Nuweiba

Understand

Nuweiba means, “bubbling springs” in Arabic. The 7-km-long stretched settlement developed from a barren isolated place with no infrastructure into an attractive tourist destination. Hotels stretch 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.

Getting there

Nuweiba is part of the Sinai coastal zone where most visitors don't need a visa. You will need one to travel on to Cairo and beyond. See Egypt#Get_in for details.

By boat Ferries sail from Nuweiba and from Taba to Aqaba in Jordan, bypassing Eilat in Israel and the tedious extra border procedures and fees. See Jordan#Get_in for visa rules, but for most visitor nationalities you get a single-entry visa on arrival in Aqaba for US$100, valid for two months. See above for the re-entry into Egypt; if you do need a visa, you may be able to start the procedure on the boat. The ferry, operated by ABMaritime, sails daily from Nuweiba at 1PM, reaching Aqaba at 4PM. It sails from Aqaba at 11PM to reach Nuweiba at 1AM (but is often late and will probably arrive between 2AM and 4AM). A single foot-passenger fare is US$80 (June 2024) and a return is US$100. Vehicles are also carried and this makes for a slow process of document-checking, loading and unloading: factor in an extra hour before you can get ashore. 1 Nuweiba Port is in the south part of town. The street to the pier has the bus station, banks and similar amenities for travellers. See Taba Heights for the faster boat to Aqaba; this is only for foot-passengers and sails 3 or 4 days a week. The same company also sails between Sharm-el-Sheikh and Hurghada. See Ferries in The Red Sea for other sea routes.

By bus Buses are operated by Go Bus or East Delta coaches. They go to many places including Cairo, Dahab and Sharm el Sheikh. The prices are very cheap but the buses are really not that good (at least for East Delta, Go Bus seems a little bit better). 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. The bus trip from Cairo to Nuweiba takes at least 7 hours. Don't believe the information about 5 hours - it's 670 km, two stops for toilets and tea, several stops for taking up and dropping passengers

Getting 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 LE 5-10, 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 to 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 to 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.

Castle Zaman, 25 km Taba-Nuweiba Rd (10 minutes from Taba Heights), ☏ +20 182140591. From noon. East of the Sinai Peninsula, overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba, this impressive monument commands a dramatic mountainous view of four countries. The exact site signifies a landmark on the ancient road connecting St. Catherine's Monastery with Jerusalem. Castle Zaman offers an exquisite and generous cuisine. Meat and seafood are roasted to perfection with an assortment of fresh vegetables, spices, dates and figs slowly prepared in earth pots. Preparation takes 1-3½ hours, time gladly spent by the pool, exploring the underground treasure room, or sipping fresh cocktails by the bar. (Not child friendly, Wi-Fi available.)

Do

Apart from hanging out at the beach, Nuweiba offers diving and snorkeling from the camps and hotels. There is a small reef south of Tarabin, otherwise better snorkeling and diving is found at Ras Shaitan (Devils Head), a short car ride north of Tarabin. Other great scuba diving sites just a short drive from Nuweiba include 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 LE 25 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 LE 50-100 per person, maybe LE 400-500 for a 4WD to the Colored Canyon. This is considerably much cheaper than Dahab and Sharm. Reserve at least a few days before you arrive if you want to spend a day at Castle Zaman. On a hill just north of town, it serves as an oasis for trekkers and campers in the area. You can spend a relaxing day on a bean bag seeing an amazing view of the gulf and 4 countries. Some of the features are a sauna, a good bar with cocktails, lunch/dinner, and a swimming pool that blends nicely in the nature of the area.

Buy

There is 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 f