Sharm El Sheikh with children: what works, what does not, and the beach nobody warns you about

Most of what makes Sharm El Sheikh good for children is obvious from the brochure: warm shallow water, sun you can rely on, short boat rides, animals. One thing is not in the brochure at all, and it is the thing that most often surprises families in the first hour.

The shore is reef, not sand. Along most of the coast you do not walk into the sea from a beach. You walk out along a jetty or a floating pontoon and get in at the end of it, because the coral shelf ends in a drop-off and walking on it would destroy it. Ras Um Sid is the clearest example: at the end of the pier a ladder leads down, and “you can easily enter the water, directly on the reef”. Snorkeling Report

Easy for an adult. For a four-year-old who wanted to build a sandcastle and paddle, it is a completely different holiday from the one on the poster. Hotels vary enormously on this, and it is the single most useful question to ask before booking a room: does your beach have a sandy entry, or a ladder off a pontoon into deep water?

The water itself

Month	Sea
January	23°C
February	22°C
March	22°C
April	23°C
May	25°C
June	26°C
July	28°C
August	28°C
September	27°C
October	27°C
November	26°C
December	25°C

Sharm el Sheikh climate averages

Between February and April the sea is 22 to 23°C. Adults call that refreshing; small children get cold in it within twenty minutes and stay cold. If you are travelling in that window, a heated pool matters more than the beach, and a child-sized wetsuit or rash vest is worth the suitcase space. July and August give you 28°C water and daytime air of about 35°C, which is the opposite problem.

The excursions that actually work with children

The semi-submarine. A yellow boat with a glassed observation deck about three metres below the surface, ninety minutes including hotel pickup, from €32.00 with 1,218 reviews. Nobody gets wet, nobody needs to swim, and the listing describes it as “ideal if you’re not a fan of the sea”. The same listing, however, explicitly marks it “not suitable for wheelchair users” — do not count on step-free boarding. It still works for a child who will not put their face in the water, a grandparent who does not swim, and a toddler, all in the same booking. The catalogue holds three more boats built on the same idea: a second Seascope from €45.87 and two glass-bottom boats from €22.12. Pickup is roughly 45 minutes before the trip time.

A short snorkelling boat day. The six-hour trip to White Island and Ras Mohamed runs from €24.63 with 3,811 reviews – three hours shorter than the big nine-hour version and, with children, that is the whole difference. The sandbank stop is the part children remember, because it is the only place on the trip where they can run.

The town, in the evening. 12 city tours from €7.27, which is as low as any category on this site starts. An hour in the Old Market after the heat has gone is an easier evening than a restaurant.

The age rules, and the gap in them

The quad safaris are the excursion where children come up against written rules, and the rules stop halfway. Both of the big listings say the tour is not suitable for children under 3. Both say:

Children aged 5-15 may participate only as passengers on a double quad bike with an adult.

Nothing anywhere covers a three- or four-year-old. Nobody is hiding it; it simply is not written down. Ask the operator directly and get an answer before you pay, because the alternative is finding out in a car park with a child who has been promised a quad ride. The same listings also state a maximum combined weight of 150 kg for a double quad – relevant if the plan was one parent plus one child plus one more child.

The full options are under desert safaris, from €11.85, and are taken apart in the quad safari article.

The two days to think hard about

Cairo by coach. The operator states that the convoy makes the journey “between 7 and 9 hours” one way, and the cheaper coach trip lists its own duration as 22 hours. Whatever the pyramids are worth, ask what your child does between hour nine and hour fourteen. If Cairo matters to you this holiday, the flight options exist and cost roughly four times as much; the numbers are in Cairo from Sharm, honestly calculated.

The jeep day to Dahab and the canyon. Ten to thirteen hours, and the listings say it involves off-road driving and “a lot of walking”. They list themselves as unsuitable for people with mobility impairments and, on one, for people with heart problems. Nothing there is aimed at children specifically, which is exactly the point: nobody will stop you bringing a six-year-old on a thirteen-hour off-road day, and it is still a bad idea. The jeep day, taken apart.

Practical things nobody mentions

Pickup times are confirmed the day before. Every listing says it. With children, that means you cannot plan the previous evening properly until the call comes, so book the early excursion for the first half of the week rather than the last.

There is no shade on the sandbank. None. Not a tree, not an umbrella. Hats, long sleeves and a plan for the middle of the day are not optional there.

Take cash in small notes. Scarves, equipment rental, a camel photograph, drinks with lunch – these are the things that are not included, and they are all cash transactions in the middle of a tour.

Seasickness. If a child is prone to it, take the shorter boat, go in the morning, sit them mid-ship and give them the horizon to look at. Anything beyond that belongs with your pharmacy or your family doctor before you travel, not with a booking agent and not with us.

What we would not do

Book a nine-hour boat day in week one with a child who has never been on a boat. Book anything at all on the arrival day. Or choose a hotel by the photograph of its beach without asking how you get into the water – that question decides more of the holiday than the excursion list does.

If your children are old enough to want to snorkel properly, start with snorkelling for beginners in Sharm, which covers what the jetty entry really involves.