Ras Mohammed sits on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, about 20 km south of central Sharm el-Sheikh. The park protects 480 square kilometres of land and sea where the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez collide, creating powerful currents that support some of the densest coral cover anywhere in the Red Sea. The famous Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef walls are textbook drift dives, with sightings of pelagics common throughout the year.
For non-divers, the park is no less impressive. A shallow lagoon at the entrance fills with mangroves and small reef fish. A short walk leads to the Hidden Bay, where you can swim straight off the rocks over coral gardens. The "Magic Lake" — a saline pool separated from the sea by a sandbar — is a strange, photogenic spot, and the cliffs above hold fossil beds left behind by the rising of the Sinai. Bring sun cover; there is no shade.