Marsa Alam (Arabic :مرسى علم, Marsā ʿAlam) is a resort town on the Red Sea Coast of Egypt.

Understand

Marsa Alam

The development of Marsa Alam began in 1995. Due to its crystal clear waters and its white sandy beaches, it is known as the "Egyptian Maldives". In 2021, 9,000 residents lived in the town.

Get in

Marsā ʿAlam is on the Egyptian or African coast of the Red Sea, about 275 km south of Hurghada and 215 km south of Safāgā. The town sits at the intersection of Coastal Highway 24 and the road to Edfu.

By car

The trunk road 24 runs directly through the city. The hotels are also close to this road. North of Marsā ʿAlam, the river branches off to the west Highway 212 to Edfu, the Edfu–Marsa Alam Road (Arabic :طريق إدفو مرسى علم, Ṭarīq Idfū Marsā ʿAlam).

By bus

The bus station is in the northwest of town. Buses run five times a day between Cairo via El Quseir and Hurghada, twice in the morning to Edfu, and twice a day to Shalateen.

• 1 Bus station (موقف الاتوبيس, Mauqif al-Utūbīs) (in the northwest of the town on the south side of the road leading to Edfu). Buses run five times a day from Cairo via el-Quṣeir and Hurghada, twice in the morning from Edfu, and twice a day from ash-Shalātīn. (updated Nov 2023)
• The connection from Cairo from Orabco starts and ends in the main street. The bus departs from Marsā ʿAlam at 18:00. Tickets are available from High Bus Transport Co. ,هاي باص, Tel. +20 106 930 8125, +20 121 212 9949.

Service taxis also run to Hurghada, Edfu and Esh-Shalātīn. The stop is next to the bus station.

By plane

2 Marsa Alam International Airport (RMF ^IATA) is serviced seasonally by Condor Airlines from Germany, by many charter airlines. It is 60 km northwest of Marsa Alam near Port Ghālib.

Get around

Due to the town's small size, almost everything can be reached on foot.

See

Apart from the mosques and the local market, there are no sights in the town.

• 1 Mosque of the Islamic community (‏مسجد المركز الإسلامي Masǧid al-Markaz al-Islāmī). (updated Nov 2023)
• 2 Suq Mosque (‏مسجد السوق التجاري Masǧid as-Sūq at-Tiǧārī, Mosque of the Trading Market). (updated Nov 2023)

Do

Spinner Dolphins near Marsa Alam

Water sports

As in other Red Sea resorts, the main activities are of course swimming, diving, snorkeling and kiting. Other water sports activities such as banana boat rides are also available.

Swimming

Almost everywhere there are reefs off the coast of the Red Sea that have to be overcome before you can swim. In many cases, footbridges have been created for this purpose. Avoid entering the coral reefs to protect them. In any case, you need suitable footwear to avoid injury. Many hotels are located near bays. At the western end of these bays there are sandy beaches without offshore reefs. These bays slope slowly and can ultimately reach a depth of 20 meters.

• 1 Public beach (in the north of the city). Many hotels have private beaches. (updated Nov 2023)

Diving and snorkeling

There are some reefs where dolphins can be found, or bays where turtles, manatees and dugongs can be observed. Coral reefs that are still largely intact can be found along the entire coast. Yachts are not allowed to enter bays with manatees so as not to injure these manatees with the ship's propeller.

Kite surfing

The Wadi Lahami Lagoon (near Ḥamāṭa), 140 km south of Marsa Alam, is suitable for kite surfing in addition to diving.

Go next

• Port Ghalib
• Hurghada