Hi Missy

I cant comment on hurgada but in sharm the sea was very shallow i would say max knee high and most places were shallower. Until you walked out all the way on the jetty the sea was very shallow until it dropped off and got very deep, mostly where the snorkeling took place.

Hope this helps.

Tamara

would have to agrree with Tamara. Very shallow until the end of the jetty.

Garry

You will need to use a jetty if you stay in any of the hotels in Sharks Bay - Hilton, Concorde, Sunrise Island View etc. You cannot walk into the sea there..it's all coral.

Basically there are no beaches proper in Sharm

the sand is imported from the desert and is very rough
When you enter the sea the first few yards are over the roof of the Coral reef so you are not allowed to walk on it as it can be dangerous for the reef if you hurt yourself by doing so it's your fault as you should not be there and if you break any Coral, there is a €3000 fine payable on check out

so you walk down he jetty to enter the water so places you are in 10 foot of water some places 30 foot there are very few places with any places shallow enough to swim and put your feet on the bottom

At Sharks Bay Hilton and Tropicana Grand Oasis you are into 10 metres straight off the jetties
at Ras um Sid Hilton Waterfalls of the jetty you are in 50 foot and The Renaisance there is 30 foot

most places also have a gentle current usually from right to left as you look at the jetty it's enough to take you down the beach front quite fast though so Fins are a necessity

There are some places in Sharks Bay where there is a walk in entry near to the floating jetty where shore divers walk in..this is a sandy bottom and is clearly marked so that walking on the coral is avoided at all costs. can't remember which place it was now..but I did do a shore dive there! Direct access from one of the hotels...I will have to check my log book and double check which one it was and get back to you...

The water there is very shallow but it can drop off quite quickly..

The beach at the Coral Sea Imperial,Baron Palms and Baron resort is fabulous.These hotels are in Ras Nostrani area.
Theres soft golden sand here and shallow water which you can access from the beach.The jetty takes you to the drop off and the reef.
Even the shallow water is teeming with fish.

Thank you for all your replies

So really the Ras um Sid Hilton Waterfalls isn't really suitable for kids to go swimming if off the jetty you are in 50 foot deep water there is no chance I will let my son go swinmming then.

Actually hearing this, this has put me off this hotel, last year I went to Hilton Hurghada Resort - Hurghada and the private beach had fine sand and there was no jetty so you could access the sea with no problem.

Another hotel I was thinking about was the Baron resort but I was told that its sister hotel shares the same beach so its alway a rush to get a decent spot as the russians are there 1st thing in the morning with their towels.

Waterfalls is a nice hotel but when on BB it's very expensive

for kids the Sharks Bay Hilton is best and that is from the brother in Laws kids

The Baron resort and the Baron Palms beach covers a large area and as the Coral Sea Imperial next door is closing soon for renovation theirebeach will be empty.They may not allow people to go down their jetty but the reef is just at the end and is only 6foot under the water!