Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba
Looking for an Oura ring in the shallows at Nabq Bay
The Sinai coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, from the bays of Sharm El Sheikh north to Taba.
Something lost in the ankle-length water at Nabq Bay, an Oura ring included, can be looked for, and the bay gives the search a clear edge, because its shallow water runs out to a sharp drop-off into the coral. The point on the beach where you went in, and how near that edge you got, decide where a detectorist starts.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Sharm El Sheikh sits on the Gulf of Aqaba with the Nabq Protectorate to its north and Ras Mohammed National Park to its south. Naama Bay is at its centre, and Shark's Bay and Nabq Bay are two of its other bays. Up the gulf, Dahab comes first, then Nuweiba, and Taba sits at its head.
Take a bearing on the beach before you leave the water
If you are still in the water where it happened, stop for a moment and photograph the shore straight in front of you. Then wade in on a straight line and drop a map pin where you reach the sand.
Sharm El Sheikh is spread over several bays, so open your message with the bay rather than the town. In Dahab, name the reef you swam at instead.
Places we cover in Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba
- Sharm El Sheikh
- Naama Bay
- Shark's Bay
- Nabq Bay
- Nabq Protectorate
- Ras Um al-Sid (Ras Um Sid)
- Al-Fanar Beach
- The Gardens reef
- Ras Mohammed National Park
- White Island
- Old Quay, Aqaba and Suez beaches, Ras Mohammed
- Mangrove Channel, Ras Mohammed
- Dahab
- Dahab promenade (Mashraba)
- Lighthouse Reef
- Eel Garden
- The Lagoon (Laguna Beach)
- Blue Hole
- Blue Lagoon, Ras Abu Gallum
- Nuweiba
- Tarabin Beach
- Ras Shitan
- Taba
The bays of Sharm El Sheikh and the towns up the Gulf of Aqaba
Beaches, reefs and boat stops where a visitor might notice something missing.
Naama Bay and Shark's Bay
Naama Bay is at the busy centre of Sharm El Sheikh and has a promenade. Shark's Bay is crescent shaped, with rocky hills around it and resorts along it, and it is a popular departure point for boat trips to the dive sites nearby. On either, tell us whether you lost it on the sand or boarding a boat.
Nabq Bay and the Nabq Protectorate
At Nabq Bay the shallow, ankle-length water ends at a sharp drop-off into the coral. If you spent the day there, send a pin for your sunbed as well as for the place you went in, and say when you last saw the ring. Just north, the Nabq Protectorate has the most northerly mangrove forest in the world, with channels people explore by kayak or paddle board, sand dunes and untouched beaches for hiking and cycling, and camps to stay in.
Ras Um al-Sid and Al-Fanar
The beach at Ras Um al-Sid sits on the side of a cliff, with golden sand and soft coral offshore that snorkellers reach easily. Al-Fanar is surrounded by high cliffs and named after its lighthouse. The Gardens, a reef made up of the Near, Middle and Far Garden, is another snorkelling spot in Sharm El Sheikh.
Ras Mohammed and White Island
Ras Mohammed National Park is a short trip southwest of Sharm El Sheikh, and coral reefs line its sea floor. People lounge on its Suez, Aqaba and Old Quay beaches and walk the Mangrove Channel and its island. White Island, just off its coast, only appears when the tide is low, and visitors reach it on a short boat trip. After a day out here, the name of the boat you were on is the most useful thing to send.
Dahab's promenade and the Lighthouse Reef
Dahab's beachfront promenade, known locally as Al-mamsha or the Mashraba area, runs alongside the whole town, with the Lighthouse area on it and Eel Garden farther north. Many stretches of beach are public. The Lighthouse Reef, a shallow wall of fringing reef, is a snorkelling site close to the centre of town.
