This place in Egypt must be visited. Every tourist will come in for free

In Egypt, the opportunity to visit beaches other than this at our hotel is not as obvious as in Spain or Greece. Especially on the Sinai Peninsula, the coast was mastered by departments, to which only their guests have admission. An attempt to visit another facility may at best end with the uncomfortable questions of the guard and the fee collected by the reception, and in the worst immediate reference to where we came from. This does not mean, however, that tourists are doomed to boredom and watch the same sea view throughout the week. In Sharm El-Sheikh we will find a beach to which access is completely free and public for everyone. There is one of the most beautiful cafes in the country.

Farsha Cafe is a must-have point in Sharm El-Sheikh

Loud, chaotic and in recent years a bit too tourist Farsha Cafe attracts crowds every day. On the internet, it is called a cafe, tea room or beach bar by the owners themselves, she is referred to as “Mountain Lounge” – that is, the “mountain” relaxation zone, which owes its location at the top of the cliff with an impressive view of the Red Sea. The word “lounge” is to add prestige, which will attract an international clientele into the world of this fascinating Arab fairy tale.

Breed in 2010. Farsha is located in the Hadaba district, a quarter of an hour with Nama Bay. From the Grand Hotel Sharm El Sheikh (available, among others, in the Join Up! Poland offer), I go here with the driver five minutes for 400 Egyptian pounds (price for a return trip, the driver takes me and comes back after sending a message by WhatsApp, which everyone uses here). The alternative was a forty -minute walk, which in the sun of July, however, I considered exaggerated saving on health.

Cafe on the wall of the cliff

Farsha Cafe was “built” into a cliff. This is not an ordinary cafe, but a cascade space whose experience is entertainment at many levels. The Beduin style dominates here – on the way down the steep stairs we pass another wooden terrace with low seats and colorful pillows. Arab music is sipping from the speakers, and tourists take pictures of hundreds of recycled items that play the role of decoration. Oldschool TVs, disassembly doors, furniture fragments or old license plates were found in the port, in the desert or bought at a local market. You can feel a bit like in a museum, a bit like a dump, and a bit like in a tourist trap.

As in every popular spot, there are plenty of Instagram amateurs who are crowded at viewpoints. This can irritate those who came to Farsha, hoping that they will relax with coffee or a drink away from other tourists. In this besieged place, it is also quite expensive for Egypt. For the local beer of Sakar you have to pay 250 pounds (about PLN 18.70), and for more fancy drinks and cocktails – from PLN 40 and up. However, the entrance is free, and visitors gain access to the sea.

Less than three kilometers away, on the promontory, there is the El Fanar beach. Here, in the Del Mar restaurant, the prices are slightly lower, and the atmosphere itself is not inferior to the popular Farsha. It is not so lavish, but a little quieter and less crowded, and the setting sun remains just as beautiful. Similarly, here we can also enjoy the charms of bathing in the Red Sea. The fee is charged at the entrance (200 pounds per person) – in the package we get a sunbed, umbrella, a bottle of water and the most beautiful reef in the area.

Free beach in Farsha Cafe

In Farsha Cafe, you enter the water directly from the sand, and not like in many other places in the area – from the bridge. There is no reef at the very shore, but poor underwater life compensates for guests to experience classic sunbathing, not just snoring with a mask. The beach may not be the most beautiful, but those who are not excellent swimmers will finally be happy – the owners installed a dozen drifting sunbeds and mattresses for free use on the water. Renting a sunbed in the shape of a boat for the whole day costs 200 Egyptian pounds with an umbrella.

The cafe is open every day from 11 to 1 am, and the peak of visits falls to the sunset. Shortly after dark, the service begins a spectacle of lighting lamps, some of which are hidden in the decorations themselves. Thousands of lanterns, candles and bulbs spilling the warm light. The beach is already closed then – in Egypt, swimming in the summer is possible depending on the location until 18 or 19.

Private beaches are the bane of tourists in Egypt

Egypt is ruled by all inclusive tourism and although some changes can be seen on the horizon, it is not easy to leave this kind of rest. Tourists rarely leave their resorts not only because they have everything in their nose. Until recently, individual sightseeing in this country was very difficult – until the beginning of 2025, organized bus trips from Sinai to Cairo took place in the company of escorts. Independent trips, due to safety, but also the desire to sell their packages, are also very advised by residents of travel agencies.

Meanwhile, ordering a taxi from the hotel and a short trip around the area is not a special challenge, although of course, as everywhere, you need to be careful about overstated courses or a completely accidental “loss” by the driver, which results in an additional fee. The problem is that when we get under the dream beach we found on the Internet, it may turn out that we will not enter it at all.

I experienced this on my own skin, trying to meet my parents who at the same time as I rested in Sharm El-Sheikh in another hotel, located next to the famous Soho. Although in the forums I found information about the “public” entry for a fee, in fact they turned out to be a myth. The service at the reception scanned my proof and then allowed a meeting in a hotel lobby. There was no question of any sunbathing.

It is of course calming that no accident will enter our beach or hotel. A series of bombing of July 23, 2005, in which 88 people were killed, for many years tourists removed from Sharm El-Sheikh, so today providing foreign security guests is a matter of the highest rank for the Evil government.