Off the Beaten Track

Dahab

Once a sleepy backwater, these days there are more backpackers than Bedouin, and the town has become something of a lazy layover. There's dirt-cheap accommodation virtually on the beach and inexpensive restaurants and hotels, and the swimming and snorkelling in the Gulf of Aqaba are magnificent.

Dakhla Oasis

This oasis is centred around the town of Mut, a labyrinth of old laneways and mud-brick houses clinging to the slopes of the hill. The views from this hill over the medieval town and the empty backdrop of cliffs, dunes and desert are quite fantastic.

Nearby, Al-Qasr is an ancient little town with much of its traditional architecture still intact. The medieval atmosphere is accentuated by the narrow covered streets (built to provide shelter from the summer sun and desert windstorms) and the animals that roam through them.

Marsa Alam

Marsa Alam is a fishing village on Egypt's Red Sea Coast. It sits on the T-junction between the Red Sea Coast road and the road to Edfu, 230km (142mi) away on the banks of the Nile. Swimming and snorkelling in the area are magnificent, but be very careful - much of the region is mined and unsigned.

About 145km (90mi) southwest into the desert is the Tomb of Sayyed al-Shazli, who was an important Sufi leader in the 13th century. His tomb was restored earlier last century, but you may not make it through the checkpoints.

Sidi Abdel Rahman

Sidi Abdel Rahman is a lovely waterfront town on the Mediterranean coast that's free of the hordes of tourists who flock to similar places. Fine white-sand beaches abound along this stretch of coast and it's easy to find your own deserted bit of paradise.

The town is a centre for nomadic Bedouin who sometimes congregate at a small village nearby. The government is actively trying to settle these tribespeople and many have traded their mobile lifestyle - living in tents and herding sheep and goats - for government-built houses of concrete.