I went to Dahab first, and found not the laid back backpackers beach resort town I expected, but a beach less party town with prices quoted in Euros. Most of the budget camps were inland. Tarabin was what I expected Dahab to be and maybe once was.
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Camel walking along beach in Tarabin
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Tarabin is a resort area just north of the port city of Nuweiba. When I was there in September 2008 most of the camps were empty, but the Soft Beach Camp had a steady stream of customers coming and going. There was a nice beach which was regularly raked clean of trash. There seems to a lot of trash floating around in the Red Sea, mostly plastic bags, I noticed this in Dahab and Tarabin.
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| Favourite spots: |
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Just relaxing on the beach at Soft Beach Camp. There were nice thatched roofed areas to lie back and read, or chat on the beach while enjoying the view and the cool breeze. There were also lounge chairs to bask in the sun at. Sometimes, camels would cross the beach. Also out in the Red Sea, the ferries made the journey back and forth to Jordan within eyesight.
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| What's really great: |
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Relaxing on beach and massage table
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Snorkeling, north and south of Soft Beach Camp a short walk up the coastline were submerged rocky areas which had nice snorkeling. Snorkeling equipment is available from the camp. I saw a great variety of colorful fish, but not large fish or great numbers of fish. It was not a spectacular snorkeling area, but safe, enjoyable, and free.
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| Sights: |
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Jeep and camel tours were offered to the mountainous desert that provided a beautiful background to the Red Sea. Mt. Sinai and Coloured Canyon seemed to be the most popular destinations for these trips. I did not take any of these trips.
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| Accommodations: |
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Snorkeling area with Saudi mountains in background
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Soft Beach Camp is where I stayed. There was a choice of very basic huts, which is a thatched structure just off the beach with shared bath and a mattress on the floor for 30 Egyptian pounds, or an air-con private bath room across the street from the beach for 50 Egyptian pounds. I stayed in the air-con room, but most of the other travelers seemed to prefer the huts. The price included a choice of breakfasts which was easily the best I had in Egypt.
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| Nightlife: |
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The nightlife was very relaxed. Outside of Soft Beach Camp, I saw nothing happening period. There were just a few tourists here and there. At Soft Beach Camp, the restaurant had a chess set, a number of board games, and cards. Sometimes Arabic music was played loudly until the German proprietor got them to turn it down. Mostly it was a few groups of relaxed people playing games or talking. Nothing excited, but very pleasant.
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| Restaurants: |
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There were a number of restaurants open and mostly empty in Tarabin. The menu and prices seemed to be uniformly the same in each. There was also a small grocery store which was great for things like yoghurt and toiletries.
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Published on Friday October 24th, 2008
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Thu, Nov 06 2008 - 07:17 AM
 by rangutan
| well illustrated report with great tips. |
Sun, Oct 26 2008 - 06:20 AM
by mistybleu
| Nice report, thanks for sharing your experiences. |
Sat, Oct 25 2008 - 10:52 AM
 by marianne
| informative and beautiful photos |
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