Tourists near the water at the Red Sea close to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt

Vehicles on the shore near the coral reefs off Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt

A couple of vehicles on the shore, very near the water, near the tourist city of Sharm el Sheikh. The waters of the Red Sea have some beautiful coral reefs at this location. But it's not only the below water, but the above water. In addition to trips on the water surface through ship, where people can come there for snorkeling or scuba diving, there are options for people to drive around on the fabulous locations. The land surface almost looks like a desert, being barren in great parts. There are excursions from Sharm el Sheikh that allow tourists where they can take vehicles to go near the water and then slip into the water for snorkeling and for other purposes.

Tourists from Sharm el Sheikh on a tourist bus near the water surface

If you are staying in Sharm el Sheikh, there are a number of excursions that are possible from there. You can get into a cruise ship that goes from Sharm el Sheikh to the Ras Muhammed marine park which is a short distance away, and then enjoy either snorkeling or scuba diving (after having got the necessary equipment before you get onto the ship), you can go to the monastery of St. Catherine (where Moses is supposed to have received the 10 commandments from God), or you can go for a land tour that also offers you the chance of doing snorkeling (while getting into the water from the coastline rather than from a ship). The photo shows a bus full of tourists who have decided to take the option of going by the land option to do snorkeling near the coral reefs.

An obervatory kind of structure on the coast near the coral reefs near Sharm el Sheikh

When you get to the coral reefs of the Ras Mohammed marine park near the tourist town of Sharm el Sheikh (located near the tip of the Sinai peninsula in Egypt), you can see a coastline that seems barren. However, there are plenty of signs that show that the coastline is not barren; there was this strange structure just off the coastline that seemed like an observatory. And soon we could see buses and other vehicles that came close to the water line, with tourists either donning snorkels and getting into the water, or donning suntan lotion and deciding to get some tanning on the beach near the water.

The fin of a dolphin that was diving into the waters as we were leaving

As we were heading to the Ras Mohammed marine park located at some distance off the coast of Sharm el Sheikh, we came across these small number of dolphins that were there at the water surface. Since the presence of dolphins was so interesting, all the tourist ships spent some time in the vicinity before deciding to proceed to our destination. This was the scene as we were leaving the area and the dolphins were going under the water.

Dolphins in the water of the Red Sea near Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt

Shadow of a Bottle Nose dolphin below the waters of the Red Sea in Egypt

We were on our way to some of the coral reefs located at the Ras Mohammed protected marine park near the tourist town of Sharm el Sheikh. The protected park has a number of coral formations, and these are the ones that draws tourists over here. The coral formations attracts a variety of colorful marine animals, and these in turn bring in tourists for snorkeling and scuba diving. We were her for the snorkeling, and on the way, we came across around 3-4 dolphins in the water. The presence of dolphins in the water was an attraction for all the tourists who were nearby and we watched these intelligent mammals, sometimes on the surface and sometimes just under the surface of the water. This is a photo of one of the dolphins just under the surface of the water.

Dolphin emerging from the water of the Red Sea near Sharm el Sheikh in the Red Sea in Egypt

The dolphins spent around 10-15 minutes, watching these large white animals (that meant, all the tourists in the ships) circle around them, and hopefully they did not feel threatened. We got to see some antics (but not the type you get to see in a dolphin show in a water park), such as when they suddenly went below the water surface, or came out of the water with some force, such as in this photo, where you suddenly saw the dolphin emerging quickly out of the water.

From a distance, you would not know whether this was a shark or a dolphin

If you have seen an overdose of shark films and dread the prospect of that shark (with just the fin showing above the surface of the water) salivating at the prospect of wanting to bite you, you might even get scared of these dolphins. The fin on the dolphin looks pretty similar to the sharks of the movies, unless you are more informed or an expert.

Light shining around the body of this dolphin in the Red Sea, near Sharm el Sheikh

It is incredible to see these large intelligent animals in the water, especially when the impression that most people have of the dolphin is of a friendly creature (unlike the sharks which have a horrid reputation). The water looks great, and when you see these large animals gliding through the water, you can only admire.