The Lagoon, the Blue Hole and the Blue Lagoon
The Lagoon, or Laguna Beach, south of the town centre, has smooth water, gentle waves and strong wind, and kitesurfers and windsurfers use it. The Blue Hole is a deep hole in the reef that freedivers travel to Dahab for, and snorkellers can reach the reef there as well. North of Dahab, the Blue Lagoon in Ras Abu Gallum Protectorate is a day trip for windsurfing and kitesurfing. At each, start your message with the spot where you went in. Anything that went down into the hole itself is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Nuweiba and Taba
Nuweiba's beaches are quiet and relatively empty, with calm water, and many camps along the coast have straw huts that sit directly on the beach. Divers go to Ras Shitan for its reef plateau, and Tarabin Beach, with Nuweiba Castle on it, is just outside the port. Taba sits at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba between the mountains and the sea, with sandy beaches and coral reefs.
What you get from us
A single conversation
The person who reads your first WhatsApp message is the one who arranges the search and tells you how it went.
Your photos go in the brief
Your photo of the shore from the water, your map pin and a picture of the item go to the detectorist together, so the search is lined up on your spot from the start.
The drop-off, explained
A ring in shallow water and a ring beyond the drop-off are different searches. We tell you which one yours looks like, and what that means, before anything is arranged.
Ask about the costs
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and you can raise them in your first message.
Where the sand ends and the coral starts
Reef starts close to the beach in Dahab, and White Island depends on the tide.
Reef a few metres out in Dahab
Most of Dahab's shore dive sites are just a few metres from land. Say whether you were still standing on sand or already swimming over the reef when you last had the item.
White Island and the tide
White Island, off Ras Mohammed, only shows when the tide is low. Send the time of your visit with your photos.
Questions about Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba
My Oura ring came off at Nabq Bay and I never went past the shallows. Does that help?
It does. The shallow, ankle-length water at Nabq Bay stops at a sharp drop-off into the coral, so a ring lost on the beach side of that edge is in water a detectorist can walk through. Pin the place you went in, and tell us whether you stayed put or moved up or down the beach while you stood and paddled.
Naama Bay was crowded all day. Can a bracelet lost on that beach still be looked for?
Yes. Naama Bay, at the centre of Sharm El Sheikh, is busy day and night, which is a reason to write soon rather than a reason to give up. Tell us which part of the bay you were on, and whether you noticed the bracelet was gone on your sunbed or after a swim.
A watch strap snapped as we climbed onto a boat at Shark's Bay.
Shark's Bay is a popular departure point for boat trips to the dive sites nearby, so a loss while boarding is tied to one point on the bay. Tell us where along the crescent you got on and which boat it was. If you think it went over the side later, at a dive site in the Straits of Tiran, name the site and roughly when you were there.
My wedding band slid off while I was snorkelling at Ras Um al-Sid.
The beach at Ras Um al-Sid sits on the side of a cliff, with golden sand and reef that snorkellers can get to easily. Drop a pin on the beach where you started the snorkel, and trace it on a screenshot of the map. If you know roughly when the band was last on your hand, add that too.
An earring came out while we were on White Island, off Ras Mohammed.
White Island is a short boat trip off the coast of Ras Mohammed, and it only appears when the tide is low. So the date and time of your visit matter as much as the place. Send both, with the name of the boat and a description of the earring, its metal and its shape.
I came off the board kitesurfing at The Lagoon in Dahab, and my watch was gone.
The Lagoon, also called Laguna Beach, lies south of the town centre and has smooth water, gentle waves and strong wind, which is why kitesurfers and windsurfers ride there. Tell us where you launched, the stretch of water you rode back and forth, and when you last saw the watch on your wrist.
We stayed in a straw hut on the beach at Nuweiba, and a necklace went missing between the hut and the sea.
Many of the camps along Nuweiba's coast have huts that sit directly on the beach, so the ground between your hut and the water is easy to show on a map. Pin the hut, send a photo from its door towards the sea, and say whether you also went diving that day, at Ras Shitan for example.
A ring came off while I was swimming at Taba. What is the beach there like?
Taba sits at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, between the mountains and the sea, with sandy beaches and coral reefs that bring divers and snorkellers. Tell us where you sat, where you went in and whether you swam out to the reef.
Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba
Send the photo you took facing the beach
Name the bay or the reef, and the item.
Put it in a WhatsApp message with a map pin for the spot. Our reply sets out what a search there would involve and what else we need from you.