip of land on each side of the river. That means that most of the places of interest are within easy reach of the river.

One exception to that is the city of Sharm el Sheikh which is on the shore of the Red sea. It‘s a very popular resort and for anyone who wants to go diving in Egypt it’s the place to go. If you’re not a diver already what better place to learn than in the warm waters of the Red Sea?

Going back to the Nile, and in Egypt you’re never far away from it, it is a feature you can make good use of on your holiday. As long as people have lived in Egypt, which is about as long as they’ve lived anywhere, the Nile has provided a ready made natural highway to enable people and goods to travel about the country. Ever since holidays to Egypt first became popular, many years ago now, Nile cruises have been a favourite way to see and enjoy the sights and local culture.

Cruising the Nile can be done in a number of ways. Anyone familiar with Agatha Christie’s, “Death on the Nile,” especially one of the film versions, will recognise the large river steamers that carry numerous passengers in style and elegance stopping off at all the places of interest. That’s a wonderful way to see Egypt in comfort.

If you’d rather get closer to the working life of the country and its atmosphere and character, you can. Sail the river in a traditional Felucca, one of the few types of working sailing vessels still in everyday use earning their keep. You’ll soon appreciate how the winds and the river currents are used to advantage by these sailors using skills and knowledge handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.

Egypt holidays frequently start and finish in Cairo, “the city of a thousand minarets,” as it has been called. Then as you follow the Nile you won’t miss anything, since most places of interest are situated close to the river. Either when you arrive or before you leave, you’ll want to spend time exploring the fascinating city of Cairo itself.

If you don’t see everything this time, never mind. You’ll be back for more!