Weekend retreats:
More than just a beach From swimming and windsurfing to desert safari and biblical tours, Rasha Sadek guides you through the best places in Ras Sudr
Why go now?
Ras Sudr, in south Sinai, is just a couple of hours from Cairo, yet even in high season, there are many attractive bargains and abundant day use facilities. Together with Ain Sukhna, Ras Sudr is considered one of the closest beaches to Cairo, as it is only 130km from the capital.
The weather in Ras Sudr right now is superb, pleasantly hot (30C-35C) but dry and usually cooled by a fresh breeze that becomes quite noticeable when you sit in the shade. In addition to its 95km-long stretch of beaches which offer a number of water-based activities such as swimming, snorkelling, windsurfing and water skiing, the desert inland provides an ideal opportunity for excursions to oases and biblical tours.
Getting about
Ras Sudr has no airport, but is easy to reach by buses or by private car from Cairo. East Delta services from Cairo run at 8am, 8.45am and 9.45am. Stations are located in Almaza in Heliopolis and Turguman down town. From Ras Sudr, tickets cannot be reserved until half an hour before the bus leaves, and should be obtained from Al-Sukarreya café next to the station. Tickets are LE15 each way.
By car, head along the Cairo-Suez road towards the Ahmed Hamdi tunnel, which snakes under the Suez Canal, then dip south along the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula.
Instant briefing
Ras Sudr was among the cities of South Sinai that Egypt recovered from Israel in 1982. At that time there was nothing there, except the long sandy beach and the clear crystal water. There were no hotels or holiday villages, no shops or cafés. In short, it was a place with potential, but little else.
Today, the picture is totally different. Serious efforts have been made to turn Ras Sudr into an attractive resort for domestic and international tourism.
Ras Sudr is made up of three sections: the first lies before the city centre, about 50km from the Ahmed Hamdi tunnel, and includes the old holiday villages like Daghash Land, Messallah Beach and Mahrousa Beach. Then comes the city centre itself, about 80km from the tunnel, which is shaped like an H and has three main streets, complete with supermarkets, baladi coffee shops, a Misr Bank branch, a telephone exchange and restaurants. The last section lies to the south, where most of the new holiday villages are to be found, such as the Hilton, the Concorde, the Lagoon Club, La Hacianda, Belle Vue and Moon Beach.
Getting around within Ras Sudr means taking a taxi or a pick-up truck. The standard transportation fee is LE10, whether the distance travelled is one kilometre or 20.
Check-in
There are two chain hotels in Ras Sudr, the Concorde Royal Beach Resort and the Hilton Ras Sudr. It also has a number of four and three star hotels. Most of them offer a variety of water activities. You can choose between staying overnight or booking a room for day use only.
Concorde Royal Beach Resort (069-400101), a five-star hotel that lies six kilometres from the city centre, offers double rooms for LE320 a night, junior suites for LE585 and presidential suites for LE720. Day-use rooms cost LE75 per person including lunch. Week-enders can also spend a day on the beach for LE50 per person including lunch.
Laid out over an area of one feddan (acre), the hotel has a horse-riding track where access costs LE120 per hour including a Dutch tutor. (Even if you do not need the tutor, you still have to pay the same fee). The Splash water sports centre offers fishing trips, snorkelling excursions, windsurfing, water skiing, kite skiing and canoe rental. The resort also boasts a marina.
Hilton Ras Sudr Resort (010-1717841/9) is another five- star hotel opened in November 2002 which lies 12km from downtown. It offers double rooms for LE360 a night on a half board basis and suites for LE500. Day use room rate is LE100 per person without lunch while the rate for using the beach only is LE50 per person without lunch.
As at the Concorde, the Splash water sport centre provides travellers with various water activities ranging from renting pedalos, canoes, or banana boats to organising fishing and diving trips to an area of coral reefs some four kilometres from the hotel.
There is also another centre on the beach that specialises in windsurfing and kite surfing. The Hilton resort too has a marina.
