What a holiday day in Sharm costs: excursions, tips and meals
8 min read
The useful budget first: set aside the exact tour price plus food, drinks and tips that are not explicitly included; do not turn the displayed “from” price into a complete daily budget. The three strongest starting points are the Old Market, mosque and Farsha city tour from €17.73, the sunrise or sunset quad safari from €22.50, and the Ras Mohammed and White Island snorkelling day with lunch from €26.10. For most visitors choosing one paid day, the snorkelling trip gives the fullest day for the smallest gap in price.
Three realistic activity-day anchors
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Reviews | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Market, mosque and Farsha Café city tour | 4 hours | €17.73 | 4.7 | 1,319 | A low-cost evening |
| Sunrise or sunset quad desert safari | 3 hours | €22.50 | 4.8 | 2,426 | A short active outing |
| Ras Mohammed and White Island snorkelling with lunch | 9 hours | €26.10 | 4.8 | 3,898 | The best-value full day |
These prices are per the current booking data and should remain attached to their own tours. Your selected date, pickup area and option can change the checkout total.
The cheap evening: €17.38 is not the final bill
The city tour includes a route and transport, but drinks and snacks at Farsha are bought on site. Shopping in the Old Market is personal spending, not part of an “evening cost”. Keep those lines separate: tour, café order and purchases. Otherwise a souvenir becomes evidence that the excursion was expensive.
See availability and prices for the Old Market, mosque and Farsha city tour
This is the right budget day if your hotel already covers meals and you want one organised evening. It is poor value if you only want Farsha; private return transport starts lower and leaves the timing to you.
The active half-day: what the quad price buys
The three-hour quad safari includes the desert ride and Bedouin tea in its summary. It does not become a seven-hour dinner show merely because photographs of both products look similar. The longer super safari starts at €27.95 and adds a camel ride, stargazing, a barbecue dinner and a cultural show.
See availability and prices for the sunrise or sunset quad safari
The €5.45 difference between those starting prices is small, but time is the real distinction: three hours against seven. Buy the shorter trip if the ride is the point. Buy the longer one only if you also want the camp evening.
The full day: why the boat wins on value
The nine-hour Ras Mohammed and White Island trip includes lunch in its title and combines transport, boat time and snorkelling. At €25.65 it costs only €3.15 more than the short quad safari at their starting prices. That does not make it automatically better: non-swimmers, people who dislike long boat days and travellers prone to seasickness may get less from it.
See availability and prices for the Ras Mohammed and White Island snorkelling day
Ask whether equipment, national-park charges and pickup from your hotel area are included in the selected option. A title can confirm lunch while leaving other extras to the option details.
Tips: budget room, not a compulsory percentage
Tipping is common in Egypt, but a rigid percentage for every driver, crew member and guide turns custom into a made-up tariff. Carry small notes and decide after the service. If an operator presents a fee as mandatory, ask whether it is an official charge or a gratuity. They are not the same.
At an all-inclusive hotel, a pool day may add almost nothing beyond personal spending. Outside it, restaurant and taxi prices vary too widely by venue and negotiation to publish one honest daily figure. Set a cap for optional spending rather than pretending one total describes every traveller.
Families and the multiplication problem
Do not multiply the adult starting price by four until checkout shows the child pricing and the selected option. Providers set different age bands, and the local statistics do not establish a universal minimum age. Check participation rules and what equipment is supplied before booking.
Our recommendation
For the best bookable full day, choose the Ras Mohammed and White Island snorkelling trip with lunch. For a cheaper organised evening, take the city tour. For a compact activity, take the quad. In every case, treat the tour price as one line in the day, not as a promise that drinks, tips, equipment and every local charge have disappeared.
