Woman alone--Sharm or MarsaAlam?

[Polpessa]

Hi,

The 1st week of March I'm going either to Sharm or Marsa Alam, alone. I'm 31 and female and like travelling backpacker style, low cost, nothing fancy, hanging out with groups of single travellers.

Obviously I'm looking for good diving and think I can find this in either place so my question relates more to the atmosphere I will find on land. I know Sharm is a big touristy place and Marsa less so, but,

if I want to hang out with backpacker types, and single travellers who also like to party a bit, which place is better?

My nightmare is going somewhere where it's all couples and I'll be eating alone, no one to hang out with without feeling like the proverbial 3rd wheel...

Thanks for any advice!

 

[stefo2]

neither of the two...
If you're looking for a backpackers type place, it's Dahab you want, just north of Sharm. Sharm mainly caters to package groups, Dahab mainly to individual travellers of all age groups. Some people would argue that the diving is better from Sharm, but I think some of the dives from Dahab are excellent and less crowded than Sharm anyway. It's also a lot cheaper with plenty of backpackers accomodation (as well as some hotels).
Marsa Alam is the place you want to go if diving is your main (if not only) aim. The dive camps are good and the reefs are unspoilt and beautiful, but there's nowhere else to go outside your camp or resort. When I was there it seemed to be mainly couples or, even worse , groups of divers from European dive clubs (lots of Germans and Danes), who tended to be a bit "cliquy". If it hadn't been for the wonderful Egyptian dive staff and the fact that another single traveller had walked in the same day as me and we ended up buddying for the week, I would have felt pretty lonely at times.

 

[mania]

You can easily go to Sharm on your own as I do it very often. To be honest i feel safer there than in my home town - even very late at night. And - as opposed to Dahab - you can not only dive but also enjoy several bars and clubs. And because Sharm is a "big city" which nither Dahab nor MarsaAlam you will not feel the fact that you are alone between couples. So I advice Sharm - you can have all - diving, trips to the desert (for instance on horse) and parties!
Mania

 

[stefo2]

Hey Mania, Dahab has about 4 bars now (wow!), and one nightclub (well, sort of) so there is plenty to do there as well. You can do the same desert trips as from Sharm, only a lot cheaper. I just always felt that Dahab was an easier place to meet people, because most people in Sharm (you and a few others obviously being the exception) were on package tours, wheres as in Dahab you have plenty of (solo) backpackers. Just a matter of tase, I guess, whether you prefer the glitzy night life of Sharm or the more laid back atmosphere in Dahab.

 

[Conor]

Have to agree with all that has been said so far, personally I would go for Dahab as there are a lot of backpacker style places and its a bit more laid back and friendly. Sharm is a bit more like a med resort, more bars etc big hotels but still fun.

Enjoy which ever you choose

Conor

 

[Louie]

Dahab gets my vote. You'd get the least hassle there as a single woman and the place does get more independent-minded and solo divers/travellers.

However, the diving out of Marsa is far superior. If you are going to spend a lot of time on dives or out at sea on boats, it may not matter too much what life's like on land.

 

[WreckWriter]

I would think in these times that no place in the Middle East is safe for a solitary Western traveller, male or female. Perhaps consider the Bahamas or Mexico?

WW

 

[Belushi]

I would think in these times that no place in the Middle East is safe for a solitary Western traveller, male or female. Perhaps consider the Bahamas or Mexico?

What a load of crap! The Middle East is a perfectly safe place. thousands of tourists go there every month.
The Sinai Desert has to be one of the safest places on the planets.
After all we have our cousins with the big sticks looking after us. The United Nation's Peace Keeping forces are in, and have been in, the Sinai for 20 years. Apart from the internal strife that Egypt suffered in Luxor, the Egyptian/Israeli conflict has petered out to almost nothing.

Garbage like this from intelligent people is the reason why paranoia destroys the trust that is around and allows us Brits to get cheap holidays to the Red Sea.
Actually, arent we going to the Red Sea soon? (Ill shut up)

In answer to your original post, by employing the sensible precautions and feminine intuition that makes all us men suffer, you will be safe in both places. Both Dahab and Sharm are full of European Divers at this time of the year and if you want to just chill in the sand-pit then you will be able to do so easily. Sharm is busier, but Dahab is seeerrrriously relaxed!

 

[Conor]

Just to agree with Belushi, I sepnt 4 weeks last year in Dahab, Sharm and Taba, there is nothing for anyone to be nervous about. I was in Dahab for half of GWII and even then there wasn't a bad word said to anyone, in fact I didn't hear anymention of it until the airport on the way home.

 

[Phish-phood]

I just spent a week in Sharm and the only thing I was nervous of was the drivers!!!