Moon Beach Hotel (069-401501), a three-star hotel that lies 98km south the city centre, on the Al-Tor Road, offers double rooms for LE250 a night half board. The hotel doesn't have a marina for water excursions, but a nearby rock provides an excellent fishing spot.
Nozha Beach Hotel, (069-380888), 43km from Ahmed Hamdi tunnel, may be of interest to day trippers, as it is currently shut for repairs, but still opens its beach for LE20 per person, or LE25 on Fridays and Sundays without meals.
Sudr Beach Hotel (069-400402) is a two-star hotel with 20 rooms overlooking the sea, which also has number of chalets set somewhat further back. It is only 500 metres from the bus station and offers double rooms for LE180 per night on a half board basis. Chalets cost LE77 per night and can accommodate up to four persons. Fees for day use are LE12 per person excluding meals.
Must see
Uyoun Moussa (Springs of Moses), 20 minutes from the Ahmed Hamdi tunnel. The springs are one of the places where Moses is believed to have passed during the Exodus. At this very spot, or so the legend goes, 12 springs of water burst forth during his visit. It is a wonderful scene: an oasis filled with desert plants and palm trees. However, the springs have long been neglected and have now dried up. Nevertheless, it remains one of the major attractions of the area.
Hammamat Pharaon, (Pharaoh's Baths), to the south of Ras Sudr, 115km from the tunnel, is another attraction. It is a natural hot-water spring set in a cave in the mountainside, where sulphuric water bubbles up and flows into the sea. It is well known among residents of Suez for its power to cure rheumatism and other ailments.
Trips to these places can be arranged through certain hotels such as the Concorde Royal Beach Resort that organises bus trips for LE35 per person. Alternatively, you can negotiate with a taxi driver directly: expect to pay LE80 for four persons.
Serabit Al-Khadem is a temple further to the south of Ras Sudr that is set back off the main road. Situated on the top of the mountain, it is dedicated to Hathour, the patron goddess of this area where the ancient Egyptians used to mine turquoise. For this trip you will need a four-wheel drive vehicle and should expect to face about one hour of climbing. It is best to get a travel agency from Cairo or Sharm El- Sheikh to organise the excursion for you.
Al-Tayeba Oasis, 25km from down town, is another desert excursion that can be organised by the Concorde Royal Beach Hotel for LE35 per person. You will be served green tea and grilled chicken by Bedouins as you loll in an oasis surrounded by palm trees and camels, to the music of a Bedouin band or an oriental takht.
Wadi Al-Gharandal (Al-Gharandal Valley) in the south, a few kilometres from the Moon Beach resort and a five- minute drive off the main road, is another ideal area for a desert safari. The scenery is picturesque, with a mille- feuille like mountain embracing a large oasis with plants half submerged in sweet water. Sand dunes surround the area, and the varied colours of the different rock strata create a bizarre amphitheatre.
The valley is more beautiful than those near Sharm El- Sheikh and Nuweiba, but for some reason remains less well known. You will need to get a travel agency to provide you with a 4x4.
Dining out
Ras Sudr has few options for dining out. Down town, El- Sheikh Zein is a sea food restaurant that offers freshly grilled fish, crabs and lobsters at reasonable prices.
Other than El-Sheikh Zein, your best bets are the restaurants of hotels. The Hilton Ras Sudr provides breakfast and dinner buffets all week long in its Dynasty Restaurant. The Tropicana offers snacks and drinks by the pool, while the Tamarisk lays on snacks by the beach.
The Concorde Royal Beach Resort has the Almaz restaurant that offers grills in addition to traditional food like fuul and ta'miya accompanied by oriental music performed by the Trio troupe. Also in the Concorde you can stop at the Sahrana, an open air coffee shop.
Moon Beach offers open buffets on Thursdays and Fridays only. The rest of the week is a la carte.
Into the night
Don't expect any kind of a night life outside the five-star hotels. Both the Concorde and the Hilton put on an oriental show, with a belly dancer in addition to a DJ, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 28 August - 3 September 2003 (Issue No. 653)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/653/tr4.htm