Marsa Shagra Village

We had an fantastic week here. Loved the relaxed atmosphere and we will get back and bring our children next time. Room: We stayed in a chalet, had everything we needed. Comfortable bed (not that hard it could be in Egypt), clean and fresh, well functioned AC. Food: Loved the food, liked everything I ate. Not very big selection, but enough for us. I’m a little bit picky but found the food here much better than in many other resorts. I think food was made with love. Delicious desserts at dinner and always fresh fruits at lunch. Bring a water bottle, there is refill stations with cold water everywhere. Soft drinks are included, but not zero/light drinks. However if you like that, the prices were ok not ruin you. Common areas: Nice and clean. Enough space for everyone. Always clean toilettes so I might try to stay in a royal tent next time where you need to use public bathrooms and showers as it always looked nice and clean. Diving equipment area: Very good, we got our lockers, drying area for bcd and wetsuit, a lot of rinsing pools for all our stuff, shower and changing rooms. Bring a locker with code for this. Rental equipment: High quality on everything, well maintained. Excursions: We did go to Elphinstone and Om halhala. Loved both sites! Housereef: beautiful housereef south and north. We saw morays, turtles, huge Giant triggerfish, black tip reef shark, Giant grouper, puffers and many more. Staff: So friendly and helpful, liked them all.

This was my third stay in Shagra and although it has grown considerably since my first visit there in 2014, it still retains that original vibe that is just pure friendliness, laughter and joy. You get to talk to strangers just as easily as you get friendly with the incredible staff which goes out of their way to please you and make your stay as comfortable as possible. A big thank you and shout-out to the whole crowd. Compared to 10 years ago, the house reef has clearly suffered and there could always be more efforts made to protect it (like making people use reef-safe sunscreen) but all in all snorkeling and diving there remains exciting. A word of caution if you're thinking of bringing your drone. Don't. They're not allowed for tourists in Egypt and will be most likely be detected at Marsa Alam Airport, then kept in custom's storage and released to you for a moderate fee IF your return flight departs from the same airport you arrived at. You can thank me later ;-)

Fifth trip to Marsa Shagra and never disappoints. Mixed diving ability and experience, so two of us diving straightaway, one doing a refresher course and one finishing off his PADI OW qualification. Instructors very good and checked in during the holiday. Diving as relaxed as ever and so much to see! Diving shade guys are exceptional- so helpful, friendly and cheerful, and went above and beyond every day. Equipment guys also very helpful with a couple of minor issues. Hire equipment good quality and well maintained. Restaurant staff excellent, with a special shout out to Mo Saleh and the young guy who always brought the right drinks without us even asking. Accommodation spotless and comfortable. Cafe staff efficient and friendly. The cleaning guys and maintenance staff always gave smiles and greetings. Reception staff always there and helpful in sorting out a doctor visit and a tour. Absolutely a winning formula for us but definitely for the diving enthusiast- don’t expect swimming pools and nightlife. Even the beach dogs have it just right- enjoy being petted but never approach people who don’t call them. (Bit confusing that there appear to be two separate sites on Tripadvisor for the same place. Review also submitted on the other site.)

The village is poorly constructed imposing health risks to guests. There is no common areas to protect yourself from the harsh weather of the location (extreme heat). There are only two common areas to stay during the day – the cafeteria and the lounge – and both only have an open roof pergola. The structure is precarious and because of that I had a severe heat illness (heatstroke) there. I had to move to safer hotel and receive medical treatment. Other than that, the village receptionist provides very bad service. When I arrived, I was treated very poorly by the unfriendly young blond lady, who barely answered my questions.

No words can describe the days we spent at Marsa Shagra. Everything was excellent. The diving facilities are impeccable; they provide everything, and the entire team is very concerned about your safety during dives, monitoring your entry and exit times from the water. The infrastructure for lockers and dive gear cleaning is also very good, and they offer unlimited dives. The tents are super comfortable, spacious, and charming, with high-quality linens. Everything is very charming by the beach, with chairs outside to enjoy the moonlight and watch the sunrise. The restaurant is a show in itself; the food is wonderful! Special mention to Chef Shaban, who was very attentive to us, and the lovely waiter Mo Salah and everyone else who makes sure you feel very special. The diving center is also excellent, fully automated; we got our AOWC there with Alaa, who was also very kind and attentive to us. The negatives are that the internet is not included and must be paid separately, and it was not clear in our reservation that the bathrooms were outside the tents. However, this was not an issue as the shared bathrooms were very clean and rarely occupied. Also, be specific about the type of bed you want because we were a couple, and the room available when we arrived had two single beds. Later, when I asked, there was another room available, but it was far from the bathroom. This should have been confirmed upon our arrival. They could also offer more amenities for the price; there was only liquid soap on the wall, but they could also provide shampoo and conditioner. Be prepared for prices that are higher than the standard in Egypt; everything there is quite expensive, including laundry service and airport taxi, which do not follow the typical lower prices in Egypt. However, these points are not criticisms, just recommendations to make the hotel even better. Everything was very good, and I would stay there a thousand more times if possible.

We spent a week diving at Marsa Shagra and had an amazing time. The house reef is beautiful, healthy and easily accessible. All of the staff were incredibly friendly, the chalet where we stayed was clean and the food was very good, it was by far the best buffet style food we had so far. The dive guides are very professional and the diving facilities are extraordinary. So.... No negative points as far as we're concerned. We will definately be spending another diving holiday at Marsa Shagra.