Africa : North Africa : Egypt : Sinai : Nuweiba
Nuweiba
Nuweiba on the eastern coast of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, 70 km south of Taba and 180 km north of Sharm el Sheikh, and only 110 km from St. Catherine.
Understand
Nuweiba means, “bubbling springs” in Arabic. The 7-km long stretched settlement developed from a barren isolated place with no infrastructure into a promising and attractive tourist destination. Nuweiba is just recently discovered by tourist investors establishing hotels along the coastline connecting it with Taba in the north and Dahab in the south.
The city is divided into three parts. From southward you'll find the port, the city and Tarabin, the beduin camp and beach strip where most backpackers stay. Nuweiba city lacks a center, but has a small strip of cheap restaurants, an internet cafe and some souvenir shops. Along the beach in the city some resorts and more upscale camps are located.
To the north, between Tarabin and Taba, you'll find even more basic camps than you'll get in Tarabin. All these camps were struck hard by the lack of Israeli tourism after the Taba/Ras Shaitan bombings in 2004 and the later Sharm and Dahab bombs. The places that used to rely on Israeli visitors can seem almost dead and you have a high chance of solitude by the beach in this area.
Get in
Boats connect Nuweiba to Aqaba, Jordan. The ticket office difficult to find. There is a road the runs along the outside wall of the port entrance. At the corner of the wall furthest from the port entrance, there is an intersection, and the ticket office is located across the street to the south of port. Cost at is US$50 for the fast boat, US$37 for the slow boat. The fast boat leaves at 3pm daily. Foreigners are required to pay in US cash. There is also a 50EGP departure tax.
The other main travel is by East Delta coaches. This is basically a shabby bus that goes to many places including Cairo, Dahab and Sharm el Sheikh. The prices are very cheap (about 50p) but the buses are really not that good. They are ok if you are going to sleep a lot of the way. It is not just a bus for tourists it is also a local bus service so ladies be sure to cover up to a certain amount.
Get around
The majority of travellers arrive by ferry or bus to the port. If you are coming from Taba/Cairo you could ask the bus driver to let you off by the hospital. From the port you'll have to find a taxi to the city or Tarabin. It should not be more than 5-10 LE, but as taxis are often scarce, prices will be inflated. Negotiate hard.
Between the city and Tarabin distances are coverable by foot. If you're let off by the hospital it's a twenty minute walk to the beginning of Tarabin.
There are only a few ways that you can get around in Nuweiba. One is the blue and white taxis. Although you can get just white taxis, stick only to the blue and white and also try and make a mental note of the drivers taxi license, which should be on clear display, and his taxi number, which should be on the drivers side of the taxi. If the driver is good and charges a good price then try and take his number as taxis can sometimes be hard to come by in a small place such as Nuweiba.
See
The sunrise in the east, rising over the hijaz mountain-range of Saudi Arabia and the aqaba gulf is probably the most spectacular sight in this area. Otherwise, the area is low on historic sights, but offers plenty of interesting mountain landscapes. Trekking with camels can be organised from the beach in Tarabin, otherwise, an early morning walk northwards to Red Rock (small red mountain clips by the sea) is possible (about 1 hr).
The city of Nuweiba is new and built in concrete. The Bedouin village in Tarabin holds little of interest except seeing how settled Bedouins live in modern Egypt. Apart from this, you might enjoy ship-spotting from the beach.
Do
Apart from hanging out at the beach, Nuweiba offers diving and snorkeling from the camps and hotels. A small reef is located south of Tarabin, otherwise better snorkeling and diving is found at Ras Shaitan, a short car ride north of Tarabin. Other great scuba diving sites just a short drive from Nuweiba include Devils Head and South Cove a few kilometers to the north.
Short or longer camel treks can be arranged from the Bedouins at Tarabin. You can just ride along the beach or go into the mountain interior. A fair price would be 25 LE per hour.
Most of the camps and hotels also organize treks to the Colored Canyon and a smaller Canyon trek closer to Nuweiba. If you are in a group the price should be about 50-100 LE per person, maybe 400-500 LE for a 4WD to the Colored Canyon. This is considerably much cheaper than Dahab and Sharm.
Buy
There is a a cluster of small shops along Tarabin beach selling souvenirs and artifacts. Items of special interest are handmade Bedouin rugs and silver, which are cheaper here than in the tourist shops in the larger cities.
Eat
The camps and hotels runs their own restaurants, and mostly serve the standard travellers diet of pasta, pizza, pancakes and some kebab and burger varieties. Fresh fish from the Red Sea are also served in most of these places.
- Dr. Shishkebab. A kebab restaurant with a large menu offering small dishes and meat. It is a welcome alternative to the camping diet.
Drink
Nuweiba is a bad place for discos and bars, but you'll find beer and Egyptian wine and liquors at a licensed store by the port. Otherwise, the resorts and some of the camps have alcohol.
- Little Prince Coffee Shop, near the central telephone, Tel :0124718011., http://www.little-prince.co.nr/ A nice place to drink turkish coffe ,tea ,natural fresh juice ,karkade. On a quiet terrace, you can smoke narguile, listen to music from so many countries. A large choice of books, different languages.
Sleep
Travelers can choose from the resorts and upscale camps in Nuweiba city and Tarabin or the more basic camps at the "hippie beachs" north of Nuweiba. Some cheap, dirty hotels are located by the port.
- Harby's Place, Wadi Mahash(20 KM north of Nuweiba, 40 KM south of Taba), [1]. Harby's Place is a Bedouin owned and managed eco-lodge situated in the beautiful surroundings of Wadi Mahash on the shores of the Red sea, South Sinai, Egypt. Its remote location and authentic beach huts make it an unique destination for eco-tourism and peace-seeking visitors. It is also very suitable for workshops and training courses, spiritual retreats, or similar group activities Harby's Place operates on two fundamental principles: the Principle of Simplicity and minimal environmental impact, and the Principle of Hospitality - the highest Bedouin virtue. Guests experience the time-honoured hospitality and culture of the Bedouins in the simple comfort of the Zula. Harby's place aspires for a practical ecological equilibrium and respect to the local Bedouin culture. The camp's restaurant offers local organic and seasonal food. Just as the locals eat… Fish and seafood cought off shore on the same day, fresh salads from locally grown organic vegetables, and Bedouin dishes as Magluba - a meal of lamb (or chicken), rice and vegetables cooked for over 4 hours on red burning coals and Sayadiya the fisherman's food – rice and fish cooked with fish stock and local vegetables and spices prices are very reasonable: 30EU for Full board , 10EU B&B. [2]
Tarabin
The places at the Tarabin beach strip all offer more or less the same concept: relaxed atmoshpere, huts and beach access.
- Petra Camp, 20-60 EP per person, is located on Tarabine's beach, on the edge of the Red sea, at the foot of Sinai mountains. [3] In a Bedouin-style camp, Petra is without a doubt the nicest camp you'll find around (well known for its restaurant). You also won't have any surprise as all prices are available at the desk and on the website (which is appreciable). Petra has a very tasty and beautiful restaurant run by Shabaan, built with wood recycled from a Cairo antique theatre (designed by the owner, a famous architect in Cairo). Petra camp offers rooms with two simple beds with and without AC. Mahmoud Sokar, the manager, also organizes trips in the area (Mount Catherine, the Colored Canyon). You can rent snorkeling material to discover the rich corals of the Red Sea right in front of the Camp. Contacts : Mahmoud Sokar +20-69-35-00-086 / +20-10-47-22-001
- New Soft Beach, 40-80 EP per person, breakfast included. Kamal Al-Deep: +20-10-35 47 586, Christina Lehmkühler: +20-12-63 44 756, +49-163-99 23 499, [4] (german). New Soft beach is run by Kammal and Christina from Germany. It has its own strip of beach, hammocks and small huts by the beach for relaxing in the shade.
The common restaurant area is NOT recommended. This place attracts travellers of many different nationalities, which basically means they pay commision to anyone, and often books up with Egyptians, friends of friends of ther family who's looking for some loose western women. Thus it's less harmed by the reduction of travellers after the suicide bombings in the area from 2004.
If you are into Hippie trip, you won't be afraid of sleeping on the floor or standing ankeldeep in piss and shit in the toilets,
- Nakhil Inn Tel: +20-69-3500879 Fax: +20-69-3500878 mob: +20-12-2105906, Email: info@nakhil-inn.com [5]. $ 40 per night for double room with breakfast. At the northern end of the beach, this is the only resort along the Tarabin strip. Seems pretty empty these days. Has its own diving center and several packages are on offer on their website.
Nuweiba City
The camps and resorts in the city are all located along the beach.
- Habiba Village, [6]. Tel: +20-69-3500770 / Fax: +20-69-3500565. 10-45 USD, Hotline: 012-2176624, Email: habiba@sinai4you.com. If you want camp life, but with more comfort than Tarabin, this popular place offers bungalows and rooms with A/C.
- Swisscare Nuweiba Resort Hotel, [7]. With 48 suites on the beach in a central location between the port area and the town.
- Nuweiba Village Resort, [8]. A standard four stars hotel, Located at the city center with a 1500 M overlooking the sandy beach of Nuweiba 130 rooms well furnished, ready to make you feel the sharming life of Nuweiba.
- Nuweiba Coral Hilton Resort, [9]. A charming, calming resort with friendly staff and a private beach area. easy acsses to the Port and the City.
Stay safe
Drugs, particularly marijuana, are widely available in Nuweiba and famously cheap. This does not make them legal, so consider very carefully if you want to risk at best large fines and at worst lengthy prison terms in Egypt's notoriously squalid prisons before indulging.
Women travellers are pretty safe in Nuweiba. As a matter of courtesy to the local customs, even though you will see quite a few girls with short skirts and tight t-shirts, please respect the fact that Egypt is a conservative country, and dress appropriately in the city (at the beach a bikini is no problem).
Get out
- Aqaba — Jordan's window on the sea
- Dahab — the backpacker mecca of the Sinai
- Eilat — gateway to Israel
This page was last edited at 07:04, on 19 March 2009 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Jani Patokallio, fuad Elshahawy, jbdemaison@yahoo.fr, David and Helena, Wikitravel user(s) Tootim, Picapica, Lakerhaug, WindHorse, Neil C and Unger, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.