Sharm el-Sheikh vs Hurghada - which is better for coral reefs and snorkeling?

A guest of the Domina hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh reports it's calm and beautiful with good food. The new pier can have strong currents (one morning it pulled swimmers strongly to the left), so it's better to snorkel from the old pier in the morning.

A traveler who stayed at the Stella hotel in 2019 recalls great service and tasty food; she isn't knowledgeable about reefs, but fish were pointed out to her during snorkeling.

A guest of the Rotana hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh shares a positive review: clean, cozy hotel, friendly staff, good variety of tasty food. The reef is beautiful, but it's best to snorkel from the pontoon closer to the diving club. Also praised the hotel's seafood restaurant.

A traveler who stayed at the budget hotel Sharm Plaza compared its house reef to Hurghada: the reef right off the hotel felt like an aquarium, with lots of fish and morning sightings of stingrays and moray eels, plus a tiger shark spotted once. Hurghada's sandy beach entry lacked this variety.

A guest of the 4-star Barcelo Tiran hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh noted the reef there is half-dead but still has many different fish species; the hotel itself was praised for good rooms, food, and no crowding for sun loungers.

One traveler notes that Sharm el-Sheikh beats Hurghada overall: cleaner water, better-preserved reefs, and higher-quality hotels — which explains the higher price tag.

At the Sharm Reef beach area, you can spot plenty of fish right from the pier, especially during quiet hours (like lunchtime, when most tourists are back at their hotels).

A traveler recalls her first-ever trip abroad to Sharm el-Sheikh back in 2011 — she was impressed by how much marine life was visible right off the hotel's reef.