Where is the best snorkeling in Sharm el Sheikh — lagoon or outer reef side?

From messages by 3 participants in 1 source · Last activity: 54 days ago

TL;DR

Snorkeling inside hotel lagoons is often disappointing — few fish, and interesting marine life sits too deep to see clearly; better sightings (including octopuses) happen on the outer reef side or wild beaches, though even there you need to dive deeper for a good view.

What the community said

One traveler observed that the best time to enter the water for snorkeling is early morning around 7am — warm, clean, and almost no people. By 10am it gets busier, and by 4pm the beach is very crowded.

~7am

A traveler noted that at their hotel the lagoon is bad and the open-sea entry isn't great either. As an alternative, they mention Dana hotel, which is excellent for lagoon/entry (though entertainment/animation is weak), and are also considering the neighboring Sunrise Garden as a lively alternative.

Dana, Sunrise Garden hotels

One traveler noted that closed lagoons are usually disappointing for snorkeling — little visible marine life near the surface, even in lagoons they haven't personally checked.

The impressive underwater videos with fish and reef life are usually filmed on the outer reef side, not inside hotel lagoons.

outer reef side

An octopus was spotted while snorkeling, but only at depth — its color blends with the surroundings, so you need to stay completely still to make out any details.

octopus spotting at depth

For a summer beach vacation, it's better to pick a small, simple hotel (sea-pool-room format) rather than expecting good snorkeling right off the shore.

There are several nearby spots to enter the water for snorkeling: from a pier with multiple entry points of varying depth spread over about 100 meters, from the neighboring hotel beach, or from a nearby wild beach.

pier, ~100m, varying depth