Park Regency Sharm El Sheikh Resort
Garden Bay, P.O. Box 58, Sharm El Sheikh – South Sinai, Egypt.
Coordinates in degrees decimal: 27.913888 N, 34.349444 E.
Visited in May 2023. Photographer: Nigel and Sylviane Thomas. Cameras: Olympus Tough T6 and Nikon Coolpix W300.
Introduction
The Park Regency Sharm El Sheikh Resort is located in Garden Bay to the east of the better known Naama Bay. The resort has a beach frontage of about 430m. The reef is particularly interesting because it comprises of multiple isolated outcrops, extending up to 80m from shore, directly in front of the resort. The reef gradually becomes more coherent, with a distinct vertical wall, to the northeast, extending 250m from the resort jetty. Towards the southwest the isolated reef outcrops gradually form a shallow water platform, with a vertical face at about 100m from shore, extending all the way to the headland that separates Garden Bay from Naama Bay, 500m away.
The resort is accessed via Sharm El Sheikh international airport, which is about 15 minutes away. The hotel is scattered over the hillside with the beach easily accessible from most rooms.
Factors affecting snorkelling
The air temperature in the area is quite variable with average highs of 33C in July and August, although maximum highs are in the low 40s. Mean daily lows are around 24C although nights can be below 9C in January. Rainfall is minimal, with maximums of 44mm in December.
The weather and water conditions that might affect snorkelling include:
- Seawater temperatures are warm during the period June to November, getting as high as 29C, but lows of 22-23C in January and February will warrant a wetsuit.
- The strongest winds occur during the period May to September, with winds as strong as 12mph. Lightest winds blow in the period November to February, with most wind below 12mph.
- The prevailing winds are from the NNE and N, i.e. offshore and these tend to be the strongest winds, so may chill the water but probably won’t increase wave hight.
- The tidal range at the resort is limited to about 0.6m, so can affect how you traverse the shallow water reef areas, but is generally not a driving force for local currents.
- Some localised currents exist so always be aware of your safe exit point.
- An interesting change, as the day progressed, was a reduction in visibility in the surface waters, apparently due to disturbance of the sand and silt on the beach. This was most noticeable in the inner reef areas.
- A clear thermocline develops during the day, with deeper waters noticeably cooler.
- Vessel activity outside of the swimming area was limited.
Ecology
The habitats that can be observed while snorkelling at the resort include: impoverished reef top, mainly directly off the beach; healthy shallow water reef top; inner reef vertical faces; offshore reef vertical faces; offshore large coral outcrops; sand and coral debris in gullies; deep water sand, small coral growth and coral debris.
The house reef supports a high diversity of corals and fish species. A total number of 111 species were identified during our 10 day trip, including 59 fish species and 29 hard and soft coral species. Associated species such as echinoderms and molluscs were, however, present only in low species numbers.