The easiest win: seeing the reef without swimming
The reef is the whole point of Sharm and small children do not have to get into deep water to see it. The glass-bottom boat tour is €15 for three hours, suitable for all ages including toddlers, with coral and fish passing under a transparent hull and refreshments on board. The one thing to plan for is that hotel transfer is not included on this trip, so you either book a private transfer or make your own way to the marina.
A step up, the glass submarine at €35 descends below the surface in an air-conditioned cabin with large panoramic windows and includes hotel transfers. For children between roughly four and ten this is usually the highlight of the week, and it is the one excursion where grandparents, parents and small children all come back equally pleased.
Both depend on sea conditions and both are short, which matters more than parents expect. A three-hour trip with a nap afterwards beats an eight-hour trip with a meltdown at hour six.
The sandbank: why White Island changes everything
If your children swim and you want a full day on the water, take the boat to Ras Mohammed National Park and White Island at €50 rather than the Tiran cruise. The reason is White Island itself: a bank of fine sand that rises out of turquoise water as the tide drops, shallow enough to stand on, a hundred metres from the boat.
That sandbank gives children somewhere to be that is not a deck. They can paddle, dig, and get out of the water when they have had enough, which is the single biggest difference between a good family boat day and a long one. Life jackets are provided and the crew gets into the water with guests who want help.
The Tiran Island cruise at the same €50 is the better trip for adults who already snorkel, with three reef stops and less beach time. With children under about ten it is the wrong choice, and we say so when families ask. Our full comparison is in Ras Mohammed or Tiran.
Desert trips with children
Quads are not the answer with young children, because the price is per quad for two riders and a child cannot drive. The family option is the dune buggy experience: €50 for the standard two-seat buggy or €60 for the four-seat family buggy, crossing Echo Valley with a Bedouin tea stop. Four wheels, a cage, a helmet and a stable ride, and a parent at the controls.
The other family-friendly desert option is an evening rather than a ride. The super quad safari with Bedouin dinner and folkloric show at €70 per quad includes a camel ride, a buffet dinner under the stars and live music, and the dinner-and-show part works well for children who would be bored by ninety minutes of riding. Minimum driver age and valid identification can apply on anything with an engine, so tell us the ages when you book.
Bring closed shoes and a warm layer whatever you choose. Desert evenings drop in temperature fast once the sun goes, and the dust is unavoidable.
Culture at child scale
The Sharm El Sheikh city tour at €15 is three and a half hours and is the only cultural trip we sell that is wheelchair and stroller accessible throughout. The Al-Sahaba Mosque, the Coptic cathedral, a panoramic photo stop and free time in the Old Market for spices and souvenirs. Modest dress is required at the places of worship, including for children.
If your family wants the pyramids, take Cairo by flight at €270 per adult rather than the road version. It is about twelve hours instead of eighteen, and the Grand Egyptian Museum holds children's attention far better than most museums do. Our full comparison is in Cairo by plane or by road.
What we tell parents not to book
Mount Sinai. The minimum age is 8 and even then we hesitate. Pickup is at 20:00, the climb starts after midnight, the last third is 700 rock-cut steps on foot and the summit is bitterly cold before dawn. It is a wonderful excursion for fit adults and a miserable one for a tired child. The detail is in what to expect on the Mount Sinai climb.
The Cairo minivan. Six to seven hours of road each way on an eighteen-hour day, leaving in the middle of the night. Adults who choose it generally cope. Children do not, and neither do the adults sitting next to them.
Petra. It crosses two borders by bus and ferry, departs around midnight and runs about eighteen hours with a great deal of walking on stone. Magnificent, and not a children's day out. The full-day Super Safari to Abu Galum and the Blue Hole at €85 is also an eleven-hour active day that needs reasonable fitness, so ask us before assuming a ten-year-old will enjoy it.
Practical things that make the difference
Ask your hotel the night before for a breakfast box; most Sharm hotels provide one free and it saves a difficult morning on any early pickup. Pack more water than you think, sun protection that survives seawater, and a long-sleeved rash top rather than relying on cream for a day on a boat.
Book transfers rather than hailing a taxi with children in tow. A fixed-price private transfer is €15 for a sedan on the airport run or a city ride, a child seat is €5, and there is a sixty-minute free wait if your flight is late. Our guide to transfers and getting around covers the hotel zones, which matter because Nabq and Naama Bay are a long way apart.
On child prices: we do not publish them at the moment, so please do not assume a percentage. Send us the ages on WhatsApp and we will quote you properly for each trip, because boats, buggies and flights all work differently.
Good to know
What is the best trip for a four-year-old?
Can children snorkel on the boat trips?
What do you charge for children?
Can a child ride a quad or a buggy?
Is Sharm walkable with a pushchair?
Useful official sources
- Ras Mohammed and Egypt's protected areas — Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency — official protected-area authority
- Egypt travel advice — UK Foreign Office — entry rules, health and safety guidance
- Egyptian Tourism Authority — official destination information
