Marsa Alam is one of the prominent cities in the Red Sea governorate, about 132km away from El Quseir. The importance of the village has increased at full speed after the construction of Marsa Alam International Airport in 2001. Nowadays the city is visited by multitudes of visitors for enjoying nice fishing holidays and practicing interesting water activities. As a charming city, Marsa Alam is blessed with the appearance of a tropical paradise with its palm trees, mangroves and sea coasts rich with great barrier coral reefs. Near the city, there are other attractions such as the Emerald Mines that dates back to the time of Ptolemy II and the Temple of Seti I .

 

 

Diving and Snorkeling come on top of admirable water activities for tourists and professional divers in Marsa Alam. This is due to the availability of numerous scuba diving centers with highly qualified and welcoming teams, and also the richness of Marsa Alam water with numerous schools of hummerhead sharks and bumphead parrotfish. Diving in Marsa Alam is possible throughout the year, but it is better in summer months because of the calmness of winds. The major trouble that faces divers is the windy nature of Marsa Alam especially in November that prevents boats from accessing the more exposed dive sites. Snorkeling in Marsa Alam is another widely practiced water sport and there are numerous centers for it through out the Red Sea Coast such as Hamanta, Dolphin House, Topia Islan and Blue Lagoon. People of limited experience in swimming prefer snorkeling in Marsa Alam for viewing the brightly colored coral reefs, schools of fish and rare species of sea creatures in the Red Sea.

In spite of the wide range of facilities and activities provided for the visitors of Marsa Alam, the number of hotels and resorts is quite limited and eating outdoors is not an option for tourists but there is are numerous hotels and resorts under construction and this makes it as important as Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada in the future.