Supplied by our reader Georgina Ann Simms

This 370 room resort is the first to be opened by Hilton Hotels & Resorts in Marsa Alam. The resort is the 17th resort to be opened by Hilton Hotels in Egypt. Marsa Alam is a great base for a cruise along the Nile and exploring the areas ancient sites and temples.

Marsa Alam

Overlooking the Red Sea, the resort has a beachfront location on Abu Dabab Bay, combining an entertainment village, a congress centre and a residential town. The hotel has a stunning beachfront location with amazing views of the Red Sea. All of the guest rooms and suites are decorated in contemporary Nubian style and have a private balcony or terrace with beautiful views over the sea, pool or gardens, air conditioning and ceiling fan, elegant bathrooms, hairdryer, LCD satellite television, telephone, high-speed internet access, tea and coffee making facilities, minibar and the signature Hilton Serenity Bed Experience.

The Hilton Marsa Alam Nubian Resort offers a vast array of sport and leisure facilities including four outdoor swimming pools (2 heated in the winter), a fitness centre, tennis courts, a diving lodge (on Abu Dabab Bay) and a children’s club. The hotel also has nine restaurants and bars, including the Marsa Restaurant which serves Middle Eastern specialities along with international dishes, the exotic Souk Cafe where you can relax with an Arabic coffee and tasty pastry and Breezes Pool Bar for your cocktails, not to be missed on your direct holidays to Marsa Alam.

Abu Dabab Bay

Guests can enjoy a range of fitness and recreation activities including scuba diving, snorkelling, fishing, aerobics, water aerobics, water polo, a walking track, jogging track, bicycle rental, sight seeing tours, beach volleyball and football, basketball, table tennis, pool table and not forgetting the beautiful sandy beach where you can relax in the glorious sunshine, swim in the crystal clear water and enjoy some of the great water sports which are on offer. Abu Dabab Bay is a world famous diving spot with many dive sites including those suitable for beginners and night dives. Divers will marvel at the sea cow (Dugong) and stone fish that are often seen here. Marsa Alam is renowned for its pristine reefs and variety of marine life.

For families with young children there is a babysitting service, children’s club and activities, mini disco, children’s pools, playground, children’s menu, highchairs and playpens to be enjoyed on their family holidays to Egypt.

Other facilities at the hotel include a concierge desk, guest activity/reception desk, bar area, breakfast area, lounge, safety deposit box, multi-lingual staff, 24 hour room service, currency exchange, ATM, beauty salon and barber shop, gift shop, clothing store, laundry/valet service and

Dugong-sea cow

luggage storage.

Marsa Alam is Egypt’s southernmost Red Sea resort, 790kms south of Cairo, 250kms from Luxor and about 200kms from the ancient city of Aswan in the south.

Marsa Alam

Previously a small fishing village Marsa Alam is one of the fastest growing holiday resorts in Egypt. With lots of tourism projects in the pipeline, Marsa Alam is set to rival the popularity of the already established Egyptian resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada.

Marsa Alam has a small harbour and stone quay, with many restaurants, bars and shops along it’s palm-fringed seafront. With almost 100 kms of stunning coastal reefs Marsa Alam is particulary popular with divers. The spectacular Elphinstone Reef is legendary in southern Egypt. This reef has underwater walls that plunge over 70 metres and are covered in fascinating white, red, pink and brown sponges, corals and fans. Sha’ab Samadai

Elphinstone Reef

(Dolphin House) is another popular divind site here. Marsa Alam offers excellent deep sea fishing, with reef sharks, snappers, lobsters and tuna.
A marine nature reserve stretches from Marsa Alam to Gebel Elba in the south.

WEATHER

During July Marsa Alam enjoys temperatures of 34C, with 11 hours of sunshine every day. Late summer and autumn sees slightly stronger wind speeds.
During the winter the temperature is much milder but still usually around 20C, with about 6 hours of sunshine every day. Marsa Alam sees some winter rainfall which can occasionally be heavy and thundery but only lasts for a brief spell.

WHAT TO DO AND SEE

Diving and Snorkelling – Elphinstone Reef harbours sharks and exotic species of fish and is best for the more experienced diver. The shallower sandier Marsa Abu Dabab is better for the novice diver offering close-up encounters with dolphins and the dugong (sea cow). There is also the Samadai Reef where a group of spinner dolphins have made their home.

Deep Sea Fishing – You can take lessons on board a luxury yacht, fishing for lobster, tuna, barracuda and reef sharks.

Wadi Lahami

Kite Surfing – Available at the legendary shallow lagoon at Wadi Lahami, 140kms south of Marsa Alam. The strong thermal winds here provide ideal conditions for kite surfing. Because the lagoon here has a maximum depth of 70cms, it is possible to wade out a considerable distance.  There is an outer coral reef where the lagoon meets the sea, hence beginners should stick to the lagoon, while experts can enjoy the open seas beyond the reef.

Quad Bike Safari – Race across the desert on a quad bike.

Jeep Safari – This is the best way to explore the mountain valleys. visit a bedouin village or travel to Wadi Hammamat to view the ancient rock inscriptions and mines that run along the dry river valley that once formed part of a trading route which connected Luxor via the Silk Route to Asia.

Horse or Camel Safari – For a more relaxed desert safari where you can experience the dramatic desert sun sets.

Gebel Elba National Park

Visit the Gebel Elba National Park – The Gebel Elba National Park is located 250kms south of Marsa Alam between the small  town of Berenice and Egypt’s border with Sudan. This mountainous area is home to some amazing wildlife, including the Sooty Falcon, the Crowned Sandgrouse and the Pharaoh Eagle Owl.  The area is also the homeland of the Bashari pastoral nomads who live in semi-circular wooden structures, covered with hides and cloth. These nomads are renowned for their skill as desert trackers and camel breeders.

Visit Wadi el Gimal (Valley of the Camels ) National Park – The park covers over 6000 square kms with the main entrance situated close to the Shams Alam resort about 30 minutes south from Marsa Alam. With mangrove and thorny acacia trees, this is one of the last places in Egypt where you can still find wild gazelle. Situated within the park are the ancient emerald mining

Mons Smaragdus

villages of Mons Smaragdus (Cleopatra’s Mines). These ancient emerald mines date from the time of the Pharaohs, where gold and emeralds have been mined here for centuries. A tour of the remaining structures gives an insight into this complex and sophisticated ancient civilisation.

Visit Port Ghalib marina – One of the biggest marina developments on the Red Sea, with bars and restaurants where you can try some authentic Egyptian food while looking out over the sea.

Visit Luxor - Luxor is just a few hours drive from Marsa Alam and worthy of a visit. With it’s many temples and histiric monuments, it is like a huge open-air museum.

Shopping - The historic city of El Quseir is a short drive from Marsa Alam. It has a 16th century Ottoman fort which was occupied  by the French in 1799, under Napoleon, who fortified it with the cannons. The small port here is

El Quseir

where Queen Hatshepsut launched her campaign against the legendary “Land of Punt”. Centuries later, after the Arab conquest, it remained the largest port on the Red Sea and until the 1840′s it was the port of choice for pilgrims travelling from North Africa to Mecca. When you have finished sight seeing, head for El Quseir’s main attraction, shopping in the souk. Here you will find papyrus, alabaster, perfumes, shishas, silver and many other goods and souvenirs.