Travel guide – dahab
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Overview
With more of a Bohemian feel, golden beaches and a laid back atmosphere, Dahab has both budget accommodation and excellent hotels catering for the more luxury-seeking guest. It has a fiercely competitive array of seafront restaurants for open-air dining and many souvenir shopping opportunities. Lying alongside the deepest section of the Great Rift Valley that extends down through Africa, the underwater scenery is dramatic with steep drops, valleys and canyons. Most of the diving is shore diving, and is easily accessed by taking a pick-up truck to the beaches stretching in either direction. Some of the superb dive and snorkelling sites nearby include the Blue Hole, one of the best in the Sinai region, and the Canyon, but only TEC-divers are allowed to dive the deeper sections of such formations.
Climate
Except for the Mediterranean coast the country experiences a desert climate, which is hot and dry most of the year, especially in the summer months (June to August). Winter is from December to February with average temperatures of 68 to 79°F (20 to 26°C).
Health
There are a number of health risks associated with travel to Egypt and travellers should check that their inoculations are up-to-date before leaving. Typhoid, Hepatitis A and polio immunisation is recommended. Come prepared to beat the heat with a high factor sunblock, and drink plenty of water to combat dehydration. Drinking water in the main cities and towns is normally chlorinated but it is advisable to only drink bottled water. Traveller's diarrhoea is the most common form of illness for travellers; visitors should only eat thoroughly cooked food and fruits they have peeled themselves. The waters of the Nile are contaminated and should not be consumed or bathed in. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over one year of age coming from infected areas. Medical treatment can be expensive and standards vary so insurance is strongly advised, including evacuation. Medical facilities outside of Cairo can be very basic. Cases of bird flu have been reported, and although the risk is low for travellers, all close contact with caged, domestic and wild birds should be avoided, and all poultry and egg dishes well cooked as a precaution.
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