The differences between Sinai and mainland Egypt can induce culture shock in travellers who arrive from Israel or Jordan, spend some days on a Sinai beach and then go on to Cairo. For those accustomed to Egyptian towns and beaches, Sinai will seem amazingly uncrowded, laid-back and hassle-free - especially so for women. Pressing on into mainland Egypt, of course, you experience the reverse. Native Bedouin and recent settlers from the mainland both assert Sinai's distinctive character and disparage Egyptian government, often comparing it unfavourably with the period of Israeli rule. Even the customary salutation is different: " Kif halak " (How is your health/situation?) instead of " Izzayak".

 

For the purposes of this guide, the peninsula divides into three zones - the gulf coasts of Suez and Aqaba , the interior and northern Sinai . Communications between the resorts along the coastal strip of the Gulf of Aqaba and the interior around St Catherine's are well-established (these two areas make up the administrative region of South Sinai ), but northern Sinai is effectively sundered from both, despite the upgrading of a route between El-Arish and Nekhl.

Unlike elsewhere in Egypt, you can visit part of the peninsula on a special Sinai-only visa valid for two weeks, which can be obtained at Taba on the border with Israel, the port of Nuweiba where boats arrive from Jordan, or the airports of Sharm el-Sheikh and Taba, where charter flights from Europe land. This is only valid for the Aqaba coast down to Sharm el-Sheikh and the immediate vicinity of St Catherine's Monastery (effectively it's a visa for South Sinai); if you wish to visit Ras Mohammed, other parts of Sinai's interior or mainland Egypt, you'll need a regular Egyptian visa , which cannot be issued at Nuweiba or the Taba border crossing, but can be obtained at Sharm el-Sheikh and Taba airports.