Egypt Guide
Sinai
Nabeq
Beyond the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, a ninety-kilometre swath of the coast as far north as Dahab City has been designated another protected area, named after the small oasis and Bedouin village of NABEQ. As few dive boats come here from Na'ama, the reefs are quieter than at Tiran or Ras Mohammed, but anyone considering staying in Nabeq should bear in mind that it is much windier here than in Na'ama, that transport connections are limited to shuttle buses and that the beaches can be poor. Most visitors are on half-day trips to see Nabeq's mangrove forests – the most northerly in the world. Mangroves can filter salt from sea water and thus survive in tropical coastal areas. As sediment traps, they reduce erosion and provide a habitat for mating fish and migratory birds (in summer and autumn), acting as the ecological interface between the coast and the interior, whose flood-prone wadis sustain ibex, hyrax, foxes and other wildlife.
All approaches to Nabeq are best made by someone who knows the way; wander off the track and you might inadvertently encounter mines left over from Israeli-Egyptian wars, which killed a Jeepload of tourists in 1995. Admission to the protected area costs €5; the only facilities are a cafeteria and visitors' centre.
One of the best of Nabeq's beachfront hotels is the Radisson SAS ( 
069/371-0315, 
www.radissonsas.com ; Price: ₤E450-900), a luxurious resort 17km north of Na'ama, with six restaurants, three pools and a spa centre. Even better is the beautiful 
Nubian Village next door ( 069/371-0200 
nubian@link.net; full-board Price: ₤E450-900), designed to resemble a Nubian settlement, though it also has two pools, a nightclub, a spacious beach and a dive centre. It operates free shuttles to Na'ama.