Hi Michelle,
An interesting question for, probably, a lot of people who are visiting or thinking of visiting Sharm.
I'll begin with a little controversy, for which I will probably be yelled at but that is the nature of forums like this. You say you wish to show your mother and her friend, "the real Egypt". Staying in Sharm i'm afraid, makes this very, very unlikely! You have been to Cairo, you have seen the sprawl, the hustle and bustle, maybe even some of the poverty which makes up this, to my mind, fascinating city. That is some of the "real Egypt". In my opinion, not all but most, organised trips from Sharm are just tailored for what they imagine tourists want to see, as indeed is Sharm el Sheikh itself!
Now dont get me wrong! I just adore Sharm and the rest of The Sinai as a holiday destination. We never go anywhere else these days except Nuweiba. The Red Sea and its fauna are totally amazing! As your mum finds herself unable to snorkel, you really must take her out on one of the glass bottomed or "submarine" type boat trips which are in abundance in Sharm. Ask around other guests and the management at your hotel to find the most popular ones. At least then, she will see what she is missing and you never know............!
A day trip to Dahab is also a worthwhile excursion from Sharm. Although geared up for tourists, it has a multitude of shops and bar/restaurants spread along its substancial sea frontage.
You will of course know that there are also trips to St Catherines, Israel, Jordan, Cairo, Luxor and probably Hurghada operated from Sharm as well as the "do anything with a bedouin" selection!
My own favourite trips in Egypt have been Cairo, of course, the rail trip from Luxor to Cairo and the camel market in Luxor, all of which show a considerable element of "the real Egypt"
For sheer splendour and excitement, The hot air balloon over The Valley of The Kings, experiencing Abu Simbel at dawn, cruising the Nile between Aswan and Luxor and of course, visiting any of the wonderful historical sites along the way. Not forgetting the first time I set eyes on the full King Tut collection in Cairo Museum!
I've done so much in Egypt over the last 15 odd years but I could still fill a couple of A4 sheets with places yet to visit in and around that wonderful country.
Sorry to ramble on but maybe you will pull something of interest out of it?

Hi Michelle...we returned from our second trip to sharm last month,had a wonderful time,but because we crammed so much into last years trip...cairo,pyramids,luxor and a lovely boat trip we felt that we were just going to chill out this time.
Saying that we did a nice excursion on a glass bottomed boat was facinating to see under the water,as we dont snorkel(would love to)was amazing how clear the water was and the lovely coral.
Also for a bit of fun we did the quad biking in the desert,had a brilliant time,really good fun i shared a quad with hubby as i wasnt brave enough to drive one myself
Karlee

Hi there, how much did you pay for the glass bottom boat and quad biking?? Just i'm off there with a friend and our kids and would love to do a couple of activities! Thanks

Hi carrot

i agree that Sharm is lovely but not the real Egypt and that is why i started this thread. Once i normally get to Sharm i lie on the beach from 9-6 and then relax until i go out in the evening, hopefully popping a trip or two in the fortnight i am there. But to be honest i dont know any other directions to go into, eg, Hurghada, Nuweiba etc as i havent any idea on these places. Yes i read on these forums about peoples experiences, but dont know if i would be suited to this destination etc. Nuweiba sounds really nice if it has a really nice beach, maybe i could go there, its sounds nice. Mum loves the fish etc and is extremely excited about going, as we always are. We will be visiting Cairo again and doing the trip via plane this time as i want to go on the Nile. I found your post extremely informative, thanks for that.

If anyone can also tell me where abouts Nuweiba is, what is there and what you can do, i will be very grateful.

Taba i think would be too quiet for us, i also want to do quad biking, but thomson reps dont let you ride doubles, so is it safe to do a trip with someone else?

Thanks

Michelle.

Hi we booked the glass bottom boat and the quad biking from the beach can't remember the name of the company but it was on the Hotel Nova section of the beach,it cost about £35.00 for the two of us for both trips.
Karlee

luxor, is the best place to be especially if you want to see the tombs, karnak temple, you are in the middle of all the excitement...