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Fire coral with a swarm of orange-red anthias in the Red Sea near Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in late October.

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Egypt in December: snorkeling in Sharm El Sheikh

by · · In the water: End of October 2025

  • Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
  • Sea just under 24 °C on average
  • up to 24 °C during the day
  • experienced: October 2025

In short You can swim in Sharm El Sheikh in December: in the Gulf of Aqaba the sea averages just under 24 degrees Celsius, a good two degrees less than in October.

Translated from the German original.

While snorkeling I estimated visibility, water temperature and depth, just as I experienced them on the days I was there. On dives the dive computer measured depth and duration, and values with a named source show what is usual there, not how it was for me.

At the end of October 2025 we were in Sharm El Sheikh, and for snorkeling we never had a wetsuit on. I was almost never cold. Still, I got slightly chilly in the morning, after I had been in the water for an hour. There, the sea in December is on average a good two degrees Celsius cooler than in October, and the days are almost nine degrees Celsius cooler.

You can swim and snorkel in Egypt in December too. In the Gulf of Aqaba, at whose mouth Sharm lies, the sea then averages just under 24 °C, according to the US weather and ocean agency NOAA. If you already get slightly chilly after an hour in the water in October, better plan December with a wetsuit. We know December itself only from measured data.

At a glance

Waterin the Gulf of Aqaba 23.7 °C on average in December, 26.0 °C in October (NOAA)
Air in Sharm El Sheikhup to 23.9 °C during the day, down to 15.6 °C at night (average 1991–2020, World Meteorological Organization)
Rain1.1 mm on average in the whole month
Windabout 15 km/h on average, on about every sixth day at its peak 5 Beaufort or more (our own analysis of the NOAA station data)
Wetsuitrecommended for snorkeling (our conclusion, not experienced in December)
Sunset4:47 p.m. on December 1, 4:58 p.m. on December 31
TimeEgypt is one hour ahead
Our tripOctober 26 to November 2, 2025, Sharm El Sheikh, Serenity Lodge
Contents
  1. At a glance
  2. Can you swim in Egypt in December?
  3. Do you need a wetsuit for snorkeling in Egypt in December?
  4. How warm is it in Sharm El Sheikh in December?
  5. How windy is it in Sharm El Sheikh in December?
  6. Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh in December?
  7. My conclusion
  8. Frequently asked questions
  9. Where the information comes from
  10. Further reading

Can you swim in Egypt in December?

Yes. The water temperature in the Gulf of Aqaba does drop by a good two degrees Celsius from October to December, though. NOAA gives a monthly average there of 26.0 °C for October and 23.7 for December. At the end of October I estimated the water at our dive sites at 26 to 30 °C, so rather warmer than the NOAA average. For swimming, December is warm enough.

Over the month the sea keeps cooling down. According to our own analysis of the NOAA daily values from 1991 to 2020, at the beginning of December it is at about 23.5 to 26 °C depending on the spot in the gulf, and in the last days of the year at about 22.5 to 24 °C.

Yellow masked butterflyfish above the shallow Ras Umm Sid reef in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, taken at the end of October
Ras Umm Sid, end of October 2025: masked butterflyfish above the shallow reef.

Do you need a wetsuit for snorkeling in Egypt in December?

At the end of October, swimwear was still enough for us for snorkeling. For diving we were given shorties back then, short wetsuits, and in those I never got cold.

The advice varies widely. For December, in forums and on travel sites, it ranges from a thin Lycra suit to five or seven millimeters. We did not find a reliable recommendation. Our conclusion from water, air and wind: in December, a wetsuit belongs in your luggage.

A needlefish just below the surface of the water at the Ras Bob house reef in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, at the end of October
Ras Bob, our house reef, end of October 2025.

How warm is it in Sharm El Sheikh in December?

Around 24 °C during the day, around 16 °C at night, on average over the years 1991 to 2020. Those are the values of the World Meteorological Organization for the station at Sharm airport. For Hurghada, the climate table of the German Weather Service stands next to them:

during the day up to (average)at night down to (average)
Sharm El Sheikh, October32.5 °C24.1 °C
Sharm El Sheikh, December23.9 °C15.6 °C
Sharm El Sheikh, January22.2 °C13.8 °C
Hurghada, December22.7 °C12.5 °C

At the end of October I wore only short clothes and flip-flops, in town in the evenings too. At night the air in December drops to 15.6 °C on average, in October to 24. Going by these numbers, better take something long for the nights in December.

It gets dark early. On December 1 the sun sets at 4:47 p.m., on December 31 at 4:58 p.m., and on New Year’s Eve twilight is over at 5:23 p.m. Already on the evening we arrived at the end of October, at half past six only the horizon was still glowing.

Twilight over the coast near Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on the evening of October 26: an orange horizon above the sea
Sharm El Sheikh, October 26, 2025, 6:32 p.m. In December it gets dark an hour earlier on the clock.

How windy is it in Sharm El Sheikh in December?

The wind is mostly light. We did not find an official wind statistic for Sharm. So we analyzed the daily values of the weather station at the airport, as NOAA publishes them for every December from 1998 to 2024. On average the wind blew at about 15 kilometers per hour, which is Beaufort 3. A day’s strongest sustained wind averaged about 24 kilometers per hour. On about every sixth day it reached 5 Beaufort or more at its peak, that is, from about 30 kilometers per hour.

Out at sea the water is not always calm in October either. On our dive at Gordon Reef in the Strait of Tiran, the surface was choppy, and down below a strong current was pulling.

Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh in December?

During the day the two are close, at night Hurghada, according to the German Weather Service, is about three degrees Celsius cooler than Sharm according to the World Meteorological Organization, although the two series come from different sources and years.

For the water off Hurghada we have no value of our own. Along the whole Egyptian coast, NOAA gives an average of 25.0 °C for December, in the Gulf of Aqaba near Sharm 23.7 °C. Further south, then, the sea is warmer.

My conclusion

In December you plan the day around the light. Around five the sun is gone, and the sea gets cooler toward the end of the year. If you want to snorkel for a long time, it is better to put your trip in the first half of December.

Frequently asked questions

How warm is the sea in Egypt in December? In the Gulf of Aqaba near Sharm El Sheikh 23.7 °C on average, along the whole Egyptian coast 25.0 °C, according to NOAA.

Where is it warmest in Egypt in December? For the water, further south, along the coast. At night Sharm El Sheikh is warmer than Hurghada.

Is a trip to Egypt over Christmas more expensive? We did not find a reliable number for Egypt. The German Federal Statistical Office reported for December 2025, compared with November, prices about 6 percent higher for package holidays and 24 percent higher for international flights, across all destinations and as a monthly average.

What is the time difference to Egypt in December? In winter Egypt is one hour ahead. When it is 12 noon in Germany, it is 1 p.m. in Sharm.

Where the information comes from

Only October 2025 in Sharm El Sheikh is experienced ourselves. I estimated the water temperature on our trip myself. Everything about December comes from these sources, accessed on October 13, 2026:

Further reading